{"id":14,"date":"2025-10-01T15:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/good-worldwide.go-vip.net\/upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T15:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:06:00","slug":"fear-setting-tim-ferriss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Fear-setting&#8217;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What if I told you the secret to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/cognitive-psychologist-shares-the-one-skill-that-can-open-the-door-to-success-and-happiness\" target=\"_blank\">success<\/a> isn&#8217;t setting goals\u2014but setting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/artist-beautifully-illustrates-the-transformative-power-of-turning-toward-fear-rp3\" target=\"_blank\">fears<\/a>?<\/p><p>In a world obsessed with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/bingo-cards-for-resolutions\" target=\"_blank\">vision boards<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/science-confirms-move-in-silence-trend-might-be-the-smartest-way-to-achieve-your-goals-ex1\" target=\"_blank\">goal-setting apps<\/a>, bestselling author <a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tim Ferriss<\/a> is dropping truth bombs that flip conventional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/elderly-people-share-wisdom\" target=\"_blank\">wisdom<\/a> on its head: &#8220;Defining your fears is more important than defining your goals.&#8221;<\/p><p>What?<\/p><p>This simple shift in perspective helped Ferriss change his life\u2014and countless others\u2014to break free from paralysis and take the bold actions he&#8217;d been dreaming about for years.<\/p><p class=\"shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube\">        \t\t<div class=\"embed-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-has-aspect-ratio \"> \n\t\t\t\t<div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/5J6jAC6XxAI\/hqdefault.jpg)\" class=\"rkv-video-placeholder \" data-provider=\"youtube\" data-video-id=\"5J6jAC6XxAI\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Play video\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"17\" height=\"20\" viewBox=\"0 0 17 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M16.5 9.75047C16.5006 10.0051 16.4353 10.2556 16.3105 10.4775C16.1856 10.6995 16.0055 10.8853 15.7875 11.017L2.28 19.2802C2.05227 19.4196 1.79144 19.4957 1.52445 19.5007C1.25746 19.5056 0.993989 19.4392 0.76125 19.3083C0.530728 19.1794 0.338696 18.9914 0.204904 18.7637C0.0711107 18.536 0.000385179 18.2768 0 18.0127V1.48828C0.000385179 1.22417 0.0711107 0.964934 0.204904 0.737222C0.338696 0.509511 0.530728 0.321545 0.76125 0.192655C0.993989 0.0617322 1.25746 -0.00468706 1.52445 0.0002572C1.79144 0.00520146 2.05227 0.0813301 2.28 0.220781L15.7875 8.4839C16.0055 8.6156 16.1856 8.80145 16.3105 9.0234C16.4353 9.24534 16.5006 9.49582 16.5 9.75047Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t                        <\/p><p>Welcome to the life-changing practice of fear-setting\u2014a monthly ritual that could be the missing piece in your personal development puzzle.<\/p><h2>Why our fears keep us stuck (and how to turn them into fuel)<\/h2><p>Picture this: You&#8217;re lying in bed at 3 a.m., your mind racing about that &#8220;risky&#8221; career change you&#8217;ve been contemplating for years. The voice in your head whispers all the myriad ways it could go wrong\u2014financial ruin, professional embarrassment, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@girlsrewatchpodcast\/video\/7462963726694616351\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">meme<\/a> of Marnie from <em>Girls<\/em> where she says, &#8220;Let&#8217;s make fun of the girl who took a risk and put herself out there creatively.&#8221; What if that were you?<\/p><p>Here&#8217;s the funny thing about fear: it&#8217;s a master manipulator. Fear <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/deconstructing-anxiety\/202102\/how-fear-distorts-what-we-know\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">warps our thinking<\/a>, causing our brains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transformationsnetwork.com\/post\/a-distorted-reality-how-anxiety-alters-our-perception-of-the-world-around-us\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">to exaggerate potential disasters<\/a> while overlooking the cost of staying stuck. Before long, we become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nm.org\/healthbeat\/healthy-tips\/emotional-health\/5-things-you-never-knew-about-fear\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">prisoners of our own imagination<\/a>, suffering more in our minds than we would in real life.<\/p><div class=\"rm-embed embed-media\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/starwars-3o7abrH8o4HMgEAV9e\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p><\/div><p>But what would happen if we could flip the script? Instead of running from our fears, we could cut them open and realize that the monster we&#8217;ve been running from all this time was nothing more than a stack of clothes, piled up on a chair.