Facing my Fears
I am a weird person. I accept that fact wholeheartedly. Many of my posts on my Working Introvert site highlight that fact. I am a people pleasing, antisocial, socially anxious, highly sensitive introvert who would prefer to sit at home than go out and network with large groups of people.
I find myself fearing new things, not necessarily because they're new, but because most new things seem to be done in public. Public has people, generally. I don't like being stared at, I hate being observed when I'm doing something, and I am afraid that I will look like a fool if I do fail at whatever I am attempting to do.
So, it's time to put another fear of mine to rest. I both fear and hate certain types of social media. Give me a 2,000 word post and I am all set, but a 280 character limit gives me hives. The fact that I am also putting myself out there to millions of people also terrify me since I don't take harsh criticism or trolling all that well.
Instagram is easy enough and I love working with Canva so pictures are my tools. I love Pinterest where visuals are basically you're selling point. I'm not sure if I've gotten there yet, but it is getting better.
Facebook is something that I'm aware of, but not necessarily all that interested in it. I've never been a fan of posting stuff there. Twitter scares the pants off me. There are so many people! It's a foreign platform to me that is new and very much out of my depth. Don't get me started on YouTube.
However, I have decided to gather my courage. Nothing will change if I continue to sit here and not reach out. So, in order to give myself some breathing room I went to one of my favorite people here on WA. LynneHuy is an awesome woman whose training is spot on and very concise.
She pointed me in the direction of Social Jukebox which posts to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Their free platform allows you to choose 1 and I went with the one that scares the life out of me.
It was slightly confusing at first, but I figured it out. Roughly an hour later I have 15 different tweets, 5 of them with images, that will slowly cycle throughout the week. I sat back after completing it and went, "Well, that was easy".
Fear can be both motivating and a hindrance. Fear can make you freeze and not move or it can be the springboard to launch yourself to new heights. So I end this little post with two different quotes. One from George Addair and one from me. We will go with his first:
"Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear."
"However will people find their courage if they don't face their fears?"
Take care,
Michelle/Anne
Recent Comments
23
Great post! I love your honesty and willingness to try something new! I heard a great acronym for FEAR the other day, "Face Everything and Rise" it seems you are well on your way!
Chris
Hello, Chris, and thank you for the support.
I like that acronym! I'll be using it often, I'm sure.
Take care.
Yes we all have fears all be it different. When you finally face them you what you were worried about in the fist place.
You go for it girl...!
Thank you so much for your encouragement! I hope you are facing yours and conquered those demons.
Take care.
You are well on your way with overcoming your fears Michelle. We all have those fears, but the best way is to start at a comfortable level, then plow through it. Then gradually work your way up to higher levels of exposure.
Thank you for sharing your challenges very candidly, your transparency is genuine and refreshing.
Thank you for your support. I try to keep it very real when I write. Honesty is the best policy, after all.
Take care.
I think your personal growth is amazing and inspirational! You are overcoming the roadblocks that could prevent you from reaching your goals. Know that many people would let those things stop them, but not you - you're prioritizing doing whatever it takes to reach your goals. Be very proud of yourself!
Thank you for your encouragement and wonderful comment. I'm not going to let anything stop me from reaching my dreams. I hope you are doing the same.
Take care.
Social is not my thing, in the real world or online. I just don't do well in crowds, but WA seems to be forcing me to deal with it. One of my future projects it Social media.
Good Luck
Bryanb
Hello, Bryan, and good luck with engaging in social media. I would try doing Pinterest and Instagram since that's more visual and it's hard to screw up a visual.
Take care.
Lynne is my inspiration to Pinterest. I love it. When I installed social media buttons on my website posting is a breeze.
Trevor
Hello, and I adore Lynne's matter of fact approach to all of her training. It's some of the best I've found.
Take care.
As a fellow introvert I can really relate to this :)
I'm not too bad with social media. I don't mind pushing my writing and my site, but not a whole lot about me personally.
"Introverts unite. In very small groups. For short periods of time." My favourite quote about introverts :)
Hello, and thank you for your lovely comment.
I think my problem with social media mostly stems from my social anxiety, which rears its head at the most inopportune times.
I love that quote, too. I also like "Introverts unite. Separately. In our own homes."
Take care.
I understand about fear, I have accounts by I am not sure how to use them so I am not using them right now because unlike you I am afraid that I might make a fool of myself so I stay safe and don't use them. I know that I will eventually have to use them but I don't know what to do with them. I like Pinterest but I don't know how to connect to my site. But I will find out though
Thank you for your comment. Yeah, making a fool of yourself where things can never be deleted is very daunting.
Here is some training for Pinterest by the wonderful LynneHuy to look over if you haven't already. She's a wonderful teacher. Get More Traffic - Pinterest Yeah, I'm like that with Twitter. It's like everyone else is speaking a foreign language and you are just sitting there wondering what's going on.
Good luck and take care.
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Yes, great article, I am a lot like you that is why I could never do any kind of MLM where you have to go meet people face to face. What is that old saying "your greatest fears can become your greatest successes", something like that?
Going to look into that Social Jukebox, sound interesting.
THX Wayne
Hello, Wayne, and thank you for your supportive comment.
Social Jukebox is a little hard at first, but once you know what to do it's a breeze.
Take care.