Imagine looking back on your life ten years from now and realising
that some of the things you wanted most never happened — not
necessarily because you lacked the talent, the qualifications, the
resources or the opportunity, but because you were too afraid to try.
Afraid to fail. Afraid to be rejected. Afraid to disappoint your family.
Afraid of what people would say if you stepped outside the life they
expected you to live.
For many of us, fear influences decisions in ways we do not even
recognise. It can keep us in jobs where we are unhappy, prevent us
from speaking up when we are being mistreated, stop us from
pursuing relationships we want or make us abandon our dreams
before we have even started. We become so focused on everything
that could go wrong that we never consider what might go right. And
even when we have overcome challenges before, that confidence
does not always follow us into the next chapter of our lives.
But is fear always something we need to overcome, or are there
times when it is warning us to slow down and think carefully? And if
we are honest with ourselves, how much of what we call being
realistic is actually fear of the unknown? Tonight, we are talking
about the fears that hold us back, the opportunities we miss
because of self-doubt, and how we begin to move forward even
when we are not entirely confident. Joining us is Kim Vermaak,

whose reflections on fear and personal progress open up an

What Is Fear
Stopping You From
Doing?
Kim Vermaak -
Emotional Intelligence
Specialist

important question for all of us: Are you making decisions based
on what you truly want, or on what you are afraid might
happen?