How To Overcome Your Fear Of Putting Yourself Out There
A few days ago I did my first Instagram Live session where I spoke on the topic of pushing past fears and putting yourself out there. Before the session took place I was racking my brain for days, trying to think of what I could talk about with the little group I was hoping would tune in and watch.
That's when it came to me. I was dealing with my own fears of doing an Instagram live video - the fear I would stumble through with nothing to say; the fear no one would watch and I'd be talking to dead air; my fear that no one cared or had any interest in what I was trying to do.
But I was still doing it.
So I thought it was only fitting that I discuss this topic and encourage others to do exactly what I found myself doing. I also wanted to write a corresponding blog post for all those who missed the live session and replay. I hope you'll join me next time :)
Overcome your fears and put yourself out there
Speak on what you know
We all possess knowledge/skills that can be shared with others. The first key to pushing past your fear of putting yourself out there is to go for what you know.
If you're an awesome illustrator but a not-so-good painter, guess what you should be sharing. Your illustrations! Because that's what you know!
Or say you're a photographer who has studied newborn photography from posing to editing and everything in between. Why would you focus on sharing street photography? Speak on what you know - and that's newborn photography.
That's not to say you can never branch out, but I think it should be easier to put yourself out there when you have a natural confidence simply from the fact that you KNOW the topic that you're talking about.
Focus on sharing what you know, and learning what you don't in private.
Speaking of confidence...
Confidence is truly key
2. Come from a place of confidence
I truly think the phrase "I'm no pro but...", and all other similar phrases, should be eliminated from all of our vocabularies.
Speaking from a place of confidence means having faith that you bring your own unique perspective to the table and that your perspective is valuable.
I myself am guilty of speaking from a place of slight lack of confidence in my abilities. See if you can spot a moment or two in my Simple Flatlay Tutorial . But it's important to possess confidence if you want to push past your fears.
You only need a little confidence to begin with. Once you start to put yourself out there, trust me - your confidence in your abilities will grow.
When I was setting up for my instagram live session to take place I was nervousss and wondering why in the world I thought it would be a good idea. By the end of the session, I was considering making live sessions a thing I do regularly.
All I needed to start my first live session was a small push from confidence. Once the confidence snowball got rolling, it just kept getting bigger and bigger
All you need is that small initial push. The tiniest bit of confidence can go the longest way.
Failure is possible, but not an obstacle
3. Know that failure is possible, but there's always a lesson
Become comfortable with knowing failure is a possible outcome. In fact, embrace this thought. The possibility of failure shouldn't be a reason to stop you from putting yourself out there in the first place.
"Failure" comes in many forms, but in this case I'm referring to not fulfilling your own expectations. With failures come lessons, and it's up to you to recognize and learn from those lessons. Figure out how to use your failure to better yourself and reach, or get closer to, your expectations the next time.
It's also important to realize that sometimes not reaching your goals doesn't automatically equate to failure. Personally, I didn't have a certain number of people I was hoping would tune in to my live session. BUT if I had only had one person watching, I probably would have felt like the session was a failure.
Instead, I should focus on the fact that I had someone (even if it was only one person) interested in the information I was offering and focus on making sure they left the session feeling inspired, motivating, and full of knowledge they didm' have before they watched the live session.
Always focus on the lessons that are there to be learned.
Above all else, just have fun!
4. Release the pressure, and have fun!
There's so much pressure these days to be perfect that many people are afraid to appear imperfect. Often times, people want to skip the awkward stages of developing a craft and be able to present their craft to others as 100% honed. But that's just not realistic!
Sometimes putting yourself out there means letting go of expectations of perfection, and the pressure that comes along with those expectations, There's a saying that "done is better than perfect", and to me there's no truer statement.
Conditions don't have to be perfect for you to share the gifts you've been given. Start where you're at with what you have - let go of needing things to be perfect and have a good time with it!
Conclusion
Putting yourself out there can be scary - there's no doubt that's true. But that doesn't mean you should let fear hold you back from sharing pieces of yourself with others.
Focus on what you know and share it confidently. Embrace the possibility of failure and let the pressures of perfection go.
Then put yourself out there.
Do it.
The world is waiting.