[ANXIETY THREAD] Last night I was talking to a friend about her potential career change and she asked me if I ever get afraid or nervous about what I'm doing.

Me: ONLY EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Honestly, every other week I freak out and think, I can't keep freelancing!

I truly believe that fear is part of letting ourselves do the things we want to do. It doesn't go away. It's an ever-present part of the experience.

What you learn, though, is that you can live with that fear. You also don't have to make decisions based on the fear.

Some of my clients like to name the fear voice. "Thanks for your insight, Harold." Then they kindly ask Harold to sit in the back of the bus while their grounded self drives.

Some of my clients like to write down what their fear tells them, so it's out of their heads.

Some of my clients like to make a "fear tells me" versus "reality tells me" list.

Some people like to exercise when fear kicks in, to give themselves a moment before they make a decision.

The key here is that there's a SPACE between what fear tells you, and the decision you make. The bigger the space, the more agency you have.

Pause, take a deep breath, thank the fear (it's protecting you!) then take a small step toward what you ACTUALLY WANT.

Every time you do this, you build confidence. You prove to yourself that you can act on what your gut is telling you to do. You prove that YOU know best, that YOU make the rules.

But y'all, fear never goes away. I'm always nervous I won't get enough work. I'm always nervous I've pitched too ambitiously. I always hit a point in a big assignment where I think, omg, can I do this? My imposter syndrome voice pops up EVERY DAY.

Success comes from Doing The Thing Anyway. Inviting the fear to go for a ride with you.

That has been my Ted Talk on fear. Now time to go tackle the assignment I've been avoiding bc I'm afraid it won't be good enough