Quick Neuro-Hack to Overcome Uncertainty and Fear
Just the other day, my son faced his arch-nemesis: A 90-degree climbing wall!
(*Trust me, this thing was no joke, especially for someone his age!)
Everytime my son got on the wall, his entire body would star to shake with fear…
He was paralyzed and couldn’t shake himself out of it!
For you parents out there, you know how hard it is to see your child struggle like that, so I set out to help him overcome this monumental obstacle.
How?
Once he came back down, I asked him to map out every single step of his climb.
What pace he’d take, where each of his hands and feet would go, what he would do if this happened, so on.
It took some time, but eventually, my son had a detailed plan on how to conquer this wall!
Next, we said a quick prayer, and then my son approached the wall again, took a deep breath, and was prepared to follow his plan.
Interestingly, even though Asher had a plan in place - that didn’t stop his brain from flooding his body with fear and adrenaline as soon as he got to the familiar spot on the wall - where he had always previously got stuck!
And I could tell Asher felt uncertain and wanted to quit… but - he didn’t!
Why?
Because even though he was shaking, my son remembered his strategic plan. He knew exactly what to do next!
By following his plan exactly, Asher finally made it to the top!
He threw his hands over his head in a triumphant “I did it!” pose, smiling ear to ear.
(Seriously awesome to see as a dad!!)
And the cool thing about experiencing a successful breakthrough - is that it breeds more resilience (as such - Asher climbed the wall another 5 or 6 times that day - and was looking for new challenges to conquer!).
Why am I sharing this story?
What my son experienced is so similar to what C-Suite executives and business owners do on a daily basis (heck - it’s something we all face on a daily basis!).
If you’re trying to launch something innovative or tackle new challenges, fear will inevitably show up…
And if you try to move forward without a well thought out strategic plan to respond to that fear, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
You’ll find yourself shaking and paralyzed, unsure how to move forward!
Why?
When you respond out of fear, there's a nasty physiological process that takes place.
This can wreak havoc on you and your team neurochemically, shutting down access to the prefrontal cortex—your problem solving center!
If you do this, good luck trying to respond to unexpected challenges (try solving complex challenges while experiencing tunnel vision - rigid thinking - emotion overload - and a strong desire to want to fight, flee, or avoid!)
Before you know it, you’ll find yourself paralyzed with fear, just like my son was!
Now, let’s look at what would happen if you implemented a plan:
When challenges and uncertainties arise, you know how to respond.
You rise up to challenges, not back down from them.
As a result, you’ll accumulate more successes, which only breeds more success.
(My son’s victory pose is exactly what I’m talking about!!)
The more you push through adversity and win, the more groundwork you lay for future wins. It fills up your tank and shows you what your organization is capable of!
So imagine if…
Your organization was “recession proof” to handle all uncertainties of the market
Your employees knew how to operate autonomously and at peak (flow state) performance
You and your company rose to new challenges with excitement, ready to grow in adversity
It comes down to the same fundamental lesson that my son learned on that climbing wall.
So if you’re ready to climb your own wall and experience massive growth (especially these days!!), reply to this email with “To the top!”
One of my coaches will reach out to you with more details on how to get started.
P.S. My son is still celebrating that win, which goes to show how powerful overcoming obstacles really is!