Why You Need Fear and the Gift of Difficult Tasks to Really Progress🎁

Published: Wed, 10/07/20

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted is on the Other Side of Fear.
George Addair

Something dawned on me a week or so ago after reading mastery by Robert Greene for the third time. Two things stood out as I finished this fantastic book. The masters, the game changers, the successes all run towards fear and embrace difficulty. I don’t know what it is, but throughout history, breaking through fear always leads to massive strides forward. And fear is always associated with something we find challenging to do.

Stand Up for What You Believe in, Even If You Stand Alone

I’m not over the moon with all this talk about fear and difficult tasks, but as my man, Fifty cents believes you must see things as they are, not how you want them to be.
Robert Greene agrees and calls it Intense Realism.
And that concept is what we need to apply when we face fear, whether we like it or not.
Avoiding fear leads to a mediocre life.

Early on in my writing career, I recognized my fear of criticism would destroy my dream of becoming a writer before it began. I wasn’t aware I was doing it, but I started moving towards it purposefully. Most authors back then had no choice. But for black UK authors, it was even more difficult. Finding successful author role models we could aspire to were few and far between. And with my passion for speculative fiction, forget about looking up to a writer I could relate to. Rejection was a part of the process, so if you wanted to progress, you had to learn not just to accept it but also to make it your friend. I took some heavy hits, dealt with uncomfortable situations, withstood confrontation and blatant racism. I learned not to take it personally, but it was hard. There were a few close calls where I wanted to give up, but I kept on keeping on. That might seem depressing to you. It did to me at the time. It’s just that I believed I was doing the right thing.

“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good,” says author Steven Pressfield. “Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.”
Think about it.

Fear leads to stress, stress segue’s into discomfort, prompts change, spurs growth, and finally results in success.

Pressfield wrote an entire book about how authors, musicians, and artists can overcome fear in order to create the things they were made to create. He dubbed the enemy “Resistance.” And its something I’ve talked about a few times before because it is so relevant.

“Resistance will unfailingly point to true North - meaning that it will call out the action it most wants to stop us from doing. We can use this. We can use it as a compass. We can navigate by Resistance, letting it guide us to that calling or action that we must follow before all others.” - Steven Pressfield.

What is fear telling YOU to avoid right now, Constant Reader?

The flip side of this coin is doing difficult tasks. I won’t lie and say writing speculative fiction comes easy because it doesn’t, but it was a passion I was willing to work at. Looking back to where I’m coming from and where I am now, I fully appreciate the advantage it has given me. My success as a speculative fiction author is something I attract because of the person I’ve become and not by shirking from the hard tasks.

“If you want more, you need to become more.” - Jim Rohn.

By doing hard things, we become “better” ourselves - more resilient, resourceful, and creative. This will increase our influence, which increases our affluence. Small things become big things — what you do today sets you up for success tomorrow. You reap what you sow.

In my life as a writer, I’m strongly in favor of challenging myself. I look for hard work, not for an ego ‘ting’ but because I know it will set me apart and strengthen my mind and soul.

What difficult task has been calling out to you? Don’t let that big, scary, challenging goal scare you away. Answer the call.

The world needs you…all of you, the courageous you, the bold, ambitious, fearless, and unstoppable you. Don't disappoint.

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