Make the Brave Choice

Recently, we’ve talked about using advertising to generate emotional responses in customers. We’ve talked about being mindful of the emotional state of your colleagues. But what about your emotions, and how do they relate to getting to the best creative work?

Rather than do another list of emotions along the spectrum, today I want to focus on one particular emotion: fear.

Fear exists for a very good reason. Fear warns us of danger, and as a result, we adapt our behavior in order to avoid harm. It’s a basic survival mechanism. If we are sufficiently afraid to do something, we won’t do it and as a result, we will remain safe. The problem is that our survival instincts can sometimes be a little too honed, and keep us from taking chances that have a relatively small amount of risk to them. And that can mean trouble for pretty much any professional who works in a high stakes environment.

As a Creative, fear can distract you. It can keep you from making a bold choice. It can quiet you down at the times you most need to speak up. In short, fear can demolish your ability to succeed. If you are too afraid to take chances with your work, it won’t stand out. If you are too afraid to present, you won’t frame your ideas in the best possible light. If you are too afraid to fail, you’ll increase the chances that you will.

To be clear, I am not saying that you should be fearless. That’s not courage, that’s stupidity. Just recognize your fear for what it is, a survival instinct. Remind yourself of the context of the situation, that the fight or flight feeling you are having was built to keep you from messing with a bear, and then look around. Are there any bears? No? Okay, chances are you’re going to be okay. Let yourself feel the fear. And then make the brave choice.

Here are a few common fear scenarios that Creatives may experience, along with some brave choices you can make to help ease the way.

I’m afraid of not coming up with any good ideas.

Ah, the classic writer’s block dilemma. It afflicts more than writers. For me, it’s always at kickoff, when it’s most exciting. It’s no coincidence that it’s also the scariest time. That blank page/screen/canvas can be intimidating. What if you don’t come up with anything good?

Make the brave choice: You’ve entered nose-to-the-grindstone territory. As much as we always want the first ideas we come up with to sing, they likely will be obvious, derivative, or flat. That’s fine. Focus on volume. Focus on iteration. And eventually you’ll start to see the kernels of something great. Nurture the kernels. You’ll get there.

I’m afraid of presenting.

Fear of public speaking, also known as glossophobia, is one of the most common fears in the world. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a low stakes internal meeting, a huge network-level pitch, pitching a screenplay, or making a freaking wedding toast, fear of presenting can lock you up.

Make the brave choice: Like with any phobia, managing it through repeated exposure can be incredibly effective. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Take little nibbles. The more you get that exposure, the less intimidating it will become.

I’m afraid of presenting to that person.

That person is your boss. That person is way more powerful than you are. That person is an asshole. That person will decide if you win this business. Yeah, that person is scary.

Make the brave choice: Understand that person’s business objective in the meeting. You are here to help them achieve it. If you focus on goals instead of the power dynamics at play, you’ll be well positioned for success.

I’m afraid my ideas will fall flat in the room.

I mean, you and everybody else, pal. No one likes the sound of crickets, especially if someone else’s ideas have just earned rave reviews. Hell, crickets are worse than negative feedback in some ways, because it means your idea wasn’t even worth talking about.

Make the brave choice: First of all, you know they can’t all be winners, right? Stop expecting perfection from yourself. Every reaction (and non-reaction) to creative work is an opportunity to learn. Ask probing questions. Listen close. Those crickets might be coaches, too.

I’m afraid of tough feedback.

Yeah, words can sting. They didn’t like your work and that must mean you suck. You’ll never make it in this business. You’re a garbage human being with garbage sensibilities.

Make the brave choice: Start by taking a deep breath. Comments about work are not comments about your worth. This isn’t a referendum on you as a person, or even as a Creative. It’s perspective on your work in this moment. And like silence, you can learn from it.

I’m afraid of losing my job.

Everywhere you look on LinkedIn, it seems like there’s been another batch of layoffs. In this environment, the fickle finger of business could beckon you to HR at any moment. How are you supposed to be brilliant with that specter hanging over your shoulder?

Make the brave choice: Surrender yourself to the vicissitudes of business. Every day bureaucratic decisions are made based on the bloodless, almighty dollar. The best thing you can do for yourself happens to be the thing that’s most likely to keep you around. Focus on the work and doing the best job you can. Everything else is out of your control.

I’m afraid of failure, period.

And this makes you special how, exactly?

Make the brave choice: Remember, you have to reframe your notions of what failure really means. I always say fail louder—make bigger choices, take bigger risks. The only way to find out that the world doesn’t end when you fail is to, you know, fail.

I’m afraid of success.

Hubba-WHAT?!? This one certainly seems counterintuitive, and likely isn’t anything you’d articulate out loud. But it might affect you subconsciously. Why? Because succeeding means the expectations will be higher for you from now on. It means more attention. More scrutiny. More pressure.

Make the brave choice: Succeed, dammit! Learn to love the spotlight (or at least tolerate it). Embrace the higher expectations. As the bar rises, you’ll rise with it.

…

Throughout my career, there have been inflection points where my fear threatened to stunt my growth. Fear of taking on more responsibility. Fear of presenting to a roomful of network executives. Fear of sharing work that I knew would challenge my colleagues and my clients.

In each case, I overcame that fear enough to do the thing I was afraid of. I didn’t always succeed, but I always felt better that I had made the brave choice. Always, always make the brave choice. You won’t necessarily feel your comfort zone expand in the moment, but over time, you will look up from your work and look back on where you were, and you will realize that you're in a very, very different place.

I hope you’ve been enjoying my recent articles on the confluence of emotion and creativity. If so, do me a favor and drop a reaction or a comment. I’d love to hear from you!