You’ve got a lot on your mind, and there’s one project you’re particularly keen on, but you’re stuck. Nothing happens. You’d like to move forward, but you don’t know how. Here are 5 tips to overcome the fear of taking the plunge.

1 – Take stock of your fears

First and foremost, it’s essential to take stock of your fears to find out what’s really blocking you.

Is it the fear of making a mistake, of not measuring up?

Is it the fear of being judged by others?

Because putting your fears into words is the best way to deal with them. Fear is indeed frightening, but as soon as you name it, give it a name, it’s less frightening.

What’s more, taking stock of your fears helps you to overcome them. You can move from “I’m blocked by my fears” to “I’m actively looking for solutions to overcome my fears”.

Can you see the difference?

Personally, I’ve had to deal with the fear of taking the plunge many times. In fact, I’ve already made 3 professional reconversions, the last of which is still my current job: psychiatrist.

Suffice it to say that the fear of taking the plunge was strong.

So, as a first step, I listed all my fears and looked for solutions.

I’ll tell you about them in the next 4 points.

2 – Understand your lack of self-confidence so that you’re no longer afraid to take the plunge

When we’re afraid of taking the plunge, it’s often because we’re afraid of making the wrong choice. We’re also afraid we won’t be up to the task, or that our project won’t work out. In other words, we’re afraid of failure.

So how can we overcome all these fears?

To do so, we need to better understand our lack of self-confidence.

Indeed, when we’re at the start of a project, whatever it may be, we lack self-confidence. It’s only natural.

But we’ve forgotten that. Yes, we’ve forgotten that fear is part of the journey, accompanying us every step of the way.

In fact, over time, we’ve come to believe that fear is abnormal, that it means we lack self-confidence, and that without self-confidence, we can’t get started.

What a lie!

In fact, when I began my apprenticeship in happiness, I started with self-confidence.

Because I was sorely lacking in it and I told myself that it was the best foundation to have if you wanted to be happy in life, and it’s true.

So, when I learned about self-confidence, I discovered that self-confidence isn’t innate, i.e. you’re not born with or without self-confidence.

In fact, self-confidence is a resource that you acquire over time. How do you acquire it? By taking action, regularly. By stepping out of our comfort zone.

In other words, self-confidence is acquired by overcoming our fears, one by one.

That’s why, to overcome the fear of taking the plunge, you have to stop hiding behind the false excuse of lacking self-confidence. You have to be prepared to overcome your fears, one by one.

What helps me to have confidence in myself on a daily basis is to have understood and accepted that fear is part of my path. It will always be there.

I’ve also discovered that fear doesn’t come to tell us to stop and give up. In fact, fear makes us more vigilant, and thus pushes us to give the best of ourselves.

3 – Learn to live for yourself so you’re no longer afraid to take the plunge

When we’re afraid to take the plunge, it’s also because we’re afraid of the way others look at us. It blocks us.

Indeed, what those around us think is very important to us. In fact, we don’t want to disappoint the people we love, we don’t want to worry them.

But, unfortunately, by thinking like this we miss out on our lives.

I know, I’ve lived it for a long time. For a long time, I made my choices based on my family. I didn’t want to disappoint or upset them.

But as I learned about happiness, I realized that my life was my gift.

And there’s nothing selfish about that. It’s just vital!

I’ve come to understand that we have the right to disappoint those around us, because we’re all unique, and what makes me dream doesn’t necessarily make those around me dream, and what makes those around me dream doesn’t necessarily make me dream.

But how do we dare make it a reality in our lives? How can we dare to take the plunge?

For that, I wholeheartedly invite you to do a visualization exercise. Imagine yourself in bed at 90. You’re at the end of your life, and you need to answer a question: what have you done with your life? What would you like to answer?

One of the worst regrets of people at the end of their lives is not to have lived for themselves, but to have lived for others.

In other words, it’s up to you.

The fear of taking the plunge is the signal that it’s time!

4 – Take small actions

When you’ve got a project in mind that’s very close to your heart, you’d like to see it come to fruition right away.

But our mind is no fool, and it will list all the obstacles we’re going to face. It’s going to remind us how difficult it’s going to be and that there’s a good chance of failure.

In other words, the fear of taking the plunge is strong.

So how do you go about it?

Personally, I’ve learned to imagine my projects differently.

In other words, I’ve learned to tame my impatience and my need to control everything.

In fact, I’ve come to understand that we’re here on Earth to plant seeds, water them and maybe one day see them blossom.

These seeds are the actions we take to advance a project, a dream.

Because I’ve realized that we’ve learned to be impatient, to want to control everything, and that’s why before embarking on a project, we need to be certain that it will work, and quickly.

And that’s when our fear of taking the plunge becomes insurmountable.

Because we can’t be sure.

Life is full of surprises.

All we can control are the little seeds we plant every day.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to detach yourself from the stakes. In other words, when a project is close to your heart, breathe!

Don’t start mentalizing the path that will lead you there.

In fact, take action now. Take the first step, joyfully and hopefully.

Yes, don’t think too much. Don’t expect certainty.

Just take the first step and see where it takes you.

That advice just changed my life. Now, I don’t let my mind create a lot of fears and doubts. When I feel like doing something, I take action immediately, and when I start to feel afraid, I take action too.

In fact, I plant my seeds and nurture my hopes rather than stopping, not moving forward and feeding my fears.

5 – Surround yourself with the right people so you’re not afraid to take the plunge

Fear of taking the plunge makes us feel alone and helpless. In fact, we feel very small in the face of our project and the road we have to travel.

That’s why it’s essential to surround yourself with the right people.

Surround yourself with reading, surround yourself with people too.

People who are like us, who want to take their happiness into their own hands, to give life to their project.

People who want to move forward with joy and hope.

That’s why I created this blog, that’s why I became a psychiatrist.

Because I know how essential it is to surround yourself with the right people to move forward, to move towards happiness and towards the life that suits you and excites you.

So, if you need kindness, confidence and energy, I’ll be happy to accompany you on your way.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How to motivate yourself: 3 powerful steps to regain control of your life
Discover Fear of failure: 10 tips for a serene start to your projects

In addition, I recommend this inspiring book:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin’s book recounts her year-long experiment to increase happiness in her life. It addresses the fear of change and the search for a more satisfying life.
This book kept me turning the pages with eagerness, as the author is entertaining and provides an easy yet impactful read. I came away with a number of practical ideas that I can apply to my own life.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself.