Be Prepared For The Worst. Fear- Setting.

Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and Sara Blakely swear by this mental exercise. 

This week it’s important we cover Fear setting, which is similar to the traditional goal setting, but instead of solely focusing on what you want to achieve, you list out your fears—the worst-case scenarios that keep you from acting. This method allows you to gain clarity and control over what’s truly holding you back, putting fears into perspective and creating a pathway for you to navigate them. 

As Tim Ferriss says, "Defining fears is more important than defining goals." 

The reason why fear setting is so important is because it helps you to open your mind a bit and me personally when I started doing fear setting, I noticed I started looking deeper into the projects I’m building because you’ll realize there’s a lot of things that you don’t know that you don’t know. And those things that you don’t know that you don’t know, could influence your outcomes greatly. 

So as shown above, it increases mental clarity, productivity, and clarifies worst case scenarios. And most human fears are very vague, but because we are writing them on paper in detail, fear setting allows us to break them down into detail, making it more manageable. It’ll help you increase your confidence even in high-risk situations. 

High-Performing People Who Use Fear-Setting 

1. Tim Ferriss (Author, The 4-Hour Workweek) 

Ferriss developed this technique to help get through a personal crises and make life-altering decisions. He used fear-setting to weigh the risks and rewards. By confronting the worst outcomes, Ferriss has been able to continuously take massive risks in his career. 

2. Tony Robbins (Motivational Speaker, Life Coach) 

Robbins incorporates a version of fear-setting in his seminars and personal coaching. He encourages people to imagine the pain of inaction as a tool to drive them forward. By facing their fears, his clients are empowered to make bold decisions, often leading to massive breakthroughs in business and life. 

3. Sara Blakely (Founder of Spanx) 

Blakely, who built a billion-dollar empire, has been open about using fear-setting to guide her entrepreneurial journey. Early on, she reframed her fear of failure by identifying the specific worst-case scenarios, which helped her navigate countless obstacles on her way to success. 

Now, we need it all down on paper and visualized so you can see your worst-case scenarios, so I decided to make a pdf chart for all of you absolutely free. You can print it out, or copy it down on your own piece of paper. You can get that here. 

Weekly Challenge: Whether it’s asking for a raise, a side hustle, or a bold personal decision, I challenge you to find something you have been putting off out of fear, use your chart, and tackle the obstacle of fear to overcome. 

So here is the rundown of this week’s challenge in detail; 

Pick One Major Decision or Fear- Identify one thing you’ve been avoiding that could have a significant impact on your personal or professional growth. 

Use the Fear-Setting Chart- Follow the comprehensive chart above and work through each step—define the worst-case scenario, prevention, repair, and the cost of inaction. 

Take Your First Step- Once you’ve worked through your fears, take the first small action toward confronting this challenge. It can be as simple as sending an email, making a phone call, or creating a plan of action. 

Share Your Experience- Reflect on how you felt before and after going through the Fear-Setting process. Did it make the decision easier? Share your progress with somebody you trust. 

Fear has the power to paralyze or propel you—it’s your choice how to use it. By adding Fear-Setting into your routine, you can stop letting fear control your decisions and start using it as a tool to take bold, calculated risks. Remember, even the world’s high performers, like Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and Sara Blakely, use this method to confront their fears and take action. 

Don’t get taken by surprise when the worst happens. Own it. See you guys next time.