Unless you become courageous, you can end up going through life without ever getting your dream job or you may even lose the chance to start your side hustle.

 I will tell you a story. When I was about four years into my professional career and working as one of the senior professionals in the organisation, I took an interest in looking at how our clients coming in for treatment as adults could be supported earlier on in their treatment journey as children and young. I decided I was going to make the transition and look for a job role in children's services and support children and young people early on in their treatment journey.

 Now as a professional who only had experience in working with adults, I was afraid that I did not have the experience working with children and young people. I did however, have a strong desire to support children and young people early on and see how they could benefit from early intervention into the needs I was seeing in adult services.

 Despite my fears of having no experience working with children and young people, I still applied for a job role in that area and landed the job because of the transferable skills I had gained in my career in the last four years.

The fact that I had overcome my fears and went ahead anyway was good for my personal growth.

When we take action despite our fears we build the courage to take on challenges that seem daunting at first.

So how can you build up your courage to go for what you want in your life and your career?

 The first thing is to be self-aware. One of the quotes I love from John Maxwell says " you have to know yourself to grow yourself". It is crucial to know when you are not doing something because you are afraid.

 Whenever you notice that you are procrastinating on something because you are afraid to fail or be rejected, write it down and make a plan to gradually ease yourself into tackling the issue in small steps that will not overwhelm you.

For example you may be afraid to start a business you are passionate about because you are so scared to fail and that no one will buy into your idea so you retreat into safety before you have even started. Another example is you may be afraid to apply for a promotional position that you want because you fear that you will not be shortlisted, or if you are shortlisted you will not pass the interview. As a result, you end up not applying for the job role.

Now with some positive thinking and preparation, you are highly likely to get the job or start that side hustle if you dare to go through the process.

Positively thinking about the job role you want or the side hustle you want to start can increase your chances of actually landing the desired position or starting your side hustle.

 Imagine yourself having been shortlisted for the job and invited to the interview or having started your side hustle and making that first sale! How would you feel?

Now imagine being at the interview and you being in your element, answering all the questions correctly and the interview panel smiling, nodding and agreeing with you. Most likely you will feel so confident and proud of yourself.

 In my career goal planner for aspiring leaders, I talk about the importance of imagination in goal planning. Imagination is an intuitive process that enables you to see (in your mind's eye) what you want and to feel the benefits of pushing past your fears and going for what you want. Imagining your next position or your next steps will undoubtedly give you the courage to make a move.

What are you imagining your career or side hustle will look and feel like in 2020?