Fear is a natural emotional response to a perceived risk or threat. While its role is to protect us, fear can be unhelpful in preventing us from benefiting from experiences and opportunities.

Fear is an emotion that we all share. It is part of our basic set of human emotions that includes joy, sadness and anger. Fear is a learned emotion, and in the words of Dale Carnegie:

“You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind”.

This is why people fear different things. Some are afraid of heights, or of snakes, or of the dark.

Some people are so afraid of flying that they would never book a trip in an aeroplane. Others might be so scared of water that they never experience the joy and exhilaration of swimming.

Fear is the biggest single reason for people deferring or avoiding property investment decisions. You might be one such person, and the list of fears could include the fear of:

• Making a mistake
• Losing money
• Making a fool of yourself
• Being ripped off
• Investing in the wrong location
• Not finding tenants
• Not being able to meet the repayments

The list goes on. If fear is learned, however, and exists in the mind only, this explains why some people are avid property investors, while others are too nervous to make a move.

How do you overcome fear that has been learned through life – perhaps from our parents, partner, from stories in the media, from others’ experiences – if it is all in the mind?

The answer to solving fears involves the same process that gave rise to them in the first place – learning.

It is a cardinal rule in investment property that you first “Do your homework.” For some this means reading books and websites on the subject. Through learning the principles of property investment, the topic moves onto a more rational platform rather than emotional.

A valuable introductory guide, The Immutable Rules of Property Investment, can be downloaded as a first step from the McCarthy Group website. Or you can meet with specialists in the field, like McCarthy Group, who can assist and advise you on the concept, the process, and how to put it to work for you.

As Plato said in 347 BC:

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

If you would like to learn more and discuss how McCarthy Group can assist you, click here.