Tips for turning your fears into motivation

Fear is completely normal – in its basic form, it’s nature’s way of protecting us from harm. But our learned fears can sometimes take over, acting as a barrier to stop us from leading the life we would like.

When we fear a situation or an activity, we may become overwhelmed, procrastinate, or avoid it altogether, rather than deal with it. In doing this, we’re denying ourselves an opportunity.

Fear can hold us back and create self-limiting expectations, especially when it comes to our health. But what if we could use our fears as motivation to make positive changes? Instead of letting fear overwhelm us or avoid certain situations, we can turn it into a challenge that motivates us to take action.

By asking ourselves “What’s the worst that could happen?” it’s common for us to realise that things aren’t as bad as we think. 

Tips for turning our fears into motivation

1. Choose a fear you can manage

Start by focussing on the smaller fears, the ones that feel easier to manage. Like having to take a slower approach in older age, perhaps tweaking the way we take part in a sport or hobby rather than fearing it altogether. 

Successfully addressing these smaller fears can help you build confidence to tackle larger, potentially more intimidating ones.  

2. Ask yourself what's behind that fear?

Try to picture where the fear comes from and what really lies behind it. When you’ve identified the true meaning of your fear, you can take the next step.

For example, take the fear of slowing down as you get older. For one person, the meaningful aspect might be the fear of not being able to join in activities with their kids or grandchildren. For someone else, it might be the fear of having to give up something they enjoy, like a sport, or hobby.

This is your motivating fear – the fear that’s going to help you improve your health and wellbeing as you move forward into the future.

3. Take ownership and share

Make yourself accountable by sharing your motivating fear with friends or family. Sharing your intentions to improve your wellbeing with others will help you commit to facing and owning those fears. If you’d rather keep it to yourself, simply writing it down can also help.

4. Make a plan

What action are you going to take today, tomorrow, next week, and beyond?

Try to make a realistic plan that uses fear as a catalyst to change any unhealthy habits.

Start by thinking about what you want to improve – such as your physical fitness or mental wellbeing. If you’d like to be more active but don’t know where to start, then take small steps today towards achieving your goal.

Help to get you started

Making a plan will give you a sense of responsibility over the action you’re going to take and give you greater satisfaction when you start achieving your goals. But how do you start setting yourself goals? 

Here are some tips to help you create and stick to a plan:

1. Think about your ultimate goal – start thinking what your life might be like if you were to achieve this.

For example, if it’s to lose some weight, it can be a little overwhelming knowing how to start because there’s so much advice about the best ways to do it.

This can be enough to put you off taking the first step! Instead, break down your goal into more manageable chunks that will take you to your ultimate goal – after all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

2. Make a S.M.A.R.T. plan

Once you’ve identified the more manageable things that will lead you to achieving your goal, make sure they’re:

Specific – it could be as simple as agreeing that you’ll cut out your afternoon chocolate bar.

Measurable – think about 30 chocolate bars all piled up at the end of one month and you’ll feel pleased with yourself!

Agreeable – smaller more achievable goals will give you a real sense of accomplishment and spur you on to try more things.

Realistic – don’t make yourself miserable by cutting out everything you love or doing things you don’t enjoy. Remember, start small, it’s not a race.

Time-bound – why not start this afternoon? Tomorrow? Try it for one week, then two and so on.

3. Get rid of obstacles

Writing lists of the ‘pros and cons’ of reaching your goal can help address any barriers – real or perceived.

When you focus on the ‘cons’, think about the likelihood of them occurring. What can you do to proactively address the ‘cons’?

4. Share your plans with someone else – a friend, family member, work colleague or online community

Sharing your goals and how you’re going to achieve them can really help you commit to your goal and succeed. As well as this, using a journal to plan and examine your thoughts and reflections can be a helpful way to track day-to-day activities and experiences.

Planning and learning along the way is the key to success.

5. Create some urgency, but do things at your own pace

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. What you do now is one step closer than yesterday.

You may want to improve your fitness but fear not being able to walk or run fast enough to make a difference? Just get out and about anyway and remember, you’re lapping the person who is still sitting on the couch.

It all comes back to those manageable chunks.

Further reading

5 Reasons you've lost your motivation (and how to get it back) - AXA Health

How to form healthy habits - AXA Health