On this episode, Ted and Patrick explore the concept of fear casting, a technique for overcoming anxiety and overthinking by defining worst-case scenarios and analyzing potential outcomes. They discuss the importance of acknowledging fears, understanding the likelihood of negative outcomes, and taking actionable steps to mitigate risks. They also share personal stories from their lives and what they learned from them. Enjoy!

Tim Ferriss’ Fear-Setting: https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/

Andrew Garfield on Grief and Heartbreak: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/andrew-garfield-says-movies-that-explore-grief-like-we-live-in-time-give-people-a-chance-to-be-together-in-our-sorrow-110027071.html?guccounter=1

Listen to us on Megaphone (or find our RSS Feed!): https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/VI9326253269?selected=VI1151133526

Follow us on our Socials:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLzsGH4hM9TxHC4hHPvgMJw

X: https://x.com/ManDownPodcast

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:lm4shifbvs6k63eb54k2gmho

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandown.podcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@UCQ6DefpjKgqp7nT-h30CO5w

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:17 - Fear casting/Fear-setting

02:45 - People with a bias towards action vs bias towards thinking

03:39 - The earlier you encounter these ideas the earlier you can improve choices

05:26 - Ted doesn’t use it

06:58 - Why it works for Tim Ferriss

07:21 - Ted’s experience with this

08:16 - The unknown is more terrifying than reality

09:10 - Jaws is scary for this reason

10:52 - Step 1 - Write down your fear to define it

11:45 - It also gives you something to talk to someone else about

12:40 - Step 2 - What do I do if the nightmare came to be?

13:23 - Patrick’s fear and how he overcame it

14:26 - Overthinkers think they’re less in charge than they are

15:41 - People like helping other people

16:09 - Step 3 - What are the more probable outcomes?

17:39 - Failure doesn’t kill you

19:28 - What is it costing you to postpone action?

21:09 - What are you waiting for?

22:26 - A process Ted designed

24:54 - Fear can make intelligent people behave in stupid ways

26:00 - Saying “Do it” just does not work

26:34 - Giving your fear form makes it concrete

27:29 - This process is much easier in retrospect + Patrick’s worst nightmare

29:58 - Patrick could have done this originally without freaking out

30:38 - Ted shares a similar story about a horrific night

32:42 - This taught him he could deal with things

33:06 - The funniest moment Ted shares about his kids

33:54 - An Interesting transition

34:19 - Andrew Garfield on grief and heartbreak

35:20 - You can love stronger if you’re willing to take risks

37:13 - Great people failed before they succeeded, failure isn’t the end of the world

37:56 - Think “how can I feel this again” instead of shying away from it

38:39 - Is this going to change my value as a person?

39:57 - Give this a try and let us know your experiences!

40:58 - Nobody’s judging what you do - internalize that

42:52 - B-Roll (creating mythology around their lives and attributing things to the wrong friend)