The Factor of Fear

One of the many joys of my profession is the opportunity to work intimately with people from throughout the world. As a student of human behavior -- and how that behavior can influence the performance of an organization -- it is continually amazing to observe how similar and yet how entirely different people can be. All depending, in no order of importance, on the region or country in which they live, the influence of religion, their socio-political environment, their economy, the 'culture' of their company, their point in the life cycle.

And while many generalizations can be made, one similarity overwhelms all others.

At this moment in time, fear is rampant.

It's so very sad and so very true. Yet, not at all surprising.

And those fears, those powerful feelings of dread which have invaded the reality of many of us during these depressing and uncertain times? Those fears which have found a warm, nurturing home in our hearts and are thus unwilling to leave? Of what fears do I speak?

Here are but a few:

• The fear of losing one's job
• The fear of never again being able to find work
• The fear of losing everything -- possessions, lifestyle, dignity, respect, honor
  
• The fear of getting sick, getting really sick
  
• The fear of more earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters
• The fear of global warming
• The fear of universal health care
• The fear of the Democratic Party
• The fear of the Republican Party
  
• The fear of the Tea Party
• The fear of the impact of Obama's presidency
• The fear of a Palin presidency
  
• The fear of a prolonged economic downturn
• The fear of another market crash
  
• The fear of two never-ending wars
• The fear of terrorism
• The fear of living in poverty in retirement

And those are just the fears people discuss. Imagine what other fears -- rational and otherwise -- lurk in the darkness.

The problem with fear -- an emotion like anxiety, but on powerful steriods -- is that it can either facilitate or debilitate. Fear, in small doses, can actually be helpful in spurring one to action. In larger doses fear may cause one to become immobilized.

Remember back when that term paper was only days from being due? If you experienced fear and turned in a completed paper on time, that's an example of how fear can facilitate action. If you experienced a great deal of fear yet failed to turn in a completed paper on time, that's how fear can immobilize. (Or maybe it was the alcohol.)

So, aside from the feelings of dread -- sometimes overwhelming -- that accompany fear, the larger problem with being afraid is that it can have the debilitating effect of causing you to not do the things you most certainly should do. In short, fear can cause under-performance or even failure. And when that happens, you fall into that horrible, cyclical place where your fear is actually validated.

We have time for an example, one that is, unfortunately, widespread: Worried about losing your job? So fearful, in fact, that you are afraid to do anything that might cause your manager to think ill of you? Like talking openly about how to improve efficiency, providing new ideas to increase quality, challenging those who think things are 'good enough as they are', asking for help when you need it? Whether you lose your job or not as a result is irrelevant. What is relevant is that fear has helped diminish your ability to contribute. Fear has caused you to under-perform. Fear has changed who you are.

And that, psychologically speaking, sucks.

So, I ask that you keep a few things in mind:

1. Fear ebbs in the face of action. Scared? Do something -- anything -- that might undermine what you're afraid of. Afraid you'll never get another job? Double your search efforts.
2. Focus on what you can control. List your fears in descending order of importance, deleting all that you have no power to influence. Forget about those and, instead, attack those that you can control.
   
3. Talk about your greatest fears and how you might attack them. Talking helps. Even if you have no one to talk to, talk to yourself. Out loud. Talk about your fears, one by one, and what you can do to eliminate them. It will help.
4. Develop a plan and execute it. See #1 above. Unless you like feeling fear, do something about it.

Because here's the thing: The emotion of fear can be quite powerful. It can transform the irrational into something that appears fully real.

But -- and this is an important 'but' -- sometimes fear has little or no basis in fact. For, indeed, sometimes a school yard filled with birds is just that: A school yard filled with birds.

If you know what I mean and I hope you do.