What most people don't know is that addressing fears is even more important than the initial setting of goals. Research shows fear is a [natural and influential part](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2012.00050/full) of goal pursuit Through repeated usage I've updated the tool in ways that made it more helpful. There are two variants: one for making a big decision, as Tim Ferriss popularized. I found breaking up the writing into a couple chunks to stop before reaching emotional overwhelm/depletion and to sleep on/process the decision helpful. The second version is one I've made from my own testing and research. I find doing one fear at a time and acting immediately more effective most of the time. Why? Doing the exercise all at once has increased my desire to avoid overall in multiple instances negating most of the benefit. **I strongly recommend writing the exercise by hand** Why? Hand writing slows down thinking which makes fast emotions like fear easier to bring into awareness and interact with. # My version: Approachable Fear Setting 1. What do you want that you notice fear and/or avoid/delay? - Is the want a clear outcome? 1. Approach and welcome the feeling, let it play out in your awareness. Some helpful steps: 1. Start with grounding in bodily awareness, watch the sensations that construct the feeling first 2. Then label the feeling (probably fear here). What particular flavor of fear is it? 3. Validate the feeling, accept it as it is. 4. Watch the intensity rise and fall 5. Create safety, can you see how the feeling is a safe messenger and actually helpful? 3. What is the fear telling you, what would it look like if it the source of the fear became real? 4. If a scenario came up, how likely is it to happen? 5. What is the impact after 2 weeks to 6 months? Would you even notice? 6. What can you influence to prevent the scenario? 7. What could you do to reduce and repair damage if it did happen? 8. How does the fear feel now? How does it compare to before? 9. What is one thing you can start now worth doing to get your outcome? * How can you start for 5 minutes? Decide and act now. # Other versions Fear setting is a term popularized by Tim Ferriss, and I appreciate him sharing the idea. Some of the versions that inspired my version through repeated testing, personal experience, and comparison with scientific research: - [https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/](https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/) - There is another version in Tools of Titans on pg. 463 - [Ted talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_ferriss_why_you_should_define_your_fears_instead_of_your_goals?subtitle=en) Fear setting has three main parts. 1. What if I… The first part, or page one, is called “What if I…”. This section requires you to identify whatever decision you’re putting off, the thing that’s making you anxious, or the action that you have to make. When you’ve identified this, you need to list down the following: Define: listing from 10 up to 20 worst-case scenarios that will transpire if you take the step Prevent: the things you could do to prevent or decrease the chances of the scenarios you’ve identified in the “Define” column from happening Repair: the ways you could fix the damage – even if it’s the minimal thing you can do; you can also identify people from whom to ask for help 2. What might be the benefits of an attempt or partial success? The second part is your answer to the question: “What might be the benefits of an attempt or partial success?” In this section, you can list your most conservative outlook of how things will be if you took the step you’ve identified in the first section. Take at least 10 to 15 minutes to accomplish this section. 3. The Cost of Inaction The final page, and is perhaps the most significant one, is called “The Cost of Inaction.” On this page, you will write down in as much detail as possible the scenario a few months to a few years down the road if you didn’t take the action you’ve identified in the first section. The goal is to truly picture out how you will end up remaining in the status quo. Oftentimes, we are afraid of taking action because we dwell so much on what could go wrong. We never realize that it is more terrifying to remain in the status quo. It is always when we take the easy choices that life becomes difficult. However, when we meet tough decisions head-on, life becomes blissful, more in keeping with how we want to live it. As Seneca said, too often our suffering is all in our minds. # Digging Into The Related Science There are multiple researchers including Andrew Huberman that claim negative visualization increases pursuit of goals while repeated positive visualization can reduce action taken. I found some studies about positive visualization: increased frequency can reduce action as well as increasing effort when near the beginning and the [end](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jm.75.2.109) are the times where it is beneficial. For the negative side, I think WOOP (Wish Outcome Obstacle Plan) is a good reference point as a intervention that overlaps well with negative visualization/fear setting here. A key part of it is visualizing obstacles to goals which is typically what fears point to. In some cases this approach can [nearly triple the efforts](https://meridian.allenpress.com/jgme/article/9/4/451/35318/Changing-Resident-Physician-Studying-Behaviors-A) of people who use it in pursuit of goals. Ultimately though the science needs more studies to reproduce the effects making personal testing to find out what works of higher relative value. # Other Notes - Fear drives the avoidance motivation system and competes with the approach one. By approaching something, this usually diminishes the fear. Curiosity is the only driver I have found consistently strong enough to outcompete fear.