To fear or not to fear? That is the question...

What are you afraid of?

So, my best friend's brother died this past Sunday morning at 8am.  He was in a freak accident on Friday while doing something he loved - climbing trees and trimming them.  He was harnessed to a tree when the limb he was reaching for broke and pinned him, crushing his internal organs.

This was Joni's worst fear - that his occupation would kill him and it did.  He was her everything and now he was gone.  We will bury him this Friday and I doubt Joni will ever look at trees the same.  But will she still feel fear?  I can't ask her but I wonder.

This got me thinking about fear and how people handle it.  I decided to interview people close to me about their fears; both those who I considered to be creative and those that I didn't.  There was a common theme - that fear of what others thought was on their minds during their creative process.

Creatively, the following people defined fear as:

"Fear is just another form of energy - physical, mental and spiritual.  So, when you stop thinking of fear as something unique and start seeing it as what it is is - another form of energy - you can begin to appreciate and harness it."  Jessica, comedienne.

"Fear is the unknown, a feeling of impending danger or it can stem from my lack of confidence in myself." Danielle, dancer.

"Being terrified that I won't able to come up with something interesting or unique.  There is a pause or freeze at a beginning of a project when you are asked to create from scratch.  You have to create something new from nothing."  Megan, designer. 

It's okay...just hang with me, no judgment.

I also wanted to know if fear stopped them from being creative.  This is what others said:

"Yes. 100% yes."  Emily, sales.

"No.  The best creative opportunities can happen when you challenge yourself to think differently, to take changes, and be willing to actually fail.  The only way to enhance and extend your creativity is to continually grow, work hard and believe in yourself."  Jane, marketing.

"On the contrary, fear motivates me to dig deeper and try harder."  Neal, creative director.

Just be yourself and have fun!

I liked what I was hearing from those I interviewed and wanted to hear more about what people were fearful of when creating.  This is what some others had to say:

"I'm afraid people I respect will find me stupid, uncreative, boring, not funny...the usual fears anyone has who cares that what she/he creates is valued, appreciated and understood."  Kerri, writer.

"It's that feeling of failure or that people will hate what I create or that I've somehow missed the mark.  Therefore, I guess you could say that disappointment is one of my biggest fears." Danielle, dancer.

"Not saying something that others will find interesting.  Fear of being boring."
Jessica, comedienne.

While I was interviewing them, I shared with them the premise of this class.  I asked if they had any advice for me to overcome fear.  They said:

"Be confident that you can come up with more ideas than others can come up with reasons to kill them."  Neil, creative director.

"Don't let it stop you, channel it into the force that drives you to create and continue on.  And, don't take it personally." Megan, designer.

"Failure rarely feels good, but fear of failure can be a great motivator." Kerri, writer.

Reminds me of my parents!

The answers I was given tie very nicely into our class topic about fear of judgment and taking risks.  My biggest fear used to be about dying...now it's about not experiencing everything life has to offer. You never know what you can accomplish.  

Until next time -