The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson,

and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

How to harness the self-enhancement bias and claim a bigger life.

In yesterday's post, my seven favorite practices for engineering the good life,

I included a curveball of sorts right at the end,

Chase Down Fear.

While all seven have been game changers, that one claims the pinnacle. The fact is, it's the hardest

one to embrace time and again, but it's never ceased to move my life forward in very clear,

tangible ways. Still, every time I have to take myself through the same process. How can I possibly

take on something this substantial? What am I thinking? That one's just

too big, too complicated, too ambitious. This time surely you've overstretched, Sisson. But in that

moment, I remind myself that those feelings don't drive the bus for me. They won't be the ones doing the work to make a vision

happen. They never are. A stronger, bolder, more adept self-concept will be leading the charge.

Because that's what formidable challenges call for. If I want something big, resisting fear will

keep me from it every time. If I can tell fear, you've met your match,

suddenly the game looks much different. When we take on a significant health goal, when we're

staring down what it can take to lose 100 pounds or run a half marathon or beat back an autoimmune

disorder, or start what will be a new life or lifestyle, it can seem

like meeting the impossible. A stronger person, a better person, a more disciplined person

might do this, we think. But not a different person, I'd add. It's simply time to tap a

dimension of self that already exists. Listening to the inner voice

that says with all the daring of an eight-year-old on a dirt bike, it's go time. In the moment of gazing

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