I had the privledge of attending my first TEDx event in Folsom this weekend. All the speakers were wonderful. One speech lingered, feeding my curiosity. Her topic was fear, and her big idea was to tackle one massive fear each year.

Impressively she described the fears she has overcome. They include running a marathon, participating in a women’s body-building contest, and delivering stand-up comedy. I should note she is forty-one years old.

While I was deeply inspired, something nagged at me. I realized none of the challenges interested me. I have never wanted to be a runner, a bodybuilder, or a comic. Why did she pick those?

This led me to think about the four temperaments. Is it possible that the speaker’s temperament informed her choices when deciding how to become fearless?

Here’s how fear and temperament interact:

Organizer
Deepest fears: Scarcity, lack of stability, unpredictable change, financial ruin.

Strengths: Consistent, reliable, methodical, detail-oriented, loyal.

Liberator
Deepest fears: Lack of choices, immobilization, boredom, restriction of movement.

Strengths: Competitive, action-oriented, intense, calm in a crisis.

Facilitator
Deepest fears: Abandonment, isolation, disconnection, conflict, lack of purpose.

Strengths: Interpersonal communication, empathy, collaboration, inspiring.

Innovator
Deepest fears: Restricted learning, lack of intellectual challenge, incompetence.

Strengths: Analytical, logical, objective, driven, curious, life-long learner.

I’m guessing the speaker is a dominant Liberator so, when building her confidence, she chose tasks that were physical, action-oriented, and intense. Probably without intending to, she leveraged her strengths to overcome her fears.



Overcoming fear is an admirable goal and tackling one every year sounds brilliant. If you plan to borrow this big idea, I suggest you consider your temperament.