I recently faced one of my biggest fears.

It might sound ridiculous to you. I’m okay with that.

I’m afraid of medical interventions. Specifically needles or anything else that could be considered intrusive. I’ve had this medical phobia since at least the seventh grade, when I fainted in the cloak room after getting my Hepatitis B vaccine (Danielle Mailloux, thank you for keeping me company). I’ve continued to faint with nearly every subsequent medical intervention of my life.

As you can imagine, this can stop me from doing things that really need to be done.

I try not to let it. Sometimes I’m successful. Sometimes I fail miserably.

A few months ago I went to a clinic for help with a small problem I was having. I thought the investigation into said problem would be relatively straightforward, but the doc said I needed bloodwork. (Yes, medical professionals, I accept that this is straightforward, technically speaking.) I didn’t know the doctor so I didn’t tell her The Thing: I don’t do bloodwork unless I really really have to.

I took the form home and stuffed it into a pile of paperwork.

I’ll spare you the details, but more than two months later I was still feeling awful. In fact, I was starting to feel worse. But the idea of going to the lab for bloodwork went against every cell in my body. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I didn’t.

I’ll tell you how I finally got myself there, but first I want to bring this back to you. I bet there’s something you know you SHOULD do for the health of your business that you’re avoiding. Out of fear, self-doubt, or old hangups. These things feel incredibly real but are in reality mostly in your head. Hey, I get it. I have them too—not just about bloodwork.

I recently had a conversation with an incredibly kind website developer who also identifies as an introvert. We’d just met and we chatting about our businesses. When I told her I’d hosted a live training event with more than 300 participants, she was somewhat aghast.

Weren’t you nervous? she asked. Wasn’t it scary?

Yes and hell yes.

But I did it anyway.

On the way home from the lab, bandaid on my arm and orange juice in hand, I realized I’d applied the same principles to conquering both fears.

I’m sharing them here in the hopes that they inspire you to do the same.

1. Realize your inaction is hurting you more than action ever could.

My health issue reached a critical point when I realized just how long I’d been feeling terrible, and began to wonder whether it was affecting me in other ways. Low energy, general irritability? Check and check. Was it possible that this problem had actually been affecting my overall health and quality of life for the past two months?

Uhhh…I want to call myself an idiot here, but that’s not very nice. But yes. Yes, it is possible.

What are you putting off or stalling over? Maybe you know it’s time to record a video or host a webinar, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Or perhaps there’s a revealing blog post you’re afraid to write but know will resonate with your readers.

So you wait. You wait and do nothing. And in the meantime, your business…well, it isn’t exactly growing stronger.

Doing nothing can be way more damaging than even a flopped webinar or an embarrassing blog post. Do nothing and you stagnate. Do nothing and you make your business sick.

But action? Action can bring all kinds of strength and goodness.

[Tweet “Your inaction is probably hurting you more than action ever could.”]

2. Make an appointment.

I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. I was under the impression that you just show up at the lab at your convenience, and wait for your turn. That’s how it seemed to work in Ontario, where I’d lived until a year ago.

This was actually the biggest hurdle to getting me into the lab. It was never “convenient”! Every single day for more than two months, I came up with an excellent excuse not to go. I had work to do! I had Saturday plans! I needed to relax!

But when I finally felt crappy enough to check the lab’s website, I discovered…that you could make an appointment. That changed everything for me.

I will let myself down, but I hate inconveniencing others. I’d never be a no-show.

Thursday, 4 p.m. Walking distance from my apartment (for Pete’s sakes…). Appointment confirmed.

Which is precisely what I’ve done with the live training events I’ve hosted. Once you announce the date and details, once there’s even a single person signed up and expecting you to show…you’ll show.

I know you will.

(And in the case of the marketing stuff, who knows, you might even enjoy yourself!)

3. Be kind to yourself.

Look. You don’t have to be a superhero. You are human. It’s okay to be afraid, to admit you’re afraid, and to make some allowances for yourself.

On the last day of my Virtual Writing Retreat for Entrepreneurs back in January, I hosted a live Q&A. Out of everything we did that weekend (including three training videos, two training audios and lots of Facebook interaction!) this was by far the scariest.

And you know what I did?

I told my darling participants—whom I’d gotten to known decently well by then—that I was nervous. That I could be a bit shy sometimes. I thanked them for supporting me along—for making it so easy, fun and rewarding. For helping me feel comfortable.

They didn’t flinch. In fact, I think they respected my honesty.

It’s okay to be human.

As for the lab appointment…well, I got my hands on an Ativan. I’m not ashamed of it.

I forced the nurse to make small talk with me although she clearly didn’t have much to say. (Me: “Can you please distract me by saying something!?! AHHH!” Her: “Oh. Um. So…what are you doing later?”)

And check it out: I didn’t faint!

That is big for me.

After the appointment, I bought myself a latte and a ginger cookie, and felt practically giddy with relief.

And of course, I couldn’t help but wonder why I didn’t go sooner.

Can’t you imagine feeling the same way?

PS: I have a decent history of doing things that terrify me. Here’s a big one.