IS FEAR HOLDING YOU BACK?
In the 11 years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve experienced a lot of fear. Fear of not knowing what I’m doing or how to run a business. Fear of not believing that I can make it all work with small children at home. Fear when I switched from being primarily a watercolor painter to primarily a printmaker. Fear of my work not being received well when I made that switch. Fear when I realized that I could no longer do it all on my own, and I had to release control to allow for someone to come alongside me and help me. Fear when I began to feel convicted about looking for ways to be more encouraging and to share what I’ve learned with others in similar positions as myself (hello, blog!).
I remember a couple of years ago, when my thoughts started to shift from ideas for paintings to ideas for linocut prints, I was very startled. I had spent years of my professional life developing my style and reputation as a watercolor artist, and the thought of letting that go was terrifying to me. I made a huge effort to pursue both things, but I grew more and more discontent with my paintings with each new linocut that I created. I was desperate to make both work, but it just wasn’t working. I had too much of my identity as an artist wrapped up in being a painter, and I wasn’t sure that switching to printmaking would be received well. I knew what I needed to do, but the reality that I was turning my back on everything that I had built my business on was really scary. But I did it anyway. I knew in my bones that I was supposed to make that switch, and I took a huge leap of faith and made the choice to do it. Amazingly, it was the best decision I’ve ever made for my business. I feel more like “myself” as an artist than I ever have. I still have a desire to paint again, but I’m not going to force it. The time will come when it’s supposed to come. And right now, I know that linocut printmaking is where I’m supposed to be.
That fear that I faced, that we all face, is a real indicator of how we feel about ourselves and our abilities. It reveals where we feel vulnerable and weak. It shows us where we have a tendency to doubt. That fear can easily keep us from acting, from doing. That fear limits us in a big way unless we choose for it not to, but we must realize that we have a choice.
In making a choice to persist instead of giving up, even when things get hard or confusing, we are making a choice to be brave. In making a choice to ask for help, we are making a choice to be vulnerable and pursue growth. In making a choice to commit to learning, we are making a choice to recognize our limits and make an effort to push past them.
Making those choices isn’t the easy option. Succumbing to the fear is easier. It just is. Giving up is easier. Stopping is easier. But no one has ever done anything great by quitting or staying still.
When reading “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” I learned that the act of doing anything requires acting twice. First we experience the act of dreaming/thinking/planning. This can be as simple as thinking about needing to brush your teeth, or as complex as thinking about a new business idea or a dream for a new product. But we can’t stop there. We then have to act again. We have to actually do whatever it is that we thought about, and that’s where the problem usually is. That’s where the fear lives.
A lot of ideas that we have are great ideas. They may be great ideas that would be hard to execute or challenging to figure out, but they’re still great ideas. Sometimes that tension of not knowing where to begin or how to move forward is crippling. We start to doubt our abilities and our endurance. We start to feel uncomfortable with all of the unknowns. We start to fear the possible negative outcomes, so we freeze up or abandon the idea altogether. A lot of our ideas get stuck in that first phase of thinking, and we don’t actually make the commitment to doing them.
For some, the second action of doing comes really naturally. Take out a huge loan to get that business started? No problem! Find people that can help make this happen? I can figure that out!
For others, our great ideas never get acted on. We overthink it because it could always be better, better, better. Planning and re-planning is not doing. Editing and re-editing is not doing. Perfecting is not doing. Talking about it is not doing.
Doing is doing. Getting it done is doing.
Making it happen is doing.
It’s important that we face the fact that the “what ifs” will always be there. We will never be less busy. Things won’t slow down so that we can chase our dreams.
It’s important that we face the fact that we’re afraid of the unknowns and begin to examine that truth. What is the fear founded in? Is it founded in reality and fact? Or is founded in assumption and opinion? Being honest with ourselves in the face of fear is a step toward conquering it.
We need to face that fact that we’re afraid and then get to work. Work through that fear. Recognize that it’s there and that it’s real and then keep moving anyway.
Stop talking. Stop editing. Stop perfecting, and get started. Take one step towards getting it done. Just one little step. That one little step is a victory. It’s forward movement despite the fear, and that’s something to be celebrated.
If it’s still in your mind,
it is worth taking the risk.
-Paulo Coelho