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" \n Think of one big thing you would love to do but haven&amp;#039;t. Then ask yourself what&amp;#039;s stopping you. Chances are, it&amp;#039;s fear \u2014 of navigating new territory, of turning your life upside down...and of failing. Who hasn&amp;#039;t wished at times for a magic fearlessness potion, something you could gulp down that would instantly transform you into Gutsy Girl? But lacking magic and with the world in an uncertain state, it&amp;#039;s tempting to stay in your bubble and put off going after those dreams. Well, we&amp;#039;ve got a secret for you: It takes only one leap of faith to propel your life forward for the better.  And here&amp;#039;s the really counterintuitive part: This is actually the best time ever to do something fierce and bold. What, now? you&amp;#039;re probably thinking. When my best friend got canned last week and everyone says the economy&amp;#039;s totally whacked? Yes, now.  When things are changing a lot \u2014 and quickly \u2014 it&amp;#039;s scary, but it also opens the door to unexpected possibilities. &amp;quot;Times of upheaval can indeed lead to major positive shifts in our lives,&amp;quot; says Arianna Huffington, author of On Becoming Fearless and creator of the news-and-politics Website TheHuffingtonPost.com. &amp;quot;The upside of the downturn is that it may force you to confront your darkest fears and push through them. As the president&amp;#039;s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, put it: &amp;#039;You never want a serious crisis to go to waste \u2014 and what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you thought you could not do before.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; So how do you incorporate that inspiration into your own life? New research is showing that you don&amp;#039;t have to be born brave to act that way. Instead, you can crib some crucial ballsy skills from people who do come by their fearlessness naturally. Read on for the four key ways to tap in to your inner tigress. And remember this: &amp;quot;The survival skill of the 21st century is going to be dealing with change,&amp;quot; according to psychologist Frank Farley, PhD, an expert on thrill seekers at Temple University. Get ready not only to survive but to thrive. Live Like a Type T The first step is to figure out where you stand on the spectrum of risk taking, or fearlessness. Farley has devised a T scale (the T stands for thrill) to describe the distinction: At one end is the Type T, and at the other is type t. &amp;quot;Type T&amp;#039;s are natural-born thrill seekers who live for excitement and uncertainty,&amp;quot; Farley says. &amp;quot;These people often do their finest work in periods of flux. They look at chaos as an opportunity for change. While other people get nervous and avoid trying anything different, they take action.&amp;quot;   Clearly, this is a good moment to be a Type T. What&amp;#039;s really key about T&amp;#039;s is that they believe they control their own fate rather than being the victim of it. Type t&amp;#039;s, on the other hand, are risk-averse and most comfortable when they&amp;#039;re sticking to the rules. So naturally, you&amp;#039;ll want to harness some of that Type-T action...and you can, whatever your hardwiring. A person&amp;#039;s fearless inclinations, says Farley, are about 40 to 60 percent heritable, which leaves a lot of room for adjustment. Look at the checklist, below, to get a fix on which type you lean toward (few people are purely one or the other). The statements provide a quick, informal picture of what makes for a T and are a jumping-off point for living larger and more adventurously. Kick Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone Becoming a Type T works like this: You have to push the envelope and make yourself uncomfortable. Because the further out of your element you go (and the more often you do it), the better you get at it. &amp;quot;Avoiding things that make you anxious \u2014 whether it&amp;#039;s skipping out on parties where you don&amp;#039;t know people or staying at a job in which you&amp;#039;re unhappy \u2014 reinforces safety-seeking behavior,&amp;quot; says Holly Hazlett-Stevens, PhD, author of Women Who Worry Too Much. &amp;quot;When you consistently tell yourself to take the easy, familiar path, that line of thinking becomes a habit and gets you mired in a rut.&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s like a law of nature: Type t&amp;#039;s have a tendency to remain cautious. There&amp;#039;s only one way out of that cycle: to dip a toe in the water of whatever scares you. &amp;quot;Fearlessness is like a muscle,&amp;quot; Huffington says. &amp;quot;I know from my own life that the more I exercise it, the more natural it becomes not to let my fears run me. As soon as we take that first fearless step, we begin to change our lives. And the more we act on our dreams and desires, the more fearless we become and the easier it is next time.&amp;quot;  So start acting gutsier, even in small ways and even if you don&amp;#039;t feel gutsy. For example, strike up a conversation with a cute guy or send out your r\u00E9sum\u00E9. When you get positive feedback (his flirting back, landing an interview), suddenly the unknown doesn&amp;#039;t seem so scary, and you&amp;#039;ve taken one step toward further fearless acts.  Are You a Type T? Take a look at the list below. The more statements you agree with, the more of a thrill seeker you may be.   