The 3 universal fears are important to understand as you navigate something new or difficult. Because new opportunities mean that you also (consciously or unconsciously) worry about how well you’ll do. Not to mention what other people will think of the change you’re making.
You may have already heard of these fears from either Greg Braden or Tony Robbins, but I’ve had a few questions about these lately. So in this blog post (and video below) I wanted to share how these fears might hold you back from unlocking and transforming your career.
The 3 universal fears:
- Fear of being found out (also sometimes referred to as ‘fear of not being enough‘).
I have noticed that this will often come up if you have been out of the workforce for a while or been promoted. Even though you know on a logical level that you can do the job, you start to doubt your ability and might lean into perfectionism or over preparing to always ‘stay one step ahead’. It’s good to be prepared, but within reason (you’re only human!). If you let this type of worry take over you’re likely going to burn out at some point.
- Fear of not belonging.
I’ve seen this one come up both as my clients come into a new role (hoping to ‘fit in’) or struggling to be accepted by people/friends/family around them as they transition in their career. I’ll probably do a separate video about belonging and fitting in, but just briefly – they are very different! Belonging is a deep sense of being to show up in your work/community/tribe as all that you are and being accepted for that. Fitting in is more often about compromising on who we are to meet other peoples values, standards or expectations. Fitting in is exhausting in the long term and only fuels this type of fear.
- Fear of not being loved.
As you make changes in your career, there is a risk that the people you love (family, partner, friends) don’t always approve of how you are choosing to do that. You might not earn as much as you start your own business or go back to university, but it’s what you really want! The thing is, if we feel a risk of rejection or withdrawal of love and approval from those who are important to us, we will let this fear guide our decisions instead.
Watch the video
Fear can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so it’s important to be aware that these fears are present (in some form) in every single person. Be mindful if you are asking yourself “What’s wrong with me?” or “Why am I feeling like this?“. Instead try to identify which of these types of fear might be running the show. Fear will drive decision-making and if we’re not careful it can be poor decision making.
PS: If you’re ready for a simple step by step program to help you map out YOUR career plan, check out my online courses here or download your FREE career checklist here.