Fear is the only thing in life which truly holds us back.

Franklin D Roosevelt fear quote

I disagree with FDR, to be honest: the only thing we have to fear is fear itself and spiders. But that is not very motivational and would be the shortest blog post of all time if we left it at that.

So seriously… who hasn’t heard that cliché at some stage? But how accurate is it? I would suggest at better way of approaching the problem would be to rephrase the received wisdom and say:

The only thing we have to fear is ourselves.

After all, we are all afraid – afraid of things which may or may not happen; of things we can’t change or might change for the worse; of what we may or may not be able to do or to achieve; of how others may perceive us.

fear everything and run These dilemmas make us hesitant, waiting for the right time to make choices or take action.

How often do we need to explore or research things a little more, convincing ourselves we shouldn’t rush in to big decisions?

Days turn into weeks turn into months turn into years. And before we know it, our dreams have gone, lost in a fog of fear, confusion and reluctance to take the first step.

Fear shouldn’t hold us back. Whatever your plans, your dreams, whatever you have imagined for yourself, GET STARTED TODAY! Take that first step, however small or insignificant it seems.

As Dale Carnegie (author of How to Win Friends and Influence People and the father of self-help) once wrote:

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out there and get busy!

Successful people do something – anything – to make a change, to turn a corner, to change direction. They share the same fears and doubts as everyone else, but their biggest fear is looking back and wondering: “What if?”

Whatever you do, don’t be that person looking back, wondering: “If I had only…” Clichés exist for a reason – because they are usually on the money:

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.

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