Fear: The Most Powerful Motivator?

Do you find yourself making excuses to delay starting your work because you’re afraid the boss won’t like it?

Do you procrastinate studying for your finals because you fear you’ll end up with a bad score anyway?

We all fear something—it’s how we react to that fear that makes all the difference.

Fear isn’t usually the first thing we think of when looking for a source of motivation. However, pause and reflect on all the times you’ve relied on this very emotion to get work done.

It could be the thought of disappointing your parents if you lose your scholarship, or it could be the fear of a poor appraisal if you don’t achieve your quarterly goals.

Fear—in the right quantity—can be a powerful motivational tool.

It’s time you embraced it so you can effectively use it to achieve your goals.

Process The Pain Of Failure

Take renowned writer J.K Rowling’s period of struggle before her work got published or billionaire Jack Ma’s inability to get a job at KFC.

What do these success stories teach you?

Don’t fear failure—fear staying down after failing.

It’s true that working extraordinarily hard on a task and then failing at it in the end is a devastating experience. We’re not asking you to be Superman and pretend like you’re not affected by these things.

On the contrary, process the pain you’ve felt and take a critical look at your situation. Remember that nothing in life is accidental. Each time you stumble and fall you learn something new.

Invite Constructive Criticism To Be The Best Version of You

If you fear quarterly performance meetings—don’t. There’s nothing more beneficial to your career and personal growth than constructive criticism.

Analyze the feedback you get—be it from managers, parents or friends—and use it to become better than you were yesterday.

Note that feedback that highlights your strengths and weaknesses is different from hateful comments. One gives you an opportunity to do better, while the other only cultivates self-doubt.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

Pause and look back on the most growth-oriented, happy moments of your life—we bet they were also the moments when you made difficult choices.

Leaving a stable job to pursue your dreams, moving to a new country to taste life in a different way…these are all scary ideas to implement. They are also what give us confidence, what make us stronger individuals.

When you turn 85 and reflect on your life, you won’t remember the time you sat at your desk on a Wednesday and worked for 8 hours.

You’ll remember that one moment when you let go of the fear of the unknown to achieve the impossible.

Looking For Much-Needed Motivation?

Steve Gilliland is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and an esteemed professional keynote speaker. His speeches, presentations and books have earned him the reputation as one of the top motivational speakers in the world.

To check out his bestselling books like Enjoy The Ride, Laugh Out Loud, Hide Your Goat, Making a Difference and Detour, click here.