I recently appeared on an entrepreneurs forum as a panelist. One of the questions asked was, what was the biggest challenge you faced when launching your business? My answer? Fear.

Fear is like annoying text messages that won’t stop until you answer.

Fear has been described as “false evidence that appears real.” I understand. It’s a way to slow down those lizard brain signals of Danger, Danger Will Robinson! (you had to see Lost in Space to get that one). When you calm that lizard down, you can take a step back, see that it’s not all a disaster, and see a way forward.

However, you miss something really important about fear. The fear is not false. It is telling you something really important.

The fear may not be proportional to the threat observed. You may be delusional about its origin. That does not mean that it is not evidence of something.

Fear is evidence that something is wrong. That is wrong for you and your safety.

Fear is a healthy response that tells you something went wrong. It may not be a sign of an existential threat to many of us, although people of color face that regularly when they are in the wrong company, whether in uniform or not. Outside of these settings, fear is an indicator of something less immediate and existential threatening.

Fear evolved to warn us of danger. Now that the days of saber-toothed tiger attacks are past, what could it be warning us about?

It means that you are entering unfamiliar territory.

We are all experiencing fear of the unknown around this pandemic, so there is a general buzz of fear underlying everyone’s existence right now.

On top of that, for an entrepreneur, stepping into the unknown is quite common, so the cumulative effect is that their reaction may be stronger than it normally would be.

I have experienced it myself. As I evolved my Impact advance Intensive on a 12 week program earlier this year, it should have been business as usual. It’s not unusual for me to spin an offer to match my clients’ needs or to develop content. I do it all the time.

So why, when I started diving into this job, was I so scared? Having all kinds of concerns about whether it would work, would it be good enough, how would my clients view it, more intensely than they normally would?

First, it is cumulative. In the early stages of the pandemic, I was not as aware of the underlying fear that the pandemic was affecting me. That is more evident now, so I have been able to recognize it and improve my daily centering practices, such as meditation, gratitude, and exercise, among others. Still, it’s in the collective air, even when you’re doing the simplest tasks, like shopping.

Second, I want my work to be excellent, of the highest quality. I love my clients and I want them to have a truly transformative experience that I know Impact advance the process provides. It is my values ​​of mastery and excellence that were getting a boost there.

Do you see what I did there? I broke my fear into its triggers: the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and the desire to live up to my values.

When I did that, everything started to feel a lot more manageable. When I understood where it was coming from and what it was trying to tell me, I was able to do something about it.

I really don’t like those disgusting 5 easy steps to massive wealth memes you see so often. They are manipulative and don’t really cover the whole story, far from it. So that’s not what I’m trying to do here.

What I’m doing is pointing out things that you can do when you feel useful fear, which will help you get closer to addressing whatever it is that triggers it.

I also want to do justice out of fear. Although I also don’t always see it as valuable at first, fear can be a true friend to you.

To sum up:

  • Recognize fear. Admit that you are afraid.

  • Find out what’s causing it. Research your circumstances and your values. What do you want to be heard?

  • Reflect, what can I do about it? If your fear is intense enough, doing anything, no matter how small, can reduce it enough to help you control the most important things you need to do to address it.

You’re reading this so I know you care about impact. Fear will prevent you from doing it, if not by shutting yourself down, but through distractions.

As an entrepreneur, you have people who trust you. Your customers, your team, the people who collaborate with you to deliver what you offer, such as your suppliers and those with whom you collaborate.

Those are good reasons why knowing how to interpret your fear becomes even more important.

I found this approach really valuable in controlling my fears. I hope you do too.