FEAR: The Storyteller That Keeps Us Stuck

Fear isn’t just an emotion. It’s a storyteller.
And not a very helpful one.

Fear whispers the worst case scenario into our ear and convinces us it’s the only possible outcome. It tells us the unknown is something to avoid rather than explore. It clutters our heads with what-ifs and stacks worst case assumptions until we’re paralyzed. Unable to act. Procrastinating. Stuck.

The reality is: most of what we fear never actually happens.

I’ve been there. There have been times when I truly believed the world was closing in. That there was no way out, no chance at peace or purpose again. I felt completely overwhelmed and believed happiness was something that only happened to other people.

Then I heard something on the Rich Roll podcast that hit me like a lightning bolt. He was talking with a guest in recovery, and they said that when you’re deep in it - lost, scared, spiraling -  the best thing you can do is act. Not fix the whole problem. Not solve your life in one day. Just shift your focus. Get out of your head and into motion. Take the next best step. Go for a walk. Take a shower. Make the call. Do something.

That simple mindset shift changed everything for me.

Take Action

Action interrupts fear. It silences the story.
It puts your nervous system into forward motion instead of fight or flight.

What started for me as a goal to stack a few good hours together became the foundation for real momentum. A few good hours became a good day. A couple of good days became a good week. Stack a few weeks and you start to rebuild your life.

I use this same approach in leadership and even in coaching kids’ hockey. I’ll ask the kids, “What can you do to make an impact on this shift?” We don’t need to win the whole game right now -  just win this shift. Win the next faceoff. Make the next smart play. One good shift can create momentum. Just like life.

Leadership, life, recovery, performance -  it’s all the same pattern.

Fear convinces us to stay still.
Action is what moves us forward.

Fear tells us not to be vulnerable, not to risk loving fully, not to chase that dream or apply for that opportunity. Fear wants to keep us safe, but also small. In its most intense form, it doesn’t just stop us from making big moves. It can make it hard to get out of bed.

And in those moments, the next best thing might just be as simple as getting up.

Let Action Be The Rewrite

We don’t need to have it all figured out. We don’t need to see the whole path. But if we can shift from fear to action, everything changes. Our physiology changes. Our mindset shifts. Our energy lifts. And suddenly… we’re not stuck anymore. We’re in motion.

If fear is the story in your head, let action be the rewrite. What is the next best step for you?