Moving through fear

When I started my coaching practice using the domain realizechange.org, I went ahead and bought another one: sarahdbeller.com.

For what? Well, just in case. In case I would someday take myself seriously enough as a musician or writer to warrant a publicly visible home for my creative works. If I told anyone about the purchase, my tone was half-joking.

Then I sat on it for a year and half, like a stubbornly unripe fruit. I didn't quite know what to put there, and when or why or how to share it. 

Over the past few weeks, several things have come to fruition:

Woah. All these fruits suddenly coming ripe at the same time!!

Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big, talks about our "inner critic" and how these voices often get louder when we are stepping into our most authentic selves. That has definitely been the case for me recently.

Here are a few of the messages I've gotten from my inner critic:

  • Your book is going to flop

  • If you promote your creative work, your friends won't like you anymore

  • You're not far enough along in your album project

  • You don't know how to publish or roll out a book

  • If you shine your light bigger, other people will feel small

Don't worry, this isn't a therapy session for me! I'm sharing all this to show that it's totally normal to have fear and self-judgement nipping at your heels when you choose to share your creative spark.

And is it worth it? YES! Think of a musician, artist, or author whose work has touched your heart or changed your life. What if they had kept it from seeing the light of day because of the concerns above? 

So... how about sharing a poem or drawing or song or culinary creation you've made? Or a new venture idea? Let me know how it goes.

Sarah Beller