12 Best Strategies to Overcome Fear of the Unknown
If you’ve ever stopped pursuing a goal because you were uncertain about what lay ahead, and it scared you, you’re in the right place!
Have you caught yourself making any of these excuses and began doubting yourself or quitting altogether? “No one’s ever made it before,” or “I have no idea where this will lead,” or “This may be a bad idea.”
They don’t really sound like excuses, do they? They actually sound somewhat legit. However, they are, in reality, nice ways of letting ourselves down.
Fear of the unknown is one of the common feelings that a lot of people experience. It can negatively affect you and hinder you from living life to the fullest. It can even impact how you make choices and decisions.
Uncertainty is a part of everyday life. It can come in the environment with the economy, weather, or technology advancements. Or it can come personally with a career change, moving to a new place, or a new position at work. It can be exciting yet also exhausting, and overwhelming, and causes us to be emotionally paralyzed.
These are the 12 Best Strategies to Overcome Fear of the Unknown. It takes courage and commitment to face your fear and deal with it but the good news is you can do it!
What is fear of the unknown?
Fear of the unknown is being afraid of something you have no information on at any level and no control over. It’s a fear of anything beyond your comfort zone.
Fear can be good as it heightens your senses to potential threats and danger. But there’s fear that paralyzes you and stops you from living fully and that’s the one you need to conquer.
The psychological term for fear of the unknown is “xenophobia”. It’s the fear of anything or anyone unfamiliar but nowadays people limit it to the fear of strangers or foreigners. Unfortunately, this fear or dislike for people who are different can even lead to extreme behaviors and violence.
Fear of the unknown is created by thoughts and self-limiting beliefs in your mind. These thoughts could have started in childhood and resulted in negative self-talk and attitudes throughout our lives. They influence how we talk and behave.
For some people, the unknown is so unbearable and they have a habit of imagining worst-case scenarios and developed a state of mind called “intolerance of uncertainty.” It’s a low tolerance to uncertainty where someone becomes frozen by fear or makes irrational choices instead.
It creates an inaccurate view of reality. You become stuck in a cycle of excessive worrying about tomorrow, anxiety, and panic over the possible outcomes ahead.
Fear of the unknown may have developed because of a negative experience in your childhood or your teenage years. Or if you grew up with an anxious parent who had a fear of the unknown, you might develop the same.
It’s human nature to fear what we don’t know. We want to stay in our comfort zones and we’re unwilling to take risks. The problem is this can hinder us from achieving our dreams, limit us, and prevent us from living life to our full potential.
An example is fear of the future. We plan for our lives but in truth, we do it with hope and faith because we don’t know what tomorrow brings. When you fear the future though, you might fail to plan, become overwhelmed, and prefer to stay in your present situation even when it’s not ideal.
Some common symptoms you may experience in the face of the unknown include panic attacks, tense muscles, anxiety, shallow breathing, or a rapid heart rate.
Fear of the unknown is common among people who already have anxiety disorders. They often fear change, have a fear of uncertainty, usually play out worst-case scenarios in their minds, and are even afraid to leave a bad situation.
The good news is with the right tools we can be equipped and empowered to retrain our minds, confidently step into the unfamiliar, and seize the opportunities that await when we try new things. You’ll experience peace, joy, and success as you overcome the fear of any unknown situation ahead.
We cannot listen to that voice of doubt. Listen to the voice of truth in your life — the voice that says you are strong and courageous. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is experiencing fear but being willing to go anyway.
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
— Corrie Ten Boom, Holocaust survivor
Why is fear of the unknown so common?
Fear of any kind whether it is fear of failure, fear of what others think, or fear of the unknown leads us to make excuses and stops us from pursuing our dreams. There are various reasons why we experience fear.
The unknown takes us into an unfamiliar situation
Let’s get real, no one likes change! We love predictability. We love our routine. We associate change with negative outcomes. We just don’t like anyone changing things on us.
Change isn’t comfortable. It is a learning curve, and we don’t like having to learn something new. Fear of the unknown is common because it takes us out of our comfort zone and into a place of change.
The unknown is unpredictable and uncomfortable
When we don’t have enough information about a situation we can’t make predictions and that’s when we become anxious and uncomfortable. There’s no way to fully plan out our route or know exactly what we will encounter.
