Does fear-setting really work?

The short answer is no.

This post is a continuation of our weekly book club meetings discussing Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. Find the first blog post here. Each week we pick three chapters with one attributed to a concept rather than an interview. Our conversation this week involved what Brushcetta appetizers we should order at Postino (answer: all of them) and how we can apply the ToT advice to our own lives.

Fear-setting is Tim’s own concept. Without fear-setting, Tim probably would never have written the Four-Hour Workweek. Tim’s process of fear-setting was created when he grappled with traveling the world despite running a brain supplement nutraceutical company. He felt trapped. He was working fourteen hours a day and his company had no exit strategy. If he traveled the world his company might disintegrate into nothingness. All that hard work would amount to nothing.

Tim describes it best in his 2017 TedTalk.

Fear-setting is most productive when there is a decision you want to make but you feel paralyzed. It requires analyzing the worst possible outcomes of a decision. Ask yourself, “why am I unable to take action?”. Tim recommends asking this question by “brain vomiting” your answers on a piece of paper. Define your nightmare scenario — your worst fears, doubts, and most traumatizing scenarios. Then assess the probability. Are these scenarios likely to happen? Can this risk be mitigated? If these scenarios did occur, what could you do to repair the damage? Finally, ask yourself, what are the financial, physical, and emotional costs of inaction? What will life look like in one, five, and ten years if you don’t choose to pursue what you want to pursue?

Chances are the worst possible outcomes aren’t that bad. Tim finally took the leap to travel the world when he realized that there was very little downside to losing business and a life-changing upside to traveling the world.

As a book club, we discussed our fears. As ambitious 20-somethings, we all have big goals that never amounted to anything. We’re all extremely comfortable. We’re comfortable with our relationships, our well-paying jobs, and our routines.

Zack pointed out that with this comfort comes mediocrity. While he makes great money leading a team of ten employees at one of the world’s largest Medtech companies, he fears mediocrity. However, he fears taking risks more than being mediocre.

We all have goals. I want to pursue my startup full time and Michael wants to escape run a half-marathon despite his back pain. We agree that we’re extremely fortunate.

Disclaimer: This book club consists of all-white middle-class males with parents who will always accept us with open arms. This world was built for us. We will never be homeless and always have a safety net. Any “risks” we take are inconveniences at worst.

BTA. Bias Toward Action. While we recognize our fortune, it doesn’t mean we can’t be afraid. We can still have trials, demons, and failures. We’ve overcome insurmountable odds whether that be addiction or disabilities. We can still take risks. There is still room for improvement.

But the book-club men all agreed that Tim’s fear-setting list was mainly another useless self-help tool. You can read all of the self-help books you want (ironic, I know), watch all of the motivational videos, and listen to all of the Tools of Titans podcasts you can.

However, these tools add no value to your life unless you have a bias towards action.

“Bias toward action is about acting quickly to learn faster, but it’s also about choosing where to act; deciding what will drive the most useful learning. It is a balancing act: Groups need to get into action sooner — and also take every possible moment before action to get the most out of it.”

That’s why we started this book-club — to hold each other accountable, making sure that DO more than we TALK.