#4 — An idea when fears prevent you from making positive moves.
Have you ever passed up an opportunity because you worried about the consequences?
Skipped a new client because they might have asked you questions you didn’t know the answer to. Said no to a dream opportunity because people might believe you’re not as loyal as you think you were.
We’ve all denied ourselves something potentially amazing because we feared the outcome.
Stop waiting for the right time. Try to separate what you can control from what you can’t control. This will help open your mind to new possibilities.
Try an exercise called fear-setting designed by Tim Ferris (author Four Hour Workweek).
It helps you see the worst possible scenarios that are holding you back so that you can take action.
You force yourself to conquer these scenarios and highlight what you’ll miss out on, if you decide to turn down the opportunity. If you struggle to make decisions because you’re too preoccupied with thinking what might go wrong, then fear-setting could be worth a try.
First, list 5–10 of the worst things you can imagine if you take the leap. For each think of what you can do to prevent it from happening. If the worst-case happened, how could you repair the damage? Write that one down too. Now you have a list of 5–10 things with the worst things defined, a prevention for each, and a repair for each.
Next, ask yourself what might be the benefits of an attempt, or partial success? List 5–10 things. Lastly, calculate the cost of inaction. What will NOT taking this step do to your state of mind, finances, and body in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years? List as many as you can.
Doing this won’t make all the hard times and decisions easy, but it will make them easier. It’s like a pro’s versus con’s list, but better.
Post based on Tim Ferriss’ Ted talk, 2017. Worth the watch.
