What if it doesn't work?

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Natalia Chouklina, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

I believe deeply in my heart that the idea of living an amazing, bright and fulfilled life is not just a pipe dream. It’s your birthright. Everyone on this earth has a purpose and a great one!
But you already knew that, didn’t you? You may even have a hunch about what you need to do to get there; just like I knew that I needed to have an unstructured lifestyle, ample creative opportunities and lot of deep and meaningful connections for my heart to sing everyday.
I wanted to have my own business and to be a life coach but one question haunted me for years and stopped me from putting my thoughts into action.
What if it doesn’t work?
Your version of same may go something like this: “What if I fail?” “What if nobody gets it?” The permutations of these are endless but they all do the same thing, they fill us with doubt and fear that scares us into inaction.
You are not alone. Far from it.
I spent years in this neither here nor there state. I was burning up on the inside with the desire to have my own business and to do work that fulfilled me but I just couldn’t find the courage to do it. I enviously watched everyone who took the leap of faith to follow their hearts in search of something different. A few years ago I picked up a book at Chapters called “My dream life in Italy” and I thought to myself that I was finished with reading about other people’s dreams. I wanted to live my own, damn it!
In my heart I knew that I had a gift to share with the world. You can feel it too, don’t you? You know that everything you want is on the other side of that paralyzing doubt. If only it could go away! If only there were success guarantees. Wouldn’t it be nice?
I know how you feel, I really do! Unfortunately, there are no guarantees for anything in life; this still upsets me sometimes. How could this be?
I can tell you with certainty that a bigger purpose awaits you and that you have what it takes to do it. You are stronger, bolder and more courageous than you could ever imagine. Although I can’t offer much in terms of guarantees, I want to share a few strategies with you that helped me and my loved ones to dispel the fear and doubt in order to finally make the jump.
Fear is a completely natural reaction and it will always be a part of you. It’s your brain’s way of telling you that you are stepping out of your comfort zone. Waiting for it to go away is a futile mission; however, there are a few things you can do to acknowledge it’s presence and move past its power over you.
1. Consider the worst possible scenario – When we think about pursuing something new, we often jump to the negative consequences of it not working out. I know that it’s hard to dismiss these thoughts altogether so let’s consider what they have to offer.
What’s the absolutely worst thing that could happen to you if this didn’t work out?
Write it on a piece of paper or go through it in your head in great detail. Leave out nothing. Account for everything that’s to follow your potential demise. What’s a realistic possibility of this happening?
I was terrified to end up alone, broke, shunned by everyone and on welfare if my business didn’t work out. I was so scared of this becoming my reality; I’d wake up in cold sweats in the middle of the night. After I considered all the facts, I realized that I had a lot to fall back on in terms of skills, options and support if solo-preneurship didn’t work for me.
The fear was gone but I was still doubtful.
2. Choose to feed your faith – I heard once that “Faith and doubt can’t live in a heart at the same time. When you feed faith, you starve doubt”. I know that you have a very clear account of everything you will have to give up once you commit to following your dreams. You know it so well that you can probably recite it to me if I asked you, right?
Have you asked yourself what you will be gaining instead?
What are you leaving on the table right now by maintaining the status quo? What new skills, feelings, experiences will you gain access to if you were to take the jump?
I knew that I was going to give up a lot upfront; however, I was about to gain freedom over my time, community of like minded people, creative expression, constant challenge and ability to set and live by my own rules. Once I recognized what I was missing out on, the doubt evaporated. I couldn’t wait to make my vision a reality!
3. And finally, the best way to dispel any fear is… wait for it… to take action – It’s like learning to ride a bike. Do you remember the first time you got on a bike and how afraid you were to loose balance? Do you remember how the fear and doubt disappeared after a few falls ( let’s be honest, they weren’t even that bad most of the time) and bruises? You were excited and you had to fight your siblings to ride it first, right?
“Success is the sum of little efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – R Collier
Somehow we tend to forget that every big project and a successful venture often has very small and humble beginnings. I’m not sure why that is but I do this all the time. I read about someone’s amazing TV show, six figure book deal, thousands of followers but I have to consciously remind myself that it took years to put together and to get to this level.
I don’t think there is anything wrong in aspiring to be like these people. They were the ones that showed you why this was worth it and that it was possible. Why wouldn’t you look at them and their work? However, everyone had to begin somewhere! Where will you start?