Fear is Your Best Friend

Hi and welcome to 150+ new creatives to Overconsumed!

We are around 500 strong and literally just get going…

I am starting to get comments, feedback, requests, questions, and more.

It's exciting… but also a little bit SCARY…

Speaking of, many of you followed me from this post:

This is not only 100% true, it's TENFOLD for this newsletter.

Not only are there incredibly inspiring creative strangers from all over the world like you, my family now reads this thing! (Hi, Mom!)

And yet, it's because of this fear that this seems to be resonating, and even helping…

“Where your fear is, there is your task.” - Psychologist Carl Jung

What is that thing you are scared to start?

Is it a project? A difficult conversation? Right now, you know exactly what you are supposed to do. Not what you want to do, but what you need to do.

Since we are all creators, let’s think about it in terms of something we know: writing.

One of my favorite books recently is:

"The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness" by Ichiro Kashimi & Fumitake Koga.

The format is a two-person conversation between a pissed-off, rather angsty "Youth" and a "Philosopher" (based on the teachings of Alfred Adler).

Side note: this whole ‘courage to be happy’ movement had a moment on TikTok (as do most eastern philosophies)… but don't worry millennials, I got you.

In very short, the book and philosophy argue that we don't have any past or “trauma” that determines our future. Instead, we have 'present goals' where we shape our own narrative of the past to fit that. But usually, we choose safety, victim mentality, etc.

In very very short, in any moment, we can choose to be happy. But we don’t.

Because it’s the scariest choice.

From “The Courage to be Disliked:”

Philosopher: I have a young friend who dreams of becoming a novelist, but he never seems to be able to complete his work. According to him, his job keeps him too busy, and he can never find enough time to write novels, and that's why he can't complete work and enter it for writing awards. But is that the real reason? No! It's actually that he wants to leave the possibility of "I can do it if I try" open, by not committing to anything.

He doesn't want to expose his work to criticism, and he certainly doesn't want to face the reality that he might produce an inferior piece of writing and face rejection. He wants to live inside that realm of possibilities, where he can say that he could do it if he only had the time, or that he could write if he just had the proper environment, and that he really does have the talent for it. In another five or ten years, he will start using other excuses like "I'm not young anymore" or "I've got a family to think about now."

Youth: I can relate all too well to how he must feel.

Philosopher: He should just enter his writing for an award, and if he gets rejected, so be it. If he did, he might grow, or discover that he should pursue something different. Either way, he would be able to move on. That is what changing your current lifestyle is about. He won't get anywhere by not submitting anything.

Youth: But maybe his dreams will be shattered.

Philosopher: Well, I wonder. Having simple tasks—things that should be done— while continually coming up with various reasons why one can't do them sounds like a hard way to live, doesn't it? So in the case of my friend who dreams of becoming a novelist, it is clearly the "I," or the "self," that is making life complicated and too difficult to live happily.

Youth: But… that's harsh. Your philosophy is too tough!

Philosopher: Indeed, it is strong medicine.

Elliot: I'll let you sit with that for a moment… I know I did…

OK, NOW… I PROMISED YOU POST MALONE:

About the same time I was starting this newsletter, and filled with my own fears, doubts, and bouts with imposter syndrome, I heard Post Malone say this about himself.

How many of us are sitting here right now, waiting to say, do, or write something that we absolutely know that we should?

The ironic part?

It could be the very thing could be what helps, saves, or inspires others…

What makes your hand tremble before you hit post? Post it.

What are you so scared to say? Say it.

What are you scared to create? Create it.

Have scary weekend!

-EKS