If you can't figure out what your passion in life is, or you're beginning to realize that you're not doing what makes you happy, Patrick Sweeney says there's a good chance that fear has something to do with it. Everyone has things that they're scared of, but what can they do to overcome fear?

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On the latest episode of the Spartan Up Podcast, Spartan CEO and Founder Joe De Sena sat down with Sweeney — known as the "Fear Guru" and the author of the upcoming book Fear Is Fuel — to discuss the effects that fear has on people's brains, and what they can do to get out of their own way.

Related: 5 Reasons Why Failure Is Good For You

Listen to the full episode to learn more about Sweeney's research and some tips and tricks he has that will help you flip the switch to overcome fear.

(LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST BELOW)

Making Our Decisions Out of Fear or Opportunity

Sweeney experienced what he calls a "fear frontier," an event you experience that dramatically changes the course of your life, when he was 6 years old.

“I was watching the evening news, sitting there playing with a G.I. Joe doll," Sweeney said. "My dad comes in, plops down, flicks on the TV, and all of a sudden this guy comes on. He’s half crying, half screaming that the Delta DC-9 slammed into the seawall, cartwheeled down the runway at Logan Airport, and killed 100 people."

Sweeney became terrified of flying after witnessing the news on television. He would avoid flying at all costs; he missed spring break trips in college and had to drink an entire six pack just to get on a plane for a business meeting. His fear impacted his decision-making, which he broke down into two facets.

"Everything in our life we can distill down into our decision-making, and we've all had one decision that dramatically changed our life," he said. "The way we make decisions is one of two ways. We either make them out of fear or out of opportunity. And if you make a decision out of fear, it almost always leads to regret."

CREDITS:

Producer: Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc.

Hosts: Joe De Sena, Tim Nye and guest Josh Crosby. Co-hosts Sefra Alexandra and “Dr.” Johnny Waite are off seeking adventures and stories of resilience this week.

Synopsis: Sefra Alexandra | Seed Huntress

Production Assistant: Andrea Hagarty

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