Fear can keep you from living your best life. It can be paralyzing to some. Fear, uncertainty and the idea that something bad might happen if we take action lead many people to prefer acceptance over defiance.

They accept their life as it is rather than chasing after their dreams. They choose to embrace a life that might not be the best because they fear the unknown. They intentionally and actively stay stuck in a watered-down version of the life they could lead because their current situation is familiar.

Is that any way to live your life? When you think about it, giving power to a fear of the unknown is like trying to predict the future.

Nothing has happened yet. You are imagining terrible scenarios when there is no proof it will happen. To become more comfortable embracing change and overcoming fear, here are a few things to remember.

Your Natural Negativity Bias Is Diminished

Accepting change requires courage. You have to be okay with moving past your current situation. It is difficult because of a natural psychological state - negativity bias.

This mental bias causes you to focus on negative information rather than its positive counterparts. Your ancestors used thinking about potential negative experiences to alert them to dangers.

There aren’t as many risks to our existence today, yet that ancient negativity bias lingers. Embracing small changes that are easy to accept is a way to diminish the power of your limiting negativity bias. Do this consistently, and your fear of new things will diminish.

Choose the Opposite of Catastrophizing

Your negativity bias is partially responsible for the terrible “what if” scenarios your mind churns out daily. We have thousands of these thoughts daily. They are fired at us rapidly, with many micro thoughts lasting only a second or two. Neuroscientists tell us that most of these limiting thoughts are negative and repetitive.

With that constant delivery of negativity, it’s easy to see why you might expect a bad outcome if you try to adopt change in your life. When these thoughts pop up, consciously imagine a positive and wonderful result instead. Choose the opposite of believing a catastrophe is about to occur to move past fear to accept change.

You Learn It’s Okay to Ask for Help

Talk to someone you respect if a potential change fills you with fear. Ask for help if you’re worried you won’t have what it takes to get through a difficult change. Seeking assistance is a smart and effective way to take fear out of the equation because you realize you have support. You’re not going it alone.

Fear can hold you back, or it can empower you. Remember these tips when you face a change that fills you with uncertainty and gets you thinking about all the bad things that may happen. Then, take action. Win or lose, succeed or fail, acting in the face of fear builds courage and self-confidence. That growth can lessen the impact of uncertain change in the future.