Taking Action Over Uncertainty
Girl Meets Business recently wrote about overcoming fears. It’s not the afraid of spiders and snakes kind of fear, but the kind that holds you back from doing what you really want to do.
The kind of fear she wrote about was the kind you feel when you write a blog post. What if people think it’s stupid? Or, the kind of fear you get when you mail out a resume. What if they laugh because of my lack of experience?
Uncertainty is a feeling I have more than I would like. Even writing this blog post makes me feel uncertain. But, by taking action and overcoming that feeling, you can do more than you ever thought possible.
When I was applying for the Edelman Award, I started wondering what I was getting myself into. Was I even qualified enough? Were my portfolio pieces good enough? I’m a good writer, but am I that good? The cover letter was pretty tough to write too. How do you brag about yourself when you feel a little bit uncertain?
After talking to a few people, I realized I was letting fear take over. A lot of people have told me I have a great portfolio and good experience. I shut out that little voice in my head and sent in the application.
I didn’t get the award, but I did get a note from someone I know saying the group had been really impressed with my entry. Apparently, I was in the last group to be eliminated.
It’s a bittersweet feeling.
I’m disappointed because I was so close. But, it also feels good to know that they were impressed and took in a lot of consideration before eliminating me.
So push through those fears and uncertain moments because you never know who you’ll impress.


Learn it. Live it. Love it.
Hi Rachel, congratulations on not letting fear stand in your way! Soooo many people do this everyday and it simply leads to mediocrity. If there’s one thing I can tell from your blog it’s that you’re not headed for mediocrity. The fear will ALWAYS be there; the voice will ALWAYS be there, but every time you push past it, it’s a victory!
Angela, thanks for stopping by and commenting. It is hard to do sometimes but I want to be the best…and to do so, I have to keep pushing on.
Props to you for going ahead and applying for the award anyways. And the best part is that you learned and grew from the experience and can reflect on it. That’s awesome!
Thanks Nisha! I definitely did learn from the experience.
[...] So far, I’ve done pretty well “winning the lottery.” But, it really wasn’t luck. I’ve worked pretty hard to get where I am today. I know I wouldn’t have gotten any awards if I wouldn’t have had the guts to apply for them in the first place despite past failures. Sometimes, you need to take action over uncertainty. [...]