<\/p><p>Enter Tim Ferriss&#8217; fear-setting exercise\u2014a systematic approach to transforming paralyzing anxiety into empowering action.<\/p><h2>The 7 questions that changed everything<\/h2><p>Tim Ferriss is an all-American multi-hyphenate: he&#8217;s an entrepreneur, author, podcaster, and one of the most influential figures in today&#8217;s productivity and lifestyle design space. <em>Wired<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2007\/05\/how-to-become-a\/\" target=\"_blank\">called him<\/a> &#8220;the Superman of Silicon Valley.&#8221; His multi-faceted empire includes five #1 <em>New York Times<\/em> bestsellers, including <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere\/dp\/0307465357\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The 4-Hour Workweek<\/a><\/em> and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Tools-Titans-Billionaires-World-Class-Performers\/dp\/1328683788\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers<\/a><\/em>. Ferriss also hosts the eponymous <em><a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/podcast\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Tim Ferriss Show<\/a><\/em> podcast, the first business\/interview podcast to exceed 100 million downloads. (It has now exceeded one billion downloads, by the way.)<\/p><p><br \/><\/p><div class=\"rm-embed embed-media\"><\/div><p>In short, this is a person who knows a thing or two about high achievement.<\/p><p>Tim Ferriss <a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/2017\/05\/15\/fear-setting\/\" target=\"_blank\">revealed<\/a> that he dedicates up to half an hour each month to confronting his fears head-on through seven critical questions. It&#8217;s a thorough and rational dissection of what scares him the most.<\/p><h3><strong>Question 1:<\/strong> What&#8217;s your nightmare?<\/h3><p>Define your nightmare. What is the absolute <em>worst<\/em> that could happen if you followed through with what you&#8217;re considering?<\/p><p>Get specific. Avoid writing broad fears, such as &#8220;failure.&#8221; Remember, this is an activity designed to let your brain go into full disaster mode: use your creativity and imagination.<\/p><p>For example, you want to start painting, even though you know nothing about it and are &#8220;too old&#8221; to begin a new hobby. But what would happen if you took a class or started going to museums more often? Seriously, what&#8217;s the worst that could happen?<\/p><div class=\"rm-embed embed-media\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/abcnetwork-celebrity-wheel-of-fortune-celebritywheeloffortune-abc-hfc4APHmTqO0gDr48e\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p><\/div><p>People start pointing and staring at you, the most out-of-touch person ever to exist? Your teacher comes to look at your work and starts laughing uncontrollably? Write it all down in painful detail. Then Ferriss <a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/2017\/05\/15\/fear-setting\/\" target=\"_blank\">advises<\/a>, rate the permanent impact scale on a scale of 1-10. You&#8217;ll often discover that your worst-case scenarios aren&#8217;t life-ruiners\u2014or, not even likely to happen at all.<\/p><p>Then, ask yourself: Would it be the end of your life? Are these things really permanent? How likely would they actually happen?<\/p><h3><strong>Question 2:<\/strong> How could you repair the damage?<\/h3><p>If the very worst were to happen, how could you rebuild, even temporarily? Could you get your money back from the art institution? Leave a scathing review on Yelp? Go into therapy for your troubles? Often, we discover that the road to recovery is more possible than we imagined.<\/p><h3><strong>Question 3:<\/strong> What are the benefits of trying?<\/h3><p>Ask yourself, what are the outcomes or benefits, both temporary and permanent, of more likely scenarios?<\/p><p>Fear-setting turns into sunsetting. Let&#8217;s change it up: even if you don&#8217;t achieve complete success (ex., your art teacher tears up when reviewing your first painting project and suggests someone should hang it in the Louvre), what could you gain just from putting yourself out there? New skills, confidence, friends, experiences?<\/p><p>Now, rate these benefits on a scale of 1 to 10 as well. Compare these with the numbers you provided in question #1. Are you shelving your dreams, a potential 9 (!), just because of an unrealistic fear that you rated a 3?