“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” — SenecaI do an exercise called “fear-setting” at least once a quarter, often once a month. It is the most powerful exercise I do. Fear-setting has produced my biggest business and personal successes, as well as repeatedly helped me to avoid catastrophic mistakes.ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:My TED talk, which is what you are listening to, gives you an overview, and the text at tim.blog/ted provides more detail, step-by-step instructions, and real-world examples.You can watch the TED talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_ferriss_why_you_should_define_your_fears_instead_of_your_goalsThe three exercise slides from the TED presentation: https://tim.blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ted_ferriss_fear_setting_sample_slides.pdfThis talk was also shared on the podcast TED Talks Daily, where TED shares new ideas every weekday. You might also enjoy my conversation with Chris Anderson on The TED Interview podcast, in which we discuss philosophy, psychedelics, and much more.SUGGESTED READING:Tao of Seneca: Letters from a Stoic Master — Free PDFs of three volumes of Stoic writing and modern profiles.Some Practical Thoughts on SuicideThe Tao of Seneca — On Groundless Fears***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this TED Talk recorded on April 24th, 2017, Tim Ferriss shares with his audience the concept of Fear-Setting, which he describes as the most valuable exercise he does. He encourages listeners to take control of their fears by writing them down and breaking them apart into actionable steps.
Tim Ferriss mentions a special offer by Athletic Greens, including a vitamin D supplement and free travel packs. He also promotes his Five Bullet Friday newsletter as a way to discover interesting apps, books, and supplements.
The speaker encourages his audience to use stoicism as an operating system to make better decisions and thrive in high-stress environments. He suggests visualizing worst-case scenarios, which leads to action and overcomes the paralysis caused by fear.
The speaker reflects on how he used stoicism and fear-setting to make important decisions, and emphasizes the potential for positive, life-changing impact that may arise when taking calculated risks.
In this podcast, Tim Ferriss shares instructions for fear-setting and encourages listeners to check out his Five Bullet Friday email newsletter where he shares cool things he's found each week. The instructions can be found at tim.blog/Ted and the newsletter sign-up is at 4hourworkweek.com.