For many of us, perhaps most of us, FEAR is a word and an emotion that brings up a negative reaction.
Back in his heyday as a keynote speaker my dad, Gordon “Parky” Parkinson, turned fear on its head with the following:
Develop these four traits – Faith, Enthusiasm, Aim, and Resourcefulness – in your own personality! They will unfailingly help you solve ‘the human equation,’ because they will erase FEAR, build a dynamic, enthusiastic personality, and insure both a sound foundation and a towering super-structure for lasting success in any area of life.
Faith is the foundation of our success. Yet it may in some ways be the most nebulous part of the equation. A common definition of faith includes belief in something that cannot be seen or touched yet is very real to us. It could be your Higher Power, the Divine, Divine Intelligence, God, Buddha, Mohammad, among others.
It is the belief that we are not alone, that if we stumble there will be someone/something to catch and support us.
It is also a belief in ourselves that we are capable of accomplishing the task in front of us.
Enthusiasm adds an element of joy and expectancy of good to our lives. An enthusiastic person is looking forward to the day and what it holds.
One of my mother’s favorite questions when our plans would suddenly go awry was “I wonder what wonderful things God has in store for us today.” She could quickly turn disappointment into enthusiastically solving a puzzle.
Do you consider yourself to be an enthusiastic person?
Think of a time you were enthusiastic in the past. What were you excited about? How did your body feel? What words come to mind?
Think to yourself: “This is how I feel when I am enthusiastic.” The next time you are feeling down or less than enthusiastic ask yourself what you would need to change about what you thinking and/or doing to shift your mood.
Aim refers to to your target or goal. You will probably have a lot of them.
Some grand and over-arching:
- To have a family
- To own a home
- To be free to travel the world
- To be a published author
Others will be intermediate goals along the way:
- To get up and go to work today
- To get out and meet new people
- To spend time on Pinterest looking at different decorating styles
- To pick a place you’d like to visit and research it
- To draft an outline for your book
I remember being told once that if you don’t have a destination in mind (a goal that you want to accomplish) you will end up wandering your whole life.
It’s okay to change your goals along the way, but if you don’t know where you want to end up then “you truly can’t get there from here.”
Resourcefulness includes the ability to look beyond the surface of the resources that surround you. Sometimes the steps you need to take to continue on the path of your aim are clear and easy to follow. You can quickly determine what to do next.
Other times it will seem as if there is a barrier designed specifically to keep you from your goal. This is where resourcefulness comes in – being able to visualize different ways of putting materials and people together to get under, over, around, or through the barrier.
A TV character from the 80s comes to mind – Angus MacGyver. You may not know the exact chemical formulas of common household items to create a bomb. However, you may remember that your friend Joe knows Bob who knows Ann and through a series of introductions and conversations you could end up in front of your ideal audience.
So Faith and Enthusiasm form your strong foundation. With these in place you can easily stand firm and plan your next moves. With Aim and Resourcefulness as your towering super-structure you can take those next steps with confidence.
For you FEAR doesn’t have to be something that freezes you in place, afraid to move into the unknown. Instead remember these alternate traits and move forward to success with confidence. Be present and aware of the moment and just do it.
