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What is the fear of risk? How can fear be a good thing and how can it inhibit you from achieving success?
In The 10X Rule, Grant Cardone says that fear can be helpful for pushing you farther and helping you know that you’re on the right track. But you can’t let a fear of risk prevent your progress.
Keep reading to understand why a fear of risk is healthy and how to push past the fear.
Fear of Risk
When taking extreme action, you’ll experience fear because you’re going out on a limb by yourself. Everyone fears things in life; the key is what you do with fear. Rather than let it sap your confidence and momentum, use it to spur you toward your goals.
Fear is beneficial because:
- Fear is an indication you’re on the right track: you’re taking the right actions in the right amounts. You’re pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. (Not pushing yourself beyond what’s comfortable only gets you more of the same.)
- Fear is a motivator: Most of what you fear doesn’t happen. Instead of avoiding fear, use it to motivate yourself to act. If you’re afraid to call on a particular client, or raise a concern with your boss, do it. If you fear requesting a client’s business, persist in asking for it. The actions you fear often will give you the greatest return.
- Fear helps you grow: Embrace fear because it enables you to do new things and grow. The more you act despite fear, the more confident you’ll become in doing new things. Push yourself past fear; then push yourself until you’re afraid again, act again, and so on. By continually overcoming fears, you can build an extraordinary life. Turn fear into fuel.
An Important Fact About Fear
The more time you give fear to build up, the stronger it becomes. The more time you spend thinking about and imagining what can go wrong in a situation, the more apprehensive you become.
Many people use one of the following excuses to delay acting when they’re afraid:
- They tell themselves they need more time prepare, or
- They tell themselves, “This isn’t a good time.”
Either of these just gives the fear more time to build. Instead, immediately do the thing you’re apprehensive about. The only thing that will banish fear is action.
Push Past Fear
Everyone fears things in life; the key is what you do with fear. To succeed, use it to push you toward your goals.
- What are your three biggest fears in your professional life? How do they hold you back from success?
- The things you’re most afraid of doing often bring you the greatest return—therefore, you should do them. What’s a step you’re afraid to take that could improve your business or some aspect of your life?
- Only action dispels fear. What action can you take immediately to eliminate a fear?
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Grant Cardone's "The 10X Rule" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full The 10X Rule summary :
- How to set goals that are 10 times bigger than average
- How to use extraordinary thinking to achieve extraordinary results
- The 3 myths that will sabotage your chances of success if you let them
