Fear Setting Exercise.

by | Jun 1, 2023 | Uncategorized

Years ago, I stumbled upon a TED Talk with Tim Ferris on Fear Setting. What is fear setting, you ask? Fear Setting is an exercise rooted in Stoicism where you envision the worst-case scenario. “Premeditatio Malorum,” The Premeditation of Evils. Here’s how it works:

  • Create three separate pages
  • Ask yourself, “What if I (whatever you’re considering)?”
  • Define: Dedicate the first page to all the worst things that could happen, and get very specific, listing around 10-20 details.
  • Prevent: On the second page, what you can do to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening, or at the very least, reduce the likelihood or severity of those detailed occurrences.
  • Repair: The third page is where you describe what you could do to repair the damage or identify who could help you find the answers. You want to ask yourself if anyone else in history has ever been in this situation and has recovered. 
  • The Cost of Inaction: Write down what the emotional, physical, spiritual, financial, etc. costs are of you not taking action. You want to complete this vital component envisioning six months, one year, and up to three years down the road. 
  • Reflection: After completing this exercise in order, on a scale from 1 – 10, with one being minimally impactful and ten being maximally negatively impactful, what would you rate your situation if you took action?

I completed similar exercises in the past by myself, but Tim’s version provided more clarity. After completing the exercise, I decided that not pursuing building Transcend The Status Quo was not a viable option, and the cost of inaction would be far too high. 

I thought, “Even if I try and fail, what I will learn and who I will evolve into while pursuing this dream is invaluable. If someone paid off all my student loan debt today but told me that I could not follow this path, I would decline their offer and risk building something on my own.”

Chances are you have experienced times when you let fear get the best of you, and we all have. Still, once we examine our concerns more closely, we can start making decisions rooted in clear thinking instead of old patterns of behavior rooted in fear. So, if you are new to Stoicism and Fear Setting, please watch Tim’s TED Talk, and set aside about an hour to complete this exercise. You will find it most useful.