6 Reasons Why I Was Scared To Start A Blog

Are you scared to start a blog? Are you worried of what other people will think of it? Are you too shy to put yourself out there? I felt exactly the same way before I started my blog, Those Positive Thoughts, but starting my blog was the best thing I’ve ever done!

In December 2016. My confidence was so low that I wanted to keep my blog anonymous. Which is actually the reason why I called my blog Those Positive Thoughts, instead of “Positively Laura”, which was one of my ideas. I had so much fear that I couldn’t even include my own name in my blog. Which sounds so silly now I look back!

Are you scared to start a blog?

I always knew I wasn’t the most confident girl, but blogging bought a lot of my insecurities to the surface, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. You see, if I hadn’t of started blogging then I never would have stepped out of my comfort zone. My insecurities would have remained unchallenged and I simply would have accepted fear as part of who I am, instead of pushing myself to become more and do more.

Two years ago when I first started blogging, I would have shut down the majority of the content which I currently create, out of pure fear and lack of confidence. I would never of created my own YouTube channel or sold my own products. I was even too scared to post photos of myself on my Instagram page… Oh how times have changed.

I noticed that with every small challenge I faced and conquered, my confidence increased and I was ready to face the next thing. It started with small challenges, such as telling my friends and family that I have a blog. I remember telling my boyfriend of three years about my blog and feeling super embarrassed and almost ashamed of the idea. I honestly don’t know why I felt this way, maybe it’s because I didn’t know anyone else who had a blog, but it’s more likely because I had zero confidence in myself.

Fear of: how to start a blog

I’m lucky enough to have a “techy” boyfriend who was happy to help set up and launch my blog, however this didn’t stop my fear. Fear managed to make its way into every single aspect of my blogging journey, including those areas which should be easy because I had help. But because I was being a total perfectionist I would find myself stressing out over the smallest things. I wanted to do things perfectly and how I saw others bloggers doing it, without just taking it one step at a time and learning throughout the process.

Fear of: introducing myself

I was scared to introduce myself, I was scared of being judged by others and therefore I didn’t show my face. All of the photos which I published on my blog were from the back of my head, until I eventually started using free stock images.

This was a similar story on my Instagram, I use to only post photos of pretty things, but never of myself! Then one day I decided to upload a photo of my face and introduce myself to my followers, the comments I received from others were heart warming, I suddenly realised that I wasn’t alone in feeling embarrassed to show myself to the world.

From that day I gradually started taking more photos of myself and replaced the stock images on my blog to photos of myself. I even had other bloggers message me saying that they are going through the exact same situation and they felt inspired that I had taken that step out of my comfort zone. It just goes to show that by overcoming your fear you’re not only helping yourself, but you’re also helping others.

Fear of: self promotion

At the start of my blogging journey, my level of self promotion consisted of sending an automated email to my handful of subscribers with a link to my new post. Eventually I started sharing the link on my social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But again, I would simply share one link and that’s it. I knew that if wanted more readers then I needed to self-promote more, but that was just too scary!

Fear of: no one reading my blog

Even though I was scared of people actually reading my blog and potentially judging me, I was also scared of no one reading my blog. It was a no win situation! After plucking up the courage to start a blog* and to share it with my friends, family and strangers online, it’s not nice to think that no-one would read my blog.

Fear of: attending events

The thought of attending an event alone still scares me, I imagine myself standing in the corner alone, friendless! But that of course never happens, I’ve been to about ten blogging events so far and at each one I have returned with new friends, more confidence, and usually a couple of freebies! I now dream about one day hosting my very own well being/personal growth blogging event, which of course scares the life out of me, but to even have those thoughts just goes to show how much my confidence has grown.

Fear of: imposter syndrome

The reason you why might be scared to start a blog is fear of imposter syndrome.  Thoughts such as, what skills do you have? What experience do you have? Who are you to give advice? When I first started blogging I felt like an imposter, a fraud! In fact, this feeling is a hard one to shift. Lack of confidence and self-doubt were overriding any belief and life experience which I had, making me feel like a failure before I even gave myself the chance to succeed. The way to overcome the feeling of imposter syndrome is to start recognising yourself and your abilities.

Overall, starting a blog is by far the best things I have ever done for my own personal development. It has turned me into a better person and if you are thinking about starting a blog, I would highly recommend doing it sooner rather than later! Because after you have started, you will be wishing you had started sooner! You can check out my ultimate guide here on how to start a blog.

Was you ever scared to start a blog? Comment below with how you overcome the fear!

Laura x