Many leaders believe that success is the ability to feel the fear and do it anyway. I’m different. One of my most powerful tools is the willingness to lean into and look inside my fears, because simply ignoring or ‘overcoming’
those feelings is missing a golden opportunity for wisdom.

You can learn to harness the message that fear is bringing you by seeking what is behind it. Think about the times you feel fearful – waking in the middle of the night anxious about money, a client, or a personal relationship. Do you usually push the fear away, or become paralysed by it?

There is a different, more powerful way. Instead of toughing it out and ignoring our fear, we can learn to use it to reveal the answers, like this:

1. Recognise that you are feeling fearful or anxious.
2. Identify the root cause of the feeling – e.g is it money, a person, or an incomplete task you feel guilty about?
3. Search for the story behind the root cause – do I feel anxious that an important client is not going to pay on time, which is going to cause cash flow problems, which is going to make paying salaries really difficult?
4. Now write down the actions you can take to solve the problem, e.g pick up the phone to call the client, update your current cash flow, list your options and create a plan.
5. Lastly, remember that the fear you felt is hiding a gift waiting for you to unpack.

Next time you feel fear, don’t try to ignore it. Lean into its story to find the wisdom it’s bringing you and make a point to take the action it invites. This may be the very wisdom you need to unlock your success.