In her book “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway” Susan Jeffers discusses the phenomenon we all know i. e. fear. Jeffer’s approach has been known for 30 years and is becoming increasingly popular due to its the psychological value and strong foundations in experience. The researches names two levels of fear: fear of what is to happen (e.g. fear of death) – fear of taking specific decisions (e.g. ending a relationship)

We could give even more examples then the one above but what they all have in common is that fear is not connected to the circumstances but how we interpret them. We are afraid of rejection or failure which can be a consequence of taking up certain actions. In reality as it turns out in many situations our fear is unjustified and useless. In situations in which negative emotions and fear arise, Jeffers encourages us to ask the following question: “Would you still be afraid if you believed that you could cope with this challenge?”. The researcher believes that trusting one’s own competences allows to tackle any challenge in life.

It should be noted that there is no way to eliminate fear completely because it is a natural reaction to potential risks. We can learn to deal with it by overcoming our anxiety and trying out new things. As kids we were afraid to ride a bike but after some practice we learned to enjoy it.

There is one more crucial element in eliminating fear. Jeffer emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for your life. For example, we can have the tendency to see the causes of our failures as totally independent from us which is not always true. Taking responsibility for one’s life is understood as responsibility for making the interpretation of what you understand as bad and good as well as accepting one’s failures and successes.

One of the ways of limiting the fear in your life is to be immersed in what is important to you When you do work which you are passionate about and at the same time you are active in other areas of life, even if the quality of one of them deteriorates you won’t feel as insecure as in a situation that you would only devote your time to work.

Jeffers also points out that “Immersion is the key to wealth and happy life. It protects you from fear and makes you stronger every day.”