We can’t be fully prepared and equipped because we don’t always know what we need to be equipped for.
The unknown is just a downright scary place!
We like to be in charge of our lives and direct where we’re going. But in the face of the unknown, we lack control and that scares us.
I didn’t want to mess anything up. I was sick of my ankle hurting. I even wondered if I’d remember how to do things the right way!
Because of that, I avoided putting full pressure on my ankle for quite some time. I was unwilling to take a risk, step into the unknown, and change.
This slowed me down in my recovery, and once I DID take the chance and take the first step, I found out it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The unknown was actually the place I needed to be. The best things can happen when we conquer our fears.
12 Best Strategies to Overcome Fear of the Unknown
Overcoming fear of the unknown is an important personal journey to embark on. These 12 Strategies will empower you and transform your life as they’re a stepping stone to living life to the fullest where fear no longer controls you.
Understand Your Fear
The first step is to accept the fearful thoughts and make a decision to not let them paralyze you. It’s normal not to step out into the unknown and avoid change. But it’s important to understand that fear of the unknown is based on self-limiting beliefs based on what we think will happen not on reality.
Getting to the root of your fear is an effective way of dealing with it. For example, if you’ve been promoted and you need to move to a new city, collect more information about it and do your research.
It could be that past trauma, negative life experiences, or self-limiting beliefs may be causing you to become overwhelmed.
“Fear of the unknown… They are afraid of new ideas… They are loaded with prejudices, not based upon anything in reality, but based on… If something is new, I reject it immediately because it’s frightening to me.” What they do instead is just stay with the familiar. You know, to me, the most beautiful things in all the universe are the most mysterious.”
Wayne Dyer
Write down your feelings when you’re afraid of the unknown
Journaling is an effective way of gaining clarity especially when you feel overwhelmed. It helps you gain perspective, reflect, and process your feelings.
You can be free to write whatever you want without judgment. Journal and reflect on things within your control and take one small step each day to control your life. Then you take the next step and next and before you know it, things become easier to handle.
You can also just write the fears down and tear up the piece of paper into a zillion pieces and throw it away. It now has no power in your life!
Naming and writing down your fears and negative thoughts is one of the best things you can do to shrink them down in size too.
Increase Your Tolerance of Uncertainty
You’ve met new people before in your life. You’ve taken a new role before in your workplace or at home. Remembering how you’ve successfully coped with a similar fear of the unknown and change before is a great way to face the unknown with confidence.
Most times, the moments we’re most proud of in life happen after a struggle. They happened after we overcame a type of fear we had or stress we felt and we pushed through and came out on the other side, victorious with great accomplishment.
Possibilities open up and the good things happen in life when we overcome fear.
Do your research
Sometimes fear of the unknown comes from lacking enough information leading to a feeling of a loss of control. Taking the necessary steps to research the situation ahead empowers you and makes it easier to make decisions. The information you gain arms you and makes the future less scary.
Let’s say you’re afraid to leave the job you’re currently in where it’s a toxic workplace and you’re unhappy. You can consider starting a new job.
Research, read books and articles as well as talk to people already in that industry or potential new place of work. The more knowledge you gain, the more confident you become about the change.
Question your assumptions
One of the best ways to overcome a worst-case scenario is to examine it in detail. Because the fear of the unknown is based on what might happen and not on what has actually happened, you can question those assumptions.
Ask yourself if there’s any evidence that supports the potential threats in your mind. Examine to what extent your beliefs and fears are logical.
Is there evidence that you’ll fail? Is there evidence that supports the fear of the unknown? Have you ever successfully dealt with uncertainty and overcome it?
Questioning your beliefs and assumptions brings everything into perspective.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Nelson Mandela
Reframe how you view the unknown
One of the most powerful strategies to overcome fear of the unknown is to reframe how you view uncertainty. Indeed, the path less traveled is rarely the easy one but you never know what may be lurking around the corner, and that makes it rather nerve-wracking.
On the other hand, if you like adventure, it really can make life more exciting!
The path less traveled has more scenery because it hasn’t been developed yet, so greenery and beauty are abundant. The views are mostly spectacular, the landscapes grand.
