How to Overcome Your Anxiety Around Creating as an Introvert
1 truth and 2 mind shifts to make the change
I have been writing for the better part of a decade, but as an introvert, I still battle with the fear of putting my ideas out in the world.
I have written blog posts, articles, eBooks, web copy, and emails for others. And in this time, I noticed a pattern, when I am ghostwriting, I manage to put forth my best ideas and best writings on paper.
But writing for myself? That was another story.
As soon as I begin writing for myself, I felt anxious.
The perfectionist inside me, the one I have somewhat tamed over the years, would rear its head again. The result? Hundreds of drafts left unfinished.
Why? Because I only want to put something PERFECT out there.
But here’s a lesson I have learned. And it’s an important one.
There is no such thing as a perfect piece of content.
Here’s the opening of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by JK Rowling. An author whose books have sold 500 million copies worldwide.
If she had toiled over each sentence to make it perfect by this criteria, she would still be doing and re-doing the opening.
This key realization here is that your writing doesn’t and cannot be perfect. EVER.
But it can be good. It can be useful and informative. So, what exactly is the BIG idea here?
To overcome your anxiety about writing, you need a simple mindset shift.
Mindset shift no. 1
Facing your fear is the only way to overcome it.
An exposure therapy, if you will. Whatever the root cause of your fear is, it’s not going to go away on its own. Writing more and hitting publish is the only way to overcome it.
Mindset shift no. 2
Care less, create more.
Only you care about how perfect or imperfect your sentence structure is. Because at the end of the day if your writing is understandable, your sentences are short and succinct, and your ideas fabulous, then you don’t have to worry about that missing comma.
The lesson here.
- There isn’t going to be a perfect time or day for you to begin your writing journey.
- Today is as good a day as any, and it’s better than tomorrow.
- Open a doc and start writing. The clarity and ideas will come with time.