I call this classic over-achiever syndrome where we enjoy being the best we can be and won’t settle for anything less. In this article, I will present some ways of over-coming this fear, meaning you can do all the things you have always wanted to do and therefore lead a happy, fulfilled life.
STEP 1- Know that you will fail the first few times and accept it! – You are right! You are completely right! The first time you go to that salsa class, you will be bad! You will most likely (as in my case) be very bad, but you know what! That’s ok! Its ok to fail at first because it is your first time! The second time, you may also be equally as bad, however you will have improved a bit and with a bit of practice by the time you reach your 3rd and 4th classes, you would have built up some confidence and you will begin to enjoy yourself and more importantly you can be proud of yourself for achieving a new skill! Most of us have the common sense to understand the phrases ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ and ‘you can’t run before you can walk’, however what has happened to us is that we have become impatient and we don’t want to put the effort into walking and¬†would much prefer to run straight away. However if we were running immediately, we may be successful for a short amount of time but then we would inevitably have an accident and fall and we would never be able to walk or run again. ‘The tortoise always wins the race’ so be aware of this and accept that you will fail in the beginning, but then you will be GREAT!
STEP 2- ‘No one is born an expert’. We don’t automatically come out of the womb with amazing skills! In his book ‘Outliers’, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the 10,000 hour rule¬†and the premise of this is that we need to practice at an activity…many times…before we reach expert status! He claims the key to success is to practice a specific task for a total of 10,000 hours before we can be an expert. Being good at something takes effort, persistence, determination and patience! and in Malcolm’s opinion over 10,000 hours dedication…so begin now!
STEP 3- model excellence! Is there someone you admire? someones skills you wished you had? Then why not ask them or find out how they do what they do! What you’ll probably¬†notice and find is that they use their spare time wisely. They either practice their skill or invest in personal development and are always learning more and growing! What books do they read? what is their philosophy of life? what is their routine? Find this information and ‘model’ them and you too can be as great as they are!
STEP 4- Everything is possible– No one person is greater than any other. Everyone has just been programmed differently that’s all with different beliefs and attitudes! The people who accomplish great things only do so because they have been fed with the belief that they CAN achieve great things and that ‘everything is possible!’. They operate in a different world where¬†anxiety, doubt and fear don’t exist. Once these 3 what I like to call ‘curses’ are eradicated the world becomes a place of possibilities and nothing is out of reach. They have the self confidence to try and succeed. Start challenging your negative self beliefs today and see how you feel when they don’t exist any more!
STEP 5- Make some goalsРStart writing a list of goals you would like to accomplish and the obstacles standing in your way. Then come up with 5 ways on how to handle each obstacle. What can you do differently? start thinking outside the box and you will begin to realise all goals can be achieved! Remember there is someone out there living your dreams and achieving your goals and if they can do it, so can you!
For more information or if you would like to book a session with your own personal coach, then contact The Apprentice Project now and a member of our team will call you back.
Written by Emma Vites
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Copyright © 2012 Emma Vites
