Happy Monday, Writers! I hope you had a great weekend! Did you check out the football game that happened during the middle of the Justin Timberlake concert?

Now that the big game and half-time show are over, it is time to get back to the real world. We’re starting the week off like we always do with Motivation Monday.

Today I want to talk about Fear and Fear Setting.

Most of us have plans and goals that far exceed our realities, and it can be a painful feeling to know that you’re selling yourself short. Despite this, many of us are too afraid or too unsure to take the necessary next steps to move on with our lives and achieve those goals. It never feels like the ‘right time’ (newsflash: it is never the right time), it never seems like the ‘responsible’ thing to do, and we always feel like we’re inviting failure.

In short, we are held back by fear. So, the question is: how can you overcome those fears?

The answer might just be something called ‘fear setting’.

The Concept of Fear Setting

The general idea behind fear setting is that you’re going to more clearly define what your fears are, and thus start coming up with more effective ways to overcome those fears.

For many of us, our fears are very much abstract and general, rather than being concrete and specific. But when you take the time to identify the true nature of those fears, they can often end up losing their power over you.

For example, let’s say that you want to write and publish a book. You might have the fears that:

• Your book will be bad and people will think less of you
• Your partner will think that you’re foolish for writing a book and they will judge you
• Your book won’t get accepted by a publishing house
• Your book won’t sell

These all seem like legitimate fears. But now you’re going to actually write those fears down, and thereby make yourself fully aware of what they are. Once you’ve done this, you can then start to go through them one by one and address how realistic each fear is, what you would do if it actually came true and how you could prevent it from happening.

For example:

• Your book will be bad and people will think less of you
  • Most people would in fact be much more likely to think more of you for having tried something exciting
  • Who cares what other people think? Write the damn book if you want to write a book.
• Your partner will think that you’re foolish for writing a book and they will judge you
  • Ask them
  • They will probably think what you’re doing is inspiring and they should support you and your dreams
• Your book won’t get accepted by a publishing house
  • There are thousands of publishing houses. If one rejects your book keep trying.
  • You can always self-publish
  • Even famous authors get turned down by publishers.
• Your book won’t sell
  • Your book sure won’t sell if you never write it.

 

Fear setting shows us that the only thing to fear, is fear itself!

Don’t let fear hold you back from writing and publishing your book (or whatever writing project you dream of). Ditch your fear and get motivated. It’s a new week and a new opportunity to write all the words. Get out there and do it!

What are your writing fears? What has been holding you back from following your writing dreams? Tell us in the comments.

Don’t forget to snag some sweet writing merchandise from the It’s a Writer’s Life for Me Shop.

And check on these books about overcoming your fear.

 

The Bravest You

 

 

 

 

Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

 

 

 

 

The Confidence Gap

 

 

 

Here’s a Ted Talk on the Topic of Fear Setting.

We will see you Wednesday for Write About It Wednesday.

Write On, Writers!