Everyone has fears in life, but one of the fears that often keeps people from success is their fear of losing control. You may worry about someone else “doing it the wrong way” if you were to give up creative control in your company, or about something happening to your child if you hire a nanny. But the reality is, there’s only so much in life you can actually control, and when you learn to give up your need for it, you’ll learn to get over the fear of losing control and dump the anxiety and worry that usually accompany that fear.
Below are three ways that you can get over your fear of losing control for good:
1. Reflect on the real reason you’re afraid of losing control. Is it that you won’t be able to have your hand in that project anymore? Are you afraid that someone else will take your place at the organization you work for? Are you afraid that there won’t be enough accolades to go around, or that people won’t see you as valuable? Being honest with yourself will help you identify what lies beneath your fear of losing control so that you can begin to work on overcoming it.
2. Give up on perfectionism. “We strive for excellence in our business, and high-quality content and service is important to us,” says April Lovett, Co-Creator of Success in Black and White. “But striving for perfectionism just makes me try to grasp everything tighter and hold it closer to my chest. Then, I get overwhelmed, but I still won’t ask for help or hire someone because I didn’t want to cede creative control. Or I think that someone else can’t do the job to my standards,” she says. “But the more overwhelmed I get, the more anxious I get. So, does it really matter if someone doesn’t create a free giveaway that’s the perfection I look for? No, not in the grand scheme of everything we’re doing,” she muses. “When I learned to give up perfectionism, I got so much of my time and so much of myself back.”
3. Prioritize. Once you give up on the need for perfectionism and take a step back from a heavy workload, heavy relationship load, heavy mental load, etc; take the time to prioritize your life. What matters most to you? What relationships should you focus on first? What work projects matter most that you need to do your best on? Once you get your priorities in order, you’ll be able to let go of some of the things that are not as high of priorities and not feel guilty about giving up control of those areas of your life.
Want more of this conversation? Tune in to the episode of the podcast below to hear Darryl & April’s conversation "The Biggest Fears Holding You Back".
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