Rewiring Your Brain’s Fear Response with Sabrina Shafer
Episode 990: Show Notes
Whatever scares you most will change your life the most! Today, I’m joined by Sabrina Shafer to talk about fear, a topic that every entrepreneur wrestles with. The kind that holds you back from the opportunities you know you were meant for. Sabrina has always believed that it’s okay to change lanes in your career, and when she got fed up with fear dictating what she did and didn’t do, her keynote, Fear Forward, was born. We’re diving into the neuroscience of fear, how to spot limiting beliefs, and what it looks like to actually build a culture of courage. If you’ve ever wondered how to step into your full potential even though you feel afraid, this conversation is for you!
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Learning to Be More Fear Forward
We are all so different, and so is our tolerance to fear! Sabrina wants you to be okay with meeting yourself where you are, even if that means starting small with a little fear. She started with a whole bunch of little fears that may seem trivial, but ultimately helped her learn to be more comfortable showing up as her most authentic self.
Your body runs on electricity and chemicals, so when you do something you like, you are flooded with positive hormones, and when you stay away from something you don’t like, your body feeds off that too. So if you can get good at being scared and showing up anyway, you build these new neuro-pathways, you can learn to be more fear-forward.
How to Rewire Your Fear Response
The best way to change the way you respond to fear is to systematically change the way you respond to it, and essentially, that creates a ‘courage muscle’ as you get better at being scared and showing up anyway. Sabrina tells us that it all comes down to retraining your brain and learning these skills. She wants you to start really small with a habit that you want to change and do that thing! Then, you can keep building on those things in little doses.
You have to feel scared and fail to get comfortable with fear! It’s important to acknowledge the fear you feel and still tell yourself that you’re capable of facing it! The outcome of facing your fears is also irrelevant! It’s all about doing something regardless of the fear you feel, whether you fail or not.
Common Fears in Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Sabrina has consulted with some of the biggest companies and leaders in the world and has been shocked by how many of them have imposter syndrome. She wants you to know that every single person suffers from some level of fear, and that ultimately equalizes us! A lot of women in business worry about being too old or too young, or worry that their credentials are not good enough for a specific position. But those things are based on fake ‘rules’ for life and business that are only holding you back.
Sabrina often tells herself that it’s her job to show up as her best self, and other people’s jobs to figure out what to do with that authenticity. She wants you to let go of the notion of wanting everyone to like you because that is simply impossible! You don’t like everyone, so why would you place the unrealistically high expectation on yourself to be likable to everyone?
How to Challenge Limiting Beliefs
Gradually building a new habit is key here! Sabrina doesn’t want you to push yourself too fast, but instead, create new pathways in your brain to respond to something differently. She wants you to focus on short-term actions that build long-term habits. Repetition is so important, and you will soon reap the rewards of it. Sabrina does this every single day – she faces her fear of potentially humiliating yourself in front of people every single day.
Life presents scary opportunities all day, and it’s up to us to take them on. Everyone has a certain level of risk in their lives on a day-to-day basis. All Sabrina did was take it to the max so that she could inspire people to take on more risk. Whatever scares you the most will change your life the most! Let this episode be your reminder to take risks and do things that scare you and if you are inspired to do something scary, we would both love to hear about it so tag us on LinkedIn!
Quote This
Everyone suffers from some level of imposter syndrome or fear, and that’s what makes it so equalizing.
-Sabrina Shafer
Highlights
Learning to Be More Fear Forward [0:02:55]
How to Rewire Your Fear Response [0:07:37]
Common Fears in Leaders and Entrepreneurs [0:15:45]
How to Challenge Limiting Beliefs [0:22:36]
OUR GUEST:
Sabrina Shafer
Sabrina Shafer is a sought-after speaker and strategist at the intersection of technology and business. A “human behavior decoder” and serial entrepreneur with three successful exits, she blends expertise in behavioral analysis, advanced tech, and law to drive growth for some of the world’s largest companies. Through her Fear Forward initiative and Leadership Live podcast, Sabrina transforms complex challenges into actionable insights that resonate with leaders across industries. Known for creating authentic, results-driven content, she partners with global brands to spark innovation and lasting market impact.
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | YouTube
OUR HOST:
Abagail Pumphrey
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:
Fear, Facing Fear, Challenging Beliefs, Rewiring Pathways
