5 Ways To Do It Scared
I hear this a lot, especially at the beginning of a new program, workshop or course. Students will say: “I think I made a mistake. Everyone here is already so far ahead of me…”
This can happen in any environment but particularly in a creative context when you’ve joined a program to learn something new and you realize some of your classmates appear to know everything already!
I refer to this as the “stop before you start” limiting belief. Let’s talk about it because you are not alone.
Trying something new can be scary. You are filled with anticipation and excitement. But at the same time, you can start to doubt yourself and think maybe I’m not ready for this. When you have those thoughts, and it’s natural to have them, remember that learning is exhilarating. It makes life exciting. It keeps us young and energized. And it helps us achieve our fullest potential.
I thought it might be helpful to share 5 tips for what to do when you have these thoughts and start to second guess yourself.
#1 Start
The most important thing to do is START. You do not want to give up before you’ve even started. Realize that you made a great decision and you need to see it through. At least give it your best effort. You’ll be so much better informed after jumping in for a few weeks than you are if you don’t even start.
This is particularly important when you start a new learning experience, a new workshop or a new online course. If you don’t even start it, you’ve essentially given up before you have any information upon which to decide. And you know, in your heart of hearts, that you want the result that the course or program offers. You also realize that it’s going to take some effort but you are up for that, right?
#2 Avoid comparison with others
This is absolutely critical. We live in a world where comparison is everywhere. This was not always the case but with the advent of the smartphone and social media, we have endless access to information. This also means that you have access to information and images from friends, family, influencers, colleagues at every moment which can make us feel small and insignificant.
Resist the temptation to follow what everyone else is doing. At the beginning of a new course or program, new students are frequently asked to introduce themselves and post images of themselves and their work. This can be super intimidating! Don’t get lost by reading all these posts. Participate if you like but remember – you know everything there is to know about you, your situation, your creative journey. You know nothing about the story or journey of anyone else.
Don’t compare your “now” with someone else’s “now” because constant comparison has a negative influence on our self-esteem. It leads to anxiety and can make us prone to procrastination because of the voices inside our head saying: Anything I do isn’t going to be good enough so why bother.” Please don’t fall into this trap.
#3 Practice, practice, practice
The best practical advice I can give you is to get down to work. Stop looking externally and start going your homework. Watch the course lessons. Download all the worksheets and guides. Get yourself organized. Make sure you have all the supplies you need. Leverage the practice files and follow along step by step.
I have a fun story to share here that’s from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. Great book, by the way. Here’s the story. There were two groups of photography students and the teacher told one group that they would be graded on the quantity of work they produced. The other group was told they would be grade based on the best photo they took.
Guess what happened? The group that was graded on quantity took tons of pictures, experimented, made mistakes, and gained a lot of experience. The group that was graded on quality got stuck trying to figure out the “perfect” photo. In the end, the first group created better work.
Why is that? It’s because they were willing to let go of the quest for perfection. They were willing to try new things. They did a lot of experimenting and had a ton of examples to learn from. Practice and creating a lot of work is what helps us find our signature style and the volume of work we produce makes each piece less “precious”. You’ll feel free to experiment, make mistakes and get more experience under your belt. All good things.
#4 Create a system to stay on track
Create a strong system to support you in achieving your goal. This can be as simple as buying a binder at the beginning of a new class and organizing all of the material in it as you go. I highly encourage this practice in my own Pattern Design Academy program because there’s so much material to get through. In many online courses, in addition to the core video trainings, there are cheat sheets, and practice files, and transcripts and workbooks.
Keep track of everything as you go by printing the materials out and putting them in a binder organized by module. You’ll be very glad you did because most of us enjoy going through the best courses we’ve taken several times. Everything will be organized for you when you return. What a delight that is! I’ve gone through Amy Porterfield’s List Building class several times and pull my binder out every time.
Another great organizational technique is to get out your calendar or daily planner and write down exactly when you’ll block off time to go through the course materials. If you still work full-time, block off 30 minutes in the evenings and a large block of time on the weekends. If you aren’t working, block of several hours each day to devote to the program. Sometimes it can be harder to block off the time when you have all day than when you have to cram time in when you get home from work.
Remember Parkinson’s Law: “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” This has several interpretations including the one where the more time you give yourself to complete something, the harder and more complicated is becomes in your mind to complete. In other words, don’t keep thinking about it. Just start doing it.
#5 Embrace the journey
When you get stuck, shift your focus to enjoying the process, having fun, and feeling joy in creating and pursuing this new path. Don’t worry about whether it will be “good” or not. Just make stuff and see what happens. It’s so important to embrace this concept of the perfectly imperfect. Or as Ryan Levesque says: “You don’t have to get it perfect. You just have to get it going.”
Pay attention as you embrace the journey. What are you drawn to? When do you have the most fun and seamlessly transition into a stage of flow? When does your sense of time disappear and you look up and realize that hours have gone by and you didn’t even notice? This is when the experience becomes truly transformational and you are bringing your best self to the party.
Remember that this journey is YOUR journey. It’s going to be amazing and these new skills will open new doors for you. Control your own experience by looking inward more often than you look outward. Make a lot of work! The more you make, the easier it will get. And you’ll discover what you truly love about it faster. Setting boundaries for how you’ll move through the program and find every opportunity to celebrate your successes.
Repeat after me: I can do this!
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
