Lessons from Childhood
[by Judy Herrmann]
My daughter, Julia, judges books by their covers. At 2 ½ she walks through the library and says “I want the baby blue one” or “That one, with the dog.”
She recently checked out a story called Franklin Goes To the Hospital in which a young turtle with a cracked shell is afraid the x-ray will show how scared he is on the inside. Dr. Bear assures him that bravery isn’t about fearlessness, but rather “doing what you have to do, no matter how scared you feel.”
As children we all heard variations on this theme in countless books, stories and movies. As adults, though, fear often paralyses us – stopping us from being able to clearly see what we have to do, let alone actually doing it.
Producing creative work that comes from deep within you is scary. Putting that work out for the world to see and respond to is scary. Being self-employed is scary. Taking risks is scary. Adapting to change is scary. Doing none of those things, though, is even scarier.
My partner, Mike and I, are in the process of reinventing our visual style for the 5th time in 20 years. I don’t mind telling you that I’m scared. Will anyone like it? Will they point and laugh? Are we tapping into something new and cool and wonderful or have we completely lost it?
So I’m taking Dr. Bear’s advice and doing what I have to do even thought it’s scary. And, you know what? Now that I’ve made that commitment, there’s a growing bubble of excitement and exhilaration that’s slowly but surely drowning out the doubts.
And in doing this process again, and again, and again, I’ve come to recognize that the one begets the other – you don’t get that excitement and exhilaration without pushing yourself through the fear. I’ve also grown to understand that it’s when we’re NOT scared that we’re in real trouble.
7 Responses to 'Lessons from Childhood'
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Thanks for posting. I think it’s very timely to the current economy and surviving through the good and the bad. When I made the transition to a full-time photographer I had the same concerns, but I have never looked back. Thank God for that!
Change, period, is scary. Good words. Thanks. We too, are beginning to feel the excitement as we re-invent! Looking forward to hearing you speak in Atlanta.
gary s. chapman
Wow Judy, this is really a beautiful post, how true.
You know leave it to Dr. Bear, to check me into getting my life together. I’m scared too. I’m scared because I know that with all the talent and personality I have inside of me, once it comes to a head… I wont know how to reap the rewards. With that being said, its VERY SCARY knowing that I could be stuck right where I am 6mo, 12mo, 3 years from now.
Thanks Dr. Bear.
BTW I love Franklin the Turtle he is fabulous!
Thanks for the post. I can feel my chest puffing out already. I think I cycle through fear stricken times and this is a good push to recognize my current fears.
Wow, thank you all for being so supportive of this post. I was a little nervous about putting it out there – we’re always told that we should never admit to any weaknesses – but the outpouring of support here and on the ASMP Facebook Fan page has been incredible. You’ve all inspired me to keep it as real and as honest as I can. Thank you!
[...] Our Fears By Gail Mooney I read a post “Lessons from Childhood” by Judy Herrmann this week on ASMP’s Strictly Business Blog that really hit home. She was [...]