Vulnerability
In order to grow as humans, we must put ourselves in vulnerable positions. Positions in which we open ourselves up to ridicule, feedback and rejection. We must take our guard down. Otherwise, nobody will truly learn who we are, and we will make no progress personally or professionally.
Do you fear rejection? I sure do. It's something I struggle with each and every day. It's certainly had an impact on my day to day activities, but it's also made me who I am today.There are a ton of cliche's around to help people deal with this struggle. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." "From pain will come pleasure." "The only way you're gonna learn is to live it." These are just a few that come to mind. But do they really help you get over the hurdle? Do they help soothe the sting when you are rejected or ridiculed? Sometimes yes, but more often than not, no.The only way one will learn how to persevere through the pain is to, you guessed it, make oneself vulnerable. For me, it's one of my greatest struggles in life. Luckily I've realized this and can now take the necessary steps to deal with it and grow.I started a blog last summer, writing about the music business and related topics. I wrote a few solid posts and some even got some traction from people I respect. I should have kept the momentum going, kept writing, making contacts. But instead, I disappeared.I didn't want to open myself back up. Call it insecurity. For some reason, after I took some time off from blogging, I didn't feel as confident as I did before. I didn't want someone to read my blog and say, "Wow. This guy's an idiot. He's so wrong for all these reasons. ..." But you know what? I've learned that the chances of that ever happening are slim to none. And if it did, why not learn from the experience?So I decided to resurrect my Posterous account (which I had never used anyway) and my goal is to write a few posts each week. I don't care if nobody reads them. I'll get better as time goes on and I'll learn a ton from the experience.
Remember, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. (Thanks Wayne Gretzky.) You owe it to yourself to take the shot and see where it lands.
