Bear with me… (What to do when fear shows up, solopreneur).

I almost walked into a bear this morning.

That's not a metaphor.

–It was a huge, hibernation-fattened, wild black bear. 

Usually, I'm alone with my thoughts on my morning dog-walk, but today I popped in my airpods to listen to a podcast, and was so zoned out that I didn't notice the ursine beauty until it was only 20 feet in front of me.

(The jolt of adrenaline it produced was a great substitute for my morning coffee).

Living in the mountains, bear-sightings are a thing. There's one that occasionally knocks down my neighbors' garbage bins on trash day, looking for snacks. Being a hiker, I sometimes see them in the woods.

But this one was right in front of me. And it was so big.

It was just sitting there, munching on acorns on the edge of my neighbor's yard. It looked up at me.

I simultaneously felt two automatic –but unwise– urges:

A) Approach it, arms wide open, for a big bear hug, because it was so furry and cuddly-looking. Take selfies with it (we have problems with tourists actually acting on this urge, ugh). Give it attention.

B) Panic and run away, because it's a wild animal that is capable of killing me with one slap of its giant paws.

The good news about living in Bear Country is that we get it drilled into us, over, and over, that when you see a bear:

1) Stay calm. Don't approach or give too much attention.

2) Don't run away, or you'll trigger the bear's chase-instinct. Walk away slowly.

3) If it approaches you, make yourself “big”, wave your arms, and say “Go Away Bear!” in your biggest, deepest voice possible.

The drills kicked in. I stayed calm, didn't take any selfies, slowly backed away –and for the rest of my walk, I felt very alive. 

I noticed the pink-sunrise-clouds. I felt the chill in the air. I listened to the silence (instead of the podcast). 

And now I'm going to be metaphorical, and replace “Bears” with “Fears”:

If you're running your own business, it's normal to encounter fear sometimes. 

Problems come up. They're inevitable. Sometimes those problems are big and hairy and have giant claws.

The same advice for dealing with Bears is great advice for when problems bring Fear:

*Stay Calm. 

*Don't give them too much attention. Certainly don't feed them.

*But don't panic and run away, either. You'll make bad decisions if you're reactive.

There's a reason I like to give my coaching clients processes and steps for when problems & fears come up. If you've drilled those steps into your mind, you won't do anything reactive that gets you clobbered. 

And  if  when you encounter them, and have that plan, they can actually make you feel more alive and present. They're a reminder that you're “in the arena," doing something brave instead of being chained to a cubicle at your old soul-sucking job. 

Don't feed the bears. Don't run from them either. 

(And do get bear hugs, but not from actual bears).

-Jane