Has your greatest fear ever come true?

No matter what your fears are, and no matter what has happened in your life, knowing your greatest fear is a powerful tool for getting into action. Every single one of us has fear. Some of our fears are huge. Some of our fears are small. But all of our fears exist. Some people will encourage you to be fearless, but that’s actually really quite hard to do. Being fearless doesn’t have to be the goal. But acting alongside fear is a really important skill to be able to learn.

If you can think of fear as friction, you can reframe it for positive momentum. It’s merely a reaction of getting into action and moving towards the things you want. I know, though, I know it’s way easier said than done. Because when you’re in the throes of fear it’s blinding. It feels like no future is possible other than the one your fears are telling you that you’re destined for.

Luckily, there’s a really powerful exercise you can employ to dismantle that really scary story that fear is telling you. It’s super easy. And super effective. Because fear only has as much power as you give it. And when you’re able to call your fears out and call out what they’re telling you will happen, somehow, and over time, that fear has a way of becoming less powerful.

Here’s one of our favorite tricks: it’s called the worst case scenario. When there’s something you want to act on, but you’re really scared of what might happen, you can use worst case scenarios to get over the hump. What you do is you take a situation that you’re really scared of, but one that’s really important to you. Then you write out all the worst things that could possibly happen if you went forward with this thing that matters to you. Like every detail, all your worst fears. Once you’ve done that, then, you come up with a plan B. What WOULD you do if all these greatest fears came true. How would you handle this worst case scenario being a reality? Write it all down. Then last but not least, ask yourself, can I handle this worst case scenario and this plan b? Am I willing?

Many many many times, you’ll realize that plan B ain’t so bad. And that you can totally handle it. And if that’s the case, then RUN don’t walk towards this action that you’re dreaming of. If you can’t handle the plan B, that’s OK too. You’ll likely start to marinate on what you can handle. We all have very different appetites for risk. It’s all very personal to us. So whatever you do, don’t judge it.

Know that your fears are there. And know that your fears are merely just friction on this life you want to be creating. If there’s something you really want to do but might be a little scared, use the power of journaling a worst case scenario in order to move forward. Remember, you can be fearful and still be deeply powerful. Your fears are not you!