Overcoming the Fear of Judgment
Hi friends, today I want to teach you the exact process you can go through in your business as you write your content and as you get visible so that you can show up without fear of judgment.
There is fear of judgment from people that are watching from your audience, but also your own judgment. Right? I have the honor of leading women through getting visible for the first time in their business through Visible Impact, a six week incubator where literally we're sitting together in session and writing content and practicing getting visible and doing all those brave, scary things like showing up on Instagram stories and doing Facebook lives. This is one area where I've seen several women get stuck.
So I want to address it today, I want to talk specifically on the process of how I teach writing content. I find that phase three of our business growth is where a lot of people get stuck, so I want to really teach you today how to show up, how to write, and how to get over that hurdle of when you look at the blank page, feeling like you’ve got nothing to say.
What I've seen for many women, they think they have nothing to say, but actually it's that fear of judgment coming up. Maybe you actually do know in your heart what to say, but as soon as you even start thinking it or start writing it, you feel like it's not good enough.
Let's dive in and talk about that.
When you sit down to write at your computer, by the way, by the time you sit down to write at your computer, you should already have your topic picked out-- we plan our content topics in advance. It doesn't mean you're writing all your content in advance, but you know what the heck you're going to talk about. You either know, hey, this is a teaching post. I'm going to give three tips on this specific topic, or I'm going to tell the story of this thing that happened on Saturday. Like you already know exactly what you're going to be talking about, at least for the starting point.
By this point you have all your distractions turned off in the process. You know exactly what you're going to talk about and you're going to sit and you're going to brain dump. I actually find that women don't get stuck in the brain dump process, but it's after the brain dump when they start to turn it into a cohesive social post, when they're just sitting to write a powerful post, or maybe it's your email. That's where I find that a lot of stuff comes up.
>> Again, usually it's that fear of judgment.
You start forming the sentences either in your head or maybe you even start writing them on the paper, but immediately it's like, that's not epic. That's not good enough. That's not clear. This is the point where we just need to give ourselves permission to write without judgment, our own judgment and the judgment of others.
Know that there is a later phase for polishing and editing our content and publishing our content. But in this little phase of just writing it, write it without judgment. The more that you can do this, the easier it will become. But I will say, even for me, that fear and that gremlin comes up making me think this isn’t really important. Everyone else is talking about that. Does the world need another take on that perspective?
I was telling one of my clients too, who is a yoga instructor, she was like, you know, Anna, you know, all the yoga instructors are teaching on this one thing. Is there really room for me to teach on this one post too? And here's the truth -- if you're a yoga instructor, you're following a lot of other yoga instructors, right? I only follow her really. I don't follow the other yoga instructors.
So remember that your potential client isn't likely immersed in all that your peers are, you may be the only voice that they're hearing and they need to hear about it from you. Even if they are following other people, I always say, people need to hear about it from the right person in that right moment of time. Just trust if something is on your heart, then you need to share it and that it’s good enough to do so.
>> But here's the thing, especially at the start of your business, clarity comes from action.
When you get visible, that's often what gives you confidence and clarity. We can't wait for perfect clarity and perfect confidence to get visible. I do believe that before you get visible, you do need to decide, okay, what's my end objective so that my visibility can have a focus. I call that your visibility focus, but then we need to release it and let go.
So many women that have been signing clients in Visible Impact this round have said a big part of it is not just the compelling content they are writing, but it's also that they are confident so that when they have a sales call they feel more confident and it’s easier to sign new clients
>> When you're showing up consistently online in your visibility, you're really owning and practicing your expertise.
You’ve recognized the content gremlins, but you share what you have to say anyway. You choose to step up as the leader you are and say, yes, I'm going to write this message on my heart. I'm going to write about this experience and I'm going to trust that the right women are going to see it at the exact right moment in time.
I hope this was helpful for you. Again, this is a reminder not to judge your content.
Just to put it out there as it comes into your mind, as it comes into your heart, get it out there on your piece of paper, get it out there on the dock and let yourself judge, polish and review it when it's that time to do so. But, when it's your time to just write and show up and pour from your heart, do it.
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PS: In the midst of this challenging time I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help? One of the #1 ways I support my clients is by helping them simplify their business so that they can increase the flow of money without creating extra work. In this season simplified visibility and sales is needed more than ever.
So if you’re craving personal support as you reposition your free and paid work, I’d love to help you simplify your sales process so that you can produce income in your business even during a challenging time. If you want support you can check out my services and book a free discovery call here, or you can send me a DM on Instagram.