✴️ #27 - How to overcome the fear

Author

Ben Jang
December 08, 2024 

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✏️ Summary

  • Fear is a friend

  • It points you where you need to go

  • You can conquer your fear

Instagram Reels.

My palms were sweaty. Knees weak, arms were heavy. There wasn't any vomit on my sweater, but there might as well have been...

For the past year or so, I have posted a video on instagram every day, talking about my entrepreneurship journey.

For my first ever reel, I was so scared that I had to stop, run around the room, do pushups, and still read from a script.

Screenshot of post 0 - look at that babyface

The next day, it wasn't any easier... And the next, and the next.

I posted everyday for 546 days. I started off deathly afraid, but by the end it was so simple that it turned boring.

How to overcome 'the fear'

There's a pit in my stomach and a knot in my throat whenever I encounter one of these situations. I'm sure we've all felt it at some point. Maybe it's a presentation you have to give, maybe it's a hard conversation with your partner. Some people call it 'imposter syndrome', I call it 'the fear'.

'The fear' steers us away from places we don't control. It keeps us "safe" - or at least, that's what it tells you. Most content I've seen talks about imposter syndrome and fear like it's a character trait. Something built in that you have to work around. From personal experience, I don't believe this is true.

For me, the fear is a signal. It means that I'm at the foot of a new mountain, and I don't know if I'll be able to climb it. This means it's a fear of the outcome, not necessarily a fear of the journey. I don't have instagram-reel-phobia, I have judgment-from-others-phobia.

Luckily for me, phobias have a cure - prolonged and controlled exposure. This point is so well researched as to rival with the evidence for gravity. If you are scared of something, you do the scariest version of that thing you can possibly manage - then you do a little more the next day, and the next, and the next.

For example, I was deathly afraid of judgment from others on social media - and because I decided my life would be better without this 'character trait', I had to fix it. I started by posting a video, then I put my face in paid ads, then tried my hand at long-form Youtube content, and finally interviews. Each step was uncomfortable at first. But each step gave me skills that I take and use every day in business and my work.

The fear is a friend. Not because it shields you from danger, but because it tells you where you need to go in order to progress. Whatever scares you most, do it. You'll find the treasures on the other side are often worth the effort.

🔗 Progress Update

Payment Gateways and Pain

I have been trying to integrate Paddle into WordRobin - so I can actually start testing out customer avatars and finding markets that work.

I could have gone with Stripe, but I remember from GomAdmissions that I was never sure what to do about taxes… I would rather have peace of mind and just not think about taxes ever again… until I can afford an accountant.

Is It Helpful?

Short answer? Yes! Getting feedback without getting something else writing alternatives in my brain is a much better way of writing. I was able to make swift changes to my writing above that made it much clearer.

What’s Next?

I have so many plans for WordRobin, I just have to get this thing ready-to-buy… Maximum effort!

That’s all for now!

Enjoy the newsletter? Please forward to a pal. It only takes 18 seconds. Making this one took 2.5 hours.

Ben | X