Professor Plum : What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death?
Mrs. Peacock : No, just death, isn’t that enough?
Clue (1985)
I signed up for a Twitter account this week. I knew it was inevitable. I would like for people to read my blog, but for people to read it, they need to know about it. And for them to know about it, I need to use social media.
But I will be honest. Social media terrifies me.
When I was a child, I learned that raising my hand in class would get me unwelcome attention. The more I spoke up, the more questions I answered correctly, the more I would get picked on. So I learned to be quiet, to keep my head down. This conditioning lasted well into college for me.
It was a huge leap for me to develop into a trainer. To actually stand in front of a room and speak. But even leading trainings seems small when compared to speaking in a platform that contains millions of subscribers.
I know my fears are mostly irrational. At the moment, I am just one tiny little voice amidst the chaos. And if I were to attract negative attention, well…that’s part of the job. There are people out there who are putting themselves on the front line to create change. I’m at a point in my life where saying nothing hurts so much worse than saying something.
I know the fear won’t go away, not completely. But I also know I can get through it. I have before.
So for today’s reflection – when’s a time in your life you faced a fear? What was the outcome? How did you grow from the experience? And has it changed your philosophy towards fear in the future?