Fear is helpful when you are cornered in the jungle, facing a saber tooth tiger. It pulls the blood out of your brain so you don’t overthink your situation. It floods your body with cortisol making you reactive and impulsive. But fear, or it’s best friend, anxiety, can become an obstacle if you let these feeling rule your life.

It’s natural for you to avoid things that make you anxious. This is adaptive and healthy if you are standing on the edge of a cliff but not helpful if it’s making it impossible for you to:

• Choose a college major

• Take a promotion

• Start your new business

• Ask for a raise

• Follow your true passion

What is the solution? I found the answer is a book title, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.” This book by Susan Jeffers is probably awesome but, honestly, I bought it and never read it. The title was all I needed. It hit me like a ton on bricks when I was twenty-six years old and paralyzed with fear. I was waiting for the fear to go away. It was not going anywhere so I needed to get moving while massively uncomfortable. It worked, I got unstuck. I beat my fear back with constructive action towards my goal.

I recommend you shake hands with your anxiety. See it as a necessary and natural response to your brave ambition to live up to your potential. One more bit of good news. Every time you feel your fear and keep moving, you experience lower and lower levels of anxiety. Over time, situations that juiced your anxiety will not longer impact you. You will stand in your power, unafraid.