Mind you, I am not talking today about phobias like heights, darkness, insects, reptiles, closed spaces etc. but about fears like that of failure, rejection, poverty, death or illness, and so on.

More and more I see people’s fears becoming limiting beliefs in their life and coming in their way of being happy and content in life.

There are many fears and I would like to put them in a few buckets:

Fears of Rejection, Abandonment, being Misunderstood, Loneliness - these are some fears in relationships

Fears of Losing a loved one, Illness, Old age, Death, Living with Disability - fear of loss

Fears of Poverty, Financial loss, Losing Status, Success and Reputation - work and livelihood-related fears

Fear of being ridiculed, of being wrong, of criticism, of seeming a fraud, of being caught unprepared or of not knowing enough - Imposter Syndrome and other fears that tend to hold a person back

Fear of Success - this may sound counterintuitive but many people fear success. Success requires you to be seen, to speak your mind, and to do more. The fear of others’ expectations, letting people down, and letting yourself down is what fuels this fear. Women tend to be more prone to this one!

Fear of uncertainty is universal and all other fears mentioned above are those that make people awkward and uncomfortable from time to time.

I am not an authority on all kinds of fears but I definitely address many of the fears in points 4 and 5 as a Leadership Coach. You will be surprised how many successful Senior Business Leaders suffer from chronic stress coming from their fear of failure and fear of being embarrassed or ridiculed by a CEO or Senior in front of team members or other colleagues. These stresses take a huge toll on their health.

Instead of becoming an anxious wreck, I am glad many people make a choice to do something about say a fear like “fear of failure” which can happen to anyone at any age across fields. A small example - I recently helped a coachee start by setting small goals that could help build her confidence, I then helped her learn how to explore and evaluate all possible outcomes rationally, develop contingency plans and last but not least practice thinking positively! We realised she would overthink and always be stuck with worst-case scenarios. I also taught her the phenomena of making a resolve and “manifest” it which seemed to help her self-belief and confidence!!

(This article first appeared on the WiP page on 5th August 2024. I am the founder of WiP which is a cohort of like minded talented women who help each other grow in a fun filled, judgement free manner!)