Feeling Edgy? Maybe It’s Time to Take the Plunge
Posted by Jane Pollak on Jul 22nd, 2009. Related posts: Achievement • Featured Articles • Talent • Trust.
As a long-time entrepreneur, “go for it” has become my mantra when it comes to risk taking. Too many people look back on their lives and regret that they were afraid to take a risk to achieve a goal.
In my training as a business coach, I was fascinated to learn a term for the space between where you are and where you want to be: edge.
Two examples in my manual are:
- Trying on a new idea or perspective.
- Being a shy person and choosing to speak up.
I certainly know the feeling and suspect you do, too. That’s where the word edgy comes up – that uncomfortable place between who you are now and who you’d like to become.
The illustration in one of my coaching manuals describing this scenario as an upside-down V. Over the holidays I received a delightful holiday card from my friend and colleague bearing an illustration by her son. It was actually a more memorable representation than the one in my fancy notebook, illustrating the unstable and scary place between those worlds. There’s the “skier” whose primary identity (shy person) is on the left. The secondary identity (one who speaks up) is on the right and an arrow crossing the peak of the V pointing from the primary to the secondary. When we’re poised on the top of that mountain, it’s a tenuous place.
I have a fairly successful track record, but there are still times when I find myself terrified when a new challenge comes my way. Part of my success has come from consistently looking for higher bars to vault over.
My recommendation for those of you “on the edge” is to break intimidating tasks into their tiniest fragments. Basically the way to overcome fear boils down to writing a letter, dialing the phone or putting a higher sticker price on your product or service. More often than not, what terrifies me and a lot of other people, is the anticipation before you do something and the fear that comes afterward. Actually doing the thing you are afraid of is often the easy part. Go for it!
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I think you’ve got a great point about breaking down those fearful tasks into tiny fragments! Even when the tasks seem small, yet are still daunting, I can ask what tiny step can I take here? Of course, rather than my usual negation of those tiny steps, I need to celebrate them!