Stop Letting Fear Dictate Your To-Do List
Chandra Eden, The True Me Yogi
Success Left a Clue
Author: Robert Raymond Riopel
"You can have the biggest dreams in the world and even the greatest people to mentor or model from, but if you don't take the next step, you'll find yourself dead in the water. You must take Action! It might sound easy enough. It certainly makes common sense, yet not taking action is what most people do, in my experience. Taking action is not just important, it is critical, so why do so many people hold themselves back from takng action? One word. FEAR.
There is an acronym for FEAR: 'False Evidence Appearing Real', and it's true for most people. Recently I heard another variation: 'Failure Expected And Received". These beliefs come from our past programming and play a major role in our day-to-day moment-to- moment decisions. It's Fear that crippes us..."
Stop Letting Fear Dictate Your To-Do List
You have a brilliant idea. A world-changing, game-altering, life-reinventing idea. You’ve read the books, you’ve watched the TED Talks, and you’ve even made a vision board that is a masterpiece of glitter glue and ambition. You have mentors you admire and a clear picture of what success looks like. There’s just one tiny problem: you haven’t actually done anything yet.
Your magnificent idea is sitting in a notebook, gathering dust. The next step, that crucial first move, remains untaken. You’re not alone. We all know what weshoulddo. Taking action makes perfect sense. Yet, most of us are experts at not doing it. We are masters of procrastination, champions of "I'll start tomorrow."
Why? Why do we hold ourselves back from the very things we claim to want? The reason is simple and primal. It’s a four-letter word that has torpedoed more dreams than any other force in history: FEAR.
It's the invisible wall you hit when you think about launching your business, asking for a raise, or finally having that difficult conversation. It’s the nagging voice that whispers all the ways you could fail, embarrass yourself, or lose what you have. This fear is a crippling force, often built on nothing more than "False Evidence Appearing Real." It’s a ghost story we tell ourselves, and we’re all too willing to believe it.
The Many Faces of Our Favorite Monster
Fear is a sneaky shapeshifter. It rarely shows up wearing a name tag that says, "Hello, I am a completely irrational fear here to ruin your life." Instead, it disguises itself as practicality, logic, or even wisdom. It’s the voice of "sensible" self-sabotage that keeps you safely tucked away in your comfort zone.
This paralyzing fear—often rooted in past programming or a deeply ingrained expectation of failure—is the silent killer of progress. It’s the reason that gym membership goes unused, the novel remains unwritten, and the brilliant business plan never leaves the draft folder.
Common Fear Disguises: A Field Guide
Let’s unmask this monster. Here are a few of the common costumes fear wears to keep you stuck.
"I Just Need More Information":This is the classic "analysis paralysis" disguise. You convince yourself you can't start until you've read every book, taken every course, and interviewed every expert on the planet. You’re not preparing; you’re hiding. You use research as a shield to avoid the terrifying vulnerability of actually starting.
"The Timing Isn't Right":You tell yourself you'll launch your project when the economy is better, when the kids are older, when you have more savings, or when Mercury is no longer in retrograde. The "perfect time" is a myth—a finish line that fear keeps moving every time you get close.
"I Don't Want to Look Stupid":This is the fear of judgment, and it’s a powerful one. You imagine failing publicly. You can already hear the "I told you so's" from skeptical friends or family. To avoid thepossibilityof looking foolish, you guarantee you’ll never look successful either. You choose the certainty of inaction over the uncertainty of the attempt.
In each case, fear isn't protecting you. It's imprisoning you. It’s creating a narrative where failure is expected and, by not trying, eventually received.
How to Kick Fear in the Teeth (Figuratively)
Alright, so fear is a dream-eating monster. We get it. The good news is that you don't have to be its victim. You can learn to manage it, outsmart it, and even use it as fuel. It all starts with taking away its power, one small action at a time.
1. Name the Monster
Fear thrives in the dark. It loves to be a vague, unnamed dread that looms over you. The first step to defeating it is to drag it into the light. Get specific. What are youactuallyafraid of?
Grab a pen and write it down. Don't just write "failure." What does that failure look like?
"I'm afraid I'll spend $1,000 on my website and get zero clients."
"I'm afraid I'll ask for a promotion and my boss will laugh."
"I'm afraid I'll publish my art and people will leave mean comments."
When you define your fear, it transforms from a terrifying monster under the bed into a manageable problem on a piece of paper. It becomes something you can plan for and strategize against.
2. Embrace the 5-Minute Action
Fear wants you to focus on the entire, terrifying staircase. Your job is to focus only on the first step. The secret to overcoming inaction is to make the first step so ridiculously small that it feels almost sillynotto do it. This is the 5-Minute Action rule.
Want to write a book?Open a document and write for five minutes.
Want to start a business?Spend five minutes brainstorming company names.
Want to get fit?Put on your workout clothes and do a five-minute walk.
Anyone can do something for five minutes. This small act does two amazing things: it breaks the inertia of inaction and proves to your brain that the "scary" thing is, in fact, survivable. Often, those five minutes will turn into ten, then thirty. Momentum is the ultimate antidote to fear.
3. Lower the Stakes
Perfectionism is fear's best friend. We often hold back because we're afraid our first attempt won't be a masterpiece. The solution? Give yourself permission to be a beginner. Intentionally lower the stakes.
Frame your first attempt as an experiment. You're not launching the final, perfect version of your business; you're running a "test" to see what happens. You're not publishing your Pulitzer-winning novel; you're sharing a "draft" to get feedback.
This reframing takes the pressure off. It creates a space where mistakes aren't just allowed; they're expected. An experiment can't "fail"—it can only produce data. And data is exactly what you need to learn, improve, and eventually succeed.
Action Is the Only Answer
You can have the most incredible dreams in the world, but they will remain dreams until you do something. Action is the bridge between your imagination and your reality. It’s the only thing that can turn your potential into your legacy.
Fear will always be there. It’s a part of the human experience. The goal isn't to eliminate fear but to learn how to act in spite of it. Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's being terrified and taking the leap anyway.
So, look at that thing you've been avoiding. That next step you know you need to take. Acknowledge the fear, thank it for trying to keep you safe, and then politely tell it to step aside. Your dreams are waiting. It’s time to take action.