Tamara K. Anderson: How I Overcame my Fear to Podcasting
In this episode, Tamara K. Anderson shares how scared she really was to start podcasting and the tips and goals which helped her overcome this fear.
Tamara K. Anderson: How I Overcame My Fear to Podcasting
I am so excited to