This is the week! This is the week I'm stocking my Etsy shop with beautiful hand spun yarn, luscious hand carded batts, some really cool drop spindles and hand painted fiber to spin with them. This is the week, but DON'T GO THERE YET because as of this moment the shop is empty.
The shop is empty because it is nerve wracking to put myself and my work out there. And even though I made a plan, I scheduled in the opening and worked hard to build up inventory and have fun doing it and almost completed my 2013 Business and Life Planner and crossed off a lot of things on my list and attended networking events and hired a graphic designer for my business cards...I am still dragging my feet and waiting for the fear to subside. Forgetting that the fear NEVER subsides. Forgetting that I've always lived by the motto, "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" Forgetting the fear of riding my bike alone across Europe; the fear of applying to PT school when the odds of getting accepted were so daunting; the fear of moving to Spain with little money, no job and not being able to speak Spanish; the fear of starting Lucky Dog Delivers and of shutting it down; the fear of teaching my first yoga class.
Sometimes I just have to pinch myself and remind myself how it feels to get to the other side of scary things. Like Tantalus finally getting a refreshing drink of water. But sometimes I have to remind myself to remind myself!
I went to a meeting recently where we shared ideas about local resources, and there was one person who dominated the entire conversation. You know the type. Other people politely waited their turn to speak, hands raised, while this person barged in randomly with their opinions and ideas, steamrolling over anyone else trying to share, as if their information was the only information. I got a sort of queasy, irritated feeling which I recognized as the same queasy, irritated feeling I get when my fearful self-talk gets out of hand and takes control of my inner dialog. I just don't always know, in the moment, why I'm queasy and irritated. Why is that voice of fear and negativity so much louder and insistent than the voice of courage and compassion and love? And how can we get it to stop talking?
So go! Do! Leap! The net will appear.
The shop is empty because it is nerve wracking to put myself and my work out there. And even though I made a plan, I scheduled in the opening and worked hard to build up inventory and have fun doing it and almost completed my 2013 Business and Life Planner and crossed off a lot of things on my list and attended networking events and hired a graphic designer for my business cards...I am still dragging my feet and waiting for the fear to subside. Forgetting that the fear NEVER subsides. Forgetting that I've always lived by the motto, "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" Forgetting the fear of riding my bike alone across Europe; the fear of applying to PT school when the odds of getting accepted were so daunting; the fear of moving to Spain with little money, no job and not being able to speak Spanish; the fear of starting Lucky Dog Delivers and of shutting it down; the fear of teaching my first yoga class.
Sometimes I just have to pinch myself and remind myself how it feels to get to the other side of scary things. Like Tantalus finally getting a refreshing drink of water. But sometimes I have to remind myself to remind myself!
I went to a meeting recently where we shared ideas about local resources, and there was one person who dominated the entire conversation. You know the type. Other people politely waited their turn to speak, hands raised, while this person barged in randomly with their opinions and ideas, steamrolling over anyone else trying to share, as if their information was the only information. I got a sort of queasy, irritated feeling which I recognized as the same queasy, irritated feeling I get when my fearful self-talk gets out of hand and takes control of my inner dialog. I just don't always know, in the moment, why I'm queasy and irritated. Why is that voice of fear and negativity so much louder and insistent than the voice of courage and compassion and love? And how can we get it to stop talking?
- Meditating to identify the various voices and to discover your inner truth.
- Surrounding yourself with positive people and avoiding naysayers (like the plague!).
- Never, ever, ever, EVER comparing yourself or your work to the work of others.
- Recognizing that you are a unique being and a gift to the planet, your particular combination of talents and skills and work will never again be repeated in the history of everything. It is your duty, really, to "feel the fear and do it anyway." How else will the world that you touch get to experience your gift to it?
So go! Do! Leap! The net will appear.
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