Fear Knocked

Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. No one was there.

The cure for most fears is action.

I have been amazed many times by how I could spend days or weeks fearing something, only to find that as soon as I took physical action toward it, most of the fear vanished. It was like stepping through a doorway. One moment, I was dreading the task; the next, I was simply doing it.

Certainly, there are rational fears that protect us from actual harm, but most of the tasks we fear won’t kill us or even harm us in any tangible way.

We may know this rationally, but the deeper parts of our brain are not rational. They are instinctual and non-verbal. The amygdala, a small almond-shaped part of our brain, produces a fear response. Its main function is to keep us alive by alerting us to danger.

The problem is that the instinctual parts of our brain aren’t great at distinguishing between a tiger that could eat us and social fears, such as the fear of failure.

To the amygdala, a threat is a threat, and a fear response kicks in.

However, once we take action, our brain quickly realizes that we are still alive and safe. We were not eaten by the tiger. The perceived threat diminishes instantly, and most of our fear dissipates.

When we repeatedly perform these same actions, our brain learns that they are safe for us to do, and they no longer trigger a fear response.

Whether it’s making that cold call, presenting to a crowd, or starting your own company, taking action will drastically reduce your current fear. The more you repeat these actions, the lower your fear response will become until it vanishes completely.

The hardest part is taking that first step.

So how do you cross the threshold of action and move to the other side?

When I experience fear, I remind myself that I’m not going to die. It may sound silly, but it works.

I repeat to myself several times that I’m safe, I won’t die, and this action won’t kill me. The phrase I use to sum it all up to myself is: There are no tigers.

The cold call won’t kill me—even if I completely mess it up.

Presenting to a crowd won’t kill me—even if they laugh at me.

Failing in front of my friends and family won’t kill me—even if I was certain I wouldn’t fail.

There are no tigers.

Is there something you’ve been putting off because of fear? Will it kill you if it goes wrong? If it will, you should probably avoid it. But if it won’t, take an action step toward it.

Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. No one was there.