Scared to be seen - My first post on Substack

I’ve been a silent hoverer on Substack for ages. Always umming and ahhing. Watching YouTube tutorials, scrolling ‘how to’ TikToks – anything to put off actually doing it.

And then I finally did. Plucked up the courage.

It makes sense why I wrote about being scared to be seen as my first post, as honestly, I was petrified. Still am at times.

Over there, anyone can find my work. Anyone can read it. But I’m doing it, I’m putting myself out there, currently to my 4 subscribers, one of them being my partner.

Writing on my blog feels different; it’s my own little corner of the internet. People are less likely to find me. But on Substack…

Anyway, here it is. My first post, I hope you enjoy it, and if you’re like me, and scared to put yourself out there, just do it. You will regret not doing it more.

If you’re on Substack and would like to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do so by clicking here. Drop yours below in the comments, so I can go and have a nosey at yours too.

Here it is…

It took weeks, or if I’m being honest, months, to open Google Docs and actually write this. There was always that voice in the back of my head that had one excuse or another. And the time was never right, or so my brain said.

And it always shows up when I want to do something outside my comfort zone, like publishing any type of writing. I would shrink and hide behind my busy life. Make up one excuse or another.

So writing this today feels like exposure therapy. And if you resonate with this, there’s actually a psychological term for it: the fear of being seen.

So yeah, as I sit here tippy tipping away – my heart is thundering, my palms are sweating, and my brain is trying to pull me from the flow state. To remind me how scary it is for you to read this. Or even worse, my family or friends.

What if they hate it? What if they think I’m rubbish at writing? Oh my god – what if I’m not good enough?

But Miss Brain, I’m aware you’re scared to be seen, and you’re trying to protect me, and that’s ok. But I’m safe now – I can write away. I can show up and do what I love; I’m safe to do so.

If you got this far, you know what I’m talking about – don’t you? But please, don’t let the fear overtake you. Because if you’re like me, you’re also a:

Procrastinator
People pleaser
Perfectionist

The three P’s I like to call them. They are things we learnt in childhood. Or that’s what many therapists talk about online. These beliefs that show up today and try to stop us from chasing our dreams, sparking our lights and being free to be bold and know our worth.

So if you’re like me and you’re scared to be seen, do it anyway. Show up messy. Be brave. And I promise, the more we do, the more we will reprogramme our brains and let it know we’re safe to show up in the world.

I am going to post this, just as it is, with a promise to do it again soon.

If you haven’t posted yours yet, take this as your sign to get it done. It will always be worth it; I promise. And remember, it won’t feel uncomfortable forever. The more we do it, the more exposed we will be. But we will also be training our nervous systems; it’s ok to be seen, to write, to show up in the world.

We can do it, one step at a time.

If you’re interested in healing, self-development, and learning how to show up fully, subscribe. I’m (hopefully) just getting started.