Fear in Disguise: When Procrastination is Really Fear Talking
When I went after my CDL license, fear was obvious. My hands were trembling, my stomach was in knots, and I wanted to run. That kind of fear is easy to spot—it shouts at you.
But sometimes fear doesn’t shout. Sometimes it hides. It slips on a costume and calls itself:
“I’ll do it later.”
“Now is not a good time.”
“I’ll get to it when the spirit moves me.”
The technical term is procrastination—but really, it’s fear in disguise.
I saw this come up with a woman I’ve coached.
She told herself the first step toward taking a dream solo vacation was having a conversation with her roommate. But underneath the delays and excuses was the real fear:
“What if my roommate resists me?”
After talking it through, she realized the actual first step wasn’t talking to her roommate at all—it was lining up all the travel details she needed to plan her excursion.
That’s what fear in disguise does.
It keeps us:
feigning that something else is more important,
questioning our timing,
or even blaming the misalignment of the moon and the stars as the reason to delay.
But courage cuts through the stall. Courage says:
“Conditions will never be perfect. Let’s take the step we can take today.”
Together we uncovered that her true fear wasn’t only about what her roommate would think, but also the fear of failing—of booking the trip and hating it, or of proving to herself that she couldn’t do it.
Delaying the dream, or procrastination, is fueled by fear.
So where did we start? She journaled the answers to three questions:
If money, opinions, or permission weren’t an issue, what kind of solo trip would I plan for myself? Where would I go, what would I do, and how would it feel?
What makes me hesitate to tell my roommate I want to take this trip alone? What’s the worst thing she could say—and how would I handle it?
Why is it important to me to take this trip solo? What will I gain by going alone that I wouldn’t if someone came with me?
After revisiting her journaling, she realized the real block wasn’t timing or permission—it was fear itself. And once she named it, she could finally move forward.
I wonder—where might fear be showing up in your life as procrastination?
That thing you keep telling yourself you’ll “get around to”… what’s underneath it?
👉 Your challenge this week: Write down one thing you’ve been putting off. Then ask yourself honestly—am I delaying because it’s not important, or because I’m afraid?
If it’s fear, name the fear, say it out loud, give it form! Because in doing so, you turn the light on what has been hiding in the darkness. Once you do that, it’s no longer as scary as you thought. And then take the step anyway… periodT!
Because here’s the truth: fear may disguise itself, but courage unmasks it every single time.
💜 If this resonated, share your story with me in the comments. And if you want a nudge to start moving forward, message me for my free Courage Prompts PDF—designed to help you see what fear is hiding and take the next step.
Beautifully said. After reading your post I could picture myself being that woman. Thanks for giving me a different look into a bigger picture.
The way you framed procrastination as fear in disguise felt like a lightbulb moment. I’ve definitely told myself “I’ll do it later” when really I was just scared to start. I love the journaling questions you shared; they make the fear feel less abstract and more like something I can actually work through. Thank you for this gentle push to stop waiting for perfect conditions and just take the step.