Friday, 23rd October 2026.
Fear is the primary negative emotion. It is the fuse that ignites most of our secondary negative emotions. Any time you feel angry, jealous, resentful or stressed, these are all simply fear in different fonts.
Fear typically presents itself through emotions, and these emotions (such as the ones I’ve offered above) manifest as actions. For me, fear shows up as hesitation - shying away from going for something that would probably serve me well, because of the “what if” component of this risk vs reward scenario.
An example of this in my personal life is content creation (yes, including these posts!). Something I’d really like to do is begin posting videos of myself talking about the articles I write, going into greater depth about these thoughts.
I could make all the excuses in the world, like “I don’t have much practice editing videos”, “I suck in front of the camera” and “I don’t have the gear or technology”, but these are all just excuses to succumb to the fear of putting myself out there.
The crazy part is that I know it’s a good thing for me to do! We can go back to the risk versus reward of this initiative. I risk very little with this hobby of mine, but I potentially gain new experiences and skills. But because I (and probably a lot of us) tend to place more weight on the risk and undersell the reward to myself, I often let fear dictate my decision instead of my ambition.
It’s something I’m trying to work on, and what better way to do that than to look to those close to me who are already doing it!
Take my sister Annie as an example. She has built and maintained a personal brand centred on pilates coaching, wellness education and mobility, and has appeared fearless in promoting it. I’m sure she’s been scared to put herself out there at times, but she continues to share content and be unapologetically herself. I could definitely be a little more like Annie in that regard (you should definitely check out her page @cor_movement).
Another great example is one of my close friends, Cooper. He has embraced his entrepreneurial journey and has been documenting his experiences and challenges in a raw and authentic manner. The way he uses risk as leverage for his own momentum is inspiring. He understands that the content he’s putting out isn’t normal, and certainly isn’t common. But he’s showing that by being different and embracing his individuality, he can source his own happiness and present it to the world in his own unique way (thanks for all of your inspiration @cooper__blackburn).
I’d really like to learn how to leverage risk instead of being consumed by the fear of it. It is a blessing to have a platform where we can express ourselves, and I know that I need to take advantage of that. Cooper tells me that I have lots of valuable thoughts to share, so I need to start placing more value on them instead of on the fear of failure or embarrassment.
When I started writing this article, I had no idea what to call it. I only knew one thing: I want to start putting myself out there more, but I get so hesitant when it comes to taking action. Why?
It’s funny how writing things out takes you on a journey. You don’t have to know where it will lead, but most of the time the answers reveal themselves.
Talk soon.
Discussion