Last Monday I introduced you to 27 awesome bloggers whom shared their defining moments in life that brought them to today. Today those same bloggers are going to give you their best advice on how to overcome fear so that you can change your life into whatever you want it to be. Be inspired. Change today.
Everett Bogue – Far Beyond the Stars
You can only plan so much, sometimes you have to leap. Everyone will tell you not to leap, but they’re wrong. They’ve also probably never jumped ever, so they’re probably not very successful. You can’t see the future until you’re at the moment when change is about to happen — don’t anticipate a million futures when all you need is one action to happen to make one future happen. Instead, jump, burn your bridges, do what you feel in your gut is the right thing to do.
Chris Guillebeau – Art of Non-Conformity
Don’t try to be fearless. Acknowledge your fears and try to get to the core issue — what are you really afraid of? Then, refuse to let fear make your decisions for you. Instead, make decisions based on what you really want, and deal with fear along the way. (Over time, it gets much easier.)
Leo Babauta – Zen Habits
Just take one step. A small step. Taking a little step isn’t hard, isn’t scary. Lace up your shoes and get out the door — that’s the first step. Close your browser and open your text file to write a paragraph. Put on your yoga pants and get your bottle of water. That step isn’t hard, and it’s not scary.
Caz & Craig Makepeace – yTravel Blog
Make the decision to change. I know this sounds really simple but so many people spend their lives wanting to change but never first deciding to actually change it- they wish and dream but they don’t cut off from all other options. The only way to overcome your fear is to swallow it. Don’t run from it as it will continue to chase you and take away all your power. Welcome the fear into your life by acknowledging its existence and its purpose, which is to allow you to stretch and grow. Once you acknowledge what it is there for you can overcome it by doing exactly what you are afraid of. Do it without hesitation. You then swallow the fear and in doing so reclaim all of the power that fear was trying to take from you.
So simply make the decision to change and then just do it. That is how and why change can happen in an instant.
Christine Gilbert – Almost Fearless
If it doesn’t make you a little scared, you’re not dreaming big enough. Treat fear for what it is, a nifty genetic gift that generally keeps us safe, but a very poor way to plan your life. Acknowledge the fears, come to some understanding about the level of risk you’re comfortable with, and try to let it go. It gets easier with practice, time and experience — so the first big jump is always the scariest. In the end, you’ll be amazed at what you can do.
Ash Ambirge – The Middle Finger Project
We get ourselves so worked up, and build the “what-if” scenario up so much in our minds, that the worst possible situation we’re imagining is actually far WORSE than the worst possible situation. Everything’s about perspective.
Even if none of it works out, at the very least, you’ll still be right where you left off, nothing gained, but nothing lost. And if it turns out that that isn’t the case, and you’re negative $56 in your checking account with creditors calling you (been there, too), it’s simply not that big of a deal relative to the experience you will have gained, and the changes that will occur in you as a person from expanding your consciousness & getting out there and going after something you WANT. I’ve always said that we all KNOW when we aren’t living up to our potential; we can deny it, but we know it deep down. And that disconnect between what you’re doing and what you’re capable of, will eat you alive. But there’s an easy enough solution for that: Close the damn gap.
Colin Wright – Exile Lifestyle
Once you take that leap once or twice you actually start to worry about holding still too long, because the people who do this tend to plateau and lose control over their own destiny, while those who live more dynamic lives, changing trajectory based on new information as it becomes available are able to lead the pack and achieve their ambitions.
Keith Savage – Traveling Savage
Major life changes are more scary – incapacitating, really – when they are vague, looming albatrosses off in the distance. They have a sense of the unreachable about them. If you’ve identified your goal, spend however long it takes to craft a plan that will lead you to it. By the time many people are ready to make a change, myself included, they are in such mental and emotional turmoil that they simply want it to happen now, as if by magic. In my experience, that’s the just the point of reckoning, where you’re at peace with your decision to change. What follows is the long road to actualizing the change. In my case, it took 11 months from that point of reckoning.
