Welcome to the Jungl-er, Menagerie
A menagerie by definition is a strange or diverse collection of things. Well, I’ve certainly got the strange part down! Someday I’ll get to the diverse end too or at the very least a larger collection. But for now I’m stuck solidly at the beginning of my online journey. What a wonderful, absolutely terrifying place to be.
And because I’m so new I find myself constantly ramming into the following fears:
I don’t know what I’m doing!
What if people don’t like me?
I’m not qualified for this!
There’s too much to write about!
Unfortunately, fears like this can choke out ideas and projects. BUT! Inherent in that lovely, bubbling chaos of the unknown flows boundless creativity and discovery. So instead of focusing on the scary parts of not being an expert at this whole online shtick, I’m deliberately focusing on the other side of these thoughts.
I don’t know what I’m doing! —> This fear indicates an area where I can utilize a lot of creativity to learn and play with whatever it is I’ve encountered. Which is great because I am a well and that well is full of creativity and polliwogs.
What if people don’t like me? —> Who am I kidding? Of course they will! At least, my fellow fiends will! Anyone else doesn’t matter because I’m not making this content for them. I’m making it for us. Simple as that. Even if it’s hard to remember at times.
I’m not qualified for this! —> Honestly who ever is when they start? Nobody that’s who. And I don’t have time to find a board of ‘Qualified Blog People’ to qualify me for something I can learn about as I go!
There’s too much to write about! —> Why am I even complaining about this?!? (Such an INFP struggle.)
Of course, just because I’m aware of the flip side of these fears doesn’t mean I will automatically put them into practice. But once my fear-charged emotional reaction has run its immediate course, I’ll have the opportunity to ease myself into practicing these new mindsets. Panicking over learning how to hook up contact forms on my new website? Take to google. It’s a surprisingly (or not surprisingly) common worry. Afraid people will leave mean comments in a blog thread? Disable the comments! Worried about how I’ll format my new website into a readable, enjoyable format? Try different layouts and press new buttons! My creative well is brimming over with ideas. All I need to do is start tapping into what’s already there.
Fear slams down the door on creativity, locking it away behind a seemingly impenetrable wall. By reframing my fears, I calm my DEFCON 1 brain and unlocked the creativity door once more. And the more practice I have with reframing my fears, the easier reframing becomes. The more successful experience I gain, the more confident I will be in countering my fears. New fear? No fear! Start reframing from the top!
So here’s to the future! And many more fears and reframes ahead.