TEDx Application Journey: Fear of Failure

I’m Appling To Give A TEDx Talk

Do you have moments, days, weeks, or months when fear, self-doubt, and self-loathing creep in?   I think it happens to the best of us.  Just because my career is in coaching doesn’t mean I’m immune to those muddy, mucky, murky feelings.  A gentle reminder that our feelings are never wrong and if we don’t acknowledge and honor them they do more damage in the shadow than they do in the light. 

As I try to grow a bootstrapped business so much self-critical talk comes in and up. Especially as I’m putting myself out publicly and sharing the journey of trying to land a TEDx talk.  Each new application I have to justify how I’m an expert on this topic.   Just the process of applying brings up feelings of unworthiness, insecurity, worry about my spelling and grammar.  Fear that I won’t be good enough, fear that my topic isn’t meaty enough that it’s too motivational for the TEDx stage.  

But this is exactly what I’m talking about when I say if we let failure and fear of failure win, if we don’t treat our failures as a sacred rite, then we will stay put in that place of inaction.  We will stay put frozen in fear instead of moving through.  I’m walking a tight rope right now between what I want and fear of trying and not getting it.  Because if I don’t move through this emotional storm the world doesn’t get to experience my gifts, and more importantly I don’t get to experience my gifts or find out what I’m capable of. 

When does doubt, self-loathing, or fear of failure creep in the most for you?  What strategy do you use to move through?