A Fear Takeover
“Fear is always triggered by creativity, because creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcome. This is nothing to be ashamed of. It is, however, something to be dealt with.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, Author
It’s time my friends. To face your fear head-on. It’s been holding you back for long enough and now is the time to let it speak openly. Once you let your fear have its voice, you can make the choice to ignore it. Face your fear and do it anyway.
Instructions
This creative mindfulness exercise is simple. Sit quietly with a pen and paper and allow your fear to write for 5 to 10 minutes.
Reflection & Inquiry
What was your initial reaction to this exercise?
Was it difficult or did you find it easy to allow your fear to take over for a few minutes?
What emotions and sensations were around for you as you wrote?
Do you feel able to let go of your fear now you’ve verbalised it?
What did you learn about yourself from this creative thinking exercise?
Background
I came across this idea from Adam West Brook’s newsletter ‘The Third Something: weekly reflections on visual storytelling and the creative process’. He allowed his own fear, a whole newsletter post to let Adam know what it was thinking:
Adam isn’t writing today’s letter. Instead I’m writing it. 👋 Hi, I’m Adam’s fear: the part of his brain that is terrified of everything. He’s given me a whole letter to myself and he told me I could write about anything I wanted.
What’s powerful about reading about someone else’s fear is how similar it is to our own. And that’s powerful because it normalises our thoughts. Adam writes on behalf of so many of us I suspect:
I’m afraid I’ll put my heart and soul into something and no one will notice it
I’m afraid it will all take too long and I’m already too old
I’m afraid of sabotaging everything do have
I’m afraid of asking for help and asking people for money
I’m afraid of being invisible and — at the same — of being truly seen
I’m afraid there’s nothing special about me — and if there is, I’m not brave enough to access it
I’m afraid I’m just not interesting enough
I’m afraid other people seem to just be able to create and get rich and popular and I will never figure it out
I’m afraid my stories are too weird — and, somehow, not weird enough
And right now I’m really afraid I’m going to die…
And this last sentence really got me!
I honestly don’t see any good that can come from writing and drawing stories. You have to be so talented to make a living from it and even then there’s a tiny chance of success. It’s just not worth it! There. I said it. Adam, are you listening?
The idea of allowing your fear to speak originally came from creative powerhouse Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love.
She wrote an open letter to her fear:
Dearest Fear:
Creativity and I are about to go on a road trip together. I understand you’ll be joining us, because you always do. I acknowledge that you believe you have an important job to do in my life, and that you take your job seriously.
Apparently your job is to induce complete panic whenever I’m about to do anything interesting—and, may I say, you are superb at your job. So by all means, keep doing your job, if you feel you must. But I will also be doing my job on this road trip, which is to work hard and stay focused. And Creativity will be doing its job, which is to remain stimulating and inspiring.
There’s plenty of room in this vehicle for all of us, so make yourself at home, but understand this: Creativity and I are the only ones who will be making any decisions along the way.
I recognize and respect that you are part of this family, and so I will never exclude you from our activities, but still—your suggestions will never be followed. You’re allowed to have a seat, and you’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote. You’re not allowed to touch the road maps; you’re not allowed to suggest detours; you’re not allowed to fiddle with the temperature. Dude, you’re not even allowed to touch the radio. But above all else, my dear old familiar friend, you are absolutely forbidden to drive.”
And Finally…
I would love to see pictures of your creations. Email your images and thoughts to info@georgiestclair.com or tag me @georgiestclair on Instagram
Have an inspired day!
Georgie x