Achieve Your Goals By Conquering Your Fears

You don't want to be like 97% of the population. No, you want to be in the 3% of true achievers. True successes. In order to avoid falling into the trap of the 97%, I want to warn you about two of the most dangerous diseases that can delay, or completely derail your journey toward success and the achievement of your goals. Those two insidious parasites are called fear and procrastination and they can infect you slowly and quietly so that you don't even notice their presence until it is too late.

The two are very closely related with fear almost always the one who sneaks in first and paves the way for its colleague, procrastination. Understand that when you face something new and challenging, which goal achievement and success always are, you can allow yourself to succumb to the most basic of human emotions, fear of the unknown. Most of the time the fear we must face is the fear of failure. It is a basic human emotion. That is why it eventually topples 97% of us. Instead of facing the fear, we procrastinate, and delay taking action.

Procrastination, like everything else becomes easier with practice. The more you do it, the easier it becomes until it just becomes a way of life and you don't even notice. Only months later when you have made little or no progress toward your goals will you realize what has happened. That is one of the many reasons that your goals should include a plan of action and a timetable for the actions to be taken and it should be reviewed on a daily basis.

While procrastination is the end result, it is merely a symptom of the fear. I have a T-Shirt that I often wear which states simply, "FEAR, the Thief of Dreams" No truer words have ever been spoken. Throughout more than 21 years of helping others as well as myself to defeat fear, I have found there are two strategies that work better than any others I have come across. Today we will discuss one of them and I will address the second in a later article.

One of those strategies is to recognize that your fear of failure is often rooted in the thoughts of others. What do I mean by that? "Greg, what if I try and fail? What will _____ think of me?" You can fill in the blank with whatever you choose. It could be family, friends, boss, colleagues, whatever and whomever bothers you the most. Now, even though I have put that statement in quotes as if it has actually been said out loud, it seldom is. It is often kept inside, never verbalized and often not even realized. It's more likely to be much more subtle. Thoughts such as, "That prospect may think I am too pushy if I call back." "I don't want to alienate my co-workers." "I really don't want anyone to know that I am taking a self improvement course." The minute that you allow others to dictate how you pursue your goals, is the minute you lose control and head down the path of failure.

You can avoid this trap with a well thought out, well-planned goal setting and attainment program. As part of any good program, the first thing you will determine after setting your goal is why that goal is important to you. Once you understand that, each time you are tempted to procrastinate because of what "someone" else may think, you can compare that feeling to the feeling of allowing them to stand in the way of you reaching your goals that mean so much to you. Then you can leave those feelings of fear behind, stop procrastinating and move yourself toward the 3% and the true success that you desire and deserve. You will take action not because your fear is gone, but because something else is much more important to you than the fear.

By: Greg Beverly

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Greg Beverly, CPA, MBA has more than 21 years experience helping others to be the best they can be. He has helped thousands achieve their goals in life. As an author, teacher, mentor and helper, he desires to see everyone reach their true potential. You can learn how to live your dreams by visiting www.liveyourdreams.yougethelp.com