Bloggers routinely tell me blogging is hard.
Some say blogging is the hardest thing they ever did.
Really?
The hardest thing I ever did was bench press 350 pounds. Physically, the feat felt just about impossible to me during my weight lifting days some 20 years ago. Today, benching 350 would be impossibly hard because I stopped bodybuilding a decade ago.
Blogging is simple but highly uncomfortable sometimes, like any business venture.
Make this clear distinction: know the difference between “hard” and “highly uncomfortable”. Successful people understand how facing deep fears in highly uncomfortable situations is different than engaging in a physically overwhelming, incredibly hard, task.
Most Never Make the Distinction
Most people inaccurately state chasing their dreams is hard and give up on reaching their goals. Never make this common mistake. Attempting a nearly physically impossible feat is clearly different than buying your domain and hosting, tapping keys, writing words and publishing blog posts.
Blogging is physically easy but sometimes highly uncomfortable. Every blogger needs to face deep fears aligned with being criticized, failing and wasting their time. Facing these fears feels absolutely terrible sometimes but the emotions pass in moments. But feeling embarrassed for 10 seconds is nothing like trying to bench press 500 pounds. Feeling mental discomfort is nothing like trying to run a 26 mile marathon without proper training.
Unless you engage in some physically demanding venture, temporary mental discomfort is the most challenging aspect of working, which is not so bad. Facing genuinely hard, nearly physically impossible tasks is rare indeed for most human beings.
Feel Fear and Keep Moving Forward
Never build a hard mountain out of a scary molehill. Simply feel fears, embrace discomfort and keep moving forward. Feeling genuine discomfort lasts for a few moments in most cases. Be with these unpleasant energies. Feel the emotions. Allow your fears to pass.
Return to executing simple, effective, tasks to reach your goals. Fear is your only true enemy in most cases. Facing and feeling deep fears is not hard like trying to run an ultra marathon without training. Attempting to run two marathons feels so hard that it becomes a nearly impossible, outright dangerous, venture. But writing words in your WordPress backoffice is not nearly impossible, nor is it an outright dangerous venture. Writing and publishing posts feels mentally challenging in moments. Facing writer's block, the fear of failure and the fear of criticism feels uncomfortable.
Feel the discomfort. Proceed. Carry on.
While the rest of the blogging world complains about how hard it is to succeed, delaying and quitting, you seamlessly face, feel and release fears, coasting from success to success.
Fear Is Just Fear
Know the difference between truly hard, physically overwhelming, tasks and simply uncomfortable actions. Stop imagining your fears as being genuinely hard, difficult, physically overpowering activities. Be with discomfort. Feel fear. Carry on.
Fear is just fear. Fear is a collection of tiny energy waves dancing to and fro in your mind. Does it sound physically impossible to face, feel and release squiggly little, itty bitty energy waves in your mind?
I didn't think so.