Do you struggle with starting something new? Maybe you want to start a podcast of your own.
Or maybe you want to start a YouTube channel. Maybe you want to start a course or a program or credit product. But then you start thinking “What if no one buys it? What if no one is interested? What if people don’t like me or don’t like or care about what I have to say?”
Here’s what I’ve realized: Most of us have been afraid when we were about to do something new because it’s uncertain. You’ve never done it before, and you don’t know if it’s going to work out.
And you’re asking yourself, “What if people don’t like it?”
If you can relate to this…
Here are 3 tips to help you overcome your fear of starting something new:
-
Rip off the band-aid.
The truth is I am an overthinker. My thoughts have thoughts, and those thoughts have thoughts, and it’s like a web of thoughts. I’ve realized that if I sit there, and I think and I think – then I just end up thinking myself out of it or I just think about how I need a plan. Many of us are planners and sometimes we just think about how we need all of these things first before we can begin something.
Even with my podcast, I just wanted it to be done perfectly. I wasn’t planning on starting it until April 2021. I felt the pressure of needing to make sure it was done perfectly – and that’s probably how you’ve felt with something. We all think about how people are watching what you’re doing so it needs to be perfect. Because of the “this needs to be perfect” mindset, I’m here to tell you…
Just take action and go for it.
Wanting to make something perfect is just procrastinating something that you should be doing, putting more pressure on yourself until you don’t want to do it anymore. Detach yourself from thinking about the outcome.
I started talking to people and they reminded me about the value I can provide. They reminded me how much I LOVE storytelling; how much I love giving value and giving advice; how much I love talking about so many things. One night, I was like, “You know what? I’m going to do it. I’m going to start that podcast. I’m going to record my first episode and put together a podcast cover. I’m going to put it out there.”
I ripped off the band-aid. And I’m telling you to rip off the band-aid.
2. Stop giving yourself an out.
Stop saying, “I need to do this first,” or “I need to do that first.”
You don’t need that stuff to sell. You don’t need that stuff to show up. All you really need is a phone or a laptop, which most of us have. You just need to start showing up. Then, you can build on it. You have to start somewhere. We all have to start somewhere.
If you’ve got free excuses, you get to keep them. If you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them.
Growing up, I had a lot of limiting beliefs. I said, “I can’t” or “I don’t know how” or “I should do this.” I had a lot of expectations for myself of how I should show up and form. It got to a point where I said, “I want to travel and I want to start my own business.”
You have to stop giving yourself an out.
It can be scary. It can be terrifying. You might have a lot of fears and questions for yourself: “What if no one cares? What if no one listens? What if no one reads your stuff?”
At the end of the day, would you rather show up and do it, and maybe it doesn’t work out. Maybe your first draft, no one reads it. Maybe your first 10 episodes, no one is listening. But eventually, you get better.
Eventually, you’ll learn and you’ll look and understand why it’s not working, what’s not working, and what is working. You learn to look at the data.
3. You can’t get to chapter 20 if you’re not willing to show up and write chapter 1.
If you’re not even willing to write chapter one or to put out chapter one, how are you going to get to chapter 20? How are we going to get to chapter 50? How are you going to learn all of these things?
You will make mistakes, and you will learn from them. You have to learn to put yourself in uncomfortable situations.
At the end of the day, the way to overcome your fear of starting something new is just ripping off the band-aid, doing it, and going for it. You will figure it out along the way. The only way you get better is by taking action. It’s by showing up; it’s by being consistent with your own actions. Enjoy the journey and learn to love the journey instead of stressing out along the way. Keep getting better.
