Action Cures Fear

Day 97 / 366

A long time back in my old room I used to have lots of papers stuck on the walls with quotes written on them. Whenever I came across a quote that moved me, I would put it up on the wall so that I could look at it every day. I don’t remember many of those quotes, but one that I do, and probably the most important one is this little gem —

Action Cures Fear

Every time I find myself unsatisfied with where I am in life, or unhappy with my circumstances, I remind myself of this quote. Is there something that I could be doing to fix the situation, that I am not doing?

It’s kind of a catch-22 situation. The reason most of us don’t take action to reach our goals is because we are afraid. We are afraid of failure, we are afraid of humiliation, we are afraid of any of the 100 worst-case scenarios that our brain can conjure up. Yet, the only way to overcome that fear is to take action!

Jordan Peterson talks about a prayer that always works. It goes something like this, sit on the edge of your bed, close your eyes, and ask whichever higher power you believe in this question-

What bloody stupid thing do I continue to do that’s making my life more miserable than it has to be, and everyone else’s life around me that I could give up? that I would give up?

If you truly want an answer, a revelation, you will get one. It won’t be the one you would want to hear. That’s how you know it’s true. But if you act on it then your life will improve.

Each of us has the tools we need to do something about our lives. All we gotta do is take action.