Imposter syndrome. Procrastination. Laziness. Things I've decided to leave behind.
I discovered recently that life is comfortable, and that's great, but comfort does not equal fulfillment. Comfort opens the door to doing more. It's a launching pad for the cycle to continue. The cycle is: create — impact — celebrate — relax — create — impact... and so on. I convinced myself that it was okay to stay in the "relax" stage. It's not. It sucks after a day or two.
The human being is designed to create and contribute. Our environment forces us to choose doubt, procrastination, laziness, and imposter syndrome. It's really all tied to fear.
What Are We Afraid Of?
Other humans? Other humans, who also fear other humans? Really?
My thought is that back in the day — like way, way back — we had real things to fear: lions, tigers, and bears. Our minds were consumed with the real fear of whether we would survive the day. Our fear would drive us to hunt, fight, or hide when necessary.
Nowadays, our fear drives us to sit still, on our hands, to close our eyes and minds.
Today, hunting, fighting, and hiding looks like us in a cubicle, talking ourselves out of sending the email we really want to send to that coworker who crossed the line — saving our jobs so we can provide for those we care for.
Well, is that so bad?
It is. It is when it cripples our creativity and ability to make an impact, a contribution.
The Path to Fulfillment
Not making an impact, not contributing, and not having that moment to celebrate our significance leaves us feeling unfulfilled. This is not science. I can't even call it common sense since I'm making it up as I write, but it makes sense to me.
If you feel unfulfilled, go create something. Yes, you will feel afraid. It's who we've become as a society.
Let the fear you feel propel you to finding your fulfillment. Treat fear as a tool — one that says to be careful and pay attention — and not a thing that says, freeze, hands in the air, drop to the ground, don't move.
Either way, you'll be afraid, but one path leads to fulfillment, and the other, a prison.
You choose.