4 Roadblocks That Are Keeping You From Taking Action As a Creator.

I’m an overthinker. Back when I started creating content online, I used to overthink every little decision I had to take.

What would people think if I told one of my vulnerable stories?

Would they like this post I wrote so well?

Do I actually have it in me to become a creator people would want to know about?

So many questions swirling in my mind automatically affected my writing output, my consistency and the joy of writing.

Today, I’m not a completely changed person. Sneaky tendrils of self-doubt still grasp my mind while publishing something into which I put my heart and soul.

But today, I have a certain bias for action. I know that when I’ll take action, those self-doubts and anxiety will vanish one at a time. These negative thoughts are just the precursors of your first step towards your dream.

As a newbie creator, this negativity soars like anything. You don’t have the experience, and everyone ahead of you seems to do well because they are constantly putting out their success stories.

Here’s the thing- Everyone started from zero and everyone has a different journey. Be kind to yourself. Focus on action.

From what I’ve deciphered after talking to many writers, the following are the most important roadblocks that are stopping you from taking enough action.

I hope my tips will help you tackle those.

1. Imposter Syndrome

The first year I started posting online, I spent endless hours assessing what I was doing. What topic to write an article on, and what to post on LinkedIn. I often wondered why someone else will spend their precious time reading my stuff.

Let me tell you, it’s true.

No one spends time reading your stuff when you’re new. You’re writing in a void. I’ve written only 35 articles on Medium and I get almost no views on most of them. But I know I’ll see the results if I go on doing it for long enough.

The lack of attention on your posts is not because you’re not worthy of it, but because as a newbie you’ve not written enough to warrant their attention.

So many of us mistake the lack of traction on our posts as our incapability to be a writer or a creator. And that’s why, so many of us start and a handful of us continue even when there are no results to motivate you.

The real reason for the lack of traction is not your incompetence but the lack of experience. And the only way to get past this is to take action.

Believe in your heart that you have what it takes to be a creator. Believe you’re going to be successful at whatever you choose to do and work towards it.

Self-belief is the one propeller of your success, no matter the initial results.

2.?Social Judgements

‘What will people say?’

It’s silly how we live most of our lives caring about this one question a lot more than we care about our dreams and desires.

And when you’re an online creator you invite others to comment on how you think, how you write and how you live.

When you put your opinions and life events out there, you can’t control how people will react to them. It’s the cost of being a creator that you agree to pay the moment to publish your first word.

But you can control how this public scrutiny affects your life.

Here’s the thing- People forget online stuff easily. Most of us are so busy constantly scrolling for better content, that we simply don’t have time to judge every other writer.

I was so nervous when I announced on LinkedIn about starting a newsletter, that I couldn’t sleep at all the night before.

I was so worried about whether people will deem me worthy enough to subscribe to my newsletter or not.

Fortunately, I did take the step and today the newsletter is on its way to having its first 100 subscribers. The feeling is surreal.

Think about it. Would I be experiencing this today if I’d backed down due to my fear of social judgement? Never in the real world.

Think about the number of dreams we killed unknowingly just because this fear won every time we tried to take action. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure the list is long enough to realize that this fear is only in our heads.

In reality, people don’t have time to judge us. They are busy with their own struggles. Then why are you spoiling your dreams because of them?

It’s unfair to your valuable dreams, your life and your future version.

3.?Being a people-pleaser

This is usually the second step when the fear of social judgement takes over.

To avoid conflicts and criticism online, you try to please every single person online. The ones you network with, the ones you engage on their posts with, and everyone else.

The point is, in all this hustle, you forget to be your own self, to have your own opinions.

And as a creator, your opinions are the one thing you’re going to be known for. They show your personality and add vulnerable elements to your writing.

But when you try to impress others, you lose your own unique voice and trust in the eyes of your audience.

Be loud enough about your unfiltered opinions such that you don’t hurt anyone. Be firm on your take on different topics. Be honest about the things you don’t know about. Show empathy. Be human.

Being opinionated doesn’t mean disregarding the counter-opinions, though. Your purpose is much bigger than entering into an online feud.

4.?Lack of vision.

It’s hard to take action when you don’t know where you’re headed to.

Interestingly, a lack of vision results from a lack of action.

Unless you test your potential, you’d never know what you’re capable of.

Unless you explore, you’d never know what really interests you and sets your soul on fire.

Unless you experiment, you’d never know what works best for you.

The more you act, the more you know your inclinations, your strengths, and your weaknesses.

And knowing yourself is the one superpower you need as a creator.

Get your skin in the real game. Try out different things, see what you’re interested in, look for different successful creators and learn about their journeys.

When you do this for long enough, you’ll know the exact path you want to take ahead. It’s like collecting pieces of the puzzle on the way to finally creating a complete picture.

Finally,

I hope you learn from my mistake of overthinking. The point is to reduce the time gap between having an idea and taking the first step towards it. Don’t overthink your decisions.

Don’t be a critic of your own work even before you publish it. Let the audience decide that.

Your duty is to just publish until your audience is left wanting more.

Enjoyed reading? Subscribe to Tanvee’s?newsletter, where I talk about writing, life lessons, and productivity, and get a weekly dose of fun in your inbox.