Summary

The article discusses how balancing the fear of missing out (FOMO) against the fear of failure can encourage content creators to publish their work.

Abstract

The article "If You’re Afraid to Publish, You Need to Cultivate an Imbalance of Fear" delves into the psychological struggle faced by content creators, highlighting two primary fears: the fear of missing out (FOMO) and the fear of failure. It suggests that progress in content creation is contingent upon an imbalance of these fears, where FOMO outweighs the fear of failure. The author explains that by lowering the risk of failure through strategies such as anonymity or detaching personal identity from the content, creators can mitigate their fears and publish more confidently. The article emphasizes that FOMO can be a powerful motivator when the potential rewards of creating and sharing content are perceived as high, thus encouraging creators to take action despite their fears.

Opinions

The author posits that an imbalance between FOMO and the fear of failure is necessary for creative progress, with FOMO driving action and fear of failure often leading to inaction.
Mitigating the fear of failure is presented as a practical solution for those struggling to publish, suggesting that creators can reduce this fear by controlling the consequences of potential criticism and public humiliation.
The article advocates for using a pseudonym or creating content that doesn't require personal vulnerability as methods to alleviate the fear of being judged or humiliated.
It is suggested that creators can cultivate a greater fear of missing out by considering the positive outcomes and opportunities they might miss by not publishing their work.
The author believes that taking incremental steps and starting with less intimidating content can help build confidence and ability, leading to more significant creative endeavors over time.
The article concludes that while it's impossible to eliminate fear entirely, harnessing FOMO and managing its influence can be a key strategy for content creators to overcome their hesitations and publish their work.

If You’re Afraid to Publish, You Need to Cultivate an Imbalance of Fear

When one fear dominates, you can create. When the other prevails, you can’t.

Nervous Woman photo created by cookie_studio — www.freepik.com

Everyone is afraid of something.

Whenever you produce or even think of producing content, you start grappling with two fundamental fears.

The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). — “What if I actually tried (harder)?”
The Fear of Failure. — “What if it sucks?”

FOMO forces you to act, and Fear of Failure prevents you from doing so. They are opposing forces; emotional conflicts that we can resolve with logical solutions. If you can’t rid yourself of your fears, an imbalance of fear is what you need to progress.

Here’s the relationship between the two: When FOMO > Fear of Failure, you publish. When FOMO < Fear of Failure, you don’t. When FOMO = Fear of Failure, you’re stuck.

Some people are naturally more driven by FOMO. But this imbalance can be cultivated. You can learn how to mitigate the risk of failure and use the motivational force of FOMO to your advantage.

Lowering the Risk of Failure

Typically when people struggle to publish, it’s because they’re afraid of failure. Everyone has their own definition of this loaded term. Where some may see a minor mistake, others see an irreversible catastrophe.

Fear of failure in the context of creating content includes but isn’t limited to the following:

Fear of criticism
Fear of public humiliation
Fear of being vulnerable

Those are just some of mine, I’ll let you fill in yours.

Some people just get over it and dive right in. But that doesn’t mean everyone can. So, here’s a more practical solution: lower the consequence of failure.

Let’s take the fears discussed above as examples and consider ways to reduce them:

Fear of criticism — If you don’t want friends and family to critique your work, then don’t share it with them. You could also disable any comments or limit interactions on your posts.

Fear of public humiliation (AKA dying a social death) — Many people publish their work under a pseudonym. You don’t have to attach your identity to everything you do. You can even hide behind a little character as I do.

You should do whatever it takes for you to feel comfortable that you have a safe space to experiment with your content. You can set up separate email and social media accounts for anything related. It often helps to have some detachment between your real-life and your digital one.

Fear of being vulnerable— Nobody is required to create personality-driven content. You don’t have to grow an audience by divulging uncomfortable details about yourself. It’s your choice whether you want to make yourself the focus. And you don’t have to be.

I remember listening to a podcast (I don’t remember which one) where a creator of viral food videos mentioned she is more comfortable filming food content than personal vlogs. When she decided to remove herself as the focus (and out of the video entirely), she felt more comfortable to scale. Even if people hate her videos, she never takes it personally and keeps moving forward.

So do what you can until you can do what you want

If you are riddled with fears and unable to face them right away, you can work around them. But you may have to lower the bar on what you consider “good” content.

If you struggle to get started, you might want to think about the following:

What is the least objectionable thing you can create within the constraints of your existing fears?
What would you do even if everyone knew you were doing it?

Go for the low-hanging fruit and pick up momentum from there. In the process of creating literally anything, you will gradually grow in both confidence and ability.

The Weird and Wonderful FOMO

FOMO is strange in that it motivates people to do things (even if it isn’t always the right thing). Other fears usually prevent action and encourage avoidance.

As a creator, FOMO is the fear that can propel you forward. This fear is fueled by opportunity and positive feedback loops. It constantly makes you evaluate whether your current actions are worthwhile compared to what’s potentially better. The more what you do works, the more compelled you are to keep doing it.

It can be a bit of a love/hate relationship.

The power of FOMO comes in building up hypothetical scenarios where the reward seems extraordinarily high, so high that you can’t resist diving in. You can’t help but wonder how different your life would be if you pursued more opportunities.

And that’s precisely the key to harvesting its power.

If achieving a higher level of reward involves taking more risks, then the idea is to eliminate what-if scenarios with progressively more attractive payoffs by taking action:

What if I tried (harder)? [Content could be way more entertaining, informative, etc. — Wider appeal]
What if I wasn’t scared to inject more of my own personality? [Content could be more interesting, relatable, or unique — Better branding and recognition]
What if I was bold enough to reach out to other creators for collaboration?[Creative support and greater reach through cross-promotion]

The funny thing about FOMO is that it can be its own undoing. It can motivate you to create but if you realize you aren’t missing out, the motivation evaporates. That’s why each increment of commitment should involve a big leap in potential reward.

FOMO isn’t supposed to be ignored. It’s supposed to be managed. It’s your job to make sure it works for you and not against you.

When you hit a creative wall, you may end up asking yourself this question:

Would my work be better if I faced one of the fears I avoided earlier?

But let’s not get lost in hypotheticals. Find out for yourself through the process of creating. Start eliminating those lower-level what-if scenarios today and work your way up.

Key Takeaways

To eradicate all fear is impossible and perhaps undesirable. Instead, you could seek fear imbalance to drive your progress as a creator.
When FOMO > Fear of Failure, you publish.
Mitigating the fear of failure allows you to produce content. You can reduce the fear of failure by controlling the consequences of it.
When you learn to take risks that have greater upside than downside, it’s easier to move forward.
FOMO thrives on opportunity and positive feedback loops. Use it to your advantage. At some point, the potential rewards for conquering your fear(s) of failure will be so great that you can’t risk holding back anymore.

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