I’m not a big fan of using fear, but it is an effective tool.
In marketing, I could use a lot more fear to sell my products. I could paint a horrific, terrifying picture of the world in which you can’t graduate or pass the PANCE and how the The Final Step will save you.
That’s not really my style. Some people are adept at using fear as a motivator. Again, not my personal style, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give it a shot. I believe in testing and evaluating. Read on and see if you can add a new tool to your toolbox.
Fear as a motivator.
Maybe you can use that fear of failing to get you off the couch when you’re tired. Maybe you can use that fear of losing a job to get you up at 5 am on the weekends to get more work in before the kids get up.
Billy Martin played for and managed the NY Yankees. His uniform number was 1 and the team has long since retired that number. He was known for a lot of “crazy” approaches to playing and managing. He took the Yankees to the World Series twice and won it once.
Martin was one guy who used fear and anxiety as well as anyone. He would perseverate over all of the things the opposing teams might try and do. Then he’d spend hours planning out counterstrategies to those plans he came up with.
He feared the worst, BUT he didn’t just sit and fear it. He put in the time to prepare for it. He didn’t just sit and worry. He finished his career with a .553 winning percentage which is phenomenal especially if you look at the slew of teams he managed.
Fear and anxiety might be tools you can use, but without a doubt they are doubled-edged swords. Martin used fear and anxiety better than anyone. He also used lots of alcohol and drove everyone around him crazy. He rarely lasted as manager of any team for more than 3 years in a row. Martin was married four times.
These aren’t tools in my chest. I can’t use them. Worry leads me down a dark path into the woods where Hansel and Gretel got lost. Maybe you’re different. Maybe you can use it as rider’s crop to get yourself going.
However you get yourself moving, you should be answering loads of questions. The more questions the better. Whether you’re preparing for the PANCE or just trying to remember some medicine, answering questions forces your brain to work and that simple activity makes the information stick.
Get yourself a copy of The Final Step and race through hundreds of questions. That stuff will stick like bubble gum in your hair after getting through that book.
Brian Wallace
