"The one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." -- James 1:6-8

Raised by a Jewish mom and a...

Like a lot of the country, my wife Amy and I went to Lincoln over the Thanksgiving holiday. We were with Amy's family in Washington, D.C., and walking out of theater to see our nation's capital in all its glory -- leaves changing, kids playing football -- I felt overwhelmed...

Whenever there's a hurricane Katrina, a 2008 market crash, or a Deepwater Horizon oil spill, pundits hammer the point that we can't waste this tragedy. We have to use our collective fear, anger, and hope as motivation to prevent such and such disaster from ever happening again. Social Security was...

Dr. Arnie Kozak has an aphorism for you that you probably won't hear from your average psychotherapist: "Freedom from fear is nothing more than telling shame and death to go fuck themselves." A psychologist, author, mindfulness teacher and snowboarder, Dr. Kozak has been a great influence on my work, and...

MeiMei Fox is one of the most dynamic human beings I've ever encountered. She's one of those people who can work a 12-hour day, go home to meditate and do yoga, then party all night, and get up and do it again the next day. After studying psychology at...

Having been raised by a therapist mom whose self-help/psychology books could fill a small library -- wanting, I suppose, to continue my teenage rebellion -- I promised myself I would never venture into "the motivational writer" role. But screw it. I'm no longer a teenager and my mom is almost...

I love the way stories spread in this era. A couple of years ago, I flew to Bangladesh and reported a story for AFAR Magazine about a homeless girl, Nassima Atker, who'd miraculously become one of the country's best surfers. (Yes, there is surfing in Bangladesh.) Despite having to...

On Friday, August 31, at 6 a.m., ultra swimmer Jamie Patrick will begin his attempt to become the first human to ever swim around the perimeter of Lake Tahoe. Though he'll be wearing a wetsuit, the 68-mile swim will be one of the longest nonstop swims in history....

One of the best parts of the HBO series Game of Thrones is how well the writing captures fear's many facets. In this scene, Brandon Stark, son of Ned Stark, is asking Old Nan for a scary story, prompting ominous talk of their world's dreadful long winters.

"Oh, my...

I ate pig cheeks last night. We'd just arrived in the small, medieval town of Evora, Portugal, renowned for its hearty cuisine and wines. I'm someone who leans vegetarian, so pig cheeks were the last thing I was craving. But sticking to my Portugal road trip policy of openness...

One shot. That's what many of these Olympic athletes will get. The stress is nearly unimaginable. How do they deal?

I recently caught up with Jamie Nieto, one of the Team USA Olympic high jumpers. Nieto, who is 35 and likely competing in his last Olympics (extra stress), told...

I'm traveling through Portugal right now with my wife, Amy, and our 6-month-old son. It's our first time to Portugal and an experiment for me. While I couldn't help dreaming of a wonderful trip while we eagerly planned where to stay, I also made a point to read almost nothing...

Being in Porto, home of that famous mix of brandy and fermented grapes, I thought I would do a short post on the effects of alcohol on fear. It's well known that having a drink or two takes the edge off, reducing stress, but psychologists at the University of Wisconsin...

While I was researching my upcoming book The Fear Project, a lot of people asked me why I chose fear as the topic. My answer never seemed to come out right, so I thought I would answer in a different way. This is a chapter from my memoir...

"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt." -- William Shakespeare

The other day I was having coffee with my friend Heather, who is in one of the most fearless careers: documentary film. I know it's not working...

There you are: a view of the waves, bottle of wine just corked. The week is finally over. You're taking in the light dancing on the water when...

"What's that, honey?" you say.

"God, do you ever listen to me?" your girlfriend says, clanking her fork on her plate...

Like much of the planet right now, I'm obsessed with HBO's fantasy series, Game of Thrones. I think about it pretty much every waking minute, but there was a moment in last Sunday's episode that has really stuck with me. It even puts a lump in my throat.

Your body is made of about 60 percent water. The blood in your veins is close to the consistency of seawater. Even the human brain is more than two-thirds water. Keeping this in mind, try to feel that original part of yourself. Imagine those...