Overcome Fear so You Can Create!
This week I began working on the goddess quilt book and immediately ran smack into FEAR. Learn how I identified my fears and began working on them (so they stopped working on me) in this podcast episode:
Listen to the podcast or download it to your computer using this player:
Jump ahead to time: 34:00 to listen to the podcast topic.
Quilting Behind the Scenes
I shared a post about modifying a treadle cabinet to fit a larger machine on Monday. I’m so pleased with the Singer 15 Clone I have in the cabinet now! I just need to find a new pitman and this treadle will be working great.
My rabbit hutch also got a lot of work this past weekend. Hopefully next weekend I’ll have time to attach the roof and start planning the interior.
There’s scrappy happy and then there’s this!
And we have a new Friendship Sampler Quilt block coming out on Monday along with the piecing video. This block has earned it’s name – Scrap Overload! It’s going to be a doozie!
If you’re enjoying the podcast and would like to become my BEST quilting friend, consider joining the Quilt Friends Club! This membership only club is filled with fantastic quilters and the best part is you can participate in our How Do I Quilt This?! video series. Click Here to learn more.
How to Overcome Fear – #1 Identify It
This week I spent a lot of time avoiding my writing time. This is unusual and it took me a few days to realize how terrified I was of getting started.
I opened a Word document and began writing whatever was in my head. This is stream of consciousness journaling and I love it. It’s my favorite way to get the thoughts in my head out and into a place I can see them and work on them.
This is the best practice for identifying my fears and not letting it stick me in place. I realized pretty quickly that I’d built up writing the goddess quilt book so much that it felt too big, too precious, and impossible to create.
The great thing is I have things like this podcast that force me to check in weekly on my progress. I can’t get away with getting stuck anymore
How to Overcome Fear – #2 Do the Work
The next step was to get out of my way and do the work. I’d been editing one story I’d written in the past over and over. This was not creative work. This was critical editing and it wasn’t any fun.
My friend Kati sent me a very timely Instagram post about writing and editing. Basically writing time is for WRITING, not editing at all!
I also had to deal with my lack of self motivation. I’ve put off writing this book for years. Because I’ve put it off for so long, it a feels so easy to continue kicking that can down the road.
But I can’t keep putting this off! I have to find the will and motivation to make this dream a reality.
Then I started thinking about Mally the Maker and writing book 2 in the series. I’m really excited about writing that because it feels quicker, easier, and there’s no fear involved. As soon as I realized this, I knew fear was the culprit that could easily kill the goddess book if I’m not careful.
I cannot let that happen. I have to do the work and get it done! That means setting deadlines, taking this seriously, and not letting Lazy Leah flake out.
How to Overcome Fear – #3 Understand How Insignificant This Is
The last thing that has helped a lot was taking the entire project down a notch. I cannot make this book if I keep putting the pressure on myself to make it perfect.
The word “insignificant” is really helping me take this down a notch and relax about this project. There are millions of books out there and my book will be a drop in the bucket.
Yes, I’m going to do the best job I can. Yes, I want to make it as close to perfect as possible. But ultimately it’s still a quilt book in a world with thousands of quilt books. It will be totally insignificant to most of the world and that’s okay!
That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t make it. That just means I should stop being so afraid of it. I need to do the best job I can, and release it to the world. That is my job and I’m off to do just that!
Let’s go quilt,
Leah Day
- #98 – Permission to Make What You MOST Need to Create
- #97 – Running the National Quilt Museum with Frank Bennett
- #96 – Creative Ways to Beat the Winter Blues
- #95 – From Fire Fighter to Fiber Artist with Brandy Maslowski
- #94 – Cleaning Up to Be Creative
- #93 – Fixing Quilting Mistakes with Beth Collins
- #92 – Rising to Unexpected Challenges
- #91 – Quilt Blogging in 2019 with Vicki Holloway
- #90 – Tracing a New Goddess Quilt
- #89 – My Word of the Year for 2019
Leah, I love your honesty about fear. Fear of failure overwhelms and paralyses me when trying new projects, which means I have a LOT of UFOs. Your writing has helped me see that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just finish it and move on. With practice I will get better. Thank you for being so real!
I’m so happy to hear this Debbie! Yes, fear can completely lock us in place, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Keep moving and don’t get stuck. That’s the most important thing!
This is a good topic we all must face our fears. One way I found helpful there are two ways to look at mistakes. The first is the experience was a learning curve, oops I don’t want to do that again. The other is if I keep making the same mistake over and over then it is a mistake. I prefer the first way, it was a learning experience and I don’t want to do that again. It seems to help over come the fear of trying. Try it you might like it.
I really like that idea Dorothy! Yes, so many things I’ve experienced were simply new experiences and not necessarily good or bad. Just I would have preferred that project to work quicker or I would have liked the technique to turn out differently. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Hi Leah, Sometimes I confuse fear as procrastination, I think it is easier for me to look at. Sounds sorta silly when I write it out but it is true. thanks for being so transparent.
You’re totally right Kellie! It’s easy to put something off when you’re afraid of it. The key is being aware of the fear so you can work through it rather than letting it win and stop you from making the things you want to create.
Hi, Leah! Your timing was perfect for me to hear your Fear podcast. I am making a fabric collage rendition of Renoir’s painting The Luncheon of The Boating Party. It’s a HUGE project and very detailed. I have GREAT fear about it, despite the fact that there is no one judging it, except me. I love your steps for overcoming fear and I’m going to use them with this project. Thank you SO much for your insights!
That sounds extremely detailed! I’m so happy to hear that this podcast has helped you work through your fear on it. It’s just for you, and it’s just fabric and thread, right? So what is there to be afraid of?