The Fear of Taking Action

So you have a ton of ideas just screaming to get out of your head, so you let them out and put them onto paper. Now that they are on paper they are yelling to get acted upon, but what ideas are good and what ideas are bad? What will happen if I actually act upon these ideas an I fail at making them work or they are bad? What if I succeed in making them work and they are good.

I know there are more people than me that are or have been stuck in this dilemma, stuck in this is an endless game of trying to decide whether to take a risk or stay safe. Getting over that fear of putting your ideas out there and taking in all of the constructive criticism to make them better and sorting through all the negativity from those who are jealous because they are not taking action can be tough, scary and uncomfortable. However, working through the tough, scary and uncomfortable moments are part of the process and help us mold out idea’s into better ideas just as much as the constructive criticism and negativity.

Just take the leap is what I keep telling myself as I keep inching closer and closer to the ledge. I am not sure what is holding me back. I want to work on my plans more, figure out the next couple of chess moves before I make the first, get everything written down and try to predict several outcomes so that I am prepared for whatever comes my way, play it safe. These are not bad moves but they can be debilitating and I may never get those ideas out there.

At the end of it all, know that there will be a leap of faith no matter how much you have prepared. If you have idea’s that you want to put out in the ethos that will hopefully change the trajectory of your life you have to put them out there. If you are scared, nervous and afraid to get things moving publicly then set a date, give yourself a goal date that you have to prepare for. Get all that work in that you think you need to do to feel comfortable and then execute! Go for it, fix it along the way. You will never be 100% ready and you will never know if your ideas are good or bad unless you try them out.

In the end, you will suffer from all the emotions that you knew you would but you will better for it. You will have made more connections and friendships because you put yourself and your ideas out there. You will have moved one step closer to your goal. You will have also met your haters and the people jealous of you and learned to not worry about them, take their comment with a grain of salt and learn from them as well. You may even inspire some of those folks and you may find them as part of your circle at the end of the day.

There is a great quote out there by Wayne Gretsky — “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

I have my massive action date set, do you?