"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." ~Joseph Campbell

, in my experience, the #1 thing that keeps people from pursuing the things they want is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of uncomfortable situations. Fear of other people's emotions and reactions. Fear of loss or loneliness. Fear of looking stupid or ending up in a worse-off position. Fear of struggle. And on and on.

I get that. And man, I have felt scared a whole lot in my life. Still do. And it often still holds me back from doing things that I want or taking steps in a new or bigger direction. I know you feel me.

So how do you overcome fear of the unknown and buck up enough to take action toward the things that you want even when you're scared?

I don't know that I have the exact answer. But I do know that it begins with making a mindset shift.

It starts with seeing all the angles and taking action anyway. It starts with getting totally real about your fears and 100% honest with yourself. And then actually seeking out the fear, moving toward it.

Enter a nothing-to-lose attitude.

Do you have something to lose? Of course. We all do! This process isn't about shirking responsibilities and throwing caution to the wind. But it is about harnessing the mindset of someone who has nothing to lose in order to help yourself take action:

• In a job you hate and want to quit?
• Miserable in your relationship and want to get out of it?
• Want to start your own business but scared it won't work out?
• Harnessing the courage to approach a friend or loved one with an uncomfortable topic?
• Looking to stand up for yourself to a boss or associate?

These are real struggles we all deal with every day, and when we look around, it is the people who take action in spite of these scary scenarios that we admire. 

One of my Best of You Coaching Club gals recently quit a comfy job paying a six-figure salary to pursue her passion in the online fitness space, despite the unknown. Looking at someone like her, we can't help but admire the courage and straight-up balls it takes to do that.

But remember, it doesn't always have to be black-and-white. You don't have to quit something cold turkey to move in a new direction. You can work on a new project or passion slowly while managing the other areas of your life, but the underlying key is action.

Action.

Action.

ACTION. 

And how one takes action requires overcoming those scary "what if's."

Generating a nothing-to-lose mindset helps us take that first step. When you feel like you have nothing to lose, you are able to mentally go to those worst-case scenarios and ask what you would actually do if those came to pass. 

Tim Ferriss calls this "fear setting" instead of "goal setting." And this, ironically, does help you take more action. It's worked for me in numerous instances and it ultimately shows you that whatever happens - even the worst possible outcome - you can handle it. Would it be fun? No. Would it feel awesome? Of course not. But you would have a plan for what to do if it transpired and in the end, you'd figure it out and be better off for the experience :)

Fear setting or "Practical Pessimism" is a 3 step process:

1. List the thing(s) you want to do but are scared to take action on.
2. Then, next to each one of them, write down the worst possible outcome that could transpire as a result. Go to that super scary place.
3. Finally, next to each, write one single action item you could take if it happened. What's one thing that you could do to get yourself back to zero if your worst fears were realized?

Once you mentally chronicle all your fears, and the name the actions you would take as last resort, it doesn't seem all that scary. Or at least as scary, because you have some recourse in your back pocket.

Now you try!

Harnessing a nothing-to-lose attitude isn't about being impulsive and making uninformed choices. It's about understanding clearly the potential consequences - good and bad - and trusting your capabilities anyway. About doing it, anyway. And ultimately, learning from it.

Wishing you an amazing week of bold actions and empowered thoughts, and know that I am always rooting for you. 

Trust that there's nothing that you can't handle. It won't always be easy, but it will be transformative and it will be big and powerful and instructive. Never forget how powerful you are in the world! 

Ox, Jill