fear

“Fear creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic – as people give in to it, they lose energy and momentum. Their lack of confidence translates into inaction that lowers confidence levels even further, on and on.”

– Robert Greene – The 50th Law

Fear, the internal mechanism that protected us from predators for thousands of years, is preventing us from reaching our full potential today. Fear is a creator, an exaggerator, and a story-teller. It creates roadblocks between us and our full potential. It strips away our confidence and replaces it with timidity. Fear tells that we are inadequate, incapable and unworthy of greatness. It convinces us to settle for less than we are fully capable of. It lowers our sights and makes mediocrity acceptable.

Fear paralyzes us. It prevents us from taking action. Fear is the creator of self-doubt and the destroyer of self-confidence. Fear exaggerates the dangers in the pursuit of our dreams to protect us. Fear seeks to completely eradicate failure, rejection and setbacks – which are necessary for success. We cannot grow in peace and quiet. We grow when we are challenged.

We must not allow fear to win in exaggerating the dangers of large and meaningful goals. Fear is a protective response, helping us avoid negative feedback. We must embrace the negative feedback that we experience. We cannot take it personally. We must use it as a tool to develop stronger and more concrete plans to keep moving forward.

Fear can no longer prevent us from stepping outside of our comfort-zone. The world beyond our comfort-zone is unfamiliar, yet brimming with opportunities. The dangers and disappointments that await us in this unknown world are negligible. They do not matter. We must forge ahead without fear. Fear serves no purpose in this unfamiliar world. Fear proclaims that others have been down this path before; others have tried, others have failed and they were somehow, Superior to you. This is a lie.

The immobilization that fear creates must be destroyed. Abolishing fear opens doors of opportunity. With fear out of the way you begin to develop more expansive plans for the future. You start to recognize the power of thinking big. You start to recognize the insecurities that everybody in the world has. You start to see yourself in a different light. You see yourself full of confidence. Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, talks about the importance of chasing goals that the rest of the world is afraid, of chasing. He says:

“It’s lonely at the top. 99% of the world is convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre middle-ground. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most time- and energy-consuming. It is easier to raise $10,000,000 than it is $1,000,000. It is easier to pick up the one perfect 10 in the bar than the five 8’s. If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.”

Take a stand today. Stand up for yourself and for your dreams. Stop thinking of the limitations and the things that could stand in your way. Stop thinking that everybody else is more capable than you. Go after your goals with confidence and work each day to fear less – until the day that you are fearless.