Fear-Setting – What Could Go Wrong?

Fear of being the center of attention. Fear of the dark. Test anxiety. Fear of the future. Fear of the new and unknown. Social anxiety. Fear of others' judgment. Fear of flying. Fear of animals. Fear of illness.

The list of existing fears is almost endless. And every fear is different. But there is one thing in common: Every fear stems from the 3 little words "What if."

It's easy for us humans to answer this question. Due to our prefrontal cortical structures in the brain, we can easily imagine what might happen in the future. Which is actually pretty cool, but like almost everything, this ability is also a double-edged sword.

We humans aren't fortune tellers and can't say exactly what will happen and how. That's why we simply imagine multiple possibilities for the future. Of which the worst usually sticks with us most intensely.

We Use Our Abilities Against Ourselves

We humans use our unique cognitive abilities far too rarely for our well-being – to imagine how we achieve our goals or to relax – and far too often against ourselves by doubting ourselves or imagining what could go wrong.

This is exactly where our fears come from. Because fear or "FEAR" stands for "False Evidence Appearing Real."

Basically, this means that we often consider particularly negative assumptions to be more likely, fixate on them, and align our thoughts and future actions accordingly.

Examples of Fear-Driven Thinking

With fear of public speaking: My speech was too long. The listeners think I'm boring. I'd better leave the birthday party quickly before I'm standing alone and everyone is talking about me.

Just before an exam: The process of cell division will surely be on the test, but I can't remember it and will get a bad grade. My parents will think I'm stupid and lose faith in me.

With fear of the future: I'm afraid to move out because I don't know if I can manage my job alongside my studies. If not, I won't have money for rent and will end up on the street.

With social anxiety: I'd rather stay home than go to a friend's birthday because the people there will definitely think I look weird and won't want anything to do with me.

Our Thoughts Are Negatively Biased

But thoughts aren't the universal power that controls the future. That only happens when we consider them true and (unconsciously) set our actions to the worst-case scenario.

So we stand in our own way. Because these mostly unfounded worries and fears make it unnecessarily hard for you to stay calm and work concentratedly on your tasks; or prevent us from daring something new, getting out of our comfort zone, pursuing our dreams, because something could go wrong.

But what if nothing goes wrong? Then you would have missed your chance.

The Fear-Setting Method

Tim Ferriss, an American self-optimizer and author, developed the "FEAR Setting" exercise for exactly this purpose. In Ferriss's words, Fear Setting is an operating system for growth in stressful environments.

It's a way to visualize all the bad things that could happen, so you're less afraid to take action against them.

Defining your fears can be seen as the counterpart to goal-setting. Instead of creating a checklist of what you want to do, you create a checklist of your fears.

Once that's clear, you can think about what you can do to prevent it from happening. This will make it easier for you to take action against your fear and develop concrete strategies.

Only when you confront your fears can you counteract the negative "What if..." tendency.