Three Stages of fear - Fearless Tribe

Susan Jeffrey recognises a hierarchy of fears, which can be divided into three different stages:

Level 1 – Surface Stories: These are “surface stories” that you tell yourself about what will happen (e.g. aging, being alone) or things you must do (e.g. making a career switch, making a speech). Often, the fear of 1 thing can spill over into other areas (e.g. a fear of meeting new people can induce fear of crowds, parties, public speaking etc.)

Level 2 – Generealized fears: These involve your inner states of mind rather than external factors. These are generalized fears that cut across many areas of life—such as the fear of rejection, failure, success—to reflect your sense of self and abilities.

Level 3 Underlying fear: Beneath every fear is the level 3 fear or ultimate fear that you won’t be able to handle something, i.e. all fears are fundamentally due to a lack of confidence. Use the tools and ideas in this book to build the confidence that you can handle anything in your life. When you can shift your dominant thoughts from “I can’t handle it” to “I will handle it”, you’ll fear virtually nothing.

Feel the fear and do it anyway

Susan Jefffrey