What are you afraid of? It’s time to challenge your fears.
Thousands of years ago, fear helped people evade perilous situations, such as being attacked by an enemy or a dangerous animal. In this hostile environment, fear was a beneficial approach, alerting people to impending threats and preparing them to either flee or fight. Today, few of us are at risk of being killed by animals or humans, yet we still experience fear on a regular basis.
Where are you going? What are your goals?
How deeply have you thought about this? Who do you think you are? Why do you do the things that you do? To some extent, we all adhere to the stereotypes we’ve given ourselves, so for the time being, forget the past. Who are you now and who will you be in the future?
If the glass is half-empty, let’s make it half-full.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist or somewhere in between? If you think you’re an optimist, how do you know you are? Are you just calling yourself an optimist because you think that it’s better than calling yourself a pessimist? Sometimes we think we’re optimistic but we still harbour a sizable percentage of negative or pessimistic thoughts.
Do you worry too much?
Have you ever had a great idea but then went off it because you worried too much about the potential pitfalls? Do you struggle to fall asleep because you’re plagued with worry about anxious thoughts? Many people worry about all manner of things, but only 10 per cent of what we worry about actually happens. So if most of our worries are entirely speculative, why do we worry so much?
Challenge your beliefs
Our beliefs are our ideas and observations of the world based on our life experiences. The problem is that most of us are intellectually lazy and many of our beliefs are mere generalisations, or are based on the opinions of other people. Once we adopt a belief, it usually sticks, and we hold on to our beliefs as if they’re certainties. And because we’re so convinced we’re right, we never challenge them. As a result, many of us cling to negative beliefs that prevent us from moving in a positive direction.
Why did I write this book?
The beauty of this book lies in its simplicity. There’s no jargon, padding or long anecdotes, just useful tips on how to put a plan together and get it done!