The next step in the process of identifying your fears is to go back and read what you’ve written in your journal. It’s time to get clearer on what you’re actually afraid of so you can create a “shortlist” of your fears to begin to work through. Right now, your list of fears might be long and seem overwhelming and you and I both know that you’ll stall out before you even begin tackling your fears if the list is too long. Now’s the time to get really specific. Ask yourself:

• Do you notice any patterns with your fears? Do any fears show up more than once?
• Do you notice fears that are all related to a similar, overarching fear? (For example, “going Live on Facebook” and “creating YouTube videos” both tie into going Live on video)

As you hone in on these fears, you’ll want to turn them into list form. Then, go through each fear on the list and ask: Is this a larger, multifaceted fear or is this a fear that can be broken into smaller parts, or into something more specific (aka easier to tackle)?

Classifying your fears in this way will help you get a handle of their true size and depth and help you recognize what you can actually start working on now. 

Is there  something more precise you’re scared of:

• Speaking on a webinar
• Giving feedback to a team member or employed yoga teacher who isn’t performing at the level you expect
• Delegating social media to a pro
• Recording yoga videos for social media

Let’s go back to your list of fears. Go through and using the criteria above, categorize each fear into “vague” or “specific.”

For each “vague” fear, try to further refine it into something specific. To do this, think back to some instances where you noticed fear was present. Can you pinpoint a definite source of that bigger fear?

Or maybe you recall a time when you started teaching a yoga class and received some unflattering reviews. Or maybe it was something smaller, like when you met with a student for the first time and called her by the wrong name. 

You might be able to quickly identify a more specific fear inside your vague fears and if so, that’s great! The key is to zero in on whatever specific thing provokes the MOST fear because that’s the one most blocking your growth.