Someone once said that you should shoot for the moon because even if you miss you will still land among the stars. Another thinker said that you should build your castles in the air and then see to it that you lay firm foundations under them.
Well, it’s usually easier said than done and pursuing your dreams is hard work. Still, if you don’t want to get stuck in your life and the internal urge to do things is tearing you apart but the fear of failure petrifies you, here are some tips on how to get things moving.
Check out: Get Out of Limbo: How to Go From Dream to Decision
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Glossary
- get off the ground – make a start, get underway
- in limbo – neglected
- revert to – to take up again or come back to a former topic
- jeopardize – put in danger
- be on the lookout for – on the watch, vigilant, alert
- cue – stimulus, hint
- assertion – claim
- gut feeling – instinctive feeling
Think about it
Based on the text decise if the following statements are true or false. Or maybe no such information is given.
- Prospective entrepreneurs share common fears and identifying them is vital to success.
- Visualizing negative thoughts can help reduce anxiety.
- Gradual exposure to stressful activities shows us how unlikely the negative consequences can be.
- People are happy to make choices which are instinctive and look good on paper.
- Thorough research is imperative to making the best choices and instincts cannot be fully trusted.
Practice makes perfect
In the paragraph below replace the phrases in bold with the ones from the original article.
Putting your fears to the test is the most potent way to cope with them. Start by trying activities that make you feel a little anxious. For example, people worried that others will judge their failures might take a dance class, if they are clumsy. “Step-by-step exposure builds confidence and shows us that the feared consequence is not likely to materialize,” Kase says.
Fill in the blanks with the missing word. Check your answers with the original text.
Think of a business idea you keep coming ______ to that never gets ______ the ground. Or, maybe you’re struggling ______ a tough business decision and no matter what you choose, there’s something to lose. You find yourself ______ limbo.
“We get stuck _______ two choices when we have a desire to do something, but the fears — fear of _______ unknown, risk, failure, success — keep us stuck and unable to move forward,” says Larina Kase, a cognitive-behavioral psychologist [. . .] “The heart and the head are ______ conflict.”
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