<\/p><p class=\"shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube\">        \t\t<div class=\"embed-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-has-aspect-ratio \"> \n\t\t\t\t<div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/o7EVMjgsSME\/hqdefault.jpg)\" class=\"rkv-video-placeholder \" data-provider=\"youtube\" data-video-id=\"o7EVMjgsSME\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Play video\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"17\" height=\"20\" viewBox=\"0 0 17 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M16.5 9.75047C16.5006 10.0051 16.4353 10.2556 16.3105 10.4775C16.1856 10.6995 16.0055 10.8853 15.7875 11.017L2.28 19.2802C2.05227 19.4196 1.79144 19.4957 1.52445 19.5007C1.25746 19.5056 0.993989 19.4392 0.76125 19.3083C0.530728 19.1794 0.338696 18.9914 0.204904 18.7637C0.0711107 18.536 0.000385179 18.2768 0 18.0127V1.48828C0.000385179 1.22417 0.0711107 0.964934 0.204904 0.737222C0.338696 0.509511 0.530728 0.321545 0.76125 0.192655C0.993989 0.0617322 1.25746 -0.00468706 1.52445 0.0002572C1.79144 0.00520146 2.05227 0.0813301 2.28 0.220781L15.7875 8.4839C16.0055 8.6156 16.1856 8.80145 16.3105 9.0234C16.4353 9.24534 16.5006 9.49582 16.5 9.75047Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t                        <\/p><h3><strong>Question 4:<\/strong> What if you were starting over today?<\/h3><p>If you were fired from your job today, what would you do to get things under financial control?<\/p><p>Imagine this scenario and <a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/2017\/05\/15\/fear-setting\/#:~:text=Define%20your%20nightmare,pulled%20it%20off%3F\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">run through questions 1-3 above<\/a>. If you quit your job to test other opportunities, how could you later get back on the same career track if you absolutely had to?<\/p><p>This question isn&#8217;t fear-mongering (remember, this is <em>fear-setting<\/em>.) It builds resilience by reminding you of your resourcefulness. Could you freelance? Take a part-time job? Sell possessions? You&#8217;re more capable of handling setbacks than you think.<\/p><h3><strong>Question 5:<\/strong> What are you putting off out of fear?<\/h3><p>&#8220;Usually, what we most fear doing is what we most need to do,&#8221; Ferriss rationalizes. &#8220;A person&#8217;s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.&#8221;<\/p><p>That phone call. A difficult conversation. That creative project. Fear of the unknown often prevents us from taking the very actions that could transform our lives. Define the worst-case scenario, accept it: then do it. Promise yourself to do one thing every single day that you fear.<\/p><div class=\"rm-embed embed-media\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/cbs-ghosts-cbs-ghostscbs-zbnKtk6FYFInL0AUAg\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p><\/div><h3><strong>Question 6:<\/strong> What&#8217;s the cost of doing nothing?<\/h3><p>What is it costing you\u2014financially, emotionally, and physically\u2014to postpone action?<\/p><p>This may be the most crucial question of all, says Ferriss. If you don&#8217;t pursue what excites you, where will you be in one year? Five years? Ten years? Inaction is the most significant risk of all.<\/p><h3><strong>Question 7:<\/strong> Well, what are you waiting for?<\/h3><p>&#8220;If you cannot answer this without resorting to the concept of &#8220;good timing,&#8221; the answer is simple: You&#8217;re afraid, just like the rest of the world,&#8221; writes Ferriss.<\/p><p>In that case, it&#8217;s time to start again: Measure the cost of inaction. Realize the unlikelihood and repairability of most missteps. Develop the most critical action of those who excel and enjoy doing so: action.<\/p><p class=\"shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image\">        <figure class=\"rkv-rebelmouse\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/good-worldwide.go-vip.net\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3849.png\" alt=\"man, journaling, success, fear, setting\" \/><figcaption>Fear-setting once a month can change your life.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/photos\" rel=\"nofollow\">Photo credit: Canva<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>                        <\/p><h2>The psychology behind why fear-setting works<\/h2><p>Fear-setting is rooted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getstoic.com\/blog\/how-to-overcome-fear-the-stoic-way\" target=\"_blank\">Stoic philosophy<\/a>, specifically, the practice of <em>premeditatio malorum<\/em>: deliberately imagining potential hardships to reduce their psychological impact. Modern psychology confirms what the Stoics <a href=\"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/stoic-response-fear\/\" target=\"_blank\">knew all along<\/a>: when we define our fears with specificity, they lose their power over us.<\/p><p>Here&#8217;s why this approach is so practical:<\/p><p><strong>It manages <a href=\"https:\/\/nesslabs.com\/fear-setting\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">catastrophic thinking<\/a>.