Most of us are afraid of the spotlight. Most of us are afraid of just getting started. We assume the worst-case scenario and worry that things won’t go the way we hope. In order to not face disappointment and failure, we hold back and in doing so, we tend to get in our own way.

As creatives, we are usually bursting with ideas and thoughts. We want to get started and bring these ideas to life but most of us hold back. Maybe our imposter syndrome kicks in, we don’t feel confident enough because we don’t feel we’re good enough. In our minds we tend to weave a beautiful story, we see also see ourselves doing the things that bring us joy but when it comes to taking action, something always tends to get in the way.

As someone who works with creatives, oftentimes, I hear people say that they feel very strongly about an idea and a vision and it makes sense in their minds but when it comes to actually putting themselves out there and getting started, that’s when the panic sets in.

I remember when I first started writing articles for my blog and creating content for IG, I would write but not post it. I would always feel nervous about hitting that publish button because I wasn’t sure how my content would be received.

As an introvert, this was scary for me. I’m not very fond of the spotlight. I also take failure too seriously and it can affect me deeply. At least it used to back then. Recently, when I started my podcast, I had the same thoughts. However, this time around, I knew I was getting in my own way.

I see so many successful creatives out there putting themselves and their work out so confidently and I’ve always wanted to feel that way. Especially with my writing, I’ve always wanted to share my thoughts and words more comfortably and calmly instead of constantly worrying about how it was going to be received.

So, I follow these tips that usually help me put myself out there. Before I tell you what they are, I’d also like to mention that I’ve always gone at it at my own pace and not pushed myself beyond my capacity. This is also something I tell my clients as well.

It took me a really long time to feel confident enough to start my own podcast because as an introvert, I was worried about how comfortable I would be to have my voice there in the world. And these points really helped me get started and they do so along the way.

As a creative and introvert, there are a lot of days that are challenging and difficult for me. And there have been moments when I’ve held myself back even if my heart was set on it. Just because I was afraid or unsure about the outcome. Even as simple as socializing would feel tough because I didn’t feel like I was interesting enough to go meet new people. A lot of these points that I’ve shared with you helped me cope with that fear and put myself out there. Suddenly and gradually the world started looking like a less scary place for me.

I allowed myself to push a little every day, very gently. If I couldn’t do it, I would pause and try when I felt ready.

06 Simple points that can help you put yourself out there -

• Start Small – I think when we get started, we have this beautiful outcome in our mind and we want to reach and achieve that outcome soon. So, we then start taking steps just so we can achieve our big outcome sooner, or in some cases, we just want to get done with it. But what I’ve experienced with this is that the more we try to fast-forward or make things happen in a certain way we tend to feel the pressure. We try to do more tasks and feel the fatigue setting in. We try to do everything we can to avoid mistakes and failure and go into a slump when that happens. What has usually helped me is to start small. An idea that is in the mind is honestly really amazing, but only when we take action that we realize how it’s actually going to go. Some ideas feel so amazing when we think about them but don’t take off in reality because of certain limitations. And we might need to scrap it out. I like to start small just to see how a particular idea feels as I’m moving along. There are many factors that need to be considered such as time, energy, the need, the right motivation, confidence, etc., and starting small helps us evaluate these in a more practical way. Fear is one of the biggest reasons why most of us hold ourselves back and I feel that starting small helps to not only understand this fear but also work with it in some way.

  
  

Journal – Based on the idea I have; in what way can I start small? What are the most important steps I need to take? How can this help with my fear of just starting?

• Break down the goals – Ideally what I like to do when it comes to setting goals is break them down and set an intention for what actions I’m taking for any task. It helps me to keep track of how things are going and if I’ve managed to achieve the smaller goals. Sometimes smaller goals help to take care of the bigger goals. This way I feel a lot more mindful about the things that require my immediate attention and I’m not too worried about things. By breaking down the big goals I’ve also felt that I can take action easily. Setting an intention with each goal helps me stay more mindful and I feel a lot more in charge of the direction I’m going in. As an introvert, really big tasks scare me and I automatically assume it’s too much for me to take on. But as I chunk it down into smaller goals and tasks, I feel calmer and confident as I achieve one goal/task after the other.

  
  

Journal – How can I break my goals down into smaller goals? In what way can this help with my fear of putting myself out there or taking that first step?

