Intimidation can become a significant setback to fulfilling dreams and goals. We all have experienced intimidation in one way or another, every day, one day or at every stage of our lives. What differentiates our results from this exposure depends on us. It’s not the intimidation determining our outcomes but how we respond.
Introduction
Intimidation is an unpleasant feeling that stems from our constant exposure to various internal and external factors, bringing about profound psychological and emotional effects on our overall well-being. Depending on the perspective of who has this menace to deal with, one often feels overwhelmed, full of fear, less enthusiastic, highly insecure, and threatened.
When growing up, we always had a classmate we looked up to or a big brother or sister who had gone through that phase in the past, which we look up to. We always have the performer team member or boss at work, which we look to measure up to. We grew up to realize some people are doing way better in their trade or profession, which could have been us. Sometimes, we also battle with ourselves and our perceptions as we set goals and targets, which sometimes we can’t measure up to.
Acknowledging, addressing, and understanding why one could be intimidated and how to overcome it gives a clearer perspective on fulfilling dreams, goals, and objectives as individuals or as a group.
Table of Contents
Why do people get intimidated, Affecting goal Fulfillment?
People face challenges or intimidation and come out victorious on the positive side or completely intimidated on the other side. The reasons for this extent of intimidation include:
Fear of Failure: People are scared of being termed as the unsuccessful candidate or the black sheep and, as such, feel intimidated by those who have attained high achievement status in the community. This challenge often makes individuals pull back, failing to chase their goals and vision.
Competition: We usually like to compare how well we are doing to others, but instead of using this as a yardstick to challenge ourselves, we sometimes chase a feeling that we cannot be enough, that others are better than us, and that we cannot measure up, not even acknowledging the feet and milestones that we have achieved. Hence, this deterred us from moving to the next level of goal fulfilment.
Perfectionist Lifestyle: We sometimes set a very high standard for ourselves, making us unable to venture out with our expertise. I need more training and supervision; the product always requires more than one thing or another, and I need to pick up the next course without any plans of actualizing the one I already know. The perfectionist lifestyle contributes to goals and dreams dropping by the wayside.
Lack of Skills: Intimidation occurs when individuals feel that they are not well equipped to discharge a particular task, regardless of having gone through several training sessions to accomplish it. They end up feeling overwhelmed and unable to get things done.
Past Experiences and Setbacks: Rather than analyzing our past setbacks and identifying areas of strength and improvement, we judge ourselves on why they didn’t go as planned. Therefore, this approach to facing our fear minimizes one’s zeal and energy to take the next step or the next thing to do to move forward on one’s goals and tasks. We are to focus on the opportunities therein instead of the painful moments from our past experiences.
Unfamiliar Terrain: You got a new job, for example, and began to beat yourself up on your inability to measure up. You have forgotten that there should be a learning or teething period to help familiarize oneself with a new terrain, understanding that you can’t know it all and that it’s normal to feel like a novice in a new role.
Cultural difference: Changes in social norms and cultural demands could ensure that intimidation crystallizes, and individuals are evaluated based on the lenses they are not so used to, leading them to feel intimidated or not enough as they try to get accustomed to these new ways of life.
Overcoming Feelings of Intimidation to Achieve Goal Fulfillment
Overcoming the feeling of intimidation requires a couple of self-effort, constant practice, and understanding, which keeps one head up high and allows one to face challenges that come our way. They include:
Understanding Failure: As we venture through life’s journey, it is vital to see failure as a part of a process rather than the end itself. We may have failed in the past, but that does not make us a failure. This requires embracing ourselves each day with the mindset that each new day births new opportunities and that there is always room to try again.
Acknowledging your Feelings: Knowing and accepting that one feels intimidated on a particular matter helps provide a direction on solving the problem as against leaving in self-doubt or embracing the feeling by sucking it in and assuming all is well. This act of self-realization allows one to focus and stay firm in fulfilling dreams and purpose.
Learning Constantly: We result from what we learned yesterday and could become stale or less successful if we rely on only what we know from the past. Events unfold, and life evolves daily; hence, we must always roll up our sleeves and learn something new daily. We understand not with the mindset of competing but of becoming a better person daily.
Orientational Change: Having a mindset shift is significant in reaching the fulfillment of one’s dreams and determines how we face intimidation whenever it comes our way. Are we seeing intimidation through the lens of how we can do better and accept the challenges and opportunities it brings to us, or are we taking it shying away without having other options or plans? We take control of our journey to fulfil our dreams by standing up to the challenge, having a plan, and finding solutions to problems as they arise.
Embrace your journey: Focusing on what you believe in rather than looking into side attractions is essential for goal fulfillment, as it drives us to improve and improve daily.
When we embrace who we are fully, we help eliminate evil thoughts and feelings about where we are, promote positivity and giant strides to successful skill building, boost confidence, and promote general life growth and development.
Support Structure and Groups: Working alone is often questionable, as one needs to learn or do it all. Therefore, having people of like minds discuss what you want to achieve will usually improve the likelihood of actualizing dreams and purpose. Equally important is having a mentor who can guide or direct us, as they will help boost our confidence and drive us toward goal fulfillment.
Understanding the tasks required and learning to subcontract or delegate some of the roles to others will also prevent burnout and ensure we reach our desired goal quickly.
Self Care and Calm: We become so plunged in tasks that we forget to take good care of ourselves; this sometimes makes us feel so fagged out and stressed that intimidation then finds a root in us because we are physically, mentally, and emotionally tired already.
Taking a good time out for vacation or lunchtime, engaging in recreational activities that could boost imaginative reasoning, playing puzzles and practicing regular movement or yoga could boost energy and focus levels on goal achievements.
Conclusion
Intimidation is not a problem, but how we react or respond to this challenge dramatically depends on how we react. We may face it head-on, which drives purpose fulfilment and goal achievement, or instead let intimidation affect our emotions, leading to the dashing of our purpose or dreams. Overcoming intimidation helps foster resilience and confidence in oneself and provides a basis for progress or forging ahead. Therefore, addressing these occurrences as they arise in our lives will help us progress in what we do, unlocking our full potential and overall purpose fulfillment.
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Winning (and Losing) by Intimidation | Stories | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame
https://theselfhelplibrary.com/turning-setbacks-into-comebacks-10-resilience-strategies