Four Horsemen of Fear - Corey Wilks

What Are the Four Horsemen of Fear?

I had the pleasure of catching a summit webinar hosted by Austin Church featuring Corey Wilks, Psy.D. Corey shared a presentation he's posted on his blog, podcast/YouTube channel, and broadly enough to be discovered in a few additional places. Catching this immediately after reading Jon Acuff's book, Procrastination Proof, as shared here on a blog post, Corey's information stopped me in my tracks. The concepts in both complimented each other. 

Who Are the Four Horsemen?
You can enjoy the full perspective on Corey's blog post. We'll touch on the basics.

• Fear of Failure: this is the easiest to identify and sows doubt
• Fear of Ridicule: fear of what critics or "they" may think
• Fear of Uncertainty: we don't have enough information yet
• Fear of Success: we'll become a completely different person

Procrastination Profiles
Jon Acuff identifies four profile types depending on your procrastination methods. You can take his quiz here to discover your profile.

• Dreamer: envision possibilities without an actionable plan
• Perfectionist: waiting until everything is perfect before you get started
• Hustler: all action, but not necessarily with direction - who needs directions for the Ikea furniture!
• Analyst: all review and no action; review should be the shortest part of the process, not the focus

Is It Really All or None?
I suggest no, for either profile. I suspect most of us tend to be one type or another primarily, but we can all get stuck in a bit of each depending on the situation. I wager the Fears are only too happy to take turns attacking you from all sides!

Fear Inoculation
Corey suggests the best way to combat any of the fears is to step back to imagine the worst that could happen by asking "What if..."

• What if I fail?
• What if I'm criticized?
• What if I make the wrong decision?
• What if I outgrow friends or family?

Inoculation, like a vaccine, helps you prepare for attack or an illness. What if the worst thing possible actually happens?

• What would that look like? Envision the scene fully.
• What would you do about it?

Read the full post here.

Functional Analysis
Corey suggests a bit of reflection or self-analysis when faced with one of the Fears. The technique works for any procrastination method as well.

Look at a behavior and ask "What function does this serve?" Until you understand why you do a behavior—the function it serves—you can't change it. A behavior may serve a variety of functions. The key is determining how the behavior serves  you in the moment. 

"Once you understand this function, you can find an alternative behavior that serves the same function, but is healthier...After you run a functional analysis, the next step is coming up with other things you can do that serve the same function, but are more helpful in the long run and align with your values and goals." You can read Corey's full article here.

Your Turn!
Which Fear holds you back most and which Procrastination profile do you tend toward?

Laying it on the line here, I will admit to a Fear of Success and occasionally Fear of Failure. I am a Hustler per Jon Acuff's quiz—I jump in and ask questions later as we go. 

Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art.

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