Face Fear with a Plan: 7 Steps to Overcome Fear with Confidence

So this thing about procrastination, I don't know how it is in your life, and if you're prone to sometimes avoiding the things that scare you, but this is what happened to Al. I mean, she just began to stall. She needed to look for a new job. She needed to just get something part-time. But day after day, she does nothing. And what she does do is she starts to overeat, and she sleeps more. She feels kind of depressed and frustrated with herself. So she goes shopping and she starts buying things, and then she even offers to babysit the grandkids. But she does anything but take action for her goal. And some may say that she's unfocused. She's a procrastinator. You know what? What really happens to be going on is she's afraid. Does that sound familiar?

Well, lean in because we're gonna go through that today. Sometimes things in life that you have to do just frighten you to no end. I've been there. There are things that I have to do that scare me, but I don't always recognize that it's fear that I'm battling with, and so what I end up doing is cleaning my house, scrubbing the toilet, taking my toothbrush and getting the grout just right in the bathroom, tile, anything. I love shopping, so I go and find that perfect pair of shoes that I didn't even need. Right?

But unconsciously, we're stalling because we are afraid, but our procrastination tactics are growing. So is our fear. So suddenly, instead of having this thing that we could overcome relatively easily, it's now growing into this big monster, and we're in our head, and we have this mental game, and we need to overcome fear. That's the nature of fear, by the way, when it's ignored. It grows, it takes over more and more and more of your life. But when we face fear, it shrinks. And so El might say, This is just all too overwhelming. I don't know where to begin. I don't know where to start. And that, my friend, is the key. She has no plan of action.

So, today we're gonna learn how to overcome fear by facing it with a plan. That's right. We face our fear with a plan, and it works. So plan, defined by the way, is a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. Doesn't that even just sound freeing? Just when you hear it, I have a detailed proposal of how I'm gonna start something, how I'm going to achieve something. Here's what I propose to do. By the way, if you do not have your bravehearted woman planner, then you need to jump over to braveheartedwoman.com and get your planner right away. It's amazing. But. I am gonna give you some things today to help you face your fear with a plan.

Number one. You know I love points, okay? I do. I love my points because that's how I learn, and I think maybe that's the way you might learn, too. I don't wanna just talk and meander through. I wanna give you solid, practical ways that you can do this. So number one, name the issue that you're feeling, fear, or anxiety about. What is it in this case for El? It's applying for a new job. I'm afraid of that.

Sometimes, for me, it's starting to write a new book. I'm afraid. What if my book is not as well-received as the last one? What if I don't remember how to do it? What if it takes too long? What if I get writer's block? What if? What if? What if? So if I name that, then I would say, I'm feeling inadequate and afraid that I'm not creative enough. Oh, there it is. I'm not creative enough. Is that true? I'll discover in a moment that that's not true. It's a lie that the God of all creativeness, all creation, lives inside of me. Inside of you, too. So, name the issue that you're feeling fear or anxiety over.

Then, number two, decide on what would be the best solution. Like, what outcome would you want? The best solution would be for me to have a 175-page book. That wins an award, that would be the best outcome. Well, that's not even the best outcome. A book that would bless women and help them move towards their goals would be my best outcome.

For EL and the woman that we're giving an example to today, finding a job with flexible hours near her home with good pay and that uses her gifts, that's going to be her best solution. So what is the best solution or the best possible outcome that you could have towards the thing that you are afraid of, and then determine how much of the solution or the outcome is in your power. So let's say for El, she doesn't have power over the neighborhood near her house, but the flexible hours and the good pay, and using her gifts she has, she can do that. So, when you determine how much of the solution or the outcome you have in your power. Then what are you willing to, what are you willing to say? I can release this. I can, I can, I can live with that, but here's what's in my power.

And so then I can say number three, what steps do I need to take for me to reach that desired outcome that I have power over? What three steps can I take now for El? Of course, it would be to write a resume and then pick out three opportunities that are available for work in her area, and then ask five friends to share her resume. And maybe even consult with a job placement offer. So those are examples of what she has within her power. And then what can she do for me? I might not have my power to win an award, but here's what I do have. I can write 175 pages. So what I can do is put a writing schedule together.

Number four, I can ask three friends to hold me accountable to my writing schedule. I can indeed write. Plan my writing and write. That's the thing about it. You actually have to do it. And then I can choose a really great editor who will help me make sure that my manuscript is beautifully done. So those are things within my power. So, rather than being completely paralyzed over the fear that I might not be able to do it, I can start small. The things that are within my power to do.

Number five, break it down and prioritize it into baby steps, steps of action. So we just talked about it in number one. El has to write a resume. So now let's break that down. This week I will work 20 minutes a day in writing my resume. I have to call five friends to share my resume, but this week I'll call one friend and I will ask her, and next week I will complete my resume, and then I'll have a friend help me edit it and read it for me and give me advice. You see, how we can break those things down even more? What do you have that you have to face? How can you break it down and prioritize it into baby steps of action that you can't lose and you're not afraid to do?

