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What if people don’t take me seriously and laugh at me?
What if I spend all this money and fail anyway?
Am I too old to do what I love?

It’s completely normal to have these thoughts at sometime or another. But it’s how you listen to these thoughts that will get you positive results.

If there’s one lesson I’ve learnt in life, it’s to TRUST YOUR GUT FEELING! On all matters – personal and business.

I’ve often doubted myself in the past, and I still do on a regular basis, but I know myself well enough to listen to those thoughts and do something about them. I even have these thoughts when preparing blog posts for you to read…

Is my audience going to dig this? Will they think it’s boring? Is it even helpful? And who am I to act like an expert on the subject?

As soon as I become aware of these thoughts in my mind, I have developed a few triggers that I use to change my mood. One of them being this song below. I mean if a grown man can sing these lyrics and dance around in his shiny leopard print underpants and be successful, then there is hope for me yet.

(I don’t think this dude even knows what self doubt is!)

But seriously, it’s a good idea to develop some of your own positive triggers to move yourself through that dark space. Here are some ideas.

Trigger 1:

Imagine you’ve already put yourself out there and achieved your dream. How do you feel? How has your life improved as a result of your achievement? If you’re feeling good – then trust your gut that you’re on the right path.

There’s a tear-jerking scene in the movie Eat, Pray, Love which gets me every time. When Julia Roberts is dreaming of her wedding dance with her ex-husband, and he whispers to her:

“I’m gonna miss you.” And she replies, “So miss me, send me love and light every time you think of me, then drop it.”

Aaah! I get goosebumps from those words. Treat your fear in the same way. Feel it, acknowledge it, then drop it.

Trigger 2:

When you’re trying to create something out of nothing, you need some positive role models. Google your industry and people who are already succeeding in what you’re planning on doing and notice how possible it really is.

They’ll usually have some inspirational videos or blog posts for you to re-assure yourself that what you’re dreaming of is do-able and possible. (You’ll need to do this in advance so when you notice these thoughts creeping in, you’ve already bookmarked these pages).

Trigger 3: (I made this one up and it’s weird)

Picture yourself with an Angel and a Devil on either shoulder. The Angel is whispering; “this is possible, you can do this”, and then Devil is shouting; “of course you can’t do this, who do you think you are bitch?”.

BTW, I don’t actually believe in ‘the Devil’ as such, my translation of the Devil is the society that you’ve been brought up in. You’re so used to hearing these thoughts a million times louder than your Angel thoughts, that more often than not, you land up succumbing to them.

If you picture your Angel and your Devil, you will realise that it’s your intuition and your fear which are guiding you.

All you need to do is allow your Angel to speak louder than your Devil.

Paving the way to your Fearless Life and actually ‘Putting Yourself Out There!’

Small, deliberate actions inspired by your true desires create a life you love.

~ Danielle LaPorte

I have a rule which I apply to myself every single day of the year – even Saturdays and Sundays. It goes like this: Today I will do 1 small thing towards achieving my dreams.

Somedays the small thing is extremely small and somedays, it’s a lot bigger, but getting into this practise every single day will help you develop the habit of continually striving to reach for your dreams.

Nothing happens overnight and no-one expects you to go from introvert to extrovert just because you’ve started something new. Take things slowly and stay true to yourself and your confidence will grow in it’s natural stride.

Now let’s have a little fun in the comments section – do you have any party songs that help you deal with your fear of PYOT?

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