At a very basic level fear in itself stops you from taking the wrong risks and can, if you like, preserve your stability. In other words it can protect you from jeopardising your life or your health.

However when it becomes your security blanket or the reason for not breaking free form a humdrum situation, you stop living. You give up your self-will or the right to choose what you desire in life. So be careful that it does not become your generic excuse for not moving forward.

So how do you break free of fear? You don't! I believe you need to realise that fear can be an ally and a friend in helping you move forward and grow.

Fear allows the hidden aspects to surface to the foreground so you can acknowledge everything that you're uncomfortable with. Only then can you start making change happen – freeing yourself from the very things that are holding you back in life.For example, perhaps your fears are alerting you to matters you did not fully consider until now. Try not to suppress fear - face it!

Fear can help you become more aware of the risks you would be taking and, more importantly, what you can do in order to minimise those risks. Once those fearful aspects are addressed, you are then ready to devise a plan of action to minimise the risks.

The only way I know how to deal with fear myself, is to write about what my fears are. I then ask myself, "What is the worst thing that can happen if my fears are realised?" And I write about that too.

Having gone through that in my mind, I become more emotionally familiar with what to expect or what can happen. I then find my calmer self thinking, "That's not as bad as I thought", or "This is what I need to do then in order for things not go that far".

Voila! That's my plan of action. Take it from me and think to yourself, "So what if I'm going to end up single, living on my own, in a job that I hate?" All what that means is you can now begin to focus your awareness, efforts, attention and intention on doing the opposite. Then you can manoeuvre yourself and your life to where you want to be.

Dear Francesca,

Whether you want to start your own business or fancy a change of job, first you need to have the right attitude. A job is not just a way to pay the bliss. It’s a big chunk of your life; who you are and how you spend your time form 9-5. So if you’re unhappy where you are, just think, that’s a lot of hours spent being unhappy!

This unhappiness will begin to filter too other times of the day and the rest of your life. Let me remind you that familiarity breeds contempt. Soon there will come a time when you’ll find yourself weighing happiness against what you now think of security. In other words, if it is nagging at you now, the decision will come back to haunt you later!

You might as well pluck up some courage and plan your career move calmly, especially as you’re not pressed to find one now. This puts you at an advantage emotionally and you can choose the next job well.

Begin your search by drafting an outline of why you want to leave the current job, what are you looking for in the next job and what fields interest you. Once this is clear in your mind, you can then begin searching for specific jobs, contacting recruitment agencies and so on.

Your worst case scenario would be landing an awful job but can avoid that if you start looking now!

Love and light

Sahar