The Fear Of “Starting Wrong”
Big philosophical question for you this Monday morning:
Are you being held back by the fear of “starting wrong”?
(Yes, we are going to go there, and no, I promise the takeaway from this email is not to “work harder” or “get over it”)
Getting hung up on the big questions
When talking with other medical writers, the theme of not knowing where to start has come up time and time again.
“I just don’t know where to start…”
“I know I should be doing [x thing], but I haven’t gotten around to it yet…”
“Once I figure [x thing] out, then I will know what to do…”
Hmmm… sound familiar?
No matter how much experience you have, I would bet a large sum of money that you have felt like this before…
(because I feel like this all the time — and it sucks)
Tackling analysis paralysis
Analysis paralysis (AKA having too many decisions to make and therefore doing nothing at all) is a very real problem for freelancers.
No one wants to make mistakes, I get that.
But not making decisions and not putting yourself out there is a mistake too.
It just feels less bad because it isn’t an active or personal decision.
So, what can you do to overcome the fear of starting wrong?
Three simple steps to moving forward (even when it is hard)
My advice is three-fold: Identify, Break It Down, and Execute Slowly
#1 — Sit down and think about the primary tasks that are holding you back.
Have you been slowing down on sending pitches? Want to build an Upwork profile but don’t know how? Want to post more on LinkedIn?
Make a literal list of all of the things you are stalling on starting.
Identifying the things that you are worrying about helps to give you direction, and is also a helpful prioritization and self-check-in exercise.
#2 — Break it down into simple, concrete steps
Now that you have your list, it’s time to set actionable steps for yourself.
For example, “I want to pitch more” turns into, “Next week, I will write and send one pitch a day.”
Write your new goal on a Post-it in your office or as a banner on your phone.
You need to have actionable steps and a defined (ideally short) timeline assigned to each task you want to get done to accomplish it — and breaking down big-picture themes into small and manageable tasks is a great way to actually move the needle forward.
#3 — Do the damn thing (but slowly and gently, plz)
Now you get to do your plan!
You would never suggest to your friend who has never gone swimming before to jump into the middle of the ocean — so don’t do the same thing to yourself as you tackle your fear of getting started.
Toxic hustle culture leaders will tell you that you need to be doing more.
I am telling you to do less (as long as it is slightly more than nothing).
Want to post five times a week on LinkedIn? Start with once a week, and do that consistently.
Small, manageable goals give you the best-case scenario — a little win — every time you complete them.
And with every win you get, you start to build confidence,
Which is the key ingredient to conquering your fears and actually getting the results you want.
You can’t be successful is you don’t let yourself start
And that’s it — the three simple steps I use whenever I feel that feeling of overwhelm that comes with starting something new.
Sorry for the harsh truth bomb, but it’s true. And i hope it helps you set yourself up for bigger and brighter things to come!