World changers were willing to forge into unknown territories and discover a land that was beautiful beyond description.
The path less traveled has more opportunity. It may be tougher, and you may have to work hard to avoid the roots in the path or the branches along the way, but there’s less competition and a better chance at advancement if you have the fortitude to stick it out.
When we purposefully move into the unknown, we have to be ready to tread through murky waters, navigate our way through thick forests, and immerse ourselves into that unfamiliar territory we were so hesitant about in the beginning.
Lastly, the path less traveled changes us. Stepping into the unknown means we have to be flexible and able to adapt at any moment. We have to be ready for anything to come our way.
That ideology changes a person. To come out strong from the unknown, we have to be willing to grow. Stepping out of our comfort zone can do that for us, taking us to a place we never thought we were capable of going.
Accept that Failure is inevitable
One of the causes of fear of the unknown is based on fear of failure especially when we’re about to go through a new experience that takes us out of our comfort zone.
But failure, mistakes, and setbacks are inevitable and they’re usually not the worst thing that can happen to us. There are valuable lessons we can learn when we fail. It’s part of personal growth.
Fear of the unknown will hinder you from doing anything and live with regret instead of taking even small risks even with the possibility of failure. Setbacks and roadblocks are part of life’s journey and we can experience some of the best things in life when we overcome them.
Use failure as a powerful tool to move forward, grow, and ultimately succeed in the future.
“The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed.”
Gordon Parks
Try Self-Help Techniques
Self-help techniques include attending a support group, talking to a trusted friend, practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing, and practicing visualization, which involves visualizing in your mind how you may cope successfully with a situation that is unknown or uncertain.
Engage in relaxation and stress relief activities like running, exercise, or any hobbies that bring you joy. As you learn to manage stress, you become empowered to deal with changes and uncertainty.
Overcome fear of the unknown by embracing change
Fear of change will make you paralyzed and unable even to leave a bad situation whether it’s in your personal life or career. But when we accept change, we open ourselves to new opportunities and growth.
Change is the only constant in life. We can’t resist it and we can’t avoid it. As you embrace change and learn to manage it successfully, you become more courageous and resilient.
Start with making a small change in your daily life. It’s a great way to retrain your brain to accept it.
Take a different route to work, read a book, or watch a movie outside of your usual genre, or try a new type of food or a new restaurant. This way you become more become less afraid of unpredictability.
Planning is one of the best ways to deal with fear of the unknown
Do you have a plan or a roadmap about what you want to do and where you want to go in life? This helps you stay focused on your goals. Part of your planning should include the small steps and milestones that you’ll take toward your dreams.
Ask for help when you need to, develop effective daily routines, and grow habits for success. When you have a plan to follow you can limit uncertainty and unfamiliar situations.
Focus on the present situation
These days it’s not easy to focus on the present. We have technology in the palm of our hands in the form of phones, social media, and even Netflix.
But these same technologies are likely one major cause of the fear we have. Anyone can say anything about any topic and spread fear online.
Instead of focusing on the future and the unknown which you can’t control, rather focus on the current situation you’re in, embrace it, and choose to live fully with joy and peace.
Get Professional help
Sometimes chronic fear causes anxious feelings, major depression, and panic attacks or paralyzes you and makes you unable to make key decisions.
Counseling is a great way to understand and process your feelings without judgment and learn how to overcome fear, reframe your thoughts, and develop positive thoughts.
You’ll become equipped with techniques and strategies to confidently confront your fears for future success.
Fear is a falsity in your life. We cannot listen to that voice of doubt. It will paralyze you and stop you from achieving your goals and dreams and living life to the fullest.
The 12 Best Strategies to Overcome Fear of the Unknown include understanding your fear, journaling, increasing your tolerance of uncertainty, doing your research, and questioning your assumptions. You can also reframe your mind, accept failure, embrace change, plan, focus on the present moment, use self-help techniques, or get professional help.
Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Take the path less traveled and enjoy the challenge, the breathtaking views, and the moments of learning.
The only way change and growth can happen is in the unknown when we leave our comfort zone and are willing to embrace the uncertainty that comes.
And, remember, you are a winner. Just run YOUR race!