• Being consistent – Failure is a big factor for most of us when it comes to getting started. But it’s also something we can’t shy away from. And being consistent is a big part of that. Being consistent requires us to show up even if we fail or don’t feel like it. Sometimes being consistent can also help give us the practice we need in order to feel confident and let go of that panic and fear. I’ve understood that our motivation to stay consistent highly depends on whether we achieve a particular goal or outcome or we receive a setback. As an introvert, even if we are compassionate to a great extent, we’re also extremely conscious of emotions and sensitive towards intense emotions. We tend to get hard on ourselves easily. This can cause a lot of barriers when it comes to showing up and taking that leap, we’ve been thinking of taking for a long time. From my experience with consistency by showing up every day I’ve only gotten better with practice.

  
  

Journal – What are the possible setbacks that I may experience with this goal/task? How can I allow myself to manage these setbacks? How can showing up help with my fear?

• Challenge the inner critic – I think it’s easy to expect this one here. One of the biggest blockages and obstacles to starting anything or when it comes to putting ourselves out there is most definitely our own inner critic. That voice inside that says we’re just not cut out for this. We’re just not going to be able to achieve what we want. For introverts, it’s something that sounds like, we’ll certainly make a fool of ourselves. Maybe it’s best to stay behind the curtains. I’ve faced this many times. Initially, I would succumb to this voice but now I gently challenge it. I allow myself to at least try it out. I started my podcast, my coaching program, and my substack subscription in this way. The voice kept telling me that it was not going to be like other people and that maybe I’m investing all that energy for nothing. That at the end of the day, it’s just not going to work out. Because I understand that my inner critic comes from a previous sour experience in some way, in some way I’m trying to save myself from that hurt again. But I realized that the more I challenge and question my inner critic, the more I feel encouraged to pursue what I feel drawn to. It has slowly changed my perception of success and confidence.

  
  

Journal – What is my inner critic trying to tell me? Why has it shown up now? Where has it come from? In what way can I challenge this voice? How can I reframe my inner critic to something more encouraging?

• Accept flaws and imperfections – I think as humans we all have flaws and perfectionism as a mindset can be very harmful. Most of us hold back because we want to flourish and succeed on the first attempt. Even though it’s an ambitious thought and desire and it’s totally okay to want to get it perfect from the get-go, somehow in my opinion it can cause a lot of fear and anxiety. Especially if we already feel nervous before we get started on something that has our attention. What helps in such a case is to do the best and let there be room for growth. When we leave little room for growth, we can find ourselves getting better and better. There’s also a possibility that we’ll try different approaches and methods that may excite us and could be so much better than what we had in our minds. Imperfection is a tool for growth and change. In a way, it only helps us become better and better. There’s always a next time.

  
  

Journal – What does imperfection make me feel? In what way can it help me grow? Where do I feel I have flaws that I need to work on?

• Just have fun with it – To be honest, I wish I would’ve spent most of my initial days just enjoying what I was doing instead of putting a lot of pressure on myself and stressing a lot. What I’ve learned and understood is that we can’t have control over everything that we do. We can only do the best that we can and try to take satisfaction in the reward we then receive. Even if the project/task is serious I think we don’t need to take everything way too seriously. Of course, we want to achieve the best outcome, preferably the outcome we desire, but adding a lot of pressure can make everything way too harsh. When we start to equate our self-worth with our desired outcome that’s when we start to lose perspective and take everything seriously. When I began my business, everything felt way too heavy, it was kind of like a do-or-die vibe and I honestly didn’t like it, not to mention I didn’t achieve the kind of results I expected. It was only when I started to add a little bit of fun, and let go of control is when I saw the kind of movement I wanted.

  
  

Journal – In what way am I adding too much pressure? How can I let go of control over the things that aren’t in my control? How can I detach myself from the outcome? What can feel like fun to me at this given phase?

I hope these points help you and give you a different and new perspective. Please remember to go at your own pace. There’s no rush or hurry. Again, this becomes a lot less work when you just enjoy the process and do not pressurize yourself. The journal prompts after each point will help you understand better and will help you get better clarity, so I highly recommend that you try them out.

If there’s something that you feel drawn to, something that you know needs to be done, it’s going to feel scary and overwhelming at first. You may feel like giving up mid-way. Things may not go the way you hoped. And that’s normal. Because it is your journey, your calling, and your desire you get to decide how you’d like to proceed and what you think is the best thing to do. It’s okay to archive an idea and get back to it when you feel you can give it more love and energy. As long as you don’t allow fear to make that decision for you.

Thank you for reading!