Is Fear of Overwhelm Holding You Back From Pursuing Your Dream?

Are you thinking or dreaming about leaving your day job to start something that you feel more passionate about and is meaningful to you?

Have you been dreaming about this for some time?

Do you feel stuck through fear or overwhelm?

I know exactly what this feels like as I too got stuck and stayed stuck for years. 

Feel stuck because you are overwhelmed or frightened?

Overcoming Fear and Overwhelm

Let’s look at fear first – is it fear of leaving the familiarity of something that provides you with financial stability and going for something that you view as risky?  You feel like you’d be giving up a lot for something very uncertain?

I definitely had this fear.

What about overwhelm – do you find the whole aspect of starting something new overwhelming?  You don’t know the steps?  You don’t have the time to think through the details of what it is you want to do?  You don’t know where to start?  You aren’t clear what it is you want to do?

I get it, all these thoughts can quickly result in you shutting down the dream.

When you aren’t clear what you want, it’s difficult to talk yourself into giving up things that appear to be reliable and stable, but what if I told you didn’t have to give anything up right now?

Exploring A Side Hustle

For many of us, we feel it is an all or nothing, but who says it has to be like this? You’ve heard of the term side hustle, right? So what is stopping you from creating a side hustle?  You can use this to test your appetite for entrepreneurship and running your own business and more importantly, deciding whether you actually enjoy doing what’s required of you.

Managing Time Effectively

I don’t have any time, I hear you say…..

Lack of time is a problem for a lot of people.  Too much time dedicated to other people, looking after family members and time spent working for other people, I get it. But have you ever really looked at how you spend the 24hours you have in a day?   Do you actually know where all your time goes?

If you, like many people in the UK, moved to hybrid working, what happened to the time you spent commuting? What did you fill it with?

How strong are your boundaries in terms of time committed to work and looking after family members?  Could they be stronger? Do you take on more work than you should?

How much time do you spend scrolling through social media – take a look at your screen time.  Can you spend less time online?

Are there pockets of time you aren’t using efficiently?

Little and often eventually equates to a lot.

If you are uncomfortable with leaving what feels stable and familiar to you, you can still pursue your dream by dedicating a few hours a week to it.  For example 2.5 hours a week across the year equates to 130 hours.  Imagine what you can accomplish in this time.

We Do What Excites Us

When we are excited by something, we are more motivated to do it.  Many people find going to the gym and doing exercise a horrible chore, so they procrastinate and avoid it.  It isn’t a priority. However when exercise becomes their solution to reaching a desired goal such as losing a dress size or moving away from pain, or being able to walk to the shops independently, suddenly, they have time to dedicate to exercise.

What is it you dream of doing? Does it excite you enough to make you want to make time for it?  If it doesn’t, then is it really a dream you want to pursue?

Starting a new venture isn’t for everyone but it can feel extremely rewarding, exciting and fulfilling creating something of your own. The best news is it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.  You can start to set things up and test your ideas whilst you’re still in employment (check your employment contract allows you to do this first), if you need to learn new skills and gain qualifications, you can certainly do this whilst still employed. There are tonnes of things you can do with only a few hours to spare a week, which will give you a taste of what it could be like to leave your job behind.

Don’t Be Like Me

I wrongly believed it had to be all or nothing and I found it overwhelming. I was so used to putting 100% into whatever I did that the concept of doing more than one thing at a time never even entered my mind as a possibility. The overwhelm and indecision held me back for a long time, but what I’ve learnt over the last 8 years is actually getting started in any shape or form, just taking some form of action, is the best way forward.

Steps forward no matter how small provide you with much needed feedback, whether it be “I don’t actually like doing that” or “I really like doing this, I’m good at it and I want to do more”.

If you feel stuck and want help moving forward, book your discovery call to find out how I can help you take the steps you need to start moving towards your dream of doing something more meaningful.

I am Sabrina Qua, a Life and Career Transition coach who helps ambitious mid-career women navigate their way out of demanding, monotonous, unfulfilling jobs towards more meaningful, satisfying pursuits so they can feel more in control, happier and excited about life.

Lost track of what’s important to you and feel confused about who you are? Rediscover your passion and purpose with this worksheet now.