How To Identify Your Internal Fears - Corey Wilks

Corey Wilks is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Executive Coach. Fears hold us back. They encourage us to shy away from challenges, they cause us to fall short of our potential and make life miserable while they’re at it. Corey has created a framework of identifying and overcoming our internal fears from a decade of clinical and coaching experience with some of the world’s highest performers. Expect to learn why 76% of people talk about not facing their fears as a deathbed regret, the four categories of fears Corey has most commonly found with his clients, how self-sabotaging behaviour is driven by internal worries, how procrastination, perfectionism and complacency are all part of the same equation and much more… Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get £250 discount on Eight Sleep products at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Check out Corey's website - https://coreywilkspsyd.com/ Follow Corey on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CoreyWilksPsyD Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #psychology #highperformance #mindset - 00:00 Intro 01:19 From Therapist to Coach 10:08 Are Successful People Fearless? 20:15 Spotting Self-Sabotaging Behaviour 30:36 Problems of Independent Workers 35:07 Dealing with Complacency 44:19 Being Raised in a Low-Income Home 50:07 Strategies to Mitigate Internal Fears 55:04 Importance of a Support Group 1:06:12 Where to Find Corey - Join the Modern Wisdom Community on Locals - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Listen to all episodes on audio: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Corey WilksguestChris Williamsonhost

Jun 16, 20221h 7mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Conquering the Four Fears Quietly Sabotaging Your Life Ambitions

Chris Williamson and psychologist-turned-coach Corey Wilks explore why so many people reach the end of their lives regretting the chances they never took, despite having the potential to do far more.
Wilks outlines his "four horsemen of fear"—fear of failure, uncertainty, ridicule, and success—and explains how these show up as self‑sabotaging behaviors like perfectionism, procrastination, and complacency.
They discuss the difference between therapy and high-performance coaching, the limits of advice without action, and how personal narrative and upbringing (especially working-class scarcity mindsets) shape what people believe they deserve.
The conversation closes with practical strategies for fear inoculation, building accountability and community, and intentionally designing a life that avoids deathbed regret.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Most self-sabotage is fear in disguise, not a character flaw.

Behaviors like perfectionism, procrastination, and chronic "research" are often strategies to avoid feared outcomes—especially ridicule, failure, or making the wrong choice—rather than genuine quality control or lack of discipline.

The four horsemen of fear quietly limit even high achievers.

Fear of failure, uncertainty, ridicule, and success don’t disappear with external success; they evolve. People with money, status, or big audiences still worry everything will collapse, they’ll choose wrong, be publicly mocked, or be changed by success.

Your personal narrative determines your ceiling of possibility.

Repeated self-talk like "I’m broken," "I’m a victim," or "people like me don’t do that" becomes a lived “truth” that constrains what you attempt, what you believe you deserve, and how you interpret every opportunity or setback.

Iteration beats perfection: ship at 95% and learn from reality.

High-leverage creators focus on producing many "good enough" versions instead of polishing one thing from 95% to 100%, because the marginal gain in quality rarely justifies the lost opportunity to ship more, learn faster, and build momentum.

Accountability and cadence are powerful antidotes to perfectionism.

Fixed publishing schedules, external expectations (audience, clients, coaches), and gradually increasing frequency help override fear-based delays by making "not shipping" more uncomfortable than releasing imperfect work.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Up to 76% of people lay on their deathbeds with the same regret: they lived in mediocrity.

— Corey Wilks

Perfectionism is procrastination masquerading as quality control.

— Chris Williamson (paraphrasing a common idea/Tiago Forte)

Most self-sabotaging behaviors are actually rooted in fear.

— Corey Wilks

You’re not a perfectionist. That’s an excuse to not hit publish.

— Corey Wilks

There is no way to expedite believing something.

— Chris Williamson

Difference between clinical therapy and high-performance coachingThe four horsemen of fear: failure, uncertainty, ridicule, and successSelf-sabotage mechanisms: perfectionism, procrastination, and complacencyRole of personal narrative, self-talk, and working-class money beliefsValue of iteration over perfection and the limits of "life hacks"Importance of role models, anti-role models, and community/men’s groupsPractical fear inoculation and intentional life design

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