“Fear is the unseen boogieman that lurks in the dark. Expose it to the light of knowledge and fear will disappear.” – Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert
“Embrace Your Fears To Win The Game Of Life”
At first, I was extremely fearful! I was immobilized. Once I identified my fear, in this case, it was the fear of failure, I used fear as a source of motivation!
What are you fearful of and to what degree do you allow it to immobilize you? We all know that fear stems from not being 100% sure of an outcome. Thus, fear is a form of protection. The question is, what is fear protecting you from and to what degree is what you fear real?
In my case, the fear I experienced was about starting a new venture. I didn’t know if I was up to addressing the rigors required to make the venture successful. Upon reflection, I recalled that I’d faced many new ventures in the past and the majority of them turned out to be successful.
You too can use your past wins as motivation to tackle the newness that life’s opportunities present to you.
In order to grow in life, everyone must rise to new heights. That comes about by addressing new challenges. Challenges are meant to serve as steppingstones to greater achievements.
After the many challenges I’ve addressed in life and overcome, I don’t look at anything as a failure anymore. Things might not turn out to be as stellar as I thought they would, but I don’t look at them as failures. I learn something from each new venture I engage in. That makes me better prepared for the next one. How about you, what thought-processes do you engage in to overcome your doubts, your fears?
If you were assured that you’d never fail at anything, what might you achieve? That can be a perplexing question because failure is perceptional. That means, it only has a life to the degree you allow it to exist in you. Thus, you are able to defeat failure. It starts with your mindset and the way you think about it.
When you’re fearful about anything, examine the source of your fear. Combat it with the successes you’ve achieved in the past, and kick fear in the butt … and everything will be right with the world.
What does this have to do with negotiations?
Before negotiating, you may fear the outcome based on your perception of a lack of skills, resources, insights, etc. If that’s the case, identify why you have such feelings. Once you do, strengthen your perceived weaknesses.
You may not experience the gains you thought you’d make in the negotiation, but you will have increased your self-perception and enhanced your negotiation skills. You will have grown and you won’t have to groan about your shortcomings. Your growth may be incrementally small but it will be a step towards greater improvements, and that’s how we grow in life.
What are your takeaways? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
Remember, you’re always negotiating!