You might be surprised to hear that fear is a natural and necessary human emotion.
It helps to keep you safe and stops you from taking unnecessary risks. But sometimes fear can get the upper hand and get in the way of achieving your goals, and prevent you from creating that dynamic, intriguing, vivacious, and authentic life you deserve.
The good news? You can learn to overcome your fears. It’s a skill that anyone can learn. If your fears are holding you back, here are 6 of the best books to help you take back control.
Book #1: Daring Greatly
Brene Brown is a world-renowned speaker and author with a lot of wisdom and helpful advice on living up to your full personal potential. Her book Daring Greatly encourages readers to see and explore their vulnerability and imperfection and recast them as strengths to be embraced.
Available in multiple formats, the Audible audiobook also includes a bonus PDF with an appendix – one of my favorite reasons to indulge in audiobooks!
Book #2: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
The premise of this book is to acknowledge that fear is inevitable. The only way forward is to look fear in the eye and keep going. Only by grabbing your fears and moving forward anyway will your fear diminish. And over time, your confidence and trust in your abilities will grow, along with increases in your self-esteem, assertiveness, and ultimately, your level of enjoyment with your life.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
Book #3: The Big Leap
Gay Hendricks’ theory is that people have a kind of inner “thermostat” that determines how much success, love, and creativity we allow ourselves. When you reach that self-imposed limit or peak, you’ll fear going beyond it and revert to dissatisfaction and unhappiness. The key to continued happiness and success? Learning to overcome your hidden fears and false beliefs using the principles in this book.
Book #4: The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook
Bourne’s book is a practical self-help book packed with exercises and techniques to help you overcome, assess, and treat anxiety, quiet worry, take charge of anxious thoughts, and use relaxation and breathing techniques to help you move past the fears standing in the way of living a meaningful and happy life. The book helps you to tackle negative self-talk, mindset, and mistaken beliefs, as well as how to deal with panic attacks and specific fears like social anxiety and phobias.
The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund J Bourne PhD
Book #5: The Confidence Gap
If self-doubt and fear of failure are holding you back from achieving your goals, The Confidence Gap can help you. It’s time to stop missing out on opportunities because a lack of self-confidence is holding you back.
Russ Harris draws on the techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and mindfulness to encourage you to accept your fears and move forward. The book explains, among other themes, how to free yourself from common misconceptions about confidence, how to clarify your core values and use them for inspiration and motivation, and how to use mindfulness to handle negative thoughts and feelings.
The Confidence Gap by Russ Harris
Book #6: Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm
Thich Nhat Hanh is a world-renowned Buddhist monk, author, and teacher. His book advocates a mindful approach to overcoming fears by bringing them into awareness. He explores the origins of our fears, illuminates a path toward peace and freedom from anxiety, and offers powerful tools for eliminating it from your life. The many faces of fear can show up in our lives, keeping us focused on the past and worried about the future. This book helps teach the reader how to avoid having our lives be shaped and driven by fear.
Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hahn
