The day before when I was on the way to give my first speech in front of a thousand attendees, my anxiety was packed to the brim. I started doubting myself and was sure that its impossible for me to deliver the speech in a confident style. The fear inside of me led me to imagine the worst-case scenario, everything from snarky comments from the crowd to hateful words.

This led me to think what could go wrong.

As I sat and gave thought to myself. I tried repeating some positive affirmations” I am confident”, and “I can do it”. But I ended up being more anxious. The words failed to shut off my anxiety.

Not only that, I tried everything but the anxiety seemed to go nowhere.

“what if something goes wrong” got stuck in my head and the thought of presenting myself in front of people scared the shit out of me. It slowly sucked me. Deep inside I was fighting with too many emotions.

However the most dominant was fear which kept knocking me out and preventing me from going to the stage.

Fear can be paralyzing but if mastered properly it can bring massive change.

How to harness the positive aspect of fear

If managed properly, fear can be used as a tool for growth and improvement.

Here’s how

Fear can motivate us

Fear might be perceived as a negative emotion but it has tremendous power to motivate us to take certain actions.

For example, fear of failure can drive someone to work harder and strive for success.

The flight and fight response prompts us to be alert in every situation and allow us to decide faster in a dangerous situation.

For instance in the above scenario, fear makes us think “What if something goes wrong on stage”, or “What if I can’t make it”. These kinds of questions arise only when you are under stress. The flight or fight response helps us to make decision quicker based on what we are feeling. It leaves no room for confusion.

Fear can enhance performance

When you are feared, your body does not behave normally. Fear shoots up the adrenaline which in turn makes your brain more alert, raises blood pressure and you feel more energetic.

This is often seen in high-stakes scenarios like sports or public speaking.

Fear develops creativity

Fear encourages us to think out of the box. It lights up the mind and can push people to think beyond conventional approaches.

Fear helps you to stay focused and can lead to breakthrough innovations.

Over to you

Now do the thing that scares you the most.

The next time you get scared to try something new.

Keep in mind that a little dose of healthy fear is good for you. It can bring a massive shift in your life.