I used to have "choice" written on my skateboard to remind me that I have a choice to either let fear consume me or to overcome it.
Karol Gajda – Ridiculously Extraordinary
One of the biggest problems people have is getting too far into their heads. Over thinking and talking yourself out of doing epic things. Know that we all go through that, but the people who make change happen don’t let it stop them. Nothing will ever be as bad as you might think it will be. On the flip side, not everything will be as amazing as you think it will be. But there’s no use in thinking about that. Don’t live in the future. Live today and do something now.
Corbett Barr – Free Pursuits
Ask yourself, “what’s the worst thing that could really happen if I fail?” Fear is often worst when it’s not quantified. If you really dig into the details, you’ll probably find there isn’t much to be afraid of.
John Bardos – Jet Set Citizen
We all are afraid but I think we need to put our fears into perspective. With the Internet and inexpensive goods and services (like airfare) it really is easier to do anything we want in life. Going to a foreign country can be terrifying but everything is just an internet search away. You can find local people to connect with on sites like CouchSurfing. You can find jobs in advance. You can even freelance online or sell your own products anywhere with an internet connection. When you arrive in a new there is always a huge group of people to network with and help you get set up.
Your great grandparents struggled just to survive. They were worried about having enough food and clothing. Your biggest problem is that you have too many choices. That is not much to be fearful about. Just choose what you want to do and make it happen. We are fortunate enough to live in a world of great abundance. Our ancestors worked hard to create this quality of life so don’t waste it hiding behind a TV set.
Audrey Scott – Uncornered Market
Keep talking about that change so that it becomes something that seems natural and almost bound to happen. Talk with other people who have gone through something similar to find out their experience. Then, think of the worst case scenario – what will happen if you follow through with that change? In reality, it probably wouldn’t be that bad but the potential rewards of going through with the change are much greater.
Lea Woodward -Location Independent
Take the next step, however small it may be. You don’t have to have it all laid out and planned to the nth degree – you just need to know what the next step is. It doesn’t even need to be the “right” step – just as long as you do something and make some sort of move. Inertia and inaction will get you nowhere – action and taking a step, however small, will give you the fresh perspective you need to then take the next step and the one after that and the one after that and…you get the picture, I’m sure 
Jonathan Mead – Illuminated Mind
Just be an explorer, don’t take things too seriously in the beginning. Pretend that you’re just a mad scientist experimenting to see what works for you. When you take some of the pressure off things become more like bplay.
Ivan Campuzano – Freedom from the Known
It’s not really the unknown we are afraid of. In reality, we are afraid of losing everything we have known. How can we be afraid of the unknown? We don’t know what it is. The real problem is that we have a hard time letting go of our past. Our past in efforts to protect itself, in trying to keep the things it likes, will project itself into the future, and since we don’t know what the future will bring, we become afraid of the uncertainty.
Life is one continuous changing dream. You will only grow by allowing the new to enter into your life. The more you learn to act spontaneously the more your fears will begin to fade, you develop trust in your being, you feel whole, and your conditioning begins to lose its grip on you.
You need to decide to not run away from your fears, try to witness them, look them in the face without judging or distorting, because to run away or change them only serves to increase them. I would rather suffer from my fears then to be a slave to fixed ideas, to be tied down to the known and comfortable.
Jonny Gibaud – The Life Thing
Remember that everyone is fearful, it is not unique. I don’t think fear is something you overcome, it is something you confront and push through. To make change happen is about realising the fear and working through it, everyone who has ever wanted something great for their life has done this.
For a practical tip, I would suggest sharing your plans with people before you have even finalised them. This is what I did when I was thinking of leaving the job and moving to Thailand. It was such a big decision that I knew I would bottle it so instead I chose to make the fear of “loss of face” for not doing it having told people I would, greater than the risk of actually doing it. Also, with this approach, as you tell more people about your plans, you start to make them a reality in your head, and it is this reality that is the most important.
Tammy Strobel – Rowdy Kittens
Take one small step everyday. Folks tend to make things too complicated. In Smalltopia, I encourage people to simplify and start small. For me that has eased a lot of my fear and anxiety when I have to make big changes or start working on new projects.