<\/strong> Vague fears can feel like an ocean: overwhelming and impenetrable. However, specific fears are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.funblocks.net\/thinking-matters\/classic-mental-models\/fear-setting\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">manageable<\/a>.<\/p><p><strong>It reveals our hidden resilience.<\/strong> Most people <a href=\"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/stoic-response-fear\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">underestimate their ability<\/a> to recover from setbacks.<\/p><p><strong>It exposes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.funblocks.net\/thinking-matters\/classic-mental-models\/fear-setting\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">actual cost of inaction<\/a>.<\/strong> No one likes losing or embarrassing themselves, but fear is a funny thing: we often ignore the <a href=\"https:\/\/dansilvestre.com\/fear-setting\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">losses<\/a> that come from <em>not<\/em> acting.<\/p><h2>Your action plan: 30 minutes that could change your life<\/h2><blockquote>&#8220;I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.&#8221; <em>\u2014Mark Twain<\/em>.<\/blockquote><p>Ready to try fear-setting yourself? Set aside 30 minutes this week. Grab a notebook and work through the seven questions above. Push yourself to be brutally honest: this exercise only works if you&#8217;re willing to confront your fears directly.<\/p><p class=\"shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube\">        \t\t<div class=\"embed-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-has-aspect-ratio \"> \n\t\t\t\t<div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/P0AukXEPH0k\/hqdefault.jpg)\" class=\"rkv-video-placeholder \" data-provider=\"youtube\" data-video-id=\"P0AukXEPH0k\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Play video\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"17\" height=\"20\" viewBox=\"0 0 17 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M16.5 9.75047C16.5006 10.0051 16.4353 10.2556 16.3105 10.4775C16.1856 10.6995 16.0055 10.8853 15.7875 11.017L2.28 19.2802C2.05227 19.4196 1.79144 19.4957 1.52445 19.5007C1.25746 19.5056 0.993989 19.4392 0.76125 19.3083C0.530728 19.1794 0.338696 18.9914 0.204904 18.7637C0.0711107 18.536 0.000385179 18.2768 0 18.0127V1.48828C0.000385179 1.22417 0.0711107 0.964934 0.204904 0.737222C0.338696 0.509511 0.530728 0.321545 0.76125 0.192655C0.993989 0.0617322 1.25746 -0.00468706 1.52445 0.0002572C1.79144 0.00520146 2.05227 0.0813301 2.28 0.220781L15.7875 8.4839C16.0055 8.6156 16.1856 8.80145 16.3105 9.0234C16.4353 9.24534 16.5006 9.49582 16.5 9.75047Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t                        <\/p><p>Tim Ferriss has used this exact process to make significant decisions in his life. And remember that lengthy paragraph earlier? Things turned out pretty well for him.<\/p><p>So, what do you have to lose? Apparently, the answer is &#8220;quite a lot.&#8221; Track down your favorite pen and get to fear-setting. Your future self thanks you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To conquer fear, one must define it, entrepreneur Tim Ferriss says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":187390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alternative_headline":"","alternative_description":"","alternative_featured_image":0,"rkv_announcement":{"visible":true},"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"partner_boost":false,"hide_partner_badge":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,156],"tags":[395,2212,2213,2214,2215,2216,161,2097,2217,2218,76,2219,2220],"sponsor":[],"rkv-people-shadow":[336],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-mental-health","tag-conversations","tag-fears","tag-fearsetting","tag-goals","tag-personal-development","tag-perspective","tag-psychology","tag-resilience","tag-setbacks","tag-stoic-philosophy","tag-success","tag-success-advice","tag-tim-ferriss"],"edit_link":null,"apple_news_notices":[],"rkv_author":{"id":40,"name":"Kat Hong","display_name":"Kat Hong","first_name":"","last_name":"","nickname":"kelsey-clifton","url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/author\/kat-hong\/","link":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/author\/kat-hong\/","description":"Kat Hong is a contributing writer to Upworthy, living in Los Angeles. (Well, technically Santa Monica. But why are we being technical?)","slug":"kat-hong","avatar_urls":[],"email":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Fear-setting&#039;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares - QA Upworthy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Fear-setting&#039;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To conquer fear, one must define it, entrepreneur Tim Ferriss says.