To Overcome Your Life’s Biggest Obstacles, You’ll Need to Learn How To Use Fear as Fuel. Here’s How.
What got you here won’t get you there
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“What you hear in the forest but cannot see might be a tiger…but it might not be, either…perhaps you’ll see that it’s just a squirrel. Something is out there in the woods. You know that with certainty…but if you refuse to look, however, then it’s a dragon, and you’re no knight. You’re a mouse confronting a lion; a rabbit paralyzed by the gaze of a wolf.”
“Even what is terrible in actuality often pales in significance compared to what is terrible in imagination.”
-Dr. Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules For Life
Evolving into a new person is more important than the obstacles you overcome in the process.
You can finally earn a million dollars, or quit your terrible job and tell your terrible boss to suck it. You can lose 50 pounds, date a supermodel, buy a Tesla, or finally show your parents that yes, you were a success.
All these are great. But what’s more important is the person you become along the way.
The problem is, becoming a new person requires you to face bigger and stronger fears. Most people are unwilling to face these fears, let alone learn from them.
I have a client who created a new online product. He gave it everything he had. On the phone, he told me something really special:
“I’m afraid. I’m afraid because this is my absolute best. This is it. And I hope it’s good enough.”
My heart swells just thinking about that. It’s something most people, frankly, won’t ever do —give their best work and admit that’s all they’re capable of. Because what if it isn’t good enough? What if your best, your absolute, no-B.S. best effort still isn’t good enough?
It’s a scary prospect.
But if you want to overcome your life’s biggest obstacles, you’ll have to face those fears. And not just face them — learn from them. Because that’s the secret about evolving into something truly extraordinary: you have to sacrifice more than most people are willing to give up. As Srinivas…
