Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Fear is part of growth
Jeffers, a psychologist, argues that fear is a normal part of trying anything new.
She believes people should act despite fear rather than waiting for it to disappear. In her view, waiting for fear to go away keeps people stuck.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Fear has three levels
Jeffers describes surface fears, deeper fears of the ego such as rejection, and a basic fear that one cannot handle what happens.
In her account, the deepest level is the one that most strongly drives the other two.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
The deepest fear can be faced
Jeffers argues that the root fear is believing you cannot cope.
If people trust they can handle things, fear shrinks. In her view, a person who believes they can handle whatever comes feels less afraid of any particular outcome.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Words shape feelings
Jeffers suggests changing language from helpless phrases to empowering ones, which she calls moving from pain to power.
In her view, the words a person uses can strengthen a sense of helplessness or of choice, and shifting them changes how situations feel.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
The inner chatterbox misleads
Jeffers describes the negative voice in the mind that she calls the chatterbox.
In her account, this voice keeps predicting disaster and doubts every plan, and it often sounds more sure than it deserves to.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Decisions can be no-lose
Jeffers argues that every choice brings learning, so decisions need not be feared.
In her view, whichever way a choice turns out, something can be gained from it, so fear of choosing wrongly loses much of its force.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Responsibility brings power
Jeffers argues that taking responsibility for one's life reduces feelings of helplessness.
In her view, blaming others or events for one's situation feeds a feeling of weakness, while owning one's choices brings a sense of strength.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Saying yes opens life
Jeffers encourages accepting what happens and finding value in it.
In her view, an open attitude towards whatever comes, and a search for something useful in it, leaves people less afraid of life.
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