Fear is a Mile Wide but an Inch Deep: How Leaders Can Break Through Decision Paralysis

The Moment Fear Shrinks

I was struggling with a decision recently, stuck in my own head, overthinking every angle, and getting nowhere.

No matter how much I analysed it, I couldn’t move forward. I kept thinking about the risks, the unknowns, and all the ways things might go wrong.

Then I heard a phrase on Steven Bartlets Diary of a CEO POD Cast with Alex Hormozi that stopped me in my tracks:

🔹 "Fear is a mile wide but an inch deep." 🔹

It was a perspective shift. I’d built the fear up in my mind, but when I broke it down, the reality wasn’t nearly as daunting. The worst-case scenario wasn’t bad enough to justify hesitation.

And as soon as I recognised that, I moved forward.

This experience isn’t unique to me (and I don’t think the phrase is unique to Alex)  I see it all the time in business leaders, entrepreneurs, and high-performers who are on the cusp of something great, but get stuck because fear magnifies uncertainty.

Why Fear Distorts Decision-Making

Fear isn’t always a bad thing. It serves a purpose, it makes us pause, assess risks, and avoid reckless decisions. But when it goes unchecked, it distorts reality.

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman, in Thinking, Fast and Slow, explains that our brains are wired to overestimate risk and loss more than potential gain, this is known as loss aversion. In business, this means:

🚩 Fear of Uncertainty → Avoiding Action
Leaders delay decisions because they don’t have all the answers. The unknown feels risky, so they hold back instead of taking calculated steps forward.

🚩 Fear of Failure → Over analysis & Perfectionism
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes fear as “Resistance”—a force that keeps us from moving forward, often disguised as overplanning or waiting for the “right moment.”

🚩 Fear of Judgment → Playing Small
Brené Brown, in Dare to Lead, highlights how fear of vulnerability stops leaders from taking bold action. We hesitate not because we lack ability, but because we fear how we’ll be perceived.

How to Shrink Fear and Move Forward

If you’re stuck in indecision, try this framework to put fear in perspective and take action:

🔹 1. Define the Worst-Case Scenario
What’s the absolute worst that could happen? Often, the worst-case isn’t as catastrophic as we think, it’s just uncomfortable or inconvenient.

🔹 2. Define the Best-Case Scenario
What’s the upside if it goes well? Fear makes us focus on risk, but we often forget about potential rewards.

🔹 3. Identify the First Step
Instead of trying to solve everything at once, what’s one small action you can take today to move forward? Momentum is the best antidote to fear.

🔹 4. Test the Fear
Is the fear based on facts or assumptions? If you challenge it, you often find it’s not grounded in reality.

Final Thought: The Real Risk is Doing Nothing

The real question isn’t "What if this goes wrong?" but rather:

👉 "What if I do nothing?"

Fear tricks us into believing that staying still is safer than taking action. But in reality, inaction often carries a bigger cost, missed opportunities, lost time, and regret.

So, if you’ve been circling around a decision, ask yourself:

Is this fear really as big as it seems? Or is it just a thin layer of hesitation that disappears once you step forward?

Because more often than not, fear is a mile wide but only an inch deep.

Further Reading on Fear & Decision-Making

If this resonates with you, here are some excellent books that dive deeper into the topic:

📖 Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman (on how our brains process risk and uncertainty).
📖 The War of Art – Steven Pressfield (on overcoming fear and taking action in creative and business work).
📖 Dare to Lead – Brené Brown (on how fear of vulnerability impacts leadership and decision-making).
📖 Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway – Susan Jeffers (a classic on reframing fear as a stepping stone to success).

What to Do Next

🔹 Have you ever hesitated on a decision that turned out to be easier than you thought? Let me know in the comments.

🔹 If you want to build resilience and take decisive action in your leadership or business, let’s chat.