Feel the fear and do it anyway!

[C1239]

If you are nervous about something do you think feel the fear and do it anyway actually works?! If you do something more often that you are worried about does it desensitise you somehow?

Of course gradual exposure to things you fear works. It is well researched and a treatment for phobias and some anxieties. That said, there is generally a step about building up your ability to "do it anyway".

It works for some things and not others. Or with some things you might need to veeerrry gradually up the ante. Definitely in the case of some phobias.

For example, I’ve sky-dived, bungee jumped and hot air ballooned and my fear of heights hasn’t got better. If anything the bungee made it worse as I worry about jumping rather than falling!

By contrast, when I had a run of presenting all the time at work or being onstage, my performance anxiety disappeared completely. It came back with a vengeance later though - when I hadn’t done it for a while.

I think if you did nothing you were scared of doing, you wouldn't achieve things you didn't know you were capable of.