How many things have you missed out on in life or how many dreams have you not pursued because of fear!? We tend to overthink things and focus on the worst possible outcomes because fear holds us back and we are scared of failing. It’s time to stop letting fear holding you back in your life!

Fear is just an emotion and a state of mind, you can learn to change and control your emotions so you can lead a healthy and fulfilled life. You can learn to let go of this emotion and become focused on your goals and achieve things you never thought possible.

It is true, that everything you want is on the other side of your fears. If you ask yourself the question “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”, you will discover what you truly want and what you want to do with your life.

When you discover what is important to you and the path you want to take, and the person you want to become then you can take the necessary steps to achieve your goals and stop your fears from controlling you. When you let fear stop you from pursuing the things you want out of life, it gets in the way of you living the life you’ve always wanted and it holds you back and limits your abilities.

Your fears aren’t reality, they are just your insecurities and lack of self-esteem taking over your mindset. You can train your mind to let go of these fears and change your mindset into a fearless and positive state.

It’s important to frequently remember that we only live once and even if you do fail at certain things, it’s better to try and fail than have the regret of not trying at all. You need to take risks in life to learn and grow. The worst thing that could happen is you realise it’s not for you but you will grow as a person and the best thing that could happen is you will fulfill your hopes and dreams.

Once you question yourself and figure out what you would do if you weren’t afraid, it will show you what you want, and what’s important to you, and it will give you goals and dreams to focus on and show you where to dedicate your time.

Here are some tips on how to let go of fear and start pursuing your goals and dreams today…

Write Down Everything You Would do if You Weren’t Afraid

Grab yourself a pen and paper, or create a new note on your phone and sit somewhere comfortable and quiet. Ask yourself the question “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”, and start writing anything and everything that comes to your head. Stop fear holding you back and start facing the reality of your current mindset.

It doesn’t matter how big or small or how silly you think some ideas are, literally just write anything that comes to mind on your list.

Your list may include similar things to this…

• Bungee jump
• Travel for 6 months
• Start up my own business
• Pursue singing career
• Start writing a blog
• Leave my partner
• Start my makeup tutorials on YouTube
• Join a fitness group
• Write a novel
• Leave my job
• Make my website

Check out my post What’s the Worst That Could Happen? to learn how to overcome your fears!

Write Down Why You Want to do Them  

Now make another list of why you want to do these things and what you would achieve from doing these things.

Your list may look something similar to this…

• More income
• Build my confidence
• Pursue my dreams
• Feel better about myself
• Make new friends
• Build my self-esteem
• Be self-sufficient
• Become less stressed
• I’ll be happier
• Become fitter
• Let go of negativity in my life
• It will help me to grow
• It will get me out of my comfort zone

Make a List of the Emotions You Will Feel if you Reach these Goals

Now think about achieving and reaching the goals that you would do if you weren’t afraid, and think of every positive emotion this sparks within you. Stop fear holding you back and focus on the positive outcomes that you can achieve in your life.

Write down everything that comes to mind and make a list of how you would feel achieving these goals.

Your list may include words like…

• Confident
• Empowered
• Happy
• Content
• Fulfilled
• Stable
• Excited
• Proud
• Relieved
• Motivated
• Energised
• Stress-free

Next, Think About What Qualities You Would Need to Have to be Able to Pursue Your Dreams

Think of the traits that you feel you would need to have to be able to work towards your goals.

These qualities may include things such as…

• Drive
• Motivation
• Courage
• Determination
• Passion
• Resilience
• Focus
• Vision
• Strength

Make a List of Things You Could do to Help You Get Closer to Reaching Your Goals

Stop fear holding you back and start being proactive toward reaching your goals. Think about what you think you would need to do to be able to fulfill your goals.

What new habits or skills would you need to embody to obtain the things that you want in your life and work towards being everything you’ve always dreamed of?

Your list may include things like…

• Wake up earlier
• Goal-setting
• Meditate
• Eating healthier
• Cut back on takeaways and eating out
• Listen to podcasts in this area
• Start a savings account
• Plan where I’d want to travel specifically
• Spend less money on non-essential things
• Research
• Drink less
• Brainstorm ideas
• Let go of toxic people from my life
• Work out 3 times a week

What’s Holding You Back? Stop Fear Holding You Back

To let go of fear and move forward in your life, you need to confront your fears and work out where they’ve come from, why you have them, and how you can release them. Stop fear holding you back in your life. Often our fears stem from insecurities that we may have about ourselves, our capabilities, or what other people may think of us.

But you need to change your mindset to let go of your fears and think to yourself “If I knew I was going to die next week, would I care about these insecurities and fears or would I wish I’d ignored them and other people’s opinions and pursued my dreams?”. I’m sure the answer to this question would be yes, so why live your life in this restrictive and limiting way!?

The problem is that we always think we have time and we can pursue these things when we’re ready, when we’re confident enough, when we’re financially stable enough etc but the thing is, we put them off for so long that they just become dreams and never our reality.

Why not jump outside your comfort zone and give it a go?

You need to ask yourself honestly what is the worst thing that could happen if you pursued your dreams despite being afraid? The majority of the time the worst-case scenario is only in our head and very rarely happens but even if you failed and felt stupid, is that the worst thing that can happen to you? When you put things into perspective and look at the grand scheme of life, these fears and insecurities are just that, they are created by your brain and you can learn to let them go and think positively and aim high in life.

You can learn to let go of fear and pursue your dreams. It’s time to start living your life freely, truly, and fearlessly and in the way you’ve always wanted to. Stop fear holding you back, you don’t want to wake up one day when it’s too late and regret the things you didn’t try because you were scared.

Let Go of Your Fears

When you question yourself about what you would do in life if you weren’t afraid, this will inspire you and push you to want to achieve these things and just go for it. Let yourself think of the fear that you have, embrace it, acknowledge it, and accept it.

If you’re afraid of setting up your own online business for example, you may be afraid that you’ll not make any money, you’ll fail, you know nothing about web design, your family will judge you, you won’t have any guaranteed income, etc. It’s normal to feel these things and have these insecurities from time to time but you need to allow yourself to feel these fears and then decide you’re going to release them from your brain.

Every time the insecurity arises, acknowledge it and feel it but then free it from your brain and focus on what you can do in this moment. You can learn to let go of your fears now or take steps to conquer them and work through them. Stop fear holding you back, change your mindset and start embracing your fears.

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”– Les Brown

Summary

To stop fear holding you back you need to change your mindset around failure. Work on solutions to your fears, instead of letting them hold you back from moving forward. If you’re afraid that people will laugh at you, then work on improving your self-confidence and self-esteem. If you’re afraid because you don’t know anything about web design then take an online course or ask people you know for advice.

There are always positive ways to embrace and work through your fears and achieve everything you want to in life. The only person holding you back is yourself and your limiting mindset. You have control over your mindset and emotions and you can train yourself to push through your fears and get closer to your goals a little more each day if you try.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”­– Dale Carnegie

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