I know what you’re thinking–“What? Don’t you have that backwards? WHY would I want to chase things that I’m afraid of?”

Conventional wisdom says that you should chase your dreams in order to create and achieve the life that you want, right?  How many self-help books, conferences, coaches and gurus remind us on a daily basis to ditch our fears, or move past our fears in order to have the life that we want?  How many of them focus solely on our dreams as the path to success and happiness?

But really, when you take time to think about it, a lot of times the reason that we don’t achieve the success that we really want is because we’re afraid.

Afraid of failure.

Afraid of disappointment.

Afraid of what others may say about us.

Afraid that we’re not good enough.

Afraid of what will happen if we DON’T succeed.

We spend most of our lives running away from our fears primarily because we don’t want to face those things that remind us that we’re less than perfect—therefore we don’t act.  We do nothing, so we remain the same.

So when you really look at it, what that actually boils down to is a fear of going after success.

Far too often, instead of venturing outside of our comfort zones, the things that we’re used to and know –we instead opt to stay in our own little cage or box because we don’t want to experience the fear that comes with experiencing new things and new heights.

Let me let you in on a little secret.

If you don’t experience and face the fear, you’ll never experience and achieve success.

The two go hand in hand.  Fear comes with the unknown and success is as a result of pushing yourself beyond your current level or state of being–essentially pushing yourself into the unknown–or bottom line, chasing your fear.

If you truly examine the reasons why we never start—or finish—a journey, you’ll find the litany of fears that are standing between you and the success that you crave and desire.  In order to achieve the success that you crave, you need to get to the other side of the fear.

Fear of speaking up; fear of speaking out; fear of taking a risk; fear of being seen; fear of not being enough—whatever your fear, chase them, overcome them by strategically attacking them and then you will find yourself closer to achieving your dreams and the success that you crave.

So the next time you find yourself shaking in your boots at the prospect of doing something new that is so completely beyond you, don’t turn and run in the other direction. Instead, chase the fear, follow the feeling of anticipation and trepidation, embrace the uncertainty, and attack them strategically so you can experience the exhilaration of success.