HackMake

This has been sitting in my drafts folder for almost a year:

Talking about fear has gone from being an oppressed topic to being overwhelming in productivity chat like 5by5’s Back to Work.

Writing is something I want to do. Writing is something I want to do well. I understand that the latter is dependant on the former and that my fear of publishing is stopping me from doing this. Long ago, I was able to acknowledge this fear — however significant or invalid it may be — yet, I still don’t write regularly.

I’ve put great effort into simplifying my life. Removing distractions, dependancies, and undesirables has allowed me to focus on what I’m good at and what I enjoy doing. Yet, writing hasn’t become one of these things. I’m not even sure why I’m writing this, as a piece regarding my inability to write consistently is much less productive than just starting to write.

When I finished that last sentence I came to a realization and closed the window then wrote—and published—something real. It wasn’t something great but it was a start.

I could write a long, fancy thing about getting over fear and starting on something you’ve always wanted to do but the reality is that your fear is unfounded. It’s not that complicated. Stop talking about how you want to do this thing and stop spending your creativity on excuses.

Just start doing that thing. Start small but start. For a while it won’t be as great as imagined but it won’t be as bad as you’re afraid of.

Go talk to that girl. Click publish on that blog post. Ask your boss for a raise.

Don’t be afraid of something that doesn’t exist.