Why You Need to Take Risks, Even When You're Afraid

The Fear Factor

What inhibits you from moving forward? When you identify a goal and take actions to achieve it, you open up yourself to the possibility of risk—getting or not getting what you desire, as well as the consequences that result. It’s frightening to step outside your comfort zone, which is what you are doing when you take a risk. You’ll likely be afraid, but that doesn’t have to stop you from taking action.

As Susan Jeffers, author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, says, “As long as I continued to push out into the world, as long as I continued to stretch my capabilities, as long as I continued to take new risks in making my dreams come true, I was going to experience fear.”
 
Turn Fear into Excitement

I invite you to shift how you view fear. Did you ever think that when you’re afraid, you are actually excited? Our bodies react to fear and excitement in the same way—a quickened heartbeat, perspiration, cold and clammy hands.

Early on, I remember how I worried after I received a promotion at my first job. I was concerned about my new responsibilities and whether I could handle them. My mentor advised me that I wouldn’t have been offered the position if others didn’t think I could do it, and do it well. She also pointed out that it sounded like I was more excited than afraid. Suddenly, my attitude changed. Her guidance and friendship gave me the permission I needed to feel exhilarated about my new job. Consequently, I was looking forward to moving ahead.

Excerpted from Smart Women Take Risks, by Helene Lerner. McGraw-Hill, 2006.