Fears, uncertainties and doubts

I have learned through my career that FUDS can be disabling. But you can also harness their energy to transform negative ideas into a positive and creative reality. You cannot ignore them. You have to acknowledge them and then focus aggressively on what you want to replace them with.

Psychologist, Peter Lecky, found that there were two powerful levers for changing and overcoming beliefs (it is always a relief to remember that everyone struggles with fear even the most creative and successful people among us):

1. The belief that one is capable of doing one’s share by exerting a certain amount of independence (agency). The belief that you are the “hero” in your story.

2. The belief that there is something inside us that makes us equal in talent and ability to the rest of the world (creative confidence)

Practical tips for dealing with FUDS

Tick Tock Exercise

This is a powerful exercise designed to help you overcome FUDS.

1. Zero in on and write down those negative thoughts that are preventing you from realizing your goals. (Tick)

2. Sit quietly and examine the negatives. Learn how you are irrationally twisting things and blowing them out of proportion.

3. Substitute objective positive thought for subjective negative one. (Tock)

Tick	Tock
My idea is so stupid	This is all or nothing thinking. The idea does not have to be blockbuster. If I was in leadership wouldn’t i want all the ideas to come to me
I’ll never be able to do it	Just do a little bit at a time and get started

This fear setting exercise can help in all aspects of life but it is very important in creative life when FUDS shows its ugly head. This is very similar to what Tim Ferris talks about  in his TED talk. He has a slightly different approach. He advocates a three page exercise. On the first page you define all the worst case scenarios (Define), what you could do to prevent/reduce the effects of worst case scenarios (Prevent), and what you could do to repair the damage if it occurs (Repair). On the second page you write down the benefits of an attempt or partial success. Lastly and perhaps the most important part is to think about the price of inaction (emotionally, physically, financially, etc). This can be a very powerful method if employed consistently when faced with FUDS.

I often hear people saying that they are not the creative type. I used to believe that about myself for a long time. I never thought I was the creative type. But with time, this slowly changed. I realized that entrenched beliefs about the world can distort our perception of reality. There are a variety of ways to change the belief system of those who do not think they are creative. Here are a couple of proven methods:

1. Self-Affirmation: get in the habit of remembering your successes, good qualities, and characteristics. Forget your failures. Success breeds success. what matters is the successful attempt. Keep log and update it regularly. These successes can be all arenas of life: home, work, family, …

2. Creative affirmation: Human beings act, feel and perform in accordance to what they imagine to be true about themselves and environment. Start by writing a general statement (ie I am creative) . take a few moments and write several variations of this statement about creativity. Then take one and expand on it.

I think it is very helpful to have some useful tools and methods to deal with FUDS wherever you face them. So next time you face them you know what to do.

References: