We grow up believing that hope is good and fear is bad, so we glorify hope and demonize fear.
But both can mess with your mind in the exact same way.
Hope feels noble. Fear feels negative.
Yet both pull you out of the present and drag you into a future you cannot control.
That’s the hidden trap.
When you hope too much, you wait.
When you fear too much, you freeze.
Different emotions. Same outcome.
You stop acting in the now.
I learned this during a phase where everything felt uncertain.
On good days, I hoped things would fall into place.
On bad days, I feared they wouldn’t.
Strangely, both created the same tension in my chest.
Nothing outside changed. Only the story in my head did.
It was because my mind was living ahead of reality.
So here’s a tried and tested way to navigate both:
Reframe:
Hope and fear are not opposites.
They’re future projections. And future projections dilute your ability to act.
You suffer in advance with either hope or fear.
Micro-Diagnosis:
You’re stressed because you want something you can’t guarantee, and not because of the outcome.
Try this simple intervention when hope or fear spikes:
Name → Notice → Narrow
- Name the emotion: “This is hope.” or “This is fear.”
- Notice where it shows up in your body.
- Narrow your focus to a single action you control right now.
This method breaks the projection loop.
It pulls your mind back to the only place where momentum lives, i.e. the present.
At IntuiWell, this is how we help people move from emotional reactivity to deliberate action. Through simple practices you can deploy in real moments.
A question to reflect on today:
What future story, hopeful or fearful, is distracting you from the action you owe yourself today?
Answer it honestly.
Then narrow your focus.
One action. Here. Now.