What are you fearful of?
In my time hosting a property investing group for women, I have spoken to a lot of women about their goals, hopes, dreams and their fears. Overcoming fear when it comes to property is a much talked about topic.
Turns out women have big dreams, but they also have a lot of fear.
While the goals, hopes and dreams varied considerable between the women, there is a common thread when it comes to the fears all women have. It’s not physical fear, it’s emotional fear and it never ceases to surprise me how much we as women allow this emotional fear to control so much of our lives.
Why does fear hold us back? Why do we struggle to overcome fear? I’m sure men and women feel fear equally but women in particular seem to allow their fears to control their actions and decisions.
Property investing in particular brings out a lot fears. After all, it’s a big decision involving lots of money, time, skill and knowledge. Buying a property is a big step, but the hardest part for women is not the actual process of buying a property but the emotional fear that this process brings.
So what are women most fearful of? Some of the fears that women have expressed include:
- Fear of making a mistake
- Fear of looking foolish
- Fear of failure
- Fear of success and the changes this will bring
- Fear of not being liked
- Fear of letting family down
- Fear of criticism or judgement
These are just a few, and I’m sure you can either relate to one or more of the above fears or add your own to the list.
Funnily enough, if another woman shares her fears with us, we are quick to offer advice and assurance that her fears are really unfounded, but yet we find it difficult to take our own advice when it comes to our own fears.
Regardless of what your fears are, there are ways to overcome them.
The first step to overcoming fear is to recognise them
Overcoming fear involves you identifying what those fears are first and foremost. Speak about them openly, write them down, vocalise how you are feeling about them. By speaking of your fears out loud, you are acknowledging that you have them, which is the first step to dealing with them.
Acknowledging your fears does not increase the chances of those fears coming true, if anything it reduces the power that those fears have over you. Acknowledgement is the first step to overcoming fear.
Ask yourself… What is the worse that can happen?
Ask yourself honestly; when it comes to taking steps and making the commitment to overcoming fear, what is the worse that can happen?
What will actually happen if those fears are realised? What will actually happen if you do fail, or someone doesn’t like you, or you are criticised, or heaven forbid you do actually succeed and your life does change? Is your worse case scenario even as bad as not reaching for your dream?
Overcoming fear is accept that fear is an everyday part of life
Fear is not unique to one person. We all feel it and struggle with it. It’s just that some people can overcome fear easier than others.
Instead of seeing fear as a negative, embrace it as a positive, after all if you are feeling fear it means you are trying new experiences, learning new things, growing. And that is a good thing.
The best way to overcome fear is to simply acknowledge what you are afraid of. Be brave and face your fears head on.
You are stronger than you think and when you have overcome your biggest fears and reached your dreams it will be all the more rewarding.
Until next time…
Chicks and Mortar – Building property confidence
