does fear drive decision making for your business?

“Fear, impacts everything we do, from who we talk to, to whom we marry, from where we work, to where we live, from how much weight we lift to, whether or not we defend ourself… the ability to recognize, and manage fear directly impacts the quality of our life.” - Coach Tony Blauer

Sometimes we read, watch or listen to something which really hits home and for me it was this past week listening to Tony Blauer on Dr. Michael Gervais’ ‘Finding Mastery’ Podcast.

Tony Blauer started out as a martial arts and self defense coach back in the 1980s when he founded Blauer Tactical Systems, a company used worldwide in training law enforcement and military personnel. What really changed the game for me was that Tony realised, in his work with professionals in these highly stressful environments, that fear often led to poor decision making, and that poor decision making, driven by fear is something that occurs in all aspects of our lives.

‍Tony defines fear as “It’s when I’m visualizing a future event that hasn’t even happened and it’s impacting how I think and feel in the present.”

‍Personally I know that’s a statement that rings true in the way I’ve approached certain areas of business, and I’m sure you can recount personal stories of when fear held you back from really going for an opportunity or not winning work that you really deserved.

I found it quite liberating to understand that it’s not about not having fear, everyone should feel fear (it helps keep you alive) but it’s about recognising, understanding and managing your relationship with fear and from there understanding how you can ensure it doesn’t negatively impact decision making both in your business and in your everyday life.

You can listen to Finding Mastery with Michael Gervais on all of your favourite podcast providers, but you can also listen directly here.