"Trust in your next step more than you fear the fall" - Futurist Jim Carroll

What's holding you back?

Why are you not trying?

Why are you frozen?

These are some of the questions I've asked myself of others as I began to work on the Mediocrity series of books. In them, I've been trying to capture what it is that holds some people back from moving forward while others seem to have the 'right stuff.' A lot of it seems to have to do with how we treat the issues of action and risk.

And I kept on coming back to the issue that through the years, I've seen a lot of people and organizations who haven't had the confidence to take the first step. They are convinced that they don't have the right skills, the right idea, or the right mindset. The result is they never even bother trying because they convince themselves right out of the gate that they are doomed to fail - and fear the failure more than they should. 

One of the worst things we can ever do in the arc of our trajectory is to never take the first step to try something. That's why mindset matters - if you ever find yourself in these circumstances, know that your hope for your future should outweigh your doubt about your potential for success!

Think about it - you might have big dreams for your future, but they also carry within you an innate fear of what comes next. That’s because the future is uncertain, unknown, unpredictable. The result of the uncertainty is that we can often begin to doubt our potential at the same time that we have big ideas about what we might be able to accomplish.⁣ We then up living a life in which our goals and our realities are always in a state of mismatch, and we end up never being happy with our situation.

⁣⁣⁣Different people approach this conundrum in different ways. ⁣⁣⁣⁣Some manage to let their hope override their doubt and bust through to success. In other cases, the doubt far outweighs the hope and failure is the result - but at least they've tried. And then there is the muddling middle, hope and doubt are equally balanced, such that action never happens -  and mediocrity rules their lives.⁣
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⁣Bust the equilibrium. Shift the balance. Tilt the scale! ⁣

⁣⁣Recognize that you have a choice as to how your future turns out, and a lot of it depends on the attitude that you carry around with you; the determination that you embed within your soul; and the focus that you feature in your mindset.⁣
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⁣Be relentless in thinking about your hopes and dreams, and actively work every dispel the doubt! ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣That can be the one key thing that tips the scales in your favor!

Let your belief in tomorrow be louder than your fear of it. Stack your hope higher than your hesitation. Let your dreams shout louder than your doubts whisper. Make your hope heavier than your hesitation.
When the future feels uncertain, choose to bet on yourself, and when in doubt, lean harder into your potential.

Because you should fuel your ambition more than you feed your fear!

#Trust #Confidence #Action #Fear #Mindset #Growth #Potential #Courage #Hesitation #Momentum

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2025/05/daily-inspiration-trust-in-your-next-step-more-than-you-fear-the-fall/

"In times of chaos and fear, purposeful action is power" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Act boldly. Fear feeds on hesitation.

Think about this moment. Confidence is fragile. Every headline screams volatility.

And just like that, a wave of fear rolls in—bringing hesitation, doubt, and paralysis.

Are you letting the fear freeze your future?

Have you become the deer in the headlights?

But here’s the truth: the antidote to anxiety is action.

While others freeze, you can move.

While some debate what might go wrong, you can start building what could go right.

While people wait for signs an upturn, you can create your own little upturn, simply by acting.

Fear loves hesitation. It grows stronger when you pause, wait, scroll endlessly, or convince yourself that “now isn’t the time.” It thrives in your indecision, matures in the recesses of your uncertainty, and becomes a cancer in your inaction.

But bold action—no matter how small—immediately puts you back in the driver’s seat. It shifts your mindset from 'overwhelmed' to 'engaged.' It puts you in control. It gets you out of your doom cycle. It brings you back from focusing on where you are - to building momentum for where you could be.

You don’t have to launch a moonshot to make a difference. You don't need some huge stretch goal. You don't need to be chasing some grand vision. You just have to move:

Learn something new.

Start that project.

Test the idea.

Build the prototype.

Say yes.

Momentum beats perfection. Progress quiets panic. Action beats fear.
We are not victims of the future. We are its architects—if we choose to be.

So when the uncertainty rises, meet it with motion.

When fear whispers “not yet,” answer back: “Watch me.”

Because the future doesn’t wait.

And neither should you.

What are you waiting for?

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Futurist Jim Carroll knows that action is the antitode to every moment of volatility.

These posts on resilience and volatility are also being archived at https://tomorrow.jimcarroll.com

**#Action** **#Fear** **#Resilience** **#Momentum** **#Uncertainty** **#Leadership** **#Progress** **#Future** **#Confidence** **#Boldness**

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2025/04/decoding-tomorrow-your-daily-future-inspiration-in-times-of-chaos-and-fear-purposeful-action-is-power/