Is what's holding you back really a hold-up?

Is what’s holding you back really a hold-up?

Your life experiences have made you sensitive in various degrees to different types of fear: the fear of not being recognized, not being accepted, not being good enough, and so forth. These anxieties are often irrational, and they may well stop you from moving forward.

How can you handle these fears in the workplace, where they may resurface at any moment? Rebecca Zucker and Ruth Gotian suggest you do some tough work on yourself following these four steps:

Make a note of the times when you’re frozen by fear. Take a proper look at what lies underneath: are you afraid of starting a difficult conversation or making a strategic mistake? While these fears have served you well in the past, today they’re holding you back.

Picture your worst-case scenario. Imagine it has come about – now what? You’ll realize how irrational your fear is: you’ve lost a big client, let’s say, but are you really never going to find another one again?

Take a look at the origins of your anxieties and limiting beliefs. The answer is sometimes pretty clear. So, if you have a parent who was out of work for a long time, you may have inherited a fear of not being able to support yourself financially.

Give some small experiments a trial run. Successful experiences – even if they’re on a small scale – will help ringfence your fears.

You can work on these anxieties on your own or, better still, with a trained coach or trusted partner.

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