Tag Archive - Fear

Why Fear Is a Terrible Friend … and How to Crush It

Today’s guest post is by Nicki Howell.

“I’m scared.”

That’s what my four-year-old said, squeezing my hand tight as we cranked our heads upward at the towering waterslide. People screamed. Water slushed over the side. He wasn’t wrong … it was a little terrifying.

Fear was speaking to him.

“Don’t do it—it’s too dangerous,” it whispered.

Of course, that’s fear’s job. It wants to keep you safely tucked inside your comfort zone, far away from any risks or (gasp!) danger.

The problem is that fear is overambitious in its quest to keep you safe. And, at times, a little toxic too. Continue Reading…

How Writers Can Adopt a Success Mind-Set

Many writers I work with have completed a first draft of a manuscript. But they have never taken the next steps to get it edited, published, and marketed. They are standing in their own way.

You may or may not know what your roadblocks are. Maybe you don’t want to know. Yep, they’re ugly, massive, intimidating, even mean. But I’ll tell you a secret: they’re really made of tissue paper. If you have the proper sword—the success mind-set—you can slice through those obstacles no problem.

What’s the success mind-set? Glad you asked.

A success mind-set is all about believing positive possibilities for yourself. This is not blind optimism and does not mean you should believe that you can do everything. It involves having a reasonable attitude about yourself and your abilities. It’s about being nice to yourself and using positive self-talk.

There’s a fine balance that successful people develop between pushing themselves to achieve and accepting their limitations. It takes experience and discernment to determine how to set high but attainable expectations of yourself. Continue Reading…

How to Face Down Writer Fear

Fear is probably the #1 factor preventing writers from seeing success in their careers. I’ve had many writers tell me they’re afraid of failing, afraid of rejection, afraid of bad reviews, afraid people will laugh at them, afraid readers will hate their book, afraid people will judge them or tell them they are selfishly wasting their time writing when they could be doing something more productive or meaningful.

There are probably more reasons to be afraid than there are to keep writing.

Let’s face it. Every single writer has and will have negative responses from their writing. There will always be people that dislike, maybe even hate, your work. That’s life. The sooner you can accept and expect it, the easier it will be to knock over your fear.

One of the toughest and most important attitudes writers need to master is summed up in the famous words of Franklin Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Words have power. They evoke emotion—even boredom. While some will criticize you for what you write—or for just writing instead of doing something else—others will be inspired, uplifted, and entertained by your work, your themes, and your messages.

So long as you seriously study the craft of writing, apply what you learn and put in the hours of practice … so long as you are teachable and listen to constructive criticism and work to improve your weak areas … so long as you put in the dedication to write your best book, you will see a measure of success. You will get to that finish line of publishing the book of your dreams. Continue Reading…

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