Gary Arndt – Everything Everywhere
People should realize that there are millions of people every day who are traveling. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have been to strange and foreign countries and managed to come back just fine.
Matt Kepnes – Nomadic Matt
I look at fear like this. If everyone can and has done this without any problems, why would my trip be different? If they can do it successfully, I can do it successfully.
Sean Ogle – Location 180
I say the same thing to everyone that wants to know how to make this lifestyle happen. The absolute best thing you can do is this: start a blog. Simple as that. It’s the one commonality between probably every single person on your list. They used their blog as a basis to build their skills, create a community, network with likeminded people…the list goes on. If you start a blog, and take it seriously, good things will happen.
Nick Laborde – Stretchd
The first step in overcoming fear is to recognize that change is inevitable, the only thing that isn’t, is our acceptance and embrasement of it. Change is one of the only guarantees in life, besides death (there isn’t much you can do about that). It’s like natural selection, you either change or get left behind, both literally and figuratively. You may not get eaten by a hippo but you will be left to scrounge on the ground for scraps.
Overcoming the fear of dropping in on a 12 foot wall.
Adam Baker – Man Vs Debt
Just freakin’ do it.
It’s actually no harder than that. That doesn’t mean be irresponsible. That doesn’t mean be flimsy or careless. But you have to just freakin’ do it. You have to truly and deeply commit that things will be different.
Most importantly, you need to set a passionate goal that drives your most raw emotions. Nobody gets out of debt, or loses weight, or becomes successful in business… because it’s good for them. You’ve got to get down to the real emotions that drive you and set unbelievable remarkable goals that’ll propel you forward.
Ours was to sell everything we own and travel overseas with our baby daughter. Yours will likely be totally different. That’s o.k. – but if you let yourself, you’ll come up with every excuse in the book why to delay starting.
Just start. Take steps today that push you closer.
Srinivas Rao – The Skool of Life
I’ve said before that most people will settle for average rather than risk the potential to be extraordinary because they fear failure so much. But when you think about the payoff of a risk compared to the guarantee that you’ll remain average, I think taking the risk is a no brainer. For the risk averse person, I guess I’d say you can make little changes every single day that build up momentum and then the momentum will force a big change.
Maren Kate – Escaping the 9 to 5
Do it regardless, the more fear you feel the more you should push yourself to do something. Normally when I start my day out I attack the problems I fear most, first. This puts you in the proper mindset and really gets you going.
Raam Dev
Start now. Do something, anything that moves you even one inch closer to your goals. It might be scary, but think about how horrible it would be if you spent your entire life too afraid to take those small risks. How would you feel if you looked back from your deathbed and thought to yourself, “If only I was a little more courageous…”. That’s a hell of a lot more scary than anything else.
Remember the things that cannot be taken away from you. The knowledge and experience you gain and possess is yours no matter how jobless or poor you become. Who you are inside cannot be lost, stolen, bought, or given away. Whatever risk and fears may be associated with the big changes you’re facing, they’re nothing compared to the inner growth and confidence you will obtain by overcoming them. Go. Be brave!
Steph – Twenty-Something Travel
Your fears are always going to be scarier than the actual reality of the situation. All you can really do is confront them head on and watch them disappear.
Cody McKibben – Thrilling Heroics
Change is scary. Taking a risk is scary. Traveling, moving abroad (or across the state for that matter), starting a business, everything worthwhile will stir up your fears. But pushing our limits that way is the only real way that we ever earn life experience, learn what we’re made of and what we’re capable of. If you fear failure, or loss, all that you need to realize is that everyone successful got that way because they were willing to but enough failures under their belt. Ask any multimillionaire, or pro sports athlete.
The truth is if you want the best that life has to offer—if you want to achieve big things—you will never get there without putting yourself on the line and risking everything, and doing it often. You must be willing to risk the comfort of the familiar if you hope to rise above the mediocre and find what truly brings you happiness.
