You must jump into the water? Consider doing a few things before...

Whenever I hear phrases like "overcome the fear" or "jump into the water", I pay attention and try to understand it better. Not every case is like that, and first of all it's worth making sure that we are actually talking about jumping into water.

There are people, who fear accompanies them throughout their lives, for a long time or in many situations. There are professionals who could help with that.

But when we talk about a specific fear like speaking in front of an audience, conducting a business transaction for the first time, making a complex decision, taking an online course, there is a good chance that it is a natural fear designed to help us to mobilize the necessary resources.

There are relatively simple things that can be done to overcome the fear, depending on what is suitable for you, depending on what is available to you:

You can follow other people - colleagues at work, companies or sellers - and see up close how they do the activity. What are the steps, how does it feel. The fear will decrease, and it will also be easier to come more prepared.

The second option is to take training and courses. This is convenient for those who like build their knowledge in a structured way, and the goal is similar - to reduce the lack of familiarity, the lack of knowledge.

You can perform simulations or try one guest lecture - in these cases not only the situation will be more familiar but also how you behave in it.

For each of these approaches you can find an answer in the online world, in communities, in different groups or personal counseling face2face.

If you took these steps, the situation is much more understandable and you have more control. Control is the key to dealing with fear!

If there is still fear left in you, there may be uncertainty that is natural to the situation. So it's probably about "jumping into the water".

There are situations in which we cannot know how we will feel until we experience them. For example, a position in which we have responsibility for managing people for the first time, moving from a rental company to a self-employed person, leaving a large company in favor of a startup, moving from a field in which you are an expert, to an intriguing but new field, entering into a binding business relationship after a long deliberation.

If we've done all that we could and still believe we should take this leap, it's worth doing two things:

The first - check the risks. What is the type of risk if you fail, and how big will the loss be? What is the price for you, for the organization, for the environment close to you?

After you understand the risks, check if it is possible to make a change that will reduce them. And lastly regarding the risks - how soon can you know that it is not suitable?

It is better to fail quickly, understand it and move on, than to get "stuck" in a situation or role that has no future for you.

The second - build the jump as a move with as much learning as possible. Before the jump, you can build some scripts for what will happen after it, and prepare. What will you learn about the world of new content, the new language? What will you learn about the type of activity (with people, alone, frantic, organized in a certain way)? Who are the people with whom you will consult and share what you are going through? What will you learn about yourself? Things you know you don't know and certainly things you had no idea about. It's already interesting!

And yes... there is always a chance that after jumping into the water you will discover that it is the most natural place for you, and then you will have to deal with the annoying feeling of "why didn't I do it before" 😅

Tip: "Positive, Negative, Interesting" by Edward de Bono.

At the end of a session, when you explore a new idea, when feedback is required, after you jump into the water, you should do a three-step reflection.

Start with what is Positive. Sounds easy but if you do it well, it takes effort.

Continue with the Negative. What is missing, what is bad, inappropriate, wrong.

And end with something Interesting. One that cannot be easily categorized as positive or negative. Part of the idea is that it is strange, a statement that surprised, something new that you have not heard before and have not yet formed an opinion about, a new insight.

This is not only the most interesting part, but perhaps also the most important. From here more thoughts will grow, from here new ideas will come.

If you repeat it enough times you will discover a fun and useful habit.