Fear Is A Liar

Is it just me or did you read a lot about mindset in 2020? 

A powerful lesson I have known for years, but am diligently working to put into practice is:

Fear is a liar, but it's not an enemy. 

What are you actually afraid of? 

What is the worst thing that can happen?

What are the facts?

Growing up, I had limited experiences with skiing and snowboarding on the east coast: Three or more years in between each stint and always just a friend teaching me. In 2018, I strapped on skis out west (where the real snowy mountains are) and invested in lessons with the hopes of falling in love with the sport that comes second nature to my husband. Much to both of our dismays, the last run of the three-day trip left me with a torn ACL and if I’m being honest, never really feeling confident that I had gotten the hang of it. 

Fear sure seemed like a truth-teller to me! 

Now, here I am three years later with ski poles retired, but ready to face my next option: Snowboarding. Looking back, I always felt more confident on a board, but by no means have I mastered it in the four, maybe five times I have done it, again, on the east coast. 

I am determined to try though. I am deciding to focus on the things I do have:

• The gift of time (we’re out here for four weeks)

• My strength (thanks to #morelife with Orangetheory Fitness Downtown Greenville)

• My faith (you better believe I’m bringing it into the mix on this!)

• My determination

In my eight years of training professionals on how to use LinkedIn, a common theme that holds people back is fear. Instead of worrying about what you do not know, focus on the things you do know and the assets you do have:

• Your credibility and reputation

• Expertise and knowledge

• A network of people who want to help you

• Endless opportunities to give back and to win

Do you know what one of the best parts about LinkedIn is? The ability to pivot. When you change careers, you can update your profile. When you move to a new city, you can evolve your network. When you acquire new experiences over time, you can share what you learned with people.

We should see all of these opportunities as gifts, not things that keep us from taking action and showing up. 

I have a challenge you to take action on right now: 

Hop on the LinkedIn mobile app for 5 minutes and click around. 

Literally, click on things that do not look clickable.

When your timer is up, sign in to LinkedIn on your desktop for 5 minutes and click around.

Did you learn something new? My guess is that not only did you learn a new way to be efficient or stand out, but I can bet that you also did not break anything during that ten minutes of exploration. Am I right?

I always say that I am a “permission granter” because all too often I see people get paralyzed by overwhelm when they go into LinkedIn. Consider this message a little nudge of encouragement and permission to stumble at times. 

I hereby give you permission to:

• Not know it all in LinkedIn

• Update your profile to be a reflection of your professional self

• Build your network with the people who are most important to you in your career

• Share your knowledge in the form of a post or published article

Approach all the mobile and desktop versions of LinkedIn with curiosity and excitement about the possibilities. Let me know what you learn. Don’t let fear stop you.

Thank you Marie Forleo for this new take on the acronym for fear:

Face. Everything. And. Rise.

In practicing what I preach, admittedly, I will likely not become the fastest or the best snowboarder in town, but I might find out that I can conquer my fear. I might find out that I can do uncomfortable and hard things that scare me. I might even find out that snowboarding is not for me, but I’m never going to know unless I get started. Just the simple act of committing to try is giving me the opportunity to see what is possible. 

Whether it’s snowboarding or building your confidence in LinkedIn, my hope is that you will commit to trying whatever it is that is holding you back too.