Fear Is Normal, Change Is Not

As a leader you’ve faced fear repeatedly in your life and conquered it. And now maybe you’re liking this life where most of your fears are hidden under some metaphorical bed in your mind.

The problem is that if you’re not feeling fear, you’re not on your edge, and if you’re not on your edge you aren’t growing as much as you could be.

Fear is like a Geiger counter for growth and development. I know many amazing people who use fear to guide their actions because it keeps them leaning into the edge of growth they use to improve continuously year, after year, after year.

The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that there is something wrong with fear.

Fear is normal.

What’s not normal is change. And I’m not talking about the kind of well everything is impermanent and in flux kind of change. I’m talking about real lasting and fundamental change.

  • I’m talking about going from being obese to skinny for the rest of your life kind of change.
  • I’m talking about turning from a stoned hippie to zen monk kind of change.
  • I’m talking about the kind of change where you break free of a pattern, create another one, and then break free of that one too.

This kind of change is rare and the reason is simple. Fear is normal, but facing it is hard, and living on the edge of it is even harder. If you want to be extraordinary. If you want to succeed where your peers fail. If you want to be more than just successful, you must learn to master the art of fear.

Because if you don’t, you’ll be running down the dark alleys of your life forever.

Remember fear is normal. Change is not.

If you want to change in ways you can’t imagine, get cozy with fear and use it to guide you. Fear will teach you more than any human ever could.


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