Creatives entrepreneurs struggle with a lot. But of all the struggles, fear and comparison are literally the worst.
Be honest with me, when is the last time you let fear get in your way?
Did you notice how I said, “when” and not “if”? Yea, that’s because we all face fear and let it dictate us from time to time. Even if you don’t consider yourself a fearful, nervous or anxious person, I am certain fear has gotten in your way at some point.
Maybe it made you feel stuck. Or made you walk away from an opportunity. Or made you feel less than. Whatever the result, you have definitely battled with fear at one point or another.
As an entrepreneur, I feel like fear really starts to cause a problem when we are struggling with comparison.
Silly thoughts like, “She does it better than I could so I just won’t try” start to take over and stop us from following our dreams. We hesitate to create the offer. Or apply for the program. Or submit to the competition.
Personally, I have had fear paralyze me many times over. Whether it has been hesitation in starting a new mastermind. Or fear of launching a podcast. Or fear of hiring a mentor. Or fear or raising my prices. And so many others. I had struggled with fear just as much as you. (okay, maybe even more than you!)
I spent months and years battling with dumb questions like, “What if this thing is a complete failure?” and “What if I lose a bunch of money?” and “What if no one cares?” and “What if things completely fall apart?” and “What if I lose my clients?” and even “What will people think of me?”
So how did I break out of fear and move past the struggle? How did I eventually do all the things I was afraid of?
The answer isn’t sexy. It isn’t rocket science. It isn’t even a life hack.
First, I thought about the worst case scenario. And in every single instance, the world would go on. I would be healthy. I would be safe. My family would remain intact. Nothing catastrophic would happen.
Once I realized that, I was in a much better place because I was able to talk my brain off the ledge. I was literally able to breathe deeper because life DID NOT DEPEND on the endeavors of my creative business. As my mentor, Kate Kordsmeier says, “I am not creating oxygen”.
And all of a sudden, I felt empowered. I was able to just decide to move forward. I literally said, “Screw it” to my brain and just moved forward and did the thing despite fear.
And you know what happened? Every single time?
I could practically hear the universe supporting. I could feel the support. I became confident that time was right.
And each step I took forward, I gained momentum. And that momentum gave way to confidence. And as the confidence grew, the the fear started to die down. It turns out that momentum and confidence are a pretty good elixir for fear.
So this is me dropping a little encouragement for you today. That thing that you are afraid to do. No matter how big or small, allow yourself to think about what life would look like if you actually did it in spite of your fear.
Don’t look around the internet at other people that are doing it.
Don’t start to google how to do it.
Just think about the possibility.
And then think about the worst thing that could happen. If you did the thing and it was a complete and utter failure, what would happen?
I bet you might lose time. Maybe feel embarrassed. Maybe even lose some money. But what else? I bet there isn’t much else…
Those are all things that you can EASILY come back from. None of them are life threatening. You will survive.
But if you DON’T do the thing that your heart and gut are pulling you towards. If you let your mind win and stay stuck in fear. What is the worst that can happen then?
Regret. And trust me that is a WAY worse punishment than losing time, face or money.
Take this as your pat on the back from a friend. You can do this. You really can. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to be the best of the best. But if you are being called to something, don’t let dumb old fear get in your way.
Push past fear and Do. The. Thing! You have got this. Stay in your own lane, stop comparing yourself and follow your gut!
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