You’ve got an idea–a glorious, exciting, novel idea. Or maybe it’s not novel, per se, but it is to you. You want to start your own fitness company or are considering moving to Asia for a season to study architecture. Or maybe you’ve been working on a book of poems and you’re ready to buckle down and finish it.  For me, the thrill I feel about starting a venture is often soon drowned out by the presence of its evil twin. Fear. She just always seems to show up right when you get your creative party started, am I right? Hovering over everything you do, stating her unwanted opinion about you and your qualifications, experience, age, waist size, personality—you name it. How many times have you been stopped in your tracks by fear? I think we can all agree that its been at least one too many. Life is too short. Here’s the good news. Fear doesn’t have to squash your dreams. You don’t have to let it do the driving. Here are five ways to redefine your relationship with fear as you pursue your calling.

Let Your Fears Be Your Compass.
Does actually doing that thing you’re dreaming about scare you to death? Good. That probably means you should do it anyway. Here’s what I mean. If you’re afraid to try something, it must mean you care about it a lot. It must mean you really want to see that hope, dream, or idea become a reality. Fear is like a fever. It’s not the enemy, it’s an indicator. Steven Pressfield in the War of Art puts it like this:

“Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North—meaning that calling or action it most wants to stop us from doing. We can use this. We can use it as a compass . . . letting it guide us to that calling or action that we must follow before all others.”

Pressfield describes Resistance as, basically, the voice inside you that whispers, “You can’t do this” every time you even think about attempting something worthwhile. It feels and looks a lot like fear. Don’t be discouraged. Instead, be provoked. Let the fear you feel toward that thing you’ve been dreaming of doing provoke you to dig in your heels and fling yourself forward.

Decide.
You want to know the big secret to overcoming fear? Here it is: There is none. Sorry to disappoint but there is no technique or guide to overcoming your fears. You must decide. This isn’t easy—of course—but it is simple. You decide whether or not you will let what you feel keep you from doing what you want to do. I’m not saying the fear isn’t real. I’m just saying you’re the one in control.

Focus On Your Craft.
Listen, I can’t explain why some people are born prodigies and others are tone deaf. It’s just how it is. You can’t control luck or talent. So stop fantasizing about your big break or feeling entitled. Nobody owes you anything. Focus on your craft—not success, not affirmation, not popularity—and you’ll find reward within yourself. It’s called confidence. Confidence will help you politely silence that voice in your head that says, “You’re a fraud.” When you’ve spent hours perfecting your recipe, repeating your brush strokes, practicing your speech, fear loses its juice and shrinks down to a voice that can more easily be ignored. Get lost in your craft, not your fears.

Accept That You’re Not Special.
Well, you are special. We’re all special. What I mean is, being afraid does not make you special. You are a drop in an ocean of creatives, entrepreneurs, HUMANS, who all experience a myriad of fears on a daily basis. You’re not cursed. You’re not especially plagued. You’re not special.

You’re afraid, just like the rest of us. Just like I am, right now, writing this blog. If it seems like everyone around you has got it together and woke up with the sun shining on their dreams and you are the only soul on earth tortured by your fear of failure, you now have a companion. Me. And now that there’s two of us—or maybe a billion or seven—it’s not so scary anymore, is it?

Push Through.
My final charge to you: The only way out is through. You can rationalize, organize, meditate, get a life coach, but at the end of the day you have to push through the fear and do the work that you feel called to do. Fake it ‘til you make is a popular adage because it works. Put on your bravest face, grit your teeth, do the work, and push through. Even if you fail, and you will at some point, you can be proud knowing that you went the distance.