Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway: A Lesson from My Digital Marketing Journey

As a digital marketer, I’ve encountered challenges that went beyond mastering a new tool or skill — they were about overcoming fear. Fear is a powerful force that can hold us back from reaching our full potential. It creates a gap in our minds, making us believe that certain tasks are impossible or too difficult to even attempt. This mental block can be more challenging to overcome than the actual skill itself.

Fear has a way of controlling our emotions and limiting our growth. The renowned psychologist Carl Jung once said, “What you resist, persists.” This means that the more we avoid something out of fear, the stronger and more daunting it becomes in our minds. Fear feeds on avoidance, growing into an obstacle that seems insurmountable, even when it’s just a small hurdle.

In my early career, one of the areas where fear manifested for me was in learning how to create and develop a Shopify store. The platform seemed complex and overwhelming, and the idea of diving into it filled me with anxiety. I avoided it, telling myself that it was too difficult. But in reality, it was the fear itself that was difficult to overcome, not the task at hand.

Psychologist Susan Jeffers, in her book “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway,” explains that fear is often based on the unknown and the anticipation of failure. This was exactly what I experienced. The unknown aspects of Shopify — like setting up Google Analytics or integrating Facebook Ads — seemed like insurmountable challenges. I feared that I might make mistakes or fail, so I hesitated to even try.

However, as Jeffers suggests, the key to overcoming fear is action. When I finally decided to face my fear, I found that the tasks I had been avoiding weren’t as difficult as I had imagined. For example, setting up Google Analytics with Shopify initially seemed like a technical nightmare. The fear of not getting accurate data or messing up the tracking code was paralyzing. But when I took the plunge, followed the instructions, and implemented the integration, I realized that the fear had been blown out of proportion in my mind.

Another example was setting up Facebook Ads with Shopify. The idea of managing ad campaigns, syncing products, and tracking conversions felt daunting. The fear of wasting money on ineffective ads made me hesitant to even start. But once I took the time to learn, practice, and experiment, I discovered that the process wasn’t nearly as complex as I had feared. In fact, it became a powerful tool for driving traffic and sales.

These experiences taught me that fear is often just a barrier we build in our minds, based on the anticipation of failure or the unknown. As Carl Jung noted, the things we avoid tend to grow in our minds, becoming bigger and more intimidating than they really are. By taking action — by facing these fears head-on — we can break down those barriers and realize our full potential.

This lesson isn’t just applicable to digital marketing. Whether you’re in sales, HR, engineering, or any other field, fear can hold you back if you let it. But it doesn’t have to. By understanding how fear works and taking steps to confront it, you can turn your perceived obstacles into opportunities for growth.

Don’t let fear define your future or limit your talent. Remember, the skills that seem impossible now are just waiting for you to take that first step. The challenges you face are often smaller than they appear, and overcoming them will make you stronger and more confident in your abilities.

So, the next time fear tries to control your emotions and stop you from growing, remind yourself of this: Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

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