Fear is the Mind-Killer
David duChemin on the voice of fear:
Our problem, I think, is not that we fear. We fear instinctively. It’s as natural to us as breathing. In some cases, it’s that fear that keeps us alive, though more often I suspect it’s what keeps us from truly living. Our problem is that we listen to that fear whispering “What if?” to us and we don’t take that question out of the shadows and hold it to the light. Fear only asks us the questions; it’s not answering that question, letting the uncertainty gain momentum in the silence, that holds us back.
If this resonates with you, rest assured you're not alone. We don't like to talk about our creative fears because they are rooted in something deeply personal. But in the silence, the collective voice of fear gets amplified. We assume that everyone else sits down every day and boldly goes about their craft, never questioning how it will be received by the world. That's an imposter talking. As David points out, our fears simply don't lie down that easily.
I'm constantly battling the undercurrent of creative fears that conspire to hold me back from doing my best work. I'm afraid my code will be criticized for not following "best practices". I'm afraid my best days of writing are behind me, and nobody's listening anyway. I'm afraid our next course won't measure up to expectations. I'm afraid my photographs will never tell the story I so desperately want to tell. I'm afraid this is my last blog post. I'm afraid of letting people down. I'm afraid I'm spending too much time on this and not enough time on that. Pushing through those fears is by far the hardest thing I do every day.
If there's one thing I've learned over the years it's that being true to myself is the best way to break through the barriers to creativity. When I listen to my authentic voice, it drowns out the voice of fear. And that's when I do my best work.