3 ways to combat the sneaky career saboteur that plagues every professional
Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.
Welcome to Illuminate Me. Each week, I share an illuminating insight to help you communicate and connect better, growing your reach, impact, and career.
This week’s insight: If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.
The other ‘F’ word
There’s one universal threat to progress every professional faces in their career, whether they realize it or not:
FEAR.
Fear is a powerful emotion. It often masquerades as a cloak of protection, keeping us from doing things that may cause us harm.
But sometimes, the real damage comes from the inaction that fear enables. That sneaky little career saboteur keeps us doing what we’ve always done, which leads to stagnation.
And stagnation = a mediocre career.
Here are the three best ways to combat fear and make career progress:
1. Acknowledge it exists
You can’t conquer your fears until you face them. And fear can show up in your career in some sneaky ways:
It causes you to procrastinate.
It makes you feel like an imposter.
It fills your head with negative self-talk.
It makes you blame external forces for holding you back.
It causes you to fall into the trap of ‘good enough.’
The sooner you acknowledge that fear has a hold on your career, the sooner you can work to overcome it.
2. Reframe failure as an essential part of success
Top leaders understand that failure and success aren’t mutually exclusive; they’re connected. They use failure as fuel and see it as nothing to be afraid of, as its pain is short-lived. To them, the mediocrity that fear breeds is far more troublesome and poses a more significant threat than failure ever could.
By reframing failure as an ingredient of success—rather than a negative alternative—you’ll adjust your mindset to a more positive one where you see failure as a necessity.
3. Take action anyway
We naturally avoid those things that make us uncomfortable, but there is no growth in the status quo. Sooner or later, that caution and those fears that prevent you from getting hurt or put on the spot stagnate you. As scary as it seems, progress happens when you take action before you feel ready. And taking the first step creates momentum for you to continue your growth journey.
Remember, if you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.
Something else you may have never done before?
Consider your mindset and perspective.
These elements are often the difference between a career that soars and one that sinks.
And in my latest Forbes article, I share how to leverage them to maximize your professional potential.
More illumination:
Miss last week’s newsletter? I shared why doing more isn’t better; doing more of the right things is—plus seven ways to do that.
And one from the archives: Here’s to the ugly ones, aka my ode to Sumo oranges and why they, like you, are something specific to a special few.
P.S.
What I do:
When I’m not writing this newsletter or doing things I’ve never done, I’m a social media ghostwriter. (Yep, that’s a thing). I help founders craft their stories to communicate and connect better, magnifying their reach and impact. (Think personal branding and thought leadership.)
I can also weave together your personal and professional experience to write an engaging, original, and authentic career story that aligns with and supports your personal brand and thought leadership, positioning you for success.
Learn more by visiting my website.
Where you can follow me and find more of my work:
Forbes: I write weekly articles on personal transformation and its impact on career growth.
LinkedIn: Hit the 🔔 in the top right corner of my profile to get notified when I post and join more than 21,000 others by subscribing to my weekly LinkedIn newsletter, momentum, featuring insights to help you maintain positive motion and continually grow your career.
Twitter: Pithy synopses and threads of my content.
Instagram: My content, visualized (and occasional travel-related Instagram Stories and archived Story Highlights about my adventures if you’re into that kind of thing).
How to subscribe to this newsletter:
If you haven’t already, please subscribe by clicking the blue button and be sure to check out the archives.
