“Perhaps you’re afraid of failing, or maybe succeeding?  Of never being noticed, or standing out in a crowd?  Of things always staying the same, or of change?  Perhaps before we can work out what we could achieve if we weren’t afraid, we need to work out what scares us.

According to Gavin de Becker, fear is a gift.  It’s a gift because without out fear we would be oblivious to danger.  Fear, like all emotions, is a signal to act.  Sometimes that action could make the difference between life and death, and at its very core, fear is about survival.  But, in our work culture fear signals are far less likely to be about physical survival than they are about an emotional, psychological or cognitive threat – and it is perhaps surprising how much of that goes on in our head, with very little basis in reality.”