I am sure there are more than 5 ways to overcome fear. But these have worked for me, and of course, I will share my thoughts in this blog. This blog is written at the beginning of my blogging journey, and I am doing it despite my fear of not knowing where to begin.
How does one build an attractive website? Haven’t the foggiest idea of how to take beautiful photos. What does unique, compelling content even mean? Would you even read my blog? Hasn’t everything already been said?
The Source Of My Fears
I have wanted to start a personal finance blog and YouTube channel for many years.
Money management is my thing. I have worked in finance all my life. I have taught personal finance management in a classroom setting with beautiful results. People getting out of debt. Some manage to save deposits to buy their dream home. Some take holidays of their lifetime.
Given all these encouraging results, I decided it would be helpful to put the information in the public domain. I set up the “Simple Money Hacks” blog in early 2018. I have been writing here and there but not with remarkable consistency.
So, why haven’t I done so despite reading countless books, signing up for many blogging courses, read 100s of money blogs? Why am I still not blogging my heart out?
The Fear Of Failing
Fear has been my greatest foe. The fear I feel is not limited to the idea of blogging. Fear is a constant companion. It has accompanied me on many of my life journeys and cut short a lot of dreams.
Fear usually shows up when I decide to step up, take a bold step, and step out of mediocrity. My biggest fear is that of failing. As I write, I wonder, what if no one ever reads my blog, or no one ever visits my site and on and on it goes?
Do you ever feel paralysed by fear?
Does fear ever stop you from doing things you know you are capable of, but you talk yourself out? You tell yourself a million reasons why this will not work. You tell yourself it may work for others, but it will not work for me. If this is you, then join the club.
So, I have come to a decision. Now is the time to tackle these feelings of inadequacy and to do it publicly for accountability.
I stumbled on Mindfulness practice this year. It has been beneficial to work on my fears and negative self-talk. These are the 5 tips I apply daily, and they are already yielding positive results.
I hope you find encouragement to do the things you have been putting off due to fear.
1. I CHOOSE TO BE CONTENT WITH LESS THAN PERFECT
From today, I will learn to be less critical of myself and familiarise myself with the term WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP). For this is what I am. This is what we all are.
I often look at glossy, established blogs. I compare myself, decide I don’t measure up and quit even before starting. Failing to realise Rome was not built in a day. The people we compare with started somewhere and got better over time. I am applying a lot of self-love and compassion.
2. I DON’T HAVE TO KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS FROM THE GET-GO
I once attended a meeting. The topic of conversation was social action and justice for refugees at the French border of Calais. Their situation and living conditions were terrible.
A bunch of young ladies acted. We were all astounded by their achievements. We questioned the primary speaker how they managed to get so much done given their lack of experience or the support of an NGO,
What she said next moved me.
Oh, we had no idea what we were doing, she replied, but we simply felt we had to do something, so we all showed up.
Just showed up?! What do you mean????
Just showing up without a plan will frighten me. Planning without prior experience frightens me. Lack of support from the establishment will paralyse me into inaction.
If I were a team member, I would want to know everything—funds, equipment, experience, and logistics. Without these, I would have paused and most likely cancelled.
Because of their initial success, help did come from both sides of the border. Governments stepped in and offered assistance because a group of fearless young ladies decided to take action. Thousands of refugees now have clean water and hygiene goods because of their bravery and concern for others.
3. IF AT 1st I DON’T SUCCEED, I WILL DUST MYSELF DOWN & TRY AGAIN & AGAIN & AGAIN
A former coworker and I became good friends. There’s just something special about her. She is driven, a good example, and brave.
She moved away to start her own business. I liked her business idea, but I wasn’t sure she could make it happen. But she did in a big way and is so successful now.
We met up not long ago. She told me that all the success I see now resulted from many failures. So many things went wrong, and not much went right. She won because she kept getting back up, brushing herself off, and trying again.
She said Joyce, go into business and give it your best even when you fail; you learn. Some things you win, something you LEARN.
4. I WILL BE A DILIGENT STUDENT. I LEARN AND APPLY
Working for a seminar company for 5 years exposed me to many seminar attendees. One thing unites seminar attendees. They want to improve their life. They attend every lecture and coaching programme available. Chant mantras all day, every day, from morning to night. The only issue is a lack of constructive change in their lives. They gain knowledge, but that knowledge does not appear to translate into action. Even while I point fingers, I am also guilty of this.
But from today, I will stop hiding my insecurities and lack of confidence in a never-ending cycle of seminars, books and podcasts. I will still do these but apply my learning as soon as I learn new stuff.
It is no longer acceptable to have a head full of fluffy quotes but no action. I choose to take action and apply my knowledge before moving to the next class.
5. I WILL DO IT ANYWAY
So, I am writing my first official blog post. I am sure it is not perfect.
I sincerely hope that those who need to read this may find some pearls of knowledge here. Even though I know I don’t know everything, and there will be times when I feel completely out of my depth, I’ve decided to get started since there’s no better time than the present.
Final Thoughts
I want to help people and make a difference wherever I can. I know that fear is a real obstacle to progress, but we have to act anyway.
What do you want to do but keep putting off because you don’t think you’re good enough or ready? You are not the only one.
Can I encourage you? Do it anyway.
Additional Resources
Apps like Calm or Headspace are extremely helpful. If fear is getting in the way of living your best life, give these a go.
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