Shark Attack! ... and other scary things ...

Have you ever seen Jaws? Well, I saw the movie
before a trip to Hawaii. Needless to say, I swam a little
closer to the shore, and much more slowly (with a
whole lot less thrashing about!). It sounds weird - one
day I love swimming in the ocean, then two hours later,
thanks to Steven Spielberg, I am not sure I want to
put my bathing suit on.

I have a question for you: how many people do you
think have died due to an incident with a toaster over
the past year? The answer: 891 globally. How many
people have died over the past year due to a shark
attack? The answer: 9 globally. You might want to be
careful next time you go to put the peanut butter on
your toast!

If so few people die due to shark attacks, why are so
many people afraid of the ocean? It is our irrational
fear that impacts our beliefs. The stats I
presented above came from an ad that ran in a South
African paper. The ad was meant to assuage people's
fear about swimming in the ocean. When I heard those
stats, it gave me a new perspective on a common
fear.

To be fair, shark attacks make for exciting news. An
attack is magnified, and reported globally. It connects
with some deeply held fears. So it is in dealing with
issues surrounding careers. You may have fears in
which there is some truth. For example, you might
have a fear of the interview process, and worry that
you will fail before you even step through the door.
Your lack of confidence could be the very thing that
keeps you from landing that big job. However, with a
little coaching and confidence-boosting, the interview
process could easily prove to be a rewarding
experience.

Dealing with shark fears:

1. You are not the only one to suffer from this fear.

2. Fear of sharks is an intense fear of something that
poses little or no actual danger.

Dealing with career issues:

1. You are not the only one to suffer from fear of the
job search.

2. There is little or no actual danger in your job
search.

We are experts in helping people to overcome their
career related fears. Visit us online at
www.careerjoy.com for more information.