Psalm 94:19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, your consolations delight my soul.

In the previous blog (posted Feb 13th titled "Remove the Blockers") I revealed the four types of Internal Blocks that hold us back from experiencing profound career growth. These are Fear, Assumptions, Interpretations and Limiting Beliefs, referenced as the acronym F.A.I.L. I also asked you to practice self-awareness by writing down those times you felt a little “off” then taking a moment to identify your self-talk that day.

Fear Holds us Back

We are now going to look at the first internal blocker, one of the most prevalent and pervasive blockers and one nearly every client I’ve ever had struggles with from time to time, the F in F.A.I.L. - Fear.

When our internal dialogue is influenced by Fear, it tends to come from past experiences. We were bit by a dog and now we are fearful around dogs. We were yelled at by an aggressive manager and now we get uncomfortable in the presence of all management.

As an executive coach I focus my clients on moving forward. We don’t spend time thinking on the past. This is of utmost importance for your own professional maturity. What happened yesterday or last year simply doesn’t matter. It’s all about what you want for your career today.

Luke 9:62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Calls Out Fear

Jesus addresses three would-be followers. In the first, Jesus knew what would make the man unfit and addressed it outright. In the last two, they had an excuse for not being ready to take immediate action. In each, Fear was the blocker.

"I can’t do it right now Jesus because…"

…it would be way too uncomfortable physically and emotionally

…I have a depressing situation that I’m involved in and can’t muster the energy

…I will really miss all the great time with my family

Why would a loving Jesus disqualify someone from kingdom service just because he wanted to say goodbye to his wife and kids? If that were the real reason, Jesus is heartless. We know He is our loving Savior, so there must have been a deeper reason. The same is true of the man whose father allegedly died. Would a compassionate Christ stop a man from honoring his father with a proper burial? No! These were excuses prompted by fear.

That's what Jesus was addressing in each of these three would-be followers - Fear!

It's Time We Address Our Own Fears

For us to address our own, we will start telling ourselves the truth of who we are in this moment, in this day. How? By using the Thought Tuning™ process. You think through what you are telling yourself in the moment, consider your Core Values as a being created by God, then tell yourself something different about what is happening. Tell yourself something more in line with who you are as a person.

That's how you overcome your fear. Remember your Core Values while actively identifying self-talk, then changing what you tell yourself.

If you haven’t done the Core Values assessment yet, please go back to my website, [here] download the Thought Tuning™ guide from the main page and complete it. Then place your core values on the fridge, on your bathroom mirror, on your work space desk, on your phone; anywhere to constantly remember who you are. You are the person God created.

These Core Values are your very essence. None of them have anything to do with fear! When you feel your anxious thoughts welling up, walk through the Thought Tuning™ process, and you will immediately see the difference.

Shawn Sommerkamp is a motivational speaker and Executive Coach with 20+ years of Fortune 100 leadership experience. He founded Motivationeer™ to coach Christian professionals how to bring the power of Christ’s word, as the foundation of career success, into corporate and small business America.