You know you need to start.

But every time you try, you get stuck in doubt.

What if it’s not good enough?

What if it doesn’t meet expectations?

What if you fail?

So, you wait. You plan. You "prep."

You try to outsmart the anxiety, hoping that eventually you’ll feel ready.

But here’s something hardly anyone tells you:

The feeling of readiness doesn’t come before the work.

It comes from the work — from doing, not waiting.

But doing feels hard when you’re caught in self-criticism and the fear of being judged.

That’s why the way forward often starts not with pushing harder, but by lowering the bar for success.

Not to the floor—just enough to take the first step.

Because progress doesn’t begin with brilliance.

It begins with permission to be imperfect.

One messy sentence. One paragraph of chaotic ideas. One clumsy first step.

That’s all it takes to shift your brain from avoidance into action.

But it’s not always that easy… right?

So, to help you get started, ask yourself:

"What’s the worst that could happen if I don’t finish this on time?"

"What can I do to prevent that worst-case scenario?"

"What could I do to reduce the risks?"

"What might happen if I keep avoiding this? How will it affect me in a week? A month? A year?"

These questions come from a method called fear-setting, developed by author Tim Ferriss.

The goal isn’t to dramatise your fear or make it bigger.

It’s to understand it. To name it. To make it smaller.

Because once you truly understand what you’re afraid of, it becomes easier to know where to begin.

And most of the time? The worst-case scenario isn’t failure.

It’s never starting at all.

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