This is My Biggest Fear in Life

And how I'm planning to conquer it...

Aug 29

I just finished up moving into a house with a few of my closest friends. And while the past week has been a blast, it’s also been a pain.

Carrying heavy boxes and bins. Walking through the front door for what feels like a million times. And don’t even get me started on interior organizing and decorating to make things feel more “homey.”

Let’s just say moving can be a hectic process.

With all the go-go-go of life, it can often feel overwhelming and easy to put off other responsibilities.

For instance, when I started taking this brand more seriously within the past few months, I made a commitment to send this newsletter every Monday morning.

But the thing is… life just happens. We can’t predict what the future holds and we can’t always expect things to go according to plan.

As I’m sure you’re aware, it can be easy to put minor responsibilities on the back-burner when bigger, more important things come up. We say things like “Eh, I’ll do that later” or “It’s okay if I miss this week’s newsletter, I’ll just send it next week.”

Now, putting off responsibilities or skipping things every once in a while isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it can act as a well-deserved break to help combat burnout every now and then.

The problem is allowing those laters, tomorrows, or next times to become the norm. To slip back into the old habits of inconsistency and complacency after spending so much time building up the routines that benefit your life.

Unfortunately, it’s a feeling you and I and most people know all too well.

Putting off the things we know we should be doing simply because we don’t feel like it. Just because we can “always do it later.”

Procrastination, as many call it.

And for most people (especially myself), it can completely destroy momentum and ruin your potential.

Now that might sound harsh, but it really is true.

Someone could be the best artist, writer, or creative mind in the world. But if they never get started, they’ll never realize their potential to become great.

Which honestly, is my worst fear in life: Never living up to my highest potential.

In fact, it’s likely a fear many people have but just don’t realize.

I know I’m capable of achieving great things. You know you’re capable, too. We all are. But it won’t mean anything if we never take action.

Because here’s the thing, far too many people wait for a “tomorrow” that never arrives.

I’ll finish that tomorrow. I’ll skip this week and do it next week.

But the truth is, most of the time we’re just lying to ourselves. We know we won’t do the things we say we will. We know we’re self-sabotaging ourselves by putting things off for some other time.

So how do we rid this fear and live up to our highest potential, living a life of fulfillment instead of regret?

Well, that’s something I’m still trying to figure out for myself. But I have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done.

And while it’s been a very slow process, here are a few things that have helped me:

1. Write out your goals

What do you want most in life? If you were living out your dream, what would your days look like? What would you do? Write it all out and don’t hold anything back. Note: It’s important to write them down somewhere and not just store them in your head. You can’t trust your memory!

2. Find your why

Sometimes we want things in life but don’t quite know why. Well, now’s the time to figure that out. With your goals written down, look at each one and figure out why you want what you do. It sounds weird but trust me, it works.

If you want to travel the world, why exactly do you want to do that? What’s the feeling you’re searching for? If you want to be financially-free, why do you want to? Get down to the nitty-gritty here.

3. Reverse-engineer

Your goals are written down. You’ve found your why. The final step is to reverse-engineer these things and create a road-map of how you’re going to achieve each one. Break things down into the smallest form of action you can take every day to help you get closer to your goals.

Putting all three steps together, here’s what this looks like for me (in a simplified format):

Goal: Travel around the world

Why: To immerse myself in new environments, meet new people, explore new things, and feel that sense of wonder and awe that I love more than anything.

How: From largest to smallest…

Become financially free and location independent → Creating content, selling products/services, building an audience
Creating content, selling products/services, building an audience → Create a consistent posting schedule, relate to others, understand their problems and share the solution
Create a consistent posting schedule, relate to others, understand their problems and share the solution → Post educational, entertaining, or inspiring content on social media each week, engage with other accounts, share what I’m building

Now, that’s a veryyyyy simplified version of what my reverse-engineered goals look like, but are you starting to see how this can help you gain more clarity around getting from Point A (where you are) to Point B (where you want to be)?

And are you starting to see the most important thing: How it can help you take action and stop procrastinating?

I sure hope so. Even though I’m far from where I want to be, I know this process has helped me tremendously in the short amount of time since discovering it.

So there you have it, that’s how I’m conquering my “fears” and how I plan to live my life to the fullest.

Try it out for yourself and see what happens!

Never stop dreaming,

Connor

❓This Week’s Question

What’s your biggest goal in life and how are you planning to accomplish it?

Feel free to reply to this email with your response. I’d love to hear!

💭 This Week’s Quote

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.”
- Henry Ford

📚 This Week’s Resource

How to Reverse-Engineer Your Goals

Here’s a short article on how to reverse-engineer your goals for success using the R.O.O.T.E.D. goal setting system, something I’d never heard of but love the idea of. Check it out!

Monday Meaning