How to conquer fear in writing

So I like to listen to these podcasts by Audio Dharma. It's a retreat center in northern California and the talks are very uplifting and hippie-dippie. So today I listened to a talk all about thinking of events as comfortable, neutral or uncomfortable. So instead of turning a bad event into a bad event, maybe it's just something that's uncomfortable. Get it?

So it got me to thinking that when we as writers put ourselves into some event or moment that is going to make us grow as a writer, it can cause a moment of panic. Many tend to just give up, or put road blocks in our way, and just plain cop-out. But what if, instead of thinking we can't overcome these fears, we just noticed it was another moment of being uncomfortable. I mean, pitching to a high-powered producer is hardly dangerous. At least not usually! LOL So if we were to just acknowledge that yes, we are feeling stressed over a big moment in our lives, but it's just uncomfortable, then I think it would lessen the fear. And if we could lessen the fear then we could actually accomplish what we are trying to accomplish in our writing careers and move towards success.

I have mentioned before that I have seen numerous writer friends tell themselves lies why they can't be involved in a project or why they can't do a rewrite or why they are not right for a certain pitch project or development. And it just baffles me over and over how these talented writers can let fear get in the way of their success.

But now I get it. Now I see, we let this uncomfortable moment stop us in our tracks because we are labeling it as painful, as bad. And many would rather walk away then face their fear. But if we know it's just uncomfortable, we know that something that is uncomfortable will mostly soon become neutral or even comfortable once that event is over. And that my friends, is how we can face our fears and prepare for the next big writing moment in our careers. You put several of those moments together, over and over, and you've reached the success you've been dreaming of.