I will be eternally grateful for your great gift of taking in to the fullest extent what it is that I
have to offer, living it, and then reflecting it back in terms of the potential experience of others.
You have given words to a process that defies words. And you’re constantly in a position to help
me continue to hone that, deeper and deeper and more and more resonantly, who I am and what I offer,
which is truly invaluable. — Jon Hansen, 
What you’ve sent me is so darn perfect it hurts! It’s a sheer pleasure to work with someone
who writes as beautifully as you do — and in “my” voice. — Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D,
You have a real gift for words. You’re really, really good at it. — Sherry Essig,
Waiting on fear
There are many things that hold people back from feeling ready to put their business out there, market themselves, launch their website, follow up with clients.
You may think you don’t know enough about marketing. Or you might feel as if your website isn’t complete or perfect enough. You could be worried that prospective clients may feel as if you’re nagging them. Or your passion for what you do might feel too big – embarrassing, even – to put into words.
Whatever action you’re not taking, and whatever it is that’s keeping you from taking that action, it all boils down to one thing: Fear.
You could call it anxiety, worry, uncertainty, lack of confidence, shyness, or a host of other names. But at the root, it’s fear.
Fear is a part of our human existence. And it’s perfectly okay to feel nervous and vulnerable about what you want to do.
Fear isn’t the problem. And fear isn’t what’s stopping you.
Waiting on fear – waiting for it to go away, waiting till you feel confident and secure – is what’s really keeping you from moving forward.
The longer you try to suppress it, pretend it’s not there, or transcend it, the more stubborn it’s going to get. So give your fear a voice. Let it express itself – whether in writing or in a conversation with a friend – and tell you all about worst-case scenarios.
My experience is that when I let those worst-case scenarios out of the darkness of my thoughts and into the light of day, they reveal themselves as just thoughts, with no substance and certainly no reality. After all, fantasies, even dark ones, are still just fantasies – and when I turn and look at them, some are laughably ridiculous. And laughter is a great antidote to fear!
Everyone feels nerves and anxiety about doing the things that matter to them. And anyone who’s ever started a blog, launched a product, or put up a new website has felt at least some anxiety about how it was going to be received.
The thing is, if you never do it, you’ll never know.
What do you want to do?
What’s keeping you from doing it?
Posted: June 4th, 2010 under Small business.
Comments
Comment from
Grace
Time June 15, 2010 at 7:51 am
Alistair – Yes, indeed. When the conversation stays stuck in your head – in the thought process – it tends to stay stuck in a loop.
Talking or writing helps you discover – as you point out – what’s going on, and often leads to discovering options that couldn’t be seen before.
Great point!
Comment from Alistair
Time June 14, 2010 at 8:44 pm
I find that writing things out, or discussing them with someone, does two things: 1) as you say, it reveals many of the things holding me back (fears, uncertainties) as just thoughts, might be’s – i.e. phantoms that aren’t real, that shouldn’t stop you going ahead when you look at them properly. At which point you’re left with 2) the real issues, if there are any. And in my experience once the real issues are clarified my problem solving self kicks in and starts properly analysing and evaluating, which it couldn’t do before because I was letting fear and uncertainty paralyze me, and overwhelm me with too many choices and possibilities.