Being an entrepreneur, I have found the topic on fear to be overwhelming. I say this because I was faced with fear when I started my business, you know the internal dialogue we play in our minds…what if??

What if it doesn’t work out?
What if I’m not good enough?
What if I can’t pay my bills?

Fear is the single biggest dream killer, well before we get to the starting blocks, we find ourselves defeated by our very own thoughts. This process can be debilitating, and often when the pain becomes unbearable, the best way out is to seek the positive.Remember when Marianne Williams said “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us”And it dawned on me, we have 2 primary motivators in life: Pain and Pleasure.

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. Bertrand Russell

Some philosophers have hypothesised that the feelings of pain (or suffering) and pleasure are part of a continuum. They describe pain and pleasure very much like a push-pull concept; human beings will move towards something that causes pleasure and will move away from something that causes pain. Much like our relationship with fear, we often seek ways to move away from it and into a pleasurable state. Let us look at 3 ways to better deal with fear?

1. Change the relationship with fear

Successful people redefine their relationship with fear. You can too. They succeed because they develop in spite of attitudes. With perseverance and persistence, they do what it takes to overcome great obstacles.They are willing to get through difficult times, transcend their limitations and become stronger and wiser because of their challenges.Most importantly, they believe in themselves and are unwilling to trade their destinies for safety, comfort and momentary gratification.

2. Change your thoughts about fear

Worry is a useless activity. If the brain is worrying, it means it doesn’t have a solution. If it doesn’t have a solution, it goes around and round, creating more fear. When you catch yourself worrying, you’re free to just turn it off—think of something else: Family, Holidays, Cars!We can control our brains. We can train the brain out of fear thinking. We can drown out persistent negative thoughts with positive affirmations such as: I have the power to create change, I choose happiness, I let go of all that no longer serves me.

Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.Karl Augustus Menninger

3. Use the fear to grow

We can learn from our fears, and use it as a driving force to propel us to new heights.That thing you’re scared of? It’s probably scary because you aren’t sure what to expect. Sure, you might not succeed. But if you do, greater things could happen than you already realise. It’s certainly a chance that is yours to decide whether to take or not, but if you don’t try then you have a 100% chance of missing out on that potential greatness. It takes looking that fear in the face, standing up to it and saying “you’re in my brain trying to get me to take a step back, but I’m stronger than you and know that if I can power through it will be worth it and I will emerge even stronger than before.”In the end, fear is just another type of motivation. It’s not as pleasant as enthusiasm or mania, but it pushes us to take action on some things and avoid others, just as all motivations do. What matters with motivation is what you apply it towards. In some ways, the world could use more fear in the right places. Fear of being mediocre, ignorant or wasting your life on pursuits that don’t matter.