Fear can be a major factor in the success of a business. Employees who act out of fear often have a belief that they are not valuable at their work, or that they could lose their job.
These fear-based behaviors do not encourage engagement, creativity, or innovation. Instead of adding value to the company, employees are rewarded for following the instructions of leaders, which also discourages the use of critical thinking.
Generally, employees have been taught that they should work tirelessly if they want to be successful and that their needs outside of work are not relevant. Do what you’re told to do, then do some more, and you will reach success. Is it any surprise that success achieved in this way feels empty and unfulfilling?
Expectations at work can, if you allow them, rule your entire life and stop you from moving confidently in the direction that you want. Success that requires that you stay limited must be redefined. Settling is detrimental to your sense of self-worth. Settling is not success. And you can’t continue living like that forever because you will eventually burn out. The key to a successful, fulfilling life lies within the details that you have deprioritized and overlooked.
How Fear Controls You
Fear is a primal, emotional, and biological response, and it services a vital purpose: survival. It can be difficult to tell the useful kind of fear that helps keep you alive apart from the limiting fear that keeps you stuck in life.
These illusions are based on fear:
- Failure – Failure is not the end of the road, but an opportunity to review and learn what you could have done differently.
- Loss – Changing your life in order to align more with who you really are may cause defensiveness, anger, fear, indignation, or even jealousy in others. A natural consequence of working on yourself is feeling you’ve outgrown certain people or life situations. This is a loss that must be processed and grieved, but it creates space in your life for something better to come.
- Control – We believe that we must know the outcome in advance in order to move forward. But control doesn’t really exist. Believing in control gives you a limited vision, and you’re not open to new opportunities. Let go and be sure that there is something out there that will light up your life and motivate you.
- The Danger of Conditions – The most dangerous excuse may be waiting to do what you want when the right time comes. Your reasons for waiting may feel perfectly reasonable, but understand that there will never be a perfect time. Why is it so bad to promise to spend more time with your family when you finish a big project at work? Because something else will come along later. If you’re a high achiever or even a perfectionist, work will always be a priority. Do not allow being perfect to be the enemy of being good at something.
Discover the best way to help your employees fight fear, consistently connect with your leadership team, and predictably turn them into highly engaged employees. Contact me for some complimentary advice or additional reading material. Book an appointment at https://go.oncehub.com/GregNichvalodoff or call me at +1 (604) 943-0800.
