Fear is your Compass

“Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.” — Dale Carnegie

Fear is your compass. Not scared of a bear fear or a guy with a gun fear. I am talking about fear of taking action towards want you want to accomplish, who you want to become. The fear of writing (I am scarred as I write these words). Fear of picking up a paint brush. Fear of going to the gym. Fear of training for a triathlon. Fear of starting a business. Fear of running for office. Fear of walking up to a pretty girl and saying hello. Fear of telling your parents that you love them. Fear of helping others in-need. Fear of failing.

Fear is best described by Steven Pressfield (Author of The war of Art) as resistance. The force pushing against you when you begin important work. The stronger that resistance, the greater your fear to begin, and a sure sign it needs attention. That resistance, that discomfort should be your steering wheel. Push towards the discomfort, head towards the fear. Your purpose lies here. This fear is where satisfaction hides, and fulfillment lives. Be aware of fears in your life, be open to sensing them, Especially the scary ones. That is the direction you need to be running. Where you need to go. You need to train yourself to enjoy the fear, train yourself to be uncomfortable. That discomfort means you are heading in the right direction. After a good workout at the gym, I become sore. I associate that discomfort with what it is, growth. Discomfort equals growth.

The worst events in my life, moments when paralyzed by fear; my business failing, relationship ending, family tragedy. Curled up in a ball, crying as the comfortable world I know comes screeching to a halt. When nothing could get worse (though it always does). Those moments always became catalysts for large change in my life. We have all experienced that moment in our lives, where you can’t run away anymore. Forced to confront the fear. Those moments always lead to growth, new and different opportunities. It has happened to me many times. I no longer fear bad times. I know they lead to great change. I no longer wait for rock bottom to face my fears. Now I see them for what they are, directions. Recondition yourself to think about fear and resistance as a signpost. Run towards the burning building, do the opposite of what your gut is telling you. Run towards the fire, confront the fear, confront the discomfort. Fear is your beacon, it will shape you. Push against the resistance to become the person you should be.

Face the fear and grow, run away from the fear and live a life of mediocrity. Both are fine lives I am sure. One will be more rewarding, more fulfilling. The more you attack your fears the easier they are to conquer. Which means you will need bigger fears to go after. Bigger fears lead to bigger goals, more audacious challenges, bigger results, bigger you. Feel scared, amazing!! You now know where to go. So now that you know which direction you need to head, then what? It is very simple, TAKE ACTION. Doing the things that scare you are hard, and the most rewarding. So find your map… face your fears.

Shawn Kolodny is an artist, writer (almost), and entrepreneur. You can check out his artwork here.

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