Fear makes a terrific short-term motivator. If a vehicle is careening toward you or a big branch snaps just behind you in a forest, the release of adrenaline and cortisol might just save your life. Fear is designed to keep us safe. And most of the time, it does a pretty great job. But fear […]
Fear
Leave Goal Shame Behind to Achieve Your Biggest Goals
Insecurity and goal shame often lead to self-sabotage. Follow these 3 tips to eliminate goal shame and achieve your biggest goals.
End Your Fear of Power Sharing
It started with my first day on the job. I’d just been named senior leader at a growing organization with a generously-sized staff. Yet there were problems, as there are in any institution, and I was determined to solve them. All of them. Right away. Communications was a weak point, so I decided to personally […]
Living the Impossible Dream
Your ambitious goal isn’t impossible to accomplish—and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The first step in making any endeavor possible is dismissing the naysayers who insist that the possible isn’t.
Certainly, you shouldn’t think that you can defy Newton’s Third Law of Physics or pretend that gravity doesn’t exist. You can, however, learn three priceless lessons from those who defied the skeptics.
Prevent Fear from Keeping You Stuck
Fear is universal. The gymnast fears stumbling instead of sticking the perfect landing. The singer fears a moment of wavering pitch. The serious speaker fears laughter; the joker silence. We all fear failure. How we respond to fear, however, varies considerably and determines whether this emotion will help us achieve our goals or leave us […]
What Setting Small Goals Is Costing You
Why is it so hard to hail a taxi in New York City when it’s raining? That’s when you most want a cab. It’s when available drivers can rack up fare after fare without little time wasted waiting for new business. Yet it’s also the time when cabs are the most scarce. The problem is […]
Leveraging Internal and External Motivation for Achievement
The end of the year is always an interesting time. In addition to all the family togetherness, delicious food, and gift exchange, one of the most prominent parts of the holiday season is setting sights on how the next year is going to be better. In essence, it’s “goal setting season.” The harsh reality of […]
What Extreme Athletes Can Teach Us About Overcoming Our Fears
At twelve years old, when most girls her age were learning algebra and crushing on the members of NSYNC, Samantha Larson was preparing to conquer a fear that few adults would face: climbing to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. By eighteen, Larson had also successfully climbed each of the Seven Summits, ascending […]
4 Steps for Dealing with Self-Doubt
It’s natural to feel like an imposter sometimes. But don’t dwell on your self-doubt. Instead, the solution is to recognize your feelings as a healthy part of your professional and personal development, realize that other successful people feel the same way, understand that you already have the strengths needed, and use this fear as a […]
Overcome the Fear That’s Holding You Back
Many of us know what it’s like to feel stuck in our careers. We settle into a particular role and one day we look up and wonder why we’ve spent so long doing something we’re not fully invested in. There are many reasons why this happens, but a big one is fear of failure. We […]
The One Thing You Need to Create Wow Experiences
If we are going to create wow experiences, we must become courageous. This is a personal, psychological bridge we need to cross. What we want—that wow experience—is on the other side of the ravine. There’s no other way to get there from here.
Why FOMO Keeps Us from Being Productive
The fear of missing out isn’t worth much, but FOMO costs us a lot. That’s especially true when it comes to our productivity. It’s like a powerful undertow, invisible on the surface of our work, which can pull us away in the current. Right after I left as CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, an online […]
How to Develop Confidence as a Leader
As people, we sometimes find ourselves in situations that leave us feeling uncomfortable and uneasy. As leaders, that’s pretty much a constant. You know what I’m talking about. It could be something positive—maybe speaking to a large crowd, launching a new product, or re-upping an important client. Alternatively, it could be something negative—a confrontational meeting, […]
What to Do When You’re Afraid to Commit
When we think of the fear of commitment, we usually picture a guy who’s been dating a girl since forever and won’t get off the dime, right? But there’s another kind of commitment phobia we need to address. Forget about relationships. Think instead about deadlines, deliverables, benchmarks, and budgets. How willing are you to make […]
4 Ways to Beat the Resistance and Reach Your Goals This Year
It’s about that time. Based on the statistics, a large percentage of people who made New Year’s resolutions are thinking about throwing in the towel. Some already have. According to research from the University of Scranton, nearly 4 out of 10 people quit their resolutions before reaching the month of February. Even more will fall […]
How to Reframe Your Fear and Let It Work for You
Do you ever get uneasy—or even afraid—when you’re close to achieving something big in your life? I do. In our recent relaunch of Platform University, for instance, we started with fewer responses than I anticipated. I began estimating the results for the entire campaign based on those early results and didn’t like where things were […]
Four Emotions Derailing Your Goals
Emotions are powerful, especially if we let them work in our lives without paying full attention. They can derail our goals if we let them. In my experience there are four emotions that usually come mixed in a powerful cocktail, sure to undermine our goals: fear, uncertainty, doubt, and shame. Most of us succumb to […]
What Motivates Your Drive to Be More Productive?
Ever since I began blogging, productivity has been one of my most popular topics. But I’m convinced we’re not always productive for the right reasons. Maybe this is why many people are productive but miserable. Over my career I’ve been entrusted with a lot of responsibility. At one time, I was responsible for the well-being […]
How to Get Over Your Fear of Public Speaking
According to psychologists, most people have a greater fear of public speaking than of death. As someone who trains speakers professionally, I can attest this is true. It certainly was for me. Even after I had been speaking publicly for years, I still struggled with fear. Even when I was well-prepared. This happened nearly every […]
Courage Is Not the Absence of Fear
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the willingness to act in spite of my fear. Here’s how I learned this invaluable lesson.
Change Your Story, Change Your Life
If you are working hard to change your behavior and not seeing much progress, maybe it is because you are the victim of a bad story—one you can change. Here’s how.
Are You Focusing on the Obstacle or the Opportunity?
Many people fail at work and in life because they focus too much on the obstacle rather than the opportunity. Is it true in your organization?
Finding the Courage to Speak Up
I don’t like conflict. In fact, sometimes I think I am conflictaphobic. (I just made that word up.) I will do almost anything to avoid it. However, soon after I became head of one of our publishing divisions, I had to confront one of my authors. He was pleasant and cooperative when I spoke with him. But he was demanding, uncooperative, and downright nasty to my staff. Finally, one of them came to me, nearly in tears, and said, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t take it any more.” I had to make a choice.