Make Better Decisions by Imagining Your Worst-Case Scenario

Building on last week’s episode about better decision-making in the face of uncertainty, this week shares the ultimate strategy for facing your fear of failure: Planning to Fail. Don’t let your fear of failure keep you stuck from making your next big move!

Planning to fail presents a series of reflective questions that guide you through 1) imagining your worst-case scenario 2) thinking through specific strategies to repair the damage of your nightmare scenario and 3) confronting the timing or other circumstances currently keeping you ‘paralyzed’ from taking action.

Today’s episode outline:

• [1:38] Why failure is so much more than an abstract idea
• [1:52] Approximately 1 in 3 American adults are afraid of failure according to this 2015 survey
• [2:14] The Amygdala is the oldest part of the brain, where emotions are processed
• [3:07] Planning to fail empowers you to face your fears more realistically
• [3:59] Plan for the best, prepare for the worst
• [4:07] Tim Ferris’s book The 4 Hour Work Week introduces the idea of fear-setting
• [5:06] 5 questions for ‘planning to fail,’ facing your fears to make better decision-making

Rate, review, & subscribe to the podcast. Know someone who’s wrestling with a big decision and afraid to make the leap? If you’ve found today’s episode valuable, consider sharing it with a friend or leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Now is the time to cheer each other on!