Fear Setting is what Tim Ferriss came up with to make big decisions in his life. This came from Stoic principles. He made this when he was in a fork: many choices to be made, but many conclusions (all still in our heads).
So he made his decision-making concrete, not merely thinking about what to do.
If you want more information about Fear Setting, I placed the link to the article in Tim’s blog here.
I want to talk about how I want to use it.
There are 3 pages of Fear Setting and that is how I set up the article.
Page 1
Define. In the first column, these are a few goals with the timeline for the next 2 years. They are:
- Move to Australia with my family as Resident Medical Officer (what I will talk about here)
- Build this site to be an authority site
- Exercise at least 3 times a week
I have made a few choices toward these goals. What I have been struggling with is the mental battle to take the next few steps. Fear is real. Physical or mental fear is crippling. That’s why I want to employ Fear Setting.
Prevent. Now that the goals are down, we need to put some guard rails to try to control what we can. Prevent some things from burning everything.
As for moving to Australia, this requires planning, a lot of it. Taking this one step at a time: I would need to pass the physician licensure examination and secure employment. This is the first major step. To ensure no failure, I need to get money from a reliable source. One is from my parents and relatives. I want to use my time to secure study time for a sure pass.
Not too hard, right? This is not for the faint of heart.
Repair. This means to stop the failure from happening or at least lower the damage.
I would give myself 2 takes for the exam. The exams are expensive and they take time. Failure would mean working again, doing residency training here. It wouldn’t be hard to go back since we already have something established: connections, training, house.
I could always ask for family and relatives for help to get started. Nothing really that would be permanent.
Page 2
Partial attempt or success. What would it mean if you did move forward?
If I had to put a 1-10 scale of what impact of trying this out would mean, failing this would be on a 2 because I can always get back to my life to continue the dreadful life and a 10 if I succeed and move to Australia.
This means that I would be risking a change to our lives as a family for a temporary pain of moving or living a third-world country. Nothing wrong with living there, I have many good memories. But it’s time for something new. We need to explore the world.
It would mean not giving a try to go to a first-world country for my family to experience. Setup our life to travel every quarter or so. Establish a business there. Be able to fund family back home.
Page 3
Cost of Inaction. What would happen to you if you didn’t do anything (emotionally, physically, financially..?)
3 months – I would still be working at a job that would pay for our bills but chasing the payments because we are living paycheck to paycheck.
9 months – If I don’t do this, I would be in a residency training because I haven’t ‘done’ anything yet. I would not be growing professionally. But is that the only way to go? Are you feeling the dread yet? Are you feeling the regret? Are you feeling the weight of your debts?
18 months – In the weeds of training, hard, residency, with other people. Making ends meet because training is not financially rewarding. Emotionally draining. Or am I making these feelings myself? Has anyone felt this way?
Trying to achieve something with no backup plan is what I’m trying here. I need to make this decision to make radical changes in my life and I can’t do that if my bridge is this connected to the old life.
Ponderings
You might be wondering, “What does this have to do with me?”
Well, if you are reading this, then you are wondering what you should do with your life. I can’t tell what it is.
What I found for myself is that when I was doing something ‘heart pounding’, what is when I enjoyed what I was doing. Public speaking, teaching, being in an emergency, diving. Adrenaline can help you. Find the joy in finding your passion. If none of that made your heart pound the right way, then it’s not for you.
Then ask yourself this, “What moves are you making toward your future life? What is stopping you?”
You don’t have to make a big decision to change yourlife.
Make the small ones that add up to change your life.
More updates to come.
