Note: I first wrote this post around 2013-2014. I initially thought about updating it, but I decided to leave it untouched to serve as a glimpse into the past. Enjoy.
For a long time, I was afraid to share my story.
Friends. Family. Random stranger on the internet.
What would they think?
Many struggle with sharing their story.
In fact, if you don’t have this fear, you may be in the minority.
Somehow we’re afraid of sharing who we truly are.
We’re afraid of being ourselves
We’re afraid of doing the only thing that we can, and must, do.
You see, you can’t be anyone else. Your purpose is to be fully yourself, and share what is uniquely yours to share.
Yet so many of us are afraid of doing exactly that.
We’re afraid of being rejected.
We’re afraid of doing the very thing that would ultimately bring us the most joy.
The truth?
If you want to live a fulfilling life, you have to be willing to walk your own path.
If you want to get paid to do what you love, you have to stand out, and you have to let your own unique strengths shine.
People want to connect with you.
They want to hear your worldview, your opinions, and above all, your truth.
It’s not easy. The fear may never leave. The problem isn’t the fear, it’s how you relate to the fear.
The more you listen to that fearful voice inside your head, the more you sink into obscurity, and the farther away your dreams drift.
But you have a choice
You can give into your fears and doubts. You can take your thinking seriously. It’ll lead you to a life where the walls keep closing in on you.
Or, you can realize that your fears are thoughts that you give importance to.
Now, it may not be as easy as just seeing that your thoughts are thoughts, although it can be. You’ve developed a habit of taking your mind seriously.
You’ve grown accustomed to the what if mindset. It may take time to break.
Or it may not.
It starts with seeing through the illusion that you’ve innocently created for yourself.
How the illusion works
You feel inspired to share your story, but uh oh, a thought pops up, “What will people think? Who do you think you are?”
And you respond to it. You believe these thoughts have validity and power.
You defend yourself without realizing that you’re arguing with yourself.
What’s the solution?
The solution is to not react, to let the thought drift by, like a fallen leaf riding a stream off into the distance.
Thoughts don’t hold power. They can’t command your attention. If you watch them and let them pass, they float away.
At first, they’ll call their friends and family. But as you let them pass, they’ll dissolve into imaginary dust.
Whenever doubts come up in my mind, I still feel them, but I don’t take them seriously.
Remember, you feel your thinking, so just because you think you don’t have something to say doesn’t make it so. It just means that you’re entertaining that thought right now.
The bottom line
If you feel drawn to share your story, then share it.
It may seem mundane to you, but it’s not.
People need to hear your story in order to trust you and get to know you.
Your life, and business, is built around you and your story. People want to get to know you.
The way you tell your story may not be great at first, but the more you share it, the more you learn what inspires people.
It all starts with challenging the illusory authority of your mind.
It starts with looking at your fears and saying, “So what? If the worst has to happen, then let it happen, but I will follow my heart.”
All the best,
Henri
P.S. Are you interested in sharing your story through a blog, or just want to learn how to write? Then I invite you to check out my book (link to Amazon via affiliate link).
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