Bravado! Conquering the Fears of Changing Jobs

By Greg Sparks

Fear abounds today in the job market for a variety of reasons. Emotional upheaval wreaks havoc on everyone if fear is allowed to control your mind, body, and soul. In Bravado! Greg Sparks shows you how to Win the “Emotional Mind Games” that often cripple people, offers much needed encouragement, and provides hope to those who have been trampled and beaten down. Greg has lived in fear in the past and is committed to live there no more. Within each of you is the courage to challenge and conquer your fears. Bravado! leads you down the path to following your dreams. Now is the time to conquer fear and lead an extraordinary life. Be Afraid, But Do It Anyway!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greg Sparks
• Release date: Feb 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310307379

Greg Sparks

Greg Sparks lives in Central Texas. He enjoys reading and writing books. He gradutate from Texas A&M University-College Station with a degree in Recreation, Parks & Tourism Sciences. He is a member of Brazos Writers. He gets a kick out of his family. His family is debt-free and life is good.

Book preview

Bravado!

Conquering the Fears of

Changing Jobs

Greg Sparks

Copyright © 2015

Smashwords Edition

Hawkread Publications

Bryan, TX

Greg Sparks

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

All quotes from www.brainyquote.com unless otherwise documented.

All Scripture have been taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

DEDICATION

This is dedicated to Whitney and the boys.

Outline

Introduction

Chapter 1—What is Fear

Chapter 2—What is Said About Fear

Chapter 3—How to Know When to Change Jobs

Chapter 4—Why do People Hate Looking for a New Job

Chapter 5—Combating the Fear of Change

Chapter 6—How a Positive Attitude will Help Fight Fear

Chapter 7—The Unemployment Fiasco

Chapter 8—Your Personality Traits through the DISC Profile

Chapter 9—Planning for Your Future

Chapter 10 –Passion and Your Plan

Chapter 11—Bravado! How to Build Confidence in Your Job Search

Books to Help Your Job Search

Notes

Acknowledgements

Other Books by Greg Sparks

Contact with Greg Sparks

Introduction

WHAT IS keeping you down? What is keeping you from pursuing your dream job and your calling in life? Most likely it is fear. Everyone faces fear and encounters it throughout life. But why does fear cripple some people into never reaching for their potential and God-given passions: why do others harness the fear and charge forward?

Some of people’s fears relate to their personality traits and tendencies while other fears relate to their past situations and failures. Most of the fears people faces tend to be perceived, either they are created in the mind of the person or people believe what someone else has said. People also tend to believe what they have heard through the media and other negative outlets. How do you fight these fears and proceed with life?

Everyone needs encouragement. I am here to provide that encouragement for you. I want you to be successful! First, and foremost, you pray. Find your passions, and then make an action plan. You have to give yourself goals and priorities to make your plan come alive. And you MUST do it with passion and bravado! According to www.Dictionary.com, Bravado is a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.1 It is usually associated with soldiers heading to battle, but I want to encourage and strengthen you as if you were heading to battle and to conquer a hill for your job search. My goal is to release the bravado within you so you can charge that hill ahead and find the job you are meant to do; the job God has called you to do.

Accept the challenges so that you can feel

the exhilaration of victory.

General George Patton

Fear is something real and cannot be ignored or swept under the rug. Fear must be faced head-on and I want to encourage you to storm ahead and face this fear with power, confidence, and hope. God has called you to the forefront of your life. You do not have to wait any longer. You have the power now and it resides within you. You have the passion. And you have the bravado. But you must still have an action plan. Jumping without a plan and calling it faith is neither smart nor practical. However, living with the fears you face is not the best solution either, plus it is highly unhealthy.

I have lived with these fears in my work and my job search. My personality is one where I am afraid to move unless I have all the details and the timing is just right. So I know what you are going through, but I want you to step beyond your fears and live your dreams. Though the decisions I have made in my jobs I have learned that it is better to make a plan and move forward then to let fear cripple me from achieving great things. My hope and plan is to share it with you. I want to dispel the fears you have and give you hope. I want you to strive for great things. I want you to proceed with your life and not have any regrets at the end of it. Living with regret is the saddest emotion a human can face. You can accelerate ahead. You can do it! I believe in you!

Believe you can and you’re halfway there.

President Theodore Roosevelt

You will need an action plan. Things do not happen by chance. Great structures are not constructed without plans even down to the smallest detail, such as the color of the tile in the janitorial closet. Most everything is laid out before construction starts. As with any good construction project change is inevitable. You should also be flexible with your plans. This is part of dealing with the fear of change. You must adapt to overcome. However, without a plan you will drift aimlessly from job to job throughout life without accomplishing much of anything.

In some secret military operation soldiers will train for months before they deploy. The operation that killed America’s most notable terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was a well thought out plan. Once he was discovered in Pakistan it was a month before he was brought to his death. Why? Because the special operations soldiers had to plan for any contingency during the raid. Even when the first helicopter lost its lift over the wall and was disabled, the teams were able to adapt to the change and still complete their mission in less than forty minutes. Had they not had the practice and the plans, the raid would have been disastrous to their lives, their morale, and the overall view of the American military. They practiced over and over again until their movements become second nature to them. Then in moments of fear their training and plans enabled them to precede and accomplish their mission. Now these men are seen as heroes in the world’s eyes, though we may never know who they are. They trained for about a month before enacting, and not a single man was killed. Making a good action plan, following it, while allowing for alterations, is a good idea.

Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude

of counselors they are established.

Proverbs 15:22

Bravado! is a pretentious, swaggering display of courage. You need bravado to fulfill your dreams. You do not have to be afraid anymore. You can do it! I want to encourage you with hope for you to find your dreams and that job you are looking for.

Chapter 1

What is Fear?

FEAR [feer]

noun

1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm. Antonyms: courage, security, calm, intrepidity.

2. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights. Synonyms: phobia, aversion; bête noire, bogy, bogey, bugbear. Antonyms: liking, fondness, penchant, predilection.

3. concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.

4. reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.

5. something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of: Cancer is a common fear.¹

Fear is Powerful

Fear is powerful. Fear is real. Fear is a stressful emotion which fuels other emotions such as anger which leads to hatred. Watch any news story and you can see the effects of hatred around us. Hatred causes people not to think clearly and then act irrationally. Fear cripples our bravado.

Anxiety, fear, and stress leave negative effects on our bodies. Diseases such as high blood pressure, irritable bowel, tension headaches, diabetes, and strokes are only a few of the stress-related diseases. Everyone has had their heart race, sweaty palms, a rise in their breathing, and their blood pressure increase at some time or another as they have faced fear. Those knots in your stomach are real. Your body is preparing itself for flight or fight, where it will run away or stand its ground, depending on what it needs to do to protect itself. Both of these reactions have the same effect on the body. If you do not like conflict, these stress triggers are common. I know when I am facing conflict, and looking for a new job can be seen as conflict, my stomach could churn butter.

Fear