I just ran across something about fear that resonated with me. In conjunction with the new year, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on goal setting, and I re-watched a five-minute video of a interview with Florida counselor Ken Donaldson that I saw a year ago that had helped me get my butt in gear and set SMART goals I was able to meet.
When I watched the same video this year, I heard Ken Donaldson say we shouldn’t let fear stand in our way. Easier said than done!
Ken said instead of using the old acronym for fear, False Evidence Appearing Real, you should begin to tackle FEAR with the attitude of Face Everything And Rechoose.
I especially like this idea when I’m thinking of what I want to do in 2010. Really, the thing that holds me back the most is my avoidance of things because of my fear.
Because I’m afraid of doing something, I avoid it or hold back or become stuck. Kind of like what fearful flyers do in response to their fear of flying–they avoid flying or they fly only when they have to or they fly the same terrible old way they’ve been flying for years–scared and miserable.
So I asked myself what FEAR do I have that has caused me to avoid things. Here’s my short list: I’m afraid of technology. I’m afraid of starting something complicated that’s going to take a whole lot of work or discipline. I’m afraid of not being perfect or not doing something perfectly.
Keeping in mind Ken’s advice on tackling FEAR, I have come up with some goals for 2010. (1) Increase our marketing of the newly designed downloadable Flight Harmonizer so that more fearful flyers will have the freedom to fly without fear with the help of this amazing audio product. (2) By June 1, finish and publish the book about fear of flying that Capt. Ron and I have been working on. (3) Focus on continual improvement of our newly designed fearlessflight.com website so that it can be an even better resource for fearful flyers. (4) I want to keep learning and using social networking tools to find and connect with fearful flyers such as our Facebook fan page.
These goals mean I’ll be facing my fear of technology and fear of trying something new and complicated. I need to do some rechoosing in 2010 to meet the goals that I’ve set. I’ll need to remind myself frequently that our mission and passion is to help people become better flyers and enjoy the freedom of flying.
What fearful thing do you need to face this year that requires you to rechoose? Your fear of flying? Fear of failure? Fear of quitting a job you hate? Fear of starting your own business?