Are you letting fear and a lack of focus hold you back?

Some exceptional things have been happening in my life recently. After three years in ownership I sold my hospitals and took on a new project.

It’s a project that is way bigger than anything I’ve been involved with before. Something that would definitely meet legendary Team GB Cycling principal Dave Brailsford’s “big hairy audacious goals” criteria.

If you’re thinking uber meets veterinary medicine then you’re in the right ballpark.

Calling it a “stretch goal” barely covers it. So why do I share this with you? To brag? To make you feel less important? No way.

Though the business plan for this new venture is ambitious, the obstacles to success are very real and we’ve achieved nothing to write home about just yet. We’ve got a lot to learn and we’ll most certainly make some tumultuous screw-ups before we get anywhere near a story worth telling.

The reason I share this is because, though I’ve had what many would consider success in my career so far, I know I’ve also been suffering from two problems I strongly suspect are issues in your life too.

Fear and focus

Two things are almost certainly holding you back from achieving something outrageously cool in your life. Be it business, medicine, family or otherwise.

I’m talking about fear and focus (or more accurately a lack of focus).

Both things left unchecked are guaranteed to stop you from doing something remarkable today, tomorrow, this year and perhaps ever.

Since January my adrenal glands have been getting a severe working over. The process of selling my businesses and joining a new start up has meant change has been a constant companion. Challenges to my preconceptions are a daily occurrence – and there are a million jobs that need my ”urgent attention”.

All of this has brought with it strong, conflicting emotions to deal with, imposter syndrome in spades and fear (in all of its cunning disguises) trying to sabotage me.

Add to this my chronic inability to focus on one task for more than five minutes and you start to get the picture. Petrification is the only adjective that seems appropriate.

I’m not going to lie. At times this has been a horrible experience. But it has forced me to face down two demons that have dogged me for my entire life.

A fear of “being found out”, of not being the person I think I might be. And a crippling lack of focus.

You see, ideas come easily to me. Big dreams that would make you stagger are daily occurrences, but so is the inner trash talk that says, “You can’t do that”…“You’re not good enough, you’ll only be found out”.

This fear-based story telling leads me to say to myself things like, “I’m an entrepreneur so working for someone else will never work.”

But what I really mean is, “If I have someone else holding me accountable I might be found out.” And that’s terrifying.

But to make matters worse, I suffer from a lack of focus that would make a goldfish look attentive. I start a lot of things, but finish relatively few.

So I’ve wrestled and grappled with my fears and focus for the past three months. It’s been ugly. I’ve been unhappy. I’ve thought seriously about throwing the towel in. If I’m being honest, it has been the hardest few weeks of my life.

Cages

But in the past month something remarkable has started to happen. Rather than wilt away, I’ve faced down my fear. I’ve been able to change my viewpoint and realise our fears are merely cages we build around ourselves to stop us doing stuff that matters the most. I’ve realised the sabre-toothed tigers in my life aren’t real.

And I’ve put in place some useful strategies to help me maintain a better focus. I’m never going to be awesome at this, but, with care, I’m able to execute much more effectively.

Grow

The result is I’ve started to grow as a person, deliver meaningful action and gain trust and respect.

Small, but amazing, things are starting to happen.

My happiness has increased. My sense of purpose is profoundly deepened. And my contribution to building this new business is starting to bear some very interesting fruit. It’s been tough, but it’s been worth it.

I share this with you because I know you also face challenges in your life. I share my weaknesses and fears in the hope you will lean into yours. Face them. Grapple with them. Wrestle them to the ground. You might not beat them completely, but you can stop them from beating you.

Set your goal

I don’t pretend to know what matters most in your life, but everyone has a list of things that if they got done would bring massive beneficial change to their life.

Most of us put off the big stuff because it seems too hard, or too scary…

So do yourself a favour. Set your goal. Then name and face down the fear holding you back. Is it real? What would happen if it were incorrect? Which is worse –failing to achieve something amazing, or living with the regret of never trying?

Have faith, believe, you can do it. Face your fear and stay focused. Like a laser. Until it’s done.

Until next we meet…

Follow Dave on Twitter at @drdavenicol