Whether it’s building an online presence or starting a company, fear and anxiety will follow and evolve with you as you forge ahead.
Every day, week, month, and year, there will be new fears to overcome. What terrified you last year will become your strength the next.
Yet the one fear that has ended dreams, stalled progress, and kept innovation and invention at bay is the opinion of others.
You ruminate about people bringing you down, telling you to “know your place.”
Maybe it’s a family member, a friend, or a random person on the internet.
Or maybe it’s your fear of how you and your ideas are perceived.
There are no examples in recorded history of someone building something absent resistance or fear. It’s natural to be scared and nervous when you commit to doing something very public.
We are more often frightened than hurt. We suffer more from imagination than from reality – Seneca
Making videos excites you, but you’re afraid people will make fun of your accent or your looks. The thought of wearing that dress empowers you, but you’re nervous about how people will perceive you. Starting a business is your life goal, but you worry no one will take you seriously.
You magnify your flaws and weaknesses, both imagined and real, through a lens that is neither yours nor theirs.
That lens belongs to your fears.
It convolutes what you see and believe. It convinces you that you will embarrass yourself if you step outside your shell. It chains you to a life that is not meant for you.
There will always be people who relish the opportunity to mock and ridicule, whether anonymously on the internet or in real life.
Their opinions are worth as much as sand in the Sahara Desert.
A personal anecdote.
After I announced the alpha for Dygres, I was teased and mocked by a senior-level coworker. At a company lunch, they randomly screamed “Dygres” and snickered with their squad of bullies. I was already a nervous wreck, and that moment made me lock the sign-up button out of fear of ridicule.
I am not ashamed to admit that it affected me and destroyed my confidence. This was my exact thought: “If they are making fun of it, then everyone is going to do the same, and no one is going to take me seriously.”
I gave weight to something that should not have mattered to me, something, and someone, I should have ignored.
You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. – Seneca
Don’t let your reflection on the whole sweep of life crush you. Don’t fill your mind with all the bad things that might still happen. Stay focused on the present situation. – Marcus Aurelius
Without first discovering your potential, how are you going to discover who you really are? Without attempting something, how can you ever know what you are capable of? Take note. To overcome is to grow. To grow is to evolve. To evolve is to become who you are meant to be. Ignore the voices that project their own fears, flaws, and disappointments. Ignore the words that tell you to stay in your lane. They are not living your life for you. You are. Get out there and do what terrifies and excites you.
Opinions be damned!
