Afraid to Create Something Beautiful?

As you've probably noticed, I haven't been updating my blog as much as I used to. It's not because I don't have any ideas. Far from it; I have a million ideas floating around in my head all the time! It's also not because I don't have enough time, because I could certainly make enough if I really wanted to.

The real reason why I don't blog as much as I used to is because I'm afraid.

I don't know if other creatives go through this, but blank pages intimidate me. They are so eager for me to do something with them that I tense up and want to do something else. And then I wonder why I don't get anything done!

Why am I afraid? Two reasons:


1. I'm afraid I'm going to write something really bad. Yes, Anne Lamott gave us all permission to write shitty first drafts, but I'm afraid I'm going to write something so shitty that I can't fix it.

2. I'm afraid of the vulnerability of the process. Since I tend to write very personal things, writing requires a lot of vulnerability and openness on my part. You would think that because I am so candid on my blog, opening up is easy for me. It's not. In fact, it's scary! Many times I find myself writing something painful that I don't want to face.

Of course once I hit the publish button, all of my readers respond, "Wow, Travis, thank you so much for sharing this!" But it's still scary and painful.

So I'm turning this over to you, dear reader: Do you ever find yourself afraid to create? What helps you get through your fear?