Fear gets in the way of our progress.

What's really sneaky about fear, is that we often think we're feeling fear when actually, we're not.

For example, imagine a car is hurtling towards you and there's a snap second when you think it could hit you.

It's a primal fight, flight or freeze moment so your brain will likely tell you RUN or STAY STILL.

Despite the jolt of fear you feel, there isn't a load of chatter in your head. It's typically quiet, with all your energy going into short simple commands, to try and save your life.

Your brain isn't casually saying, oh maybe you should take a step to the left, or instead you could dart diagonally or roll across the tarmac, oooh remember that Indiana Jones film where...etc etc.

Right? In true moments of fear, our minds are quiet and we respond on instinct.

Compare this to aspects of our work that we may consider to be scary - going for an interview, a client complaint, telling a boss we disagree with them.

These work related stressors are NOT provoking real, primal fear. Just a watered down modern version of fear.

When you can tell the difference, you can manage fear more easily.

And the easiest way to tell whether you're experiencing fear, or whether you're just getting in your own way, is to observe how noisy your mind is.

When your mind is noisy, your brain is zig-zagging through historic information to try and PREDICT the future. It doesn't know what will actually happen so it makes guesses that keep you playing small.

Next time you get distracted by fear (and aren't in physical danger!) remind yourself these aren't life threatening situations, you can manage them, and you can keep working towards your exciting goals.

P.S. Fear is challenging to manage and gets in the way. Realising what we're feeling isn't really fear means we can move past it much more quickly.