How to Let Go of Fear and Worry

Fear seems like an inescapable part of life. We’re afraid that if we do something wrong, we might lose our jobs, our homes or our families. We’re afraid of getting into a car accident during our morning commute. We’re afraid of screwing up on our taxes and getting audited by the IRS.

We live with fear every single day of our lives, and it’s not a good thing. Sure, it makes us cautious, but it can also hold us back. If you want to let go of your fears, try some of these tips and tricks.

Just “Let It Go”

Disney can teach us a lot of useful lessons. Think of how to get rid of toxic people — like Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, though we don’t recommend throwing your toxic people from a bell tower. Or dealing with grief, seen in the form of Nemo’s dad in Finding Nemo coping with the death of his wife and Hiro dealing with the death of his brother Tadashi in Big Hero 6.

One of the most important lessons that they’ve taught us recently, thanks to Queen Elsa, is to let it go — and that applies to fear as well.

Letting go of it can help you step outside your comfort zone and do things you never would have tried otherwise. Letting go of your fear of traveling, for example, could lead to some amazing adventures in countries you’ve never visited before.

Let It Empower You

Fear doesn’t have to be something that keeps you from doing the things you love. Used properly, fear can empower you. Being afraid of something reveals the limits you’ve set for yourself so that you can push past them. Fear can encourage you to do something you’re afraid of just so that something else you’re afraid of doesn’t happen.

Used properly, fear can be a highly useful tool — but that depends on being able to use it correctly. Unchecked fear, on the other hand, can be harmful. It’s kind of like oxygen — if you’ve got enough of it, you’re golden, but if you’ve got too much, you can’t breathe.

Stop Feeling Guilty

Guilt and fear tend to go hand in hand. You feel guilty about saying no to someone, so you fear that they’ll be angry with you. One way to relinquish it is to resolve guilt as well. Don’t feel guilty about saying no or putting yourself first — it’s not selfish, it’s healthy.

Once you can do that, the fear associated with it will drain away. Even just being a little bit nicer to everyone you meet can make it easier to get rid of any unnecessary guilt you’re carrying around with you.

Just Do It

In the immortal and viral words of actor Shia LaBeouf — JUST DO IT. Letting go of fear isn’t easy, but it’s not something you’ll be able to do by just thinking about it. Take the plunge, step outside your comfort zone and do something you’re afraid of. You might be surprised by how much fun you have. You could end up wondering why you were so afraid of that thing in the first place!

Just getting out there is the best advice we can offer for how to move past it. There’s no magic recipe to make the feeling go away, even though we’d love to give you one.

You Can Choose to Let Go of Fear

We’re going to leave you with a quote from a science fiction movie starring Will Smith and his son Jaden: “Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me — danger is very real, but fear is a choice.”

You can choose to let go of fear— but it’s a choice that only you can make.