Nancy always shows great courage in dangerous situations, whether it’s chasing after criminals, climbing rafters to escape, or scaling castle walls, commando-style, to investigate a clue. Although she admits her fears, she doesn’t let them overwhelm her. Courage to take risks comes in many forms, from saving a kidnap victim to exploring a hidden passageway to exposing a ghost. Here are steps to facing-and overcoming-the fears that stand in your way.
1. Figure out why you’re hesitant to take a risk. When most people are confronted with a risk, they think about the consequences. This keeps them from doing foolish things, like picking up a stranger along the road or walking into an obvious trap. But this hesitation can turn into a general fear that may be debilitating and keep you from experiencing new adventures. The key is to find a balance between risk and consequence.
2. Demystify the risk. For Nancy, taking a risk is more about having a positive attitude and less about the negative label. She goes right to the core of the task quickly to find out whether or not it’s a safe thing to do. For you, this may mean moving out of your comfort zone-a frightening thought for many. Instead of calling it a risk, change your negative attitude and think of it as a positive adventure, a journey, an exploration, a learning experience, or the next step in your overall development.
3. Look at the situation realistically. Instead of seeing a risk as a black-and-white, do-or-die situation, recognize the gray areas and degrees of success. Keep your eye on the big picture-the results of taking the risk-and don’t get bogged down in the details that prevent you from achieving your goal.
4. Examine the consequences honestly. Think about what you have to lose when you take the risk and what you may gain. Will you be able to handle the consequences?
5. Focus on the desired outcome. Nancy never loses sight of her goal. List everything that you’ll gain from taking the risk. Think about how it will affect other areas of your life and how you will build on it. See this as taking one step leading to another, and so on. Remember, you have the freedom to choose-taking the risk is your decision to make.
6. Start small and work your way up. If something is holding you back, there may be a reason. Break the challenge into smaller steps and try to take that
first step toward your goal. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing in the beginning.
7. Begin today. One of the best ways to overcome those fears and gain courage is to take action now. There is no better time than today.
8. Learn from your failures. Even Nancy has a failure now and then, but it stops her only temporarily. Just because you failed at taking a particular risk, that doesn’t mean you’ll fail at everything. Evaluate the situation, see if you could have done something differently, and make changes next time.
9. Look for signs that indicate a bad risk.
Don’t take a risk if:
• You could lose something important-or everything.
• You can’t fix the outcome if it goes wrong.
• There are essential factors you can’t control.
• You sense the outcome is not worth the risk.
February 5th, 2010 at 5:38 am
People having courage does not only come as you think… they’re ways which suites every stuation and try to read the points above just like I did.. trust me you will gain something…
Thanks to the writers of this wonderful points I’ve learnt something!!!!