Do It Scared
Do it scared.
I thought I’d share my most recent example of doing it scared, in case someone out there needs a timely reminder that they’re not alone…
The other week I filmed a promo video for my coach (posted a few days ago), which was over three minutes long. It took me easily 100 attempts to execute before I could say ‘good enough’ to stop recording, and I only did that because I was running out of daylight in the trailer on my final day before leaving town. I wasn’t asked to do the video, I offered to do it a couple weeks ago because I know part of my growth in the season ahead requires me to be stretched in this way (using my voice), and so I have to create/force opportunities to show up in ways that feel quite unnerving to me.
So what exactly do I fear about public speaking? What childhood trauma can I point the finger at? Haha… I’d like to take a moment to at least partially blame grade school speeches for forcing timid introverts to speak in front of entire classes against their will. No Toastmasters prep, or Vinh Quang Giang course, just cold turkey get up in front of the class and talk for at least 3 minutes after talking to your mirror for a week and be judged on length, clarity, intonation, topic, etc. Hives and cold sweats often accompanied those torturous moments for me, and I know at least part of my hesitation to step out as an adult stems from that.
I can be embarrassed about all the takes it took to execute one simple video, or I can use them to encourage those in the same boat as me, assuring them that they are not alone in daring to step onto their version of the road less traveled. I choose option 2!
The moral of this post is that you probably won’t die if you just do it, whatever IT is for you, scared or otherwise. I’m living proof that you’ll rise to see another day, and so are all the the great men and women you look up to who once upon a time dared to DO IT SCARED.
What is your (current) big fear? What if you just went for it? What’s the worst that could happen? What’s the best case scenario?
