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Is fear ruining your career? Here's help!

July 09, 2013 16:51 IST

If fear of failure has been stopping you from taking risks that are crucial to your career, perhaps it is time for you to move out of your comfort zone. Illustration by Uttam Ghosh and Dominic Xavier

Every one of us has a fear.

Fear of spiders, heights or the fear of not being able take a career step forward.

Do you know that two thirds of white-collar jobs are found through conversations with someone you know or with someone who can refer you?

Many of us are just afraid to seek out for the job or a change.

Fears at work can be particularly debilitating.

It keeps people from doing many things.

What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? These are the few things that stop us making career choices.

Letting fear get the best of you at your job can keep you from getting the recognition you deserve – it can hinder from nabbing a promotion or stops you from applying for a more challenging position.

Don’t allow your fear to hold you back, otherwise you will miss out way too many opportunities to do things, and meet people who will impact and shape your life forever.

Here’s how you can be more career fearless.

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1. Let others challenge you

July 09, 2013 16:51 IST

You should always choose your environment in such a way that it challenges you and that is what will bring the best out of you.

Staying in your own comfortable zone will never help you out.

You should be surrounded by challenging and smarter people; it will make your idea, product or service much stronger and competitive.

 

2. Ask for help

July 09, 2013 16:51 IST

Seek for help when you’re lost and when you have no clue as to what to do or what is going on.

Consult a mentor; s/he would definitely help you out with suggestions and solutions.

No one can ever do everything all by himself, everybody needs assistance.

It's okay to ask for help and the best way to do that is to find someone who is highly motivational and encouraging to help you out with your problem.

3. Take risks and make mistakes

July 09, 2013 16:51 IST

If you don’t risk, you risk even more.

Go ahead and make mistakes and risk failure.

Nobody is perfect.

All these multibillion dollar companies did not earn their fame overnight. They have gone through many hurdles, many sleepless nights; they have tried all possible ways to see what works best, the only difference would be that they never feared to make mistakes.

A failure is only a true failure if you don’t learn from what it has to teach you.

If you start down a path that turns out to be wrong, you can always course-correct.

That’s the power of being fearless.

 

4. Trust your instinct

July 09, 2013 16:51 IST

Trust in yourself; your intuitive way of thinking helps you realise what is good for you and what is not.

Follow what drives you and what motivates you.

Salary might be the motivating factor for few, supporting peers and the boss might be the reason for motivation for others, so look out and see what drives you.

Don’t let fear rule your life.

Build and use a support team and work it out with them.

Take small steps and do a few things that can make a big difference.

Work on the fears that are holding you back now.

When you get to the other side and you look back at the mountain you made out of the molehill, you will be proud of yourself!