Doing it scared (or not at all)

Adrian Micheli
2 min readMay 9, 2020

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Imagine fear wasn’t perhaps our most common trait.

We all get scared. Not only is this entirely normal from a human perspective, as a society it keeps us in line and stops us from doing crazy shit! A world without fear would require countless happy drugs and hundreds of thousands of dispensaries, which would lead to countless other woes. So must we all accept being scared as an excuse for not doing things we want to? In my opinion, the answer is no.

Do it Scared.

One of my main fears is how I will be judged or perceived by others. Whether that’s from writing this article or the next, walking down the street in new tracksuit pants I’m not convinced are a good colour, and the list goes on…

The truth is, with every little step we take down a fearful road, the next becomes easier. Just as this Medium article is easier to write than my last (and first!), we gradually get comfortable doing it scared. What originally might have scared us, gives us pleasure the next time. My belief is we find enjoyment only by facing fears for the first time and running with it.

Work-wise, writing job applications was my biggest fear, second only to actual interviews. That is the epitome of judgement for so many of us, especially if it’s a job we really want. But what are the consequences of not “doing it scared"? Well, you guessed it, not doing it at all i.e. being stuck in the same position or back where you always were.

Taking the scared approach means you will miss great opportunities.

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