Alright then, number six, it's not enough just to write it down on paper. You've gotta write it on paper. Of course, you have to do that, but then you have to put it in your calendar because we know that what gets scheduled gets done. So calendarize each baby step, giving breaks in between so you have some recovery time, and celebrate yourself and allow yourself to applaud yourself. Yay, I got that one, baby step done. And then just. As you calendarize it, say, what can I do today? Now I have another podcast on this. Go ahead and listen to that on how you can break things down into baby steps and get it done.

But here's how Elle could do it. She could spend 30 minutes a day on job searching. So she's, when is she going to do that? She's gonna do that February 5th, or in this case, we're in the summer. She's gonna do that July 1st through July 5th. She's gonna spend 30-day minutes a day on job searching. So she calendarized that she's going to send three resumes a week. Okay. When am I gonna do that? This Friday, I will send in the mail, three resumes, or I will email them. Three resumes this Friday. So you go on your calendar and you write on Friday, send three resumes. Remember what gets calendarized is what gets done.

And then number seven, ask for help. What do I need someone else to do? Maybe I'm paralyzed by fear because I'm stuck. I really don't know how to do something, or maybe there are too many things, and I need to delegate something.

In my case, I wouldn't try to write a book and edit it at the same time. I'm not an editor. I am a speaker, I am a writer, so I would ask someone to help me. If my fear is that my manuscript won't be any good, then allow someone to speak into my life. Be willing to give it away to someone, and prepare for the positive feedback. Face that fear, because if I don't. There's no alternative. There's no good way for me to create a book without involving other people.

So, what is it that you're facing today? What is it that you might need to create a plan so that you can face your fear? What is it that you need to do? Are you afraid to make some changes, but you desperately need to? And so rather than do something, you're doing nothing. Are you afraid to take a leap of faith in an area that you know it's your calling, it's your purpose, it's your gift, or maybe you just really don't know how to do something, but you're afraid? Afraid to make that phone call to reach out for that coach or get that help. Maybe you feel like you're gonna feel completely like a failure, and you know you're inadequate, so why even try to get this silly dream out of my head anyway? Or maybe you are afraid of the responsibility and the work if it does work out well, like, I wanna do this, but do I really want this responsibility?

Like we often say. If you're a podcaster or you have a video on YouTube or you wanna start a business, whatever you're into, it's here now. It needs to be nurtured, it needs to grow, it needs to be taken care of. And maybe you're saying, you know, I don't know if I want that responsibility. Well, that's fair. So do some discovery. Ask yourself, how will I feel if I never do this? Will I get to the end of my life and regret it? Or will I be able to say, you know what, no, I made the right decision.

So find out, maybe you're afraid of financial ruin. If I do this, I might lose all my money. So talk to someone about the financial risks. How can you do this without risking everything? Or what amount of money are you willing to invest and potentially lose? What are you willing to risk and the fear of rejection, the fear of, you know, possible rejection and not being loved, or not being good enough, or losing people's approval because they think that you're crazy. Are you willing to go through that? These are just a few of the reasons why we don't pursue our dreams, maybe why you're not pursuing your dream.

But when we're bound by fear, I know one thing for sure that fear will keep us. From all the dreams that we have in our hearts, we won't accomplish anything if we allow fear to have a big place in us and take up a lot of space within our hearts and our minds. So we wanna drive out fear, wisdom. Yes, we wanna house all the wisdom that we can fear. No, I mean, it's good to have a healthy respect for life and the laws of the universe. I get it. The laws of God. It's good to have a healthy respect for those things, and if we could even say a healthy fear, but don't get caught in immobility because you don't know how to take action. Don't get stuck because you have a dream, but you don't have a plan. It's time. Let's get a strategy. Let's get a plan.

Hey, I'm available to help you. If you want, you can check out my website, braveheartedwoman.com, and sign up for a FREE strategy call. I'll help you get unstuck. It's a sales call. It's meant to see if we're a good fit for work. If you're not interested in hiring a coach, then maybe you wouldn't wanna take advantage of that, but I have a lot of free resources, and I'd like you to rethink that because maybe that's exactly what you need to get yourself to the next level to go to that next place to reach that destiny. But whatever it is, however it is, I can help you, or please take advice from this episode and create for yourself a detailed proposal on how you propose to reach your goal and to conquer your fear.

Okay. And for my gift for you today, go to the braveheartedwoman.com and download your FREE gift - Ignite Your Confidence & Soar With Self-esteem. And once you download that free gift, you'll also be given an invitation for that free strategy call. So avail yourself of it today. Alright, Bravehearts, that's what I have for you. I’m gonna leave you like I always do. Dawn Damon, your Braveheart mentor, is reminding you to find your brave. I'll say it again: find your brave and live your dreams!