Three years ago, I got the opportunity to write an opinion piece for a really big platform. It was a website that I visited religiously and where the readers pulled no punches in the comment section.
I considered the website, and still do, as one of the best in the blogosphere. So even being asked to be a part of it was a great thing.
And I truly felt honoured. So much so that I took myself out for a treat that evening.
You would think that I grabbed the opportunity and wrote the best damn piece I have ever written in my life. But you would be very wrong.
I went into what I call my ‘think tank’ mode and conjured up all the reasons why doing it would be bad for me.
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The thought of readers tearing apart my writing, the one thing I truly liked to do, was too much for me.
That they would think that I sucked at it shook me.
And that is how, dear people, I talked myself out of what might have been a great opportunity. And I have regretted that misstep ever since.
Fast forward to now, I have learnt a few things. That our brains are wired to aid survival. And anything that threatens that is viewed as an enemy.
Anything that takes you out of your comfort zone will be promptly rejected. And that is how you end up in the very same place you have been for decades.
It is why you have stuck in a job you hate for years, never started that business you always wanted and most likely, why you lead a mediocre life.
You will end up regretting it. I know that for sure. So how about you just do it?
It is said that success is the sum of repeated small actions. It is in applying for those jobs unrelentingly, it is in taking the small simple steps towards getting the business working and basically staring that fear in the face and telling it to go hang. What is the worst that could happen anyway?
If death or traumatising children isn’t one of the answers, go for it. Do that, and you won’t end up being served on anyone’s plate.
