How to Overcome Your Deepest Fear Holding You Back from Your Dream Life

Here at Goalcast we’re constantly striving toward self-improvement and personal fulfillment; while this can be a deeply gratifying practice, like anything else, it comes with its own set of challenges — including overcoming inherent fears we’ve been holding onto.

So with that in mind, we thought, why not — on the scariest week of the year — try the self-deemed impossible: face our biggest, smallest or most nagging fear and take the right steps to overcome it. Welcome to #GoalcastFearChallenge.

What does your dream life look like? What’s holding you back from living it?

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The answer is probably fear. It is fear of change, of failure, or of the unknown?

From an evolutionary perspective, fear is a survival mechanism that’s served our predecessors well as its evolved as a response to perceived threat and danger. That was great when we were cave dwellers.

But while this same instinct can still keep us alive today, the feeling of safety and comfort that not being afraid provides often interferes with the pursuit of our dreams. You know how the saying goes: magic happens when you step out of your comfort zone.

How? Ultimately, we hold the power to shift our mindsets and essentially outsmart our brains to fulfill our potential.

The key to overcoming the fear that is self-sabotaging you

The key to overcoming fear is understanding the difference between fear and danger. Feelings of discomfort trick us into believing that danger is imminent, which is actually a misinterpretation. You need to take charge and confront what it is that scares you in order to reinforce that discomfort does not bring death. 

Practicing acceptance is just as crucial, and so is giving yourself the permission to jump-start your personal transformation journey from any point in your life. There is no right or wrong time to do it. If you never start, you’ll never experience anything different than your comfort zone.

Fear of the unknown might hold you back once you begin, but you possess the tools to circumvent it. You probably haven’t figured out exactly what the final destination will be, but what you can control is taking the next step towards your goals.

Soon enough, you will have taken enough of these steps that you will realize the fear you experienced initially is nothing but a distant memory, and that it’s actually been the fuel to your progress and growth.

Even successful and inspirational people experience fear

Take, for example, the story of one of history’s greatest political and spiritual leaders: Mahatma Gandhi.

Before he became the father of Indian independence, Gandhi had a paralyzing phobia that nearly prevented him from unlocking his potential. Not only was he able to overcome his fear over time, but he learned to use it to his advantage.

His legacy reminds us that adversity helps shape excellence, and that even the most successful people in the world have experienced crippling fears and have turned them into power.