Book review: “Feel the fear and do it anyway” by Susan Jeffers

Here at our beautiful retreat centre on the Costa Blanca, Spain, we love reading and learning, so this month we have started a new feature on our blog – book review – each month we will share some insights from one of our favourite books. On site, we have a well-stocked library that encompasses a variety of different genres, from topics on Life Makeover, to books more focused on health and detoxing, including delicious recipes.

This month I am re-visiting and reviewing one of my personal favourite books; “Feel the fear and do it anyway” by author Susan Jeffers.

The book itself is practical, simple and easy to read. It is not gender or age specific. I have lost count the amount of times I have read it, or listened to it, and yet every time I get something new. Concise at about 250 pages, it is available in different languages, in an E-book format, or audio book. It is very accessible to us all!

Core messages of “Feel the fear”

The core messages that Jeffers presents is that at the bottom of each one of your fears, is simply the fear that you can’t handle whatever life may bring you, and that it´s these fears that can stop us from taking action. She suggests that ultimately, if you knew you could handle anything that came your way, you would have nothing to fear.

That’s very well said – or written in this case! – but how do we go about confidently knowing we can handle ANYTHING that can come our away? The beauty of this book is that, as well as giving you an insight into the root causes of fear, it also gives you lots of exercises to help move us from a place of pain, paralysis and depression caused by fear, to one of power, energy and excitement.

Within the book, Jeffers examines the topic of responsibility and what it really looks like when we are taking responsibility for our own experiences in life. She suggests that we are all in control of our own lives and that it is solely ourselves that get in the way!

There are some great topics woven into this delightful read, which include the power of “positive thinking”, empowered decision making, creating a well-balanced life, saying yes to the universe, and giving as opposed to exchanging.

Addressing each subject helps us to take a look at how fear influences us on a daily level. How many of us have a tendency to listen to our internal chatterbox (the voice that runs through your head), which can feed negativity into our conscious mind? Jeffers explains how we can choose to listen to our more loving higher self, quietening down the negative chatterbox, and move from a place of balance, rather than fear.

On a personal note…

This book revealed itself to me many moons ago and it was my first introduction into the area of the higher self and that it is only ourselves who can let go of fear to create a life we love. The two exercises that particularly resonate with me are the use of affirmations and the “Whole Life Grid”.

As for many of us, I shied away from the idea of power, and so by default was going through life paralyzed by fear. By reading this book it enabled me to readdress my concept of power and realise it has nothing to do with egomania but a healthy self-love. The affirmations: “I am powerful and I am loved. I am powerful and I am loving. I am powerful and I love it!” served me a great deal, and I still use them today.

The Whole Life Grid is a way of bringing an awareness to the different areas that make up our life, and you can see whether we are incorporating them in a healthy balanced way. By creating a nine-square box and building our life out of a variety of different elements such as work, friends, family, personal growth, hobbies etc the fear of losing a job or a relationship releases, as we know that we are made up of so much more than just that one thing.

Not sure you have nine elements in your life just yet? Never fear, Jeffers goes on to talk about the law of attraction and visualising what you want in your life. It’s a great exercise to combine with vision boarding, a workshop we run at La Crisalida Retreats and of which you can find out more here.

To conclude…

I agree with Jeffers and believe that to stay in tune with our higher self and be able to act from a place of power, energy and excitement we consciously and consistently have to work on ourselves, incorporating an exercise regime for the mind, just like you would incorporate an exercise regime for the physical body.

By taking time to meditate, practice yoga, use affirmations, read inspirational books like this, or enjoy some guided visualisations, we can stay centered and open to the harmonious flow of life, knowing there is nothing to fear. We can start to experience that whatever comes our way, we can handle it! A common reaction for many people, when we suggest that you do more (meditation, yoga or read more books) is to say that “I don´t have the time”. If finding the time is a problem for you, read our article on creating more time in your life for the things you love.

“Feel the fear and do it anyway” is just one of the many books under our Life Makeover category within our library. La Crisalida provides the perfect setting to fully digest what you are reading, giving you space to read, and opportunities to explore ideas within our Life Makeover retreats, in a one to one life coaching session or an informal chat with one of our mentors. This book will be available from most major booksellers (on the high street and online), or come to the retreat – La Crisalida is the perfect place to kick back with an inspiring read.

Read it for yourself

You can order your own copy of Feel the Fear by Susan Jeffers here (external link to Amazon). We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we do and we’d love to hear from you in the comments section below if this book has supported you on your own health and wellbeing journey.

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