What scares you? Flying? Rejection? Germs? Climate Change? Donald Trump…?

How-to-Overcome-Your-Deepest-Fear-Holding-You-Back-from-Your-Dream-Life1

Congratulations! That qualifies you as human. Preserved throughout revolution, fear is one of our most primitive and deeply ingrained emotions –– its purpose is to promote survival. While it is quite an unpleasant feeling and tends to get a bad rap, fear is what prevents from walking into oncoming traffic, from touching a piping hot stove and so on. In many ways, fear is actually a good thing. Too often though, fear stands in our way and gets in the way of life.

If we let it, the powerful emotion can easily take control, paralyze us and prevent us from achieving our highest potential. Fear not! The good news is, there are ways to overcome and transform your fears, so that they don’t suck the joy out of life. Here are 7 books to help you help you get started

Rejection Proof By Jia Jiang

Who likes rejection? The answer is no one. It is scary stuff, but it doesn’t have to be. In Rejection Proof, Jia Jang explores what rejection really means and why we’re so afraid of it. The author voluntarily puts himself through a series of rejection experiments, to experience the torment and gain perspective, to ultimately share the lessons and wisdom he’s learned along the way.

>> See it on Amazon.com

The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein

In The Universe Has Your Back, New York Times best-selling author Gabrielle Bernstein offers guidance on how to challenge your perceptions and overcome fear, to help you discover and fulfill your life purpose. By sharing her personal struggles and the lessons she’s learned, Bernstein touches on advice we can all benefit from. The book is packed with meditation exercises to help you transform your fear and reach spiritual awakening.

>> See it on Amazon.com

The Confidence Gap: A Guide To Overcoming Fear And Self-Doubt by Russ Harris

This book focuses on techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help readers achieve long-lasting confidence. Russ Harris provides advice on how to cultivate mindfulness and self-acceptance in order to develop a clear and valued direction in life. Harris invites us to accept our fears and use them to our advantage.

>> See it on Amazon.com

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks

Gay Hendricks teaches us how to identify, understand and challenge the limiting, and sometimes hidden beliefs we hold, and how to break through these self-imposed limits to achieve success. The Big Leap offers specific tools on how to not only realize your goals, but what to do with them, once they’ve been realized.

>> See it on Amazon.com

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

Dr. Brené Brown examines why we’re afraid of vulnerability and encourages us to develop shame-resistance in all areas of our lives. She argues that without vulnerability, it’s impossible to to live fully. She looks at how women and women experience shame differently, and how actually changing our behaviors is more effective in handling life’s anxieties, than simply coping with them.

>> See it on Amazon.com

Banish Your Inner Critic: Silence The Voice Of Self-doubt To Unleash Your Creativity And Do Your Best Work by Denise Jacobs

Banish your Inner Critic is a manual on doing just that. Denise Jacobs teaches us how take back our creative process and boost productivity by breaking free of our inner critic. You know, that quiet, self-sabotaging voice in the back of your head? That’s your inner critic. We all have one, and if you start paying attention, you’ll start to realize that it’s holding you back. Time to silence it!

>> See it on Amazon.com

Do It Scared: Finding The Courage To Face Your Fears, Overcome Adversity, And Create A Life You Love by Ruth Soukup

In Do It Scared, Ruth Soukup’s goal is to help readers create the lives they by breaking through their fears. She invites you to identify your unique Fear Archetype™ and offers strategies on how to conquer your fears, dream big and let go of guilt. It’s a book, it’s a movement, it’s a podcast.

>> See it on Amazon.com