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“Fear and pain should be treated as signals not to close our
eyes but to open them wider.”
Nathaniel Branden, Psychologist
A few years ago I was giving a talk in Dublin and afterwards I was approached by a very shy man.
He told me that he dreamed of being a successful speaker but didn’t know how to overcome his fear of public speaking.
Slight issue there indeed…. 🙂
The comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said that most people would rather be in the coffin than deliver the eulogy – this is because the majority of people fear public speaking more than death!
I shared with the man that I used to be terrified of public speaking.
The way I learned to get comfortable with speaking was to force myself to do more of it no matter what my inner voice was saying to me. Now it’s one of my favourite things to do.
I wasn’t sure if he believed me because in a way it sounds too simple.
A year later I was invited by a friend to attend a speaking event he’d organised. Imagine my surprise when the first speaker was the shy man.
But he looked different.
His posture was confident, his head was up and he delivered a very compelling talk in front of a packed room.
Afterwards I approached him to congratulate him and he gave me a massive and generous hug. He then told me that he had done exactly what I’d said and had managed to move through his fear and create a new career for himself, mostly around speaking.
It was a truly amazing transformation!
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,
“The greater part of courage is having done it before”
I believe this is true of anything. Fear of doing it can only be cured by doing it.
Maybe this week, to bring up your motivation and energy levels, find something you fear and just do it.
If you move through even the smallest element of fear you will increase your confidence in your ability to create better results in your life.
Surely that in itself is worth the challenge?
Shane
New Podcast – The Inner Edge:
New episode available today: The One Thing Not To Take For High Performance. Listen on my website or on all major podcast platforms.
Get Your Free Copy Of My E-Book, ’21 Questions For A Great 2021′ here.
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