We are hardwire to feel fear - it’s what keeps us safe, after all - but most of us are also prone to inappropriate fears.

Fear of failure, fear of speaking in public, fear of leaving a bad relationship, whether personal or professional, fear of not being good enough and we can go on and on. Inappropriate fears have no positive purpose and the first step to overcome them is to know what they are.

Make a list of everything you’re afraid of and, as you name your fears, think about how they make you feel.

The process of setting your fears down on paper will help clarify your thinking and allow you to look at them more objectively, almost as if those fears belonged to somebody else.

What is stopping you?

Mental blocks hold us back from doing the things that we really want to do. Replacing “ I know I can’t ” with “ perhaps I can ” is one way of clearing the blocks and allowing the positive energy to flow.

Write down 5 things that you think you can’t do, along with the reasons why.

Now rewrite the list, swapping the negative words for positive ones. For example:

“ I can’t apply for that job because I don’t meet all the criteria ” becomes

“ I can apply for that job because I have most of the skills they ask for. ”

Read through the positive list(aloud ideally) and see how it feels.