I am grateful to those of you who have clicked that subscribe button and trusted me to be a part of your day.
There is no better feeling than knowing that others, even total strangers, care about what I have to say. When you subscribe it reinforces a writer’s decision to follow her dream.
Thank you!
It is incredibly awesome because this project is one that I embarked on from a place of fear. Deep-rooted fear that I have had since childhood.
It all started as I explored creative writing in middle school. Of course, there is a strong likelihood that it started earlier, back to the age of 12, when I started putting my serious thoughts on paper; however, I vividly remember how I felt during a writing class at Jefferson Middle School. I didn’t have any problem with the writing assignments. I loved them. It was sharing and reading them out loud that terrified the bejeezus out of me.
I don’t recall the student’s reactions, and the teachers always said nice things about my writing. Isn’t that what they are supposed to do - make the student feel good about their work? Maybe not. I don’t know. All I know is I hated sharing my writing with others.
Last night I was going through an old notebook where I jotted down tips and tricks for starting an online business. I have more of these filled-up notebooks than I would like to admit. This particular one was from six years ago. In it, I wrote down a quote from Marie Forleo, “Follow your fear. It is the GPS for where your soul wants to go.”
Just like it did six years ago, this statement made me think. It reminded me of what I am doing here with this newsletter - with my writing.
“Follow your fear. It is the GPS for where your soul wants to go.” ~ Marie Forleo
If I had a dollar for every time I have talked myself out of sharing my best work, I would be a millionaire a few times over. Years ago, I did a horrific thing for any serious writer to do - I threw away all of my writing. The good, the bad, the unfinished. Gone. Poof. They were shredded and recycled.
I did it because I felt stuck. I had been working on a novel that had haunted me (it was a paranormal murder mystery) for years, decades even. I just couldn’t get it right. That day I woke up and said enough was enough. No one was going to care about my work or read it, for that matter, so I said goodbye and turned on the shredder. I told myself I could start over if I were meant to be a writer.
And I did.
And now I am here, writing for you, dear Substack audience.
The fear still grips my chest, yanking at nerve endings that I can feel tingle down my spine. But who cares, right? I am a writer, and I’m going to write, damnit.
That makes me wonder why fear can tell us so much about what we want or are meant to do in life.
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield said, “Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
That doesn’t answer my question, though; why fear?
I thought about this a lot today, and I have come to this conclusion (by no means definitive): the feeling of fear is the exact sensation of excitement. If we have that feeling when we contemplate doing something new, we decipher it as fear and do whatever we can to escape it. Instead, we should identify it as excitement and lean into the feeling, play with it, and see where it leads us.
I like that perspective. Maybe I’m not afraid of writing and sharing it with the world. Instead, I’m excited. So excited that the entire week since my first post, all I have thought about is how many days it was until today when I promised to post again. (Note: You may find me posting more than once a week - I may be unable to help myself.)
As a career and life coach, I used to always talk about how to overcome fear. It seems we all have at least one fear stopping us in our tracks (at least all my clients did). In all those years of coaching, I never connected it to excitement. Or, if I did, I never expressed it in those terms.
I’m curious, what’s your fear? What do you wish you were doing in life, but that dreaded feeling of fear is holding you back from leaping? Share in the comments. That could be your first step in letting the fear go.
Until next time, be fearless and let your ideas flourish. See where they take you. See the world for what it is and figure out how you can contribute to a better tomorrow.
Oh, and share this with someone who needs this message. I’m sure you know at least one person who is walking with fear draped across their shoulder. Give them a helping hand.
Much love and blessings!
~ Corrie