Coaching — Articles — Centric Magazine

There is no doubt that there are different parties who will contribute carving out the so-called recovery stage. The government, Business forums, financial institutions, thought leaders, and you and me. For now, let's focus on the ‘you and me’ and what we can do. Fear is here to stay and learning how to be fearless is a life skill worth investing in. Now.

NAME IT: What is Fear?

Fear is an emotion. True. That is how we experience it and recognise it. In fact, there are other emotions that are closely associated with it - anxiety, concern, being scared, worried. Behind these words, fear and all the emotions I have listed are human ‘energetic response(s)’ to take action, triggered by our brain.

When we experience fear, there are two chemicals that flood our human body triggered by a part in the brain called amygdala - they are, Adrenalin and Cortisol. Both are important to help us survive in face of ‘threat’ - either by fighting, freezing or fleeing. This, as some of you already know, is the human response that was hard-coded in us as we evolved as humans. Fear as an energetic response is meant to protect and safeguard us from perceived danger.

CLAIM IT: How do you experience it?

This varies from person to person. Some of us feel it in the pit of our stomach, some of us find we are clenching our teeth, or our shoulders tense up, or perhaps you feel your face getting flushed. This is the instant reaction. If the fear factor or stimuli persists as it had been with the pandemic, we begin to show other symptoms - stress, exhaustion, confusion, depression, sleep disruption, weight gain/ loss, inertia/ hyperactivity, sharp bursts of emotion, and so on.

Get close to recognising what happens to you when you experience fear. ‘In the moment’ what bodily sensations do you experience? Noticing the sensations acts like a pause button to the emotion taking over in the moment.

My Leadership Acceleration programme trains clients to recall the physiology behind fear (Name it) and notice how they experience it (Claim it). This helps minimise the control fear has on them. Just like a spotlight that lights up a dark scary corner.

REFRAME IT: How do you overcome it?

When the amygdala that triggers fear is engaged, another part of your brain called the pre- frontal cortex (PFC) is not engaged - and you need to engage it. It is the part that helps us find solutions, be creative, be logical, find an answer, calmly explore new options and identify new choices.

But there is a problem.

The PFC and amygdala work like a seesaw. Only one of them has power to control your actions at any one point of time and the amygdala has priority clearance. When your brain senses threat, the amygdala is switched on automatically - you have no control. However, you can switch it off from taking over, with what I call a CIRCUIT BREAKER.

What is a Circuit Breaker? Well, it can be a word, an action, a person’s memory, a pause, a prayer, a drink of water. Any of these can be your chosen circuit breaker. A client of mine chose her son’s face, another humour, a third saying the words - ‘I need time’. The key is to train yourself to recall the circuit break whenever you are fearful or feeling the fear rise in you.

When you recall your chosen circuit breaker it acts like a bucket of cold water. It snaps you out of the fear (triggered by your amygdala) and gives you an opportunity engage your PFC. This can help you calm you down. Once you identify your circuit breaker get experimenting and use it.

Nelson Mandela said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” With practice you begin to learn to be fearless as you teach your brain to identify new options and choices despite the threat around you. Champions are made with practice. Stay on track as you consciously Name It, Claim It and Reframe it.

“ Be Fearless.”

Read more articles by Reena Dayal

THE BEST KEPT BUSINESS SECRET IN LONDON

By Reena Dayal

Are you serious about being an Entrepreneur in London? There are many reasons why London is seen as a vibrant hub for entrepreneurs. The networking forums, the accelerator programmes, the diversity of people, the openness in accepting entrepreneurism as a career choice, the advancement of cutting edge topics, the understanding by many government bodies that entrepreneurship is a viable ticket to London’s growth post-Brexit, the success stories of both young and old entrepreneurs...The list goes on.

Yet, we know that there are many entrepreneurs that simply ‘shut up shop’, contributing to the almost 80% of start-ups that fail. So why is this happening when London offers such a conducive playground? I hear some of you say that the environment is not that perfect, that there is some bias due to age, gender and ethnicity which works against entrepreneurship. I agree, and it can be a huge dampener, even more so when coupled with the hardships of running one’s own business. One could argue that the freedom to work with who you want to, on a topic you are passionate about, offers entrepreneurs an attractive counter proposition. For me, taking the decision five years ago to start working for myself, reduced my mental stress significantly, and I know this also rings true for many of your fellow entrepreneurs out there. Yet, we accept that the burnout and high levels of struggle that entrepreneurs often experience is very real. The concept of an accelerated ‘exhaustion curve’ can lead to fatigue, clouded judgement and, in the most unfortunate cases, exit from entrepreneurship. Why is that? I am not saying the eco-system is perfect in London or that it could not do with significant improvement, as there is always room for this. What I am eluding to is that, if you are an entrepreneur in London, or are thinking of becoming one, you are in THE right place. It is also THE right time and has huge personal beneﬁts. The question comes down to whether you are THE right person? The truth is that for entrepreneurs to succeed it is not so much what happens in the ecosystem, but what happens inside the head of the entrepreneur. After all, we all want to be winners, we just might not always know how to be winners.

Today in London, Accelerator programmes are big business. However, what I have learnt, and what I have seen multiple entrepreneur clients of mine really beneﬁt from, is the time and attention they invest in redeﬁning, reframing and reﬁning themselves.

The concept of self-leadership is undervalued. What I ﬁnd lacking, is the quality of personal development or self-leadership training that is offered by some Accelerator programmes. Some of them have that entire module missing, or simply play lip service to it, failing to make a real connection between productivity, business impact, personal strategy and purpose. We know this soft stuff is now the hard stuff in today’s highly chaotic and disruptively opportunistic environment. If you reﬂect for a moment, it is actually the game-changer as it allows entrepreneurs to win. Think of world-class sportspeople and the efforts they make to excel in their art. They spend hours to develop a winning mindset, physically ﬁne tuning themselves and practising their sport (with rules/strategies et al). Being an entrepreneur is a similar parallel. To be a skilled entrepreneur you need to train like a sports person and you WILL win. It requires hard work and discipline and structure and that’s why I ask the question - are you really serious about being an entrepreneur? London has a lot to offer and the time to disrupt and grow big is NOW. Make sure you are not getting in the way of the success you, your team and business can experience. "We must never become too busy sawing to take time to sharpen the saw.” Dr Stephen R. Covey announced his 7th habit of highly effective people ‘Sharpen the Saw’. I urge you to do the same - do it well - with rigour and strategic intent. You will be amazed at how good you are and the new ways you can put together all your talent and skills and experiences to become entrepreneurs of purposeful businesses.