Want to overcome your fears? Try getting to know them.

There really is nothing to fear but fear itself.

I’m going to go out on a limb here. I’m going to look into my crystal ball and predict that there’s something you want to do right now but you’re too scared to do it. It’s not necessarily something really big. Maybe it’s just a conversation you want to have or a business idea you want to try out. Think about it. Maybe it’s something you’ve been putting off for so long that you’ve lost forgotten about it.

Well? How did I do? I’ll take the fact that you’re still reading as confirmation of my psychic powers. Don’t be too impressed though, this is something you can confidently say about every adult walking the face of the Earth. We all want to ask for something, or try something, or say something that some part of us insists isn’t worth the risk.

Things are a bit different for children though, which is why I took the trouble to specify the adults walking the face of the Earth. Children have small, achievable goals which they pursue relentlessly. When they achieve them they’re genuinely elated, and when they fail they move on. They can do this because they’re stupid, so don’t be too nostalgic for those simpler times. They can do this because they haven’t accumulated any fear yet. In the mind of a child, failure is just…