If Your Fear Didn’t Stop you, What Would you do?
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Picture this, you’re a lowly IT manager taking care of a couple of small, but busy, hotels. Then you get approached with an opportunity to manage a large resort hotel. It’s 3 times bigger than your hotels, has golf courses, spa, jet ski rentals, and it’s a big wedding venue. Would you take it?
I was presented with this opportunity, and I would be lying to you if I didn’t admit that I was incredibly scared. I’d never managed a hotel that large, and then add on top of that all the other peripheral things I’d have to learn about like golf courses and spas.
It seemed insane. And there was a tiny fraction of my brain that was like “just say no and we can stay here where we know what we’re doing and we’re comfortable.” But there was another part of me that wondered, “could I actually do it?”
Fear Is Necessary And Normal
Fear, itself, is normal. It has been essential for our human evolution, alerting us to danger and helping us navigate the world safely. But when fear spirals beyond protective instincts, it becomes a barrier, shackling us within a comfort zone of complacency and inhibition. It often morphs into anxiety over hypothetical scenarios, leading to irrational fears. This is the point at which fear becomes debilitating.
It can extend deeply into our lives, holding us back from pursuing ambitious careers, nurturing fulfilling relationships, or achieving personal milestones. Living under this shadow of fear breeds a cocktail of stress and anxiety, fostering an environment where opportunities are not merely missed but actively avoided.
If you’re so fearful of the failure you COULD have by taking a new opportunity that you actively avoid it, then you’ve done yourself the greatest disservice, and you’ll forever find yourself in a cycle of regret and “what ifs”.
That position I was offered…I took it, and it was hard. It was way more work that I’d ever had before, it required that I learned about so many more systems and applications that I’d never even heard about, but here’s the other thing.
It taught me that I could handle anything; that I’m smart and resourceful enough to fix basically any problem. If I don’t have the answer, I’m well equipped to find someone who can. It’s also added to my confidence.
I can tell you right now, without a doubt, I can manage any size hotel, practically anywhere in the world. Doesn’t even phase me anymore.
Fear does not have to dictate the boundaries of our lives. We’re allowed to recognize it and understand it, but then we must strategically oppose it. The journey to overcoming fear is a personal one, but one that almost all of us must encounter at some point. There’s no way I can tell you how long or short a fight it must be for you.
Just remember, on the other side of your fear lies the life you’ve always dreamed of living.
