Have you ever been faced with fear? I bet you did.

Fear is a natural part of life. There are many different kinds of fear, and fear can be a powerful tool for growth. We all have fear, but how we face fear is a choice.

I see fear as an opportunity for growth that can be embraced as fuel to surpass our limits and produce great things in life. When faced with fear, we tend to run away from it. In all of us, there are fears and vulnerabilities, whether they’re related to personal relationships or career aspirations. It’s common for people who want something to fear their dreams being crushed. But that doesn’t have to happen.

Let me tell you a little story of how I faced my fear-related challenges when I started my career.

Back in 2009, when I first started working as a software developer, I feared that my experience as a beginner is not going to bring enough value to the company I was working for. Being the single junior in the front-end department of the agency, I feared that I am going to slow down everyone around me. My team members had to spend their valuable time explaining to me how to document my work, where to start, and, basically, how to do everything.

Instead of bringing value, I felt that I was the weak link of the team and that I was slowing things down. I felt that fear was taking control over me, slowly but surely. Suddenly, I almost fell into the trap of fear paralysis and was close to surrender. I was applying more and more pressure on myself, each and every day… I didn’t know, as a novice, that this was the natural path to gathering experience and growing. More than that… nobody told me anything. It was just me and my fear.

Time passed and a few weeks later, my fear took all over my mind and body.

I felt it was chaos. But, at the same time, my passion and curiosity were my main drivers. Propelled by them, I had to accept the fear and find ways to face it. But how was I to face it?

By defaulting to the most common behavior. I faced fear by working harder and learning how to produce quality code that would help me build a positive reputation in front of my team members. Slowly, but steady, each and every moment of fear transformed into a moment of pain — as things were harder and harder to do.

Not knowing if my work was good enough — I only had the pain of growth to accompany me. I clung to this feeling because fear was pushing me out of my comfort zone; fear forced me to learn new things that would help me grow. I was growing at an unprecedented pace and felt that fear would never stop me again; instead, it made me proud of myself because fear didn’t paralyze me anymore…

That’s when I realized that fear can be seen as a great motivator.

But also it’s important to understand that fear is the fuel that propels us forward towards our goals and aspirations. Looking back at my story, when I felt the most fear, I had the biggest moments of growth: both personally and professionally.

When I embark on the next destination of my journey, I always steer my boat to where my fears are. Even if I am to myself in the middle of the sea, alone, and in fear, I know that I can use it as fuel to find my direction and discover the next place to sail to.

How? I can’t know the method as of now.. but I know that we start burning fear to fuel our goals, we always find a way. When we feel it with every cell and, when the call of growth — usually disguised as fear — is strong enough, we are always ready to become our next best version.

If you’re feeling fear, embrace it as fuel to become the best version of yourself.

Originally published at https://www.alexandrulamba.com on September 22, 2021.