Does fear keep you from experiencing joy in your career?

At work, do you usually experience joy? If not, why not?

A lot of people I talk to mention stress and anxiety as the main reasons that prevent them from feeling joy more consistently at work. And in most cases, their stress is related to anxiety (even though some people also just work too many hours and don’t allow themselves enough time to deeply rest and refuel their energy tank).

For this article, let’s focus on anxiety.

Anxiety is often created by some kind of fear, conscious or subconscious, for example:

1.      Fear of missing a deadline

2.      Fear of falling short of people’s expectations

3.      Fear of not reaching a specific goal

4.      Fear of looking stupid

5.      Fear of losing one’s job

First, let’s quickly look at what fear really is and how it is triggered in the brain:

Fear and trust are mutually exclusive; meaning, when you experience fear, it’s hard to trust anything or anyone, including yourself. Both trust and fear (or distrust) are biochemical processes.  When we are in distrust or fear mode, our amygdala is most active, while in trust mode, it’s the prefrontal cortex. We also call the prefrontal cortex the “executive brain,” because it’s supposed to be in charge and regulate the amygdala. But a lot of what’s going on in our brain is subconscious and that’s why this regulation isn’t always working at its best. The amygdala responds beyond conscious awareness. It triggers our fight/flight/freeze response, often at the slightest suspicion of a threat, even when there’s no real risk. It's part of our survival mechanism and as such, it wants to keep us safe and alive, and it doesn’t distinguish because its perception of a threat and a real threat. When this amygdala response bypasses the prefrontal cortex (the control mechanism), then we also call this an amygdala hijack. The fear networks in our brains have us go into fight/flight/freeze reaction. We release cortisol and adrenaline, meaning we are on high alert,… in fear. And this fear makes us anxious.

Very frequently, we don’t even know why exactly we feel so anxious. The underlying fear may be hidden in our subconscious. It may not even be ours; we may have inherited it from a family member, from our ancestors (thank you very much!). We may even have picked it up from the world around us. There are countless possible reasons for our fears, and the subconscious ones are trickier to get to on our own. Expert coaching can help with those quite quickly, though. (I know this from my own experience because I’ve studied several methodologies that do exactly that, and I’ve also consulted experts to work on my own subconscious baggage.)

For now, let’s look at some of the more obvious or concrete fears:

1.      Fear of missing a deadline

When you feel like you’re at risk of not meeting an important deadline, this creates pressure. It becomes hard to be present in the moment. Your focus may get distracted, and time may be wasted by the very thought of failing and thinking of potential consequences. Enjoying your work is no longer an easy option, as your mind is too busy with all the worst scenarios of what could happen.

2.      Fear of falling short of people’s expectations

When you are afraid that your work may not meet someone else’s expectations, whether that someone is your manager or team leader, your peer, or your client, this can literally paralyze you, but even if it doesn’t, it may impact the way you see your own results, and how you present them to others. It makes you feel less confident (not a pleasant feeling) about the value of your work, and this is what you will project to others.

3.      Fear of not reaching a specific goal

Anxiety around goals, whether they are determined by self or by others, is created by the imagined consequences, which could be monetary or reputation-related, or both.

Not hitting a goal often also takes a toll on how we perceive our self-worth, based on a feeling that we failed ourselves or others. So it’s pretty natural that we may experience anxiety around this possibility. And this will not exactly produce feelings of satisfaction, will it?

4.      Fear of looking stupid

This is one of the most common reasons to be afraid of, next to public speaking (which is really just a specific fear of looking stupid). And it can turn into a phobia if it’s not addressed… or at least into a major hurdle in our career. Because it will block our ability to reach the visibility we need to advance, and it’s not fun to be invisible.

5.      Fear of getting laid off

In times of mass layoffs, the apprehension of becoming redundant is real. It could also be kindled by a suspicion that our organization may want to replace us with someone else… maybe someone younger or cheaper, as is not an uncommon practice. This doesn’t seem fair and the thought of it can be far from cheerful.

These are just a few examples of many potential fears. The cause of your fear may be something completely different. But whatever it is, it will be beneficial to identify its nature. And it can pay off to dig a little deeper and uncover the actual root cause. The root cause is often a subconscious (and not seldom a very absurd) one and getting to it may require an expert’s help.

Once you’ve discovered the root cause, it’s recommended that you go through a release process so you can rid yourself of it. You could use your own imagination to do this, for example by use of a visualization or the decision to let it go. Or else you could do it with a coach. Fact is, knowledge is power, but only if you act on it.

Eliminating the root cause and really getting it out of the way is so worth it! I know from my own experience (through work on myself and with many clients) that this can lead to major breakthroughs, and fast!