In my previous article, “Where Has Fear Got You?” I shared the story behind the re-launch of this blog, The People Project. For 18 months my writing was focused on my new book, LEADERS CREATE SPACE. Like a correctional officer, fear held me captive for several months as I contemplated re-engaging with you in this space. Worth noting: When there’s a relationship gap, it’s easy to imagine the worst. In our Story, it was a fear of rejection. “What if you don’t want to receive my thoughts on personal development?”
What I didn’t tell you, involves the moment when it came time to hit “Publish.”
My blog was written, edited, and loaded onto WordPress and ready to send. The time came and went without publishing. My determined jailer deployed a “new” strategy: “Steve, you should research how to re-start a blog. There’s got to be a better way.” Yes, this is a true story! Like a big mouth bass, I took the bait and did what every professional procrastinator is trained to do; I Googled it. (Some 77,400,00 results in .41 seconds.) Yikes!
Fortunately, my “research” (procrastination) was about to pay off. Can you imagine the delight when Google affirmed my caution? The first result was a LinkedIn article, “The #1 Thing to Remember When You Restart Your Blog” by Jen McGahan. Whew!
Slipping into information overload is easy. The search cultivated more doubt and produced additional fear-based thoughts.
“You better wait another week.”
“You need to redesign or change the reformat.”
Everything except “Ship it.” “Publish it.” “Go for it.”
What’s the truth in the Story? All I needed was courage, and I could silence fear with action.
When stuck
To break-through fear’s intimidating bluff requires a combination of Time-n-Truth. Dynamite. You must create space to think; the disciplined use of time and place to reflect on truth in the Story. Time to think, to ask questions, to explore and identify what’s going on. And the pursuit of truth, what’s true… really? What are the facts? Create time to examine what you believe, what are you accepting as true?
To move forward requires freedom. Freedom comes from knowing the truth. To discover truth requires time to think, to cross-examine your beliefs.
To move forward, take the next step, get started, experiment.
A few suggestions to get moving
Tired of living in Stuckville? Are you ready to break out of jail? Consider these “next steps.” Which could get you moving forward?
- Go simple, identify the next step, a “baby step,” not a quantum leap
- Go audible, tap into a launch sequence: “3… 2… 1… Start!”
- Go experiment; it’s about exploration, not perfection
- Go public, invite someone into your Story for support, partnership, accountability
- Own it, take responsibility for your next step
Creating Space for reflection
Within twelve-minutes of publishing my “re-start” blog, I received this note from Cindy:
Thank you for “coming out of the boat” and resuming your blog! I’ve missed your insights. Being honest about the fear, that hits us all, is refreshing. — Cindy
Soon, other notes delivered much-appreciated affirmation and encouragement:
This is a well-written piece…who would possibly consider you a spammer? — John
Thank you for including me in your blog post! I loved it and shared it with someone whom I think needed to hear it! — Sarah
Thanks for starting the blog back up…I’ve been missing those weekly nuggets from you! — Mark
Victory is invigorating. As General George Patton urged, “Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”
What about your Story?
- Where do you need to move?
- How much scheduled time for the pursuit of truth (T-n-T) do you have?
- Of the five suggestions to get moving, which might work for you today?
Here’s to your moving forward this week,
Steve
Have you ordered your copy of my new book?
Click on image below to explore on Amazon…
