In the early chapters of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Susan describes the “Five Truths About Fear.” These “truths” are what she learned on her journey to become a more confident and powerful person.
1. The fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow.
As long as we continue to push out into the world, as long as we continue to stretch our capabilities, as long as we continue to take new risks in making our dreams come true, we are going to experience fear.
2. The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.
Fear doesn’t go away in order for us to do something, we have to do something in order to make the fear go away.
3. The only way to feel better about myself is to go out . . . and do it.
The “doing” comes before feeling better about ourselves. When we make something happen, not only does the fear go away, but we also build our self-confidence.
4. Not only am I going to experience fear whenever I’m on unfamiliar territory, so is everyone else.
All those people out their accomplishing things are facing their fears and still doing great work. We are not alone in our fear.
5. Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness.
No matter how safe we feel in the lives we’ve built for ourselves, we all live, consciously or unconsciously, with fear that the day of reckoning will eventually come.
Everyone experiences fear, no one is immune. But if you keep in mind the “Five Truths About Fear,” you can better begin to understand that fear doesn’t have to rule your life. You can move past it.