You're back from your holidays, you're fired up and your shoes are shiny. Perfect!
Today I'm interviewing Gabriella Goddard, author of Gulp! : the seven-day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge (Penguin) as part of her Virtual Book Tour.
Gabriella, welcome to the Big Leap community website. We'd love to get your top tips on how someone can speed up their big leap this September.
First of all, what are some practical things you can do when you're really, really scared of making the big leap?
First of all Suzy, getting “practical” is the BEST thing you can do, because you take your mind away from that scary feeling. Here are some ideas:
- Make a list of everything that could go wrong. It’ll give you a clear idea on what you need to focus on sorting out first!
- A leap shared is a leap halved. Confide in some like minded friends. Ask them for them for their support and encouragement.
- Practice, practice and practice again. That’s what top athletes do so they don’t crumble at the start line.
- Take one step each day. It doesn’t have to be a big deal; it could be just finding the number you need to call, or taking out your suit and ironing it.
How do you know it's gulp-time and time to make the big leap?
There is always a tipping point, or a “pivot point” as I call it. At first you might feel frustrated and stuck and your future may look really hazy. You might also find that your “life” starts to annoy you; your clothes don’t feel right, your friends grate on you, your home doesn’t look right. This annoyance and frustration can build up over time. But humans don’t like change - we resist it. In time though, something will happen, someone will say something, and you’ll be able to bear it no more. You just HAVE to do something about it. That’s when you pivot over into “yes”.
But Gabriella, is it really possible to overcome your fears?
Fear can be our friend, not our foe. That’s because fear creates an “energy”, and my recommendation is to use this energy to propel you into action, rather than see it as something that needs to be overcome. So the next time you feel fear bubbling away in the bottom of your stomach, ask yourself; “what is this fear calling me to become?” It might be calling you to become more assertive, more confident, more trusting or even more daring.
That's an interesting thought. Can you ever get rid of your fears completely?
Fear is driven by the emotional part of our brain, the same part that creates emotions like love, joy and passion, so we don’t want to do away with it altogether. Plus it’s a great thing to have around if you’re in a dark alley facing an assailant with a knife! The way I look at fear is that when it crops up, there’s something for me to learn from the situation and there’s an opportunity for me to grow. I always have a choice – to step up to the challenge or shy away from it. So see fear as a road sign. Don’t focus on the sign itself, but rather look at the direction it’s calling you to go.
Is it ever just downright foolish to make the leap...how do you know when it's fear or just your gut instinct saying 'no'?
This is a great question Suzy. When you’re facing big decisions it’s super important to be in tune with your body. What is it telling you? Your head might have come up with a rational or logical choice that’s often based on ego (ie. “I want to prove I can do it”) or on what you “should” do (ie everyone else has done it so I should too). But when you tune into your heart and soul, you might get a different reading. This is usually the better one for you. So when faced with a choice to make the leap – tune into it and see what happens to your energy; does it expand or does it contract? If something intuitively doesn’t feel right (ie your energy contracts), then don’t do it. The timing might be wrong, something else might need to be in place first or it might be the wrong thing for your heart and soul. Just pause and reflect some more and see what happens.
Thanks Gabriella for your pearls of wisdom!
You're welcome and good luck to all the Big Leapers with their Gulp! moments this September. And if you want to get started NOW, go to www.gulptogether.com and pledge your Gulp! challenge for Gulp! Together Week. After all, if not now...when?
Gabriella Goddardis the author of “Gulp!: The seven-day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge” (Penguin, £7.99)
To buy a copy of Gulp! and download a free 30 page Gulp! eGuide, visit www.buygulp.com
To find out more about the Gulp! Virtual Book Tour, visit www.gulpvbt.com