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"QA Upworthy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-01T15:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kat Hong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kat Hong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Danny Cohen\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/00e013a2a0dd699bca424f4bfc4eea58\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;Fear-setting&#8217;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-01T15:06:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\"},\"wordCount\":1450,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png\",\"keywords\":[\"conversations\",\"fears\",\"fearsetting\",\"goals\",\"personal development\",\"perspective\",\"psychology\",\"resilience\",\"setbacks\",\"stoic philosophy\",\"Success\",\"success advice\",\"tim ferriss\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Mental Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\",\"name\":\"'Fear-setting': How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares - QA Upworthy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-01T15:06:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/00e013a2a0dd699bca424f4bfc4eea58\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Tim Ferriss is teaching a masterclass in achieving your goals.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;Fear-setting&#8217;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/\",\"name\":\"QA Upworthy\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/00e013a2a0dd699bca424f4bfc4eea58\",\"name\":\"Danny Cohen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1468372248453c63aeb412a67b2114ad3f8dded96cc098314057339bf8fd787e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1468372248453c63aeb412a67b2114ad3f8dded96cc098314057339bf8fd787e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Danny Cohen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/author\/kat-hong\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Fear-setting': How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares - QA Upworthy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Fear-setting': How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares","og_description":"To conquer fear, one must define it, entrepreneur Tim Ferriss says.","og_url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/","og_site_name":"QA Upworthy","article_published_time":"2025-10-01T15:06:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kat Hong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kat Hong","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/"},"author":{"name":"Danny Cohen","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/00e013a2a0dd699bca424f4bfc4eea58"},"headline":"&#8216;Fear-setting&#8217;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares","datePublished":"2025-10-01T15:06:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/"},"wordCount":1450,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png","keywords":["conversations","fears","fearsetting","goals","personal development","perspective","psychology","resilience","setbacks","stoic philosophy","Success","success advice","tim ferriss"],"articleSection":["Health","Mental Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/","url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/","name":"'Fear-setting': How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares - QA Upworthy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png","datePublished":"2025-10-01T15:06:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/00e013a2a0dd699bca424f4bfc4eea58"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png","width":1080,"height":720,"caption":"Tim Ferriss is teaching a masterclass in achieving your goals."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/2025\/10\/01\/fear-setting-tim-ferriss\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8216;Fear-setting&#8217;: How a bestselling author conquers anxiety by writing down worst nightmares"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#website","url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/","name":"QA Upworthy","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/00e013a2a0dd699bca424f4bfc4eea58","name":"Danny Cohen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1468372248453c63aeb412a67b2114ad3f8dded96cc098314057339bf8fd787e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1468372248453c63aeb412a67b2114ad3f8dded96cc098314057339bf8fd787e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Danny Cohen"},"url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/author\/kat-hong\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/origin-3850.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14"},{"taxonomy":"sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsor?post=14"},{"taxonomy":"rkv-people-shadow","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodinc.com\/qa-upworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rkv-people-shadow?post=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}