Use fear as a compass and remove time from the decision loop

You feel it in your chest first, a tightness that makes the next call look like a mountain. The cursor blinks on the screen, steady and indifferent. Fear says, “Wait, think it through, prepare more.” You know how that ends: two hours of tabs and no dial tone. Instead, you whisper the thing out loud—“I’m afraid they’ll say no”—and count down, five to one. Your finger taps the green button before your brain can talk you out of it. The phone rings, and you breathe.

Later that afternoon, it happens again. This time it’s a hard conversation at home. The pan on the stove hisses, and you can feel the urge to escape into dishes and podcasts. You set the plate down, count down, and start with one honest sentence. It’s clumsy, then it’s okay. The room feels lighter than the silence did.

You might be wrong, but it seems like fear lost power the moment you took away time. You started measuring reps instead of moods. A small tally in your notebook shows three “fear actions” today. It’s not bravado, it’s switching from avoidance to approach. The feeling still shows up, but now it’s a signal to move, not a stop sign.

Labeling emotions reduces their intensity by engaging the prefrontal cortex. The “five‑second rule” interrupts rumination and leverages a narrow window where action is easiest. The two‑minute rule from habit research lowers activation energy so you start, and starting often carries you. Recording reps builds a mastery focus and rewires the association between fear and behavior. Over time, your nervous system learns that action is safe, and courage feels less like a trait and more like a practiced response.

When fear pops up, name it out loud and start within five seconds by counting down and initiating a tiny first step—dial, say one honest sentence, or write the opening line—then keep your scorecard of how many fear‑actions you take today. Don’t wait to feel ready; shrink the task to two minutes, act, and let momentum do the rest. Tonight, mark your tally and pick one moment tomorrow where you’ll practice again. Put a small dot on your hand as your cue.