The simplest way I’ve found to guarantee you never live up to your potential? Wait until you feel “ready” to take action because you think fear is a warning sign.
But here’s the thing…
Fear isn’t just part of the process of putting yourself and your ideas out there… It’s the key to finding the work that is most worth doing.
The issue is too many people think they have to wait:
- Until fear goes away…
- Until they feel fully prepared…
- Until they have a perfect plan…
Before they take action.
I’ve met countless ambitious people who desperately wanted to do meaningful, purpose-driven work that fulfilled them—but they let fear hold them back.
Some of them spent their entire lives waiting to feel “ready” to publish their book, start their business, or pivot their career.
So they lived their entire lives trapped in mediocrity because they knew they were meant for more, but never took action to make it a reality.
Until they eventually arrived at their deathbed and looked back on their life with regret, wishing they’d had the courage to take action to make their dreams a reality.
But I’m here to tell you this: It’s not about courage or waiting for fear to go away.
Fear is a sign you’re on the right path because fear comes up when you’re emotionally invested in the work you’re doing because it matters.
When you have a job you hate, fear doesn’t rear it’s head. You clock in, clock out, then try to carve out a modicum of enjoyment outside of work.
But when you choose to do work that matters, that feels aligned with your most authentic self, that is when fear comes out in full force.
Because it’s trying to show you the way that leads to the life you want.
But this is terrifying for most of us, so we avoid it.
- We wait until fear goes away, which never happens.
- We wait until we feel “ready,” which never happens.
- We wait until everything is perfect, which never happens.
We wait and wait and wait until we run out of time.
So instead of waiting until you feel ready, think about why this work is worth doing in the first place.
Read Next: The MVP Mindset: How to Overcome Perfectionism by Thinking Iteratively
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P.S.
What could you achieve if fear wasn’t holding you back? It’s time to find out.
- If you’re tired of waiting.
- If you’re tired of knowing you’re capable of more.
- If you’re tired of not doing the work you know you’re meant to do.
Join the next cohort of The Alchemy of Fear today.
