How the Fear of "Unknown" is Blocking your Growth
3 Steps to combat the fear of unknown to unlock your true potential.
Did you give up on a project idea and later found out someone else solved it quickly (after some hard work) and got huge recognition? Did you assume that project was too complex and didn’t spend quality time evaluating it?
One common reason for this is that people are afraid to pick something vague where success isn’t guaranteed. They give up too soon.
99% of people let this fear take control and miss out on opportunities. I am no exception, either. While I have learned to manage it, I still succumb to it sometimes. Today, I will share how you can manage and use this fear to your advantage.
🤔 Why?
Fear of the unknown stems from the fear of failure. We tend to focus on how difficult that thing is, worry about potential negative outcomes, and let our imagination run wild with worst-case scenarios.
Fear of failure was ingrained in me early on as I focused on always getting the best grades. That carried on into adult life as well. I would worry about:
What will people think of me if I fail?
Will I lose my job?
What if I'm not as smart or capable as everyone thinks?
These thoughts can paralyze us from taking risks and exploring the “unknown.” But here's the truth: the unknowns are hard for everyone. Only when we tackle those can we grow.
🛠️ How to overcome it
Most often, this fear is an involuntary response. It is the classic flight or fight response on seeing a challenging problem.
What helps me is:
Labeling the feeling and acknowledging that this is transient.
Reminding myself of past successes where I overcame similar fears.
Breaking down the problem into achievable milestones that boosts confidence
This approach helps overcome the initial hesitation and instills a sense of accomplishment as I progress, one step at a time.
Real-world scenarios and how I managed my fears:
1. This new project needs a complex ramp-up, and I don’t have time.” So, you give up.
Labeling: I incorrectly assume that ramp-up will take a long time!
Reminding: I recollect the past occurrences where I expected something to take days, but it took just a few hours.
Breaking down: Let me spend a few hours building the sample program and then create a prototype. That will boost self-confidence.
2. Fear sharing your design document broadly
Labeling: I worry that people will spot obvious gaps in my document. So, “I need to find all of them before others do!”
Reminding: “I have felt this way before, but it was unwarranted. So, am I overthinking again?”
Breaking down: Instead of broadcasting it, let me get early feedback from someone and see how that goes.
3. Don’t want to sign up to be the primary point-of-contact(poc) for the project
Labeling: What if there is a setback in the project? I don’t feel comfortable explaining our failures to leadership
Reminding: Being accountable for previous projects helped me grow and learn from my mistakes. So this is a great opportunity.
Breaking down: I can be the poc and don’t need to know everything. When I need help, I can seek it from others.
💪 How to use this fear
When you spot a bear while hiking, you should be afraid. It would be foolish to fight the bear! Fear will keep you sharp and make you tread carefully.
I love how the right amount of fear keeps me grounded. Once I get over the mental hurdle of tacking on a complex problem, I use fear to:
Identify the potential roadblocks and build a plan to tackle them.
Stay vigilant and thorough in my approach.
Be realistic about what I can accomplish in a limited time.
Learn what I don’t know.
Seek help from others who have done this before.
Parting Note
The next time you get afraid, remember two things:
You have tackled fear before, and you can do it again.
If not, remember how someone else built the idea you gave up on. 🙂
Shoutout
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