I&amp;#039;m very creative. I like to experiment with different sex positions. I&amp;#039;m into trying exotic foods. I like to challenge authority. I consider myself curious. I&amp;#039;d love to have my own business. I enjoy traveling to unusual places. I get bored easily. I&amp;#039;m at ease introducing myself to new people. I enjoy public speaking. I&amp;#039;ve gotten a speeding ticket. I&amp;#039;d rather work on commission than for a salary.  Copyright by Frank Farley, PhD, all rights reserved  You might try setting a goal for yourself, like checking out one new thing each week. Sample an unfamiliar food. Explore a different area of town. Be more creative sexually \u2014 use a sex toy, get busy in an unusual place, or try a few moves from the latest Cosmo that you&amp;#039;ve never done before. Here&amp;#039;s another goal: Resolve to say yes to intriguing opportunities more often. Take that last-minute weekend road trip, go to hear music that you&amp;#039;ve always said wasn&amp;#039;t your thing, volunteer for a work project that you&amp;#039;re not 100 percent sure you can master.  &amp;quot;Last year, I found cheap airfare to Alaska,&amp;quot; says Carla Coolman, 33. &amp;quot;None of my friends could go, but after looking at all the cool stuff I could do there, I decided to buy the ticket anyway. I had never traveled alone \u2014 I wouldn&amp;#039;t even go to the movies alone \u2014 and the idea of being in a remote place by myself really freaked me out. Although I was nervous the whole time, I pushed myself to do everything, even take a single-engine plane ride over a glacier. The trip was amazing. I can&amp;#039;t believe I almost didn&amp;#039;t go.&amp;quot; Don&amp;#039;t Look Too Hard Before You Leap Of course, it&amp;#039;s smart to think through major changes, but dwelling on them can immobilize you. &amp;quot;In their search for control, some women will worry and ruminate about a decision and ultimately spin it into a bigger problem than it really is,&amp;quot; explains Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, author of Women Who Think Too Much. There comes a point when you have to take a deep breath and just go for it.  If you do find yourself obsessing and conjuring up scary &amp;quot;what if?&amp;quot; scenarios, snap out of it by distracting yourself for a while. &amp;quot;Go for a 30-minute jog or walk, or call a friend and talk about something other than what you&amp;#039;re stressed about,&amp;quot; Nolen-Hoeksema suggests. Then develop a course of action \u2014 simply knowing that you have a plan for achieving your goal will take a load off your mind. Set aside a specific time each day or week (like half an hour first thing in the morning or during your lunch break) to focus on it.  If you feel overwhelmed by the task you&amp;#039;re trying to undertake, break it into smaller, manageable chunks. Say you want to start your own handbag business. Make a list of bite-size steps you have to take: Call the owners of local boutiques and set up meetings to show them your goods, sign up for an Etsy.com account, post pictures of your bags online, etc. Each time you check off something on your list, says Nolen-Hoeksema, your confidence \u2014 and fearlessness \u2014 will grow. Chill the Hell Out  Taking a big, bold step means, almost by definition, venturing into the unknown...and that&amp;#039;s scary and stressful stuff. You have no idea what to expect or how things will turn out...but you can&amp;#039;t let uncertainty hold you back. As Huffington puts it, &amp;quot;Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It is the mastery of fear.&amp;quot; Believe it or not, a passive activity like meditating will help you gain control over your worries. &amp;quot;It allows you to recognize your inner strength and resources,&amp;quot; says Alan Wallace, PhD, president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll develop a peace of mind and a sense of confidence that will enable you to deal with whatever comes your way.&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s not that you won&amp;#039;t sometimes feel afraid, but you&amp;#039;ll have a bedrock of knowing that you will bounce back no matter what happens. So carve out 10 to 20 minutes several times a week to lie on top of your bed with your arms outstretched, relax your entire body, and breathe in and out. Imagine that your breath is a gentle breeze blowing away autumn leaves. With each exhalation, blow away any thoughts, memories, and images running through your head. Do this practice often enough and you&amp;#039;ll begin to feel that you have power over your mind and that anxiety can&amp;#039;t hold you hostage.  Another key step in freeing yourself from fear is to turn your awareness outward. &amp;quot;If you constantly focus on your problems and needs, you will live in a very small and self-centered world,&amp;quot; says Wallace. &amp;quot;Instead, direct your attention toward others. When you have a larger view, it won&amp;#039;t seem like such a big deal when one thing goes wrong.&amp;quot; And don&amp;#039;t lose sight of your ultimate goal \u2014 be it moving to California, starting your own bakery, or joining Teach for America. By keeping in mind the amazing experiences headed your way, you won&amp;#039;t feel so bogged down by the day-to-day obstacles you&amp;#039;ll encounter getting there. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/advice/a2954/secret-to-success-0709/>