Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway: Dynamic Techniques for Turning Fear, Indecision, and Anger into Power, Action, and Love

Great Book, Very Helpful
Great Book, Definitely worth the read if you’re into that sort of thing. Would recommend, very easy read too

LOVE this book!
I listen to books on my kindle (I turn on “text to speak”) as I get ready in the morning for work. I’ve listened to this book twice now. I swear, I will probably listen to it countless more times. It’s amazing how powerful this book is for me. I’ve struggled with depression most of my life, I am currently going through a divorce, & living alone for the first time in my life. I was, & at times I still feel like a lost puppy…I had a pretty unique life, I lived with my mother, we moved a lot, I was sexually abused by one of very few male figures in my life…I never had many friends (we moved too much for me to get close to people), & my mother was emotionally unavailable. To this day she is not emotionally available, but I accept her as she is, & that took years to learn how to do…the point of me putting my life story out there is because no one in my life cared about me, in any way shape or form. My mom couldn’t wait for me to get married, she just about signed for me to marry my then 21 year old boyfriend when I was 15, because I think she could not wait to get rid of me, her “burden” off of her chest. So, when I did finally get married a few years ago, I thought my life’s mission was accomplished, I was married, that was what I was supposed to do in my life, if I ever wanted my mother to be proud of me…I was never around anyone in my life that told me “feel the fear, & do it anyway”, no one said “you can do this, keep going forward”…I didn’t have that. I feel like I was raising myself, I raised myself emotionally, I gave myself pep-talks to be able to make it through new schools a few new ones every year, stomach aches of worry when my mom would be freaking out, concerned about bills or whatever else she had going on in her life… Severe neglect, that’s what I’d say my life was. I had maybe 2 friends through my entire school career, real friends, that is. And, we moved so much, I never even kept in touch. Anyway, the point is, that when you grow up without someone there telling you that you can do whatever you want, you can be whatever you want, you are great, you are amazing, even amazing people get scared…you don’t assume those things. I have had irrational fears, sooooooooooooo many, I was scared of the dark, scared of Michael Myers (as if this fictional character was going to come after me…seriously, I was afraid he was, I know it probably sounds so ridiculous to the average person, but I’ve been to therapy, these fears come from trauma & basically the things I went through growing up)…sometimes I never thought I’d be able to get past all of the fears that crippled me. I’ve been wanting to go back to school, & get my degree, but school was very hard for me, I am anti-social, & going to school was traumatizing in itself for me, with all that was going on in the background of my life, school was just as torturous to me…I never had any friends, I wasn’t the cool kid, I ate lunch alone a lot…it was awful.I signed up to go to school a few years ago, I made it to the parking lot that first day, burst into tears…turned around & went home…cried for hours, nearly committed suicide…these feelings run very deep, & it’s hard to move forward when there is so many painful memories of the past.Anyway, with this book, I feel like I’m very close to being able to have the courage to go back. I think a few more times of listening to this book, & I’ll actually be able to do it. But overall, this book makes me less afraid of life. That again is probably not what most people want this book for, but me not being afraid of life, that is monumental, I was afraid that I was not a real person/woman without being married or a wife, the one thing I’d idolized my whole life (I was taught to), to be married. I survived, & everyday is a new day & journey, & you never know where life might take you. I feel great when I read this book, I’ll keep reading, whenever I have something I want to achieve, I will read it again – this is a timeless book, & I’m thankful I found it.

Really a good book!

Ich habe das Buch in einer vorherigen Ausgabe von 2009 gelesen. Ich war damals ein Angsthase und wollte viel loswerden. Das Buch hat mir echt geholfen! Bis heute erinnere ich mich an das Buch und habe es schon drei Mal verschenkt. In meinem Blog empfehle ich es.Was hatte mir besonders geholfen:1. Der Kern der Angst ist, dass man Angst hat, mit den Konsequenzen nicht umgehen zu können. Aber bei den meisten Ängsten sind die Konsquenzen nur eingebildet oder bei weiten nicht so schlimm. Mantra: I can handle it.2. Es wird eine Art Zielematrix darin beschrieben, wie man aus der Abhängigkeit rauskommt, wenn man sich zu sehr von einer Sache abhängig (im Buch eine Frau von ihrem Ehepartner… im realen Leben bspw. viele Menschen von Erfolg in ihrem Job). Die Zielematrix schreibe ich bis heute jedes Jahr für mich neu.Danke Susan!!

I see mixed reviews for this book but I credit the author for helping reshape my thinking. I read it at the age of 23. I had just quit a job in PR that had completely dominated my life for 2 years. I had a significant amount of cash in the bank, lived at home, was single and was essentially free from any responsibility. Family suggested I take some time off to date or travel, try living in another city, or buy a home here. Everyone kept telling me how I had the world in the palm of my hand, but I was completely frozen, depressed, and terrified to make any decision. My confidence was at a low, I felt like a failure and my friends had all but disappeared after years of choosing my job over them.Then I read this book, suggested to me by one of my few remaining friends. It was a quick, simple read but you get the real impact by reading it a second, or third time. So many areas helped me reshape my thinking. Her question of “do you know someone in your life who think of as fearless?” resonated with me. Helping me understand that everyone feels fear and it’s a person’s interpretation of fear that makes all the difference, really hit home. Also encouraging me to view my life from a third person’s point of view – like reading a book – really sprung me in to action. Taking away the expectation of a specific outcome to ‘read on’ motivated me to start dating… a lot! I detached myself from the outcome and just put things in to action. It was liberating, and I met an amazing guy (several actually, but one stuck:).I’m now 31 and I use the lessons from this book, and Susan’s book Embracing Uncertainty, everyday. I public speak regularly, I’m bolder in my dealings with people, I take financial and career risks, all with the confidence that I can handle whatever result may come of my actions. How do I know I can handle what comes my way? Because I’ve handled everything that’s ever come my way in life. This book helped me realize that.If you can take one or two lessons from a counselling book, it’s worth a read. I promise, this one will give you many more than that!