The thing is, my closest confidant and friend has been my fear. A most fickle thing. 

When you think about fear you think about jump scares, terror, weeping, and scary movie scenarios. But the thing about fear is, it’s a master shape shifter.

For me, when I have something hard to do I make a list and break it down, and visualise getting it done. From there I get this euphoric feeling. Let’s fucking go! I got this! The next day, I think about doing the task and the euphoria comes back for a moment. Let’s fucking go! But that feeling dies off quickly and something else mundane needs to be done, like the dishes, so I do that instead. At the end of the day I realise I didn’t get to that task but that’s OK cause there is always tomorrow. 

But tomorrow comes and goes and there is no action. 

The fear had masked itself inside the euphoria hiding in plain sight. But that’s what my best friend does. It wears many guises and can disguise itself into many emotions. 

Fear is also patient. If you’re not careful it will take the years and decades from you because it gives you things that are easy as your reward for inaction. For me it was TV. I shudder to think how much time I have wasted watching that thing with not much to show for it. 

So how do I manage my fear? 

I go through a similar process of mapping and breaking down tasks but when I feel that LFG sensation I acknowledge that it is fear and that I am afraid. 

On the task breakdown I acknowledge that it won’t be pretty or perfect. It won’t even feel good but it’s the starting that overcomes the fear. So I just start and acknowledge that it won’t be perfect. 

Once the task is complete or I put the time in, I reward myself with gratitude but acknowledge it’s just a piece of the pie and I need to get back to it. 

The next day I get that hard thing done as early as I can. Cause as Zig Ziggler said ‘if you have to eat a frog you don’t want to look at that sucker for too long.’ I also am a morning person so I try to get it done when my energy is highest. 

Recently if it’s not the carrot that gets it done it’s the stick. If things don’t get done I take away something I want like TV or drinks. I hold myself to account. 

Fear is a natural thing and a necessity. It will always be a part of all living things no matter what. But it shouldn’t get between you and your goal. 

I understand that I might take a step backwards or lose time in my pursuits and although this is not ideal I will be OK. 

How does fear present to you? Let us know at the@failurist.com 

Also if fear is kicking your ass you can always make a booking with me for a www.failurist.com