How to Stop Worrying and Start Living – Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie’s work is helpful because he does a lot of research and interviews. This is not just a book of fluff to sell copies, it’s collection of tools and methods that worked for many people on overcoming their fears. I found it very actionable and it also comforted me to know we’re never alone when battling fear or worry.

Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson

This book is specifically about how to deal with change, and often that is the source of fear. Fear of losing something, fear of doing things we haven’t done before, fear of the known changing into the unknown. It really helped me navigate some dark times and even if change is scary it’s better than living with regret.

Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu

If you try to control external things in life, you’ll fear things not going your way. If you desire material things, you’ll fear not getting them (or losing them once you get them). In short there’s a lot of fear that comes from being too attached to the wrong things. The Tao Te Ching is phenomenal because once you zoom out to what really matters, most negative emotions like fear fade away.

Ego is the enemy – Ryan Holiday

Ego is tricky because it affects so much of our lives in unexpected ways. Like being afraid of what people think of us is an ego thing. Fear of losing control or fear of being criticized/judged is also ego. What I found is that once I got my ego under control I did not have as much fear. After all most things aren’t about us anyway, and that’s a good thing.

Boglehead’s Guide to Investing – Mel Lindauer, Michael LeBoeuf, and Taylor Larimore

Are any of your fears money-based? Because this is an incredibly practical book on money with a lot of concrete examples. Fear comes from the unknown. So the best remedy is to learn and become better informed. This book has great information and helps you make a plan you can stick to. Once you have the facts and use them consistently, discipline will free you from fear.