Simba from The Lion King courageously standing on Pride Rock is the image people often associate with courage. But even Simba had his fears which he overcame to take the throne back from Scar.

Is courage the opposite of fear? Or does fear lead to courage?

Imagine you are expecting to hear back from a potential new employer about an exciting job offer. Your interviewer was hard to read – there’s simply no way of guessing the outcome. As the days go by, do you half wish that you could just know the outcome – even if it is bad news – rather than endure a single minute more of the agonising wait?

How about your feelings during dating? Would you rather that someone told you, upfront, that they didn’t want to see you again, rather than waiting for your phone to ring with a new message? Would you even risk your dignity by asking for signs of commitment too early?

In both scenarios – and many more – a feeling of uncertainty can bring a lot of discomfort.

What do we fear the most every day? The unknown future, fear of criticism, or fear of failure, of being considered foolish and biggest of all – The fear of success. Yes, you read that right. And what does fear do? It holds us back; it distracts us from what we truly want and it leads to excuses.

Imagine how powerful you will feel if you just pick up the phone and ask that interviewer how they felt about you? Or if you allow yourself to be vulnerable and ask your date what they are thinking or feeling about the relationship. Most often, we are fearing the response. Because it shines the spotlight on our own shortcomings.

You know what I do when I feel scared?

I sit with it. I spend some time thinking about being scared. And it works. You know why? Because most of the time, when we feel scared, we push that feeling away. We dump it in some unreachable part of our brain, but it always comes back the next time we are in some situation where we feel out of control. So, better to just face it head on. Try to think of why you are feeling scared.

— I fake being not-scared. Yes, I do that. Haven’t you heard- Fake till it you make it?

— I try to do the thing I’m scared of anyway. What’s the worst that could happen? I’ll fail? But maybe I’ll get over my fear, finally.

— I tell people I’m scared. It always surprises me how much support & love I get when I’m open and honest about how I’m feeling. And I think that’s because everyone feels that same things we feel. We just don’t know it because we are all masters at pretending that everything is fine.

— I don’t brush it off when someone tells me they are feeling fear. I actively listen to others’ apprehensions so that I too can face the same fears inside me.

— I take care of me. Cannot stress this enough! We ourselves often gets neglected in our quest to drive results and meet expectations of everyone. I take my me-time and stubbornly refuse to feel guilty about it.

Courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to act despite it. Courage comes from fear if we just let it happen.

And the best part is that you don’t need to take this challenging journey alone. We are here to guide you through the process and help you become the fearless Simba.