Excite Don’t Fright

Have you noticed that a significant portion of the high profile campaigning currently in the media is based on creating fear?

A manipulation of minds to terrorise your thoughts to only consider the worst case scenario….what if…?

When you feed people’s fear you ignite the primal reaction of fight, flight or freeze.

To free your mind and come up with creative, positive solutions, and to meaningfully evaluate options, you need to access the cerebral cortex of your brain. You can’t do that if you’re looking at the world like a rabbit glaring into the headlights of doom.

A fear of what might happen leads to a state of paralysis and inaction.  You lose the ability to think rationally and make proactive decisions.

Historically this has proved to be a very effective method of leadership adopted by various dictators and despots seeking to control the masses and take away independent free-thought and assertive decision making.

Instil a sense of threat and fear and a person’s natural response will be to avoid the pain.  To run and hide in the cave.

So you have people’s attention with that approach.  Trump knows that.  It is about control and keeping people small.  Divide and conquer leads to a downward spiral of fear and inaction.

This is no way to grow a nation or a business.  Leading by fear will get compliance and control in the short term.  But to play the long game, you need motivation, excitement, growth and positive action.

As business leaders, we need to unite and lead.  “I have a dream” it’s a much better mantra than “bomb them all”.

By painting a vision of the future….both roses and thorns…you can empower people to make positive decisions based on fact and possibility.  The possibility of a great future.  Spark creativity, passion and optimism.

The problem is that as human beings we are naturally wired to avoid pain and take the course of least resistance.

Stand up and be counted.

You need your team, customers and clients to feel strong, to feel capable, to be inspired by possibility.  You want them to be fired up about a compelling vision for their future. To get out of challenging, negative situations and reach for the horizon.

We can’t grow from a place of fear.  If we say “I can’t” we are keeping ourselves small.

Be bold.  Commit.  When you truly commit providence prevails.

When you can’t you must.  Push yourself beyond fear.  Take action.  Fear will dominate if you give it time to grow.

We need an edge to keep creative; to keep striving ahead and effecting change and action.

By keeping an eye on the end game we can harness our fear and turn that negative energy into a powerful positive force to effect action.

In your business what do you need to do to move beyond fear and create excitement?  To create that stretch which will up the ante to get to the next level?

In your marketing and selling make sure that your messages aren’t fear based.  Lead from the front through inspiration and action rather than unleashing the Hound of Hades to ensure compliance.

Free your mind from the paralysis of fear and allow yourself to get excited about positive options and possibilities.  When the chips are down, the easiest option is to run away.  This is the time to dig deep; re-frame that energy and focus on your compelling vision of what you can achieve and the difference you can make.  That is when we are at our most vibrant.  When we push through the feelings of fear and have to make decisions.  That is when we truly step up to the plate and positive things happen for us.