Fear of Losing

By Cecilia Sepp, CAE, CNAP, VEIP

The new and the different is unsettling because for humans, our most basic need is to feel safe. Feeling safe means that we have created a comfort zone of known reference points and processes.

But safety is not a concept that leads to innovation, forward motion, or growth. Think of any 1980s movie with a pounding soundtrack about reaching goals (you may immediately think of “The Secret of My Success” starring Michael J. Fox): the overarching them is NOT playing it safe.

Often in my work with associations, I come upon “the fear factor.” People are terrified of change, even if it will make things better. That may seem incongruous because who wouldn’t want things to be better? Even in bad situations you see people clinging to the known “badness” because they fear that a change will bring worse badness.

There is a reason that people embrace the cliché “better the Devil you know than the one you don’t.”

While fear is a driver in survival, it is not a factor that contributes to thriving. Acting out of fear limits our options, closes our minds, and prevents us from finding something exciting and rewarding. Risk has consequences, but sometimes consequences are GOOD.

But what causes fear in associations? That could be a long list but here’s few items to consider:

1.     Fear of losing influence: if we revise our governance structure will I still be a leader?

2.     Fear of exclusion: if we are more Inclusive, does that mean I will be forced out?

3.     Fear of identity loss: if we change the association, will it be the same place with the same meaning for me?

4.     Fear of failure: if the Board spends reserve funds and the program doesn’t work, how do we handle the fallout?

5.     Fear of the unknown: if we try something new, how will I adapt?

You may ask these questions in a different format, but you likely focus on the same areas: loss of position; loss of security; loss of reference points. In the end that is what everyone fears losing – a sense of security.

But security does not come from the external. It comes from within us. If we are secure in our thoughts, self-esteem, and self-confidence, we are secure wherever we are. Decisions can be made with the confidence that even if the changes make us uncomfortable for a time, we can embrace the opportunities of leaving The Safe Zone.