Is a publishing professional with more than twenty years of

3. Consider the Consequences
Fear doesn’t exist apart from you. Like stress, it’s a reaction 
that takes place inside you. Since you created it, you can rechannel 
or diffuse it.
Ask: 
“What’s the worst that could happen to me?”
If you eat that cheeseburger and fries, you’ll consume about a 
week’s allotment of fat, along with an enormous number of calo-
ries. This will not do you any good, and as a regular habit, it might 
shorten your life. On the other hand, the one meal will not kill 
you—and it will taste very good.
Perhaps  you’re  worried  about  that  presentation  you’re  sched-
uled to give in two days. What, specifically, lurks under that gen-
eral performance anxiety? Perhaps you’re worried that you might 
make a mistake and, if you do, somebody might laugh at you.
Ask: 
“Could I live with that?”
You might not like it, surely, but you could certainly live with it.
Now ask: 
“What are the odds?”
D O N ’ T   L E T   W O R RY   RO B  Y O U   O F   T I M E   A N D   E N E R G Y

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T I M E   M A N AG E M E N T
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Have you been in similar circumstances? If so, how did things 
go then? Did you make a mistake? If so, did anybody laugh?
If you’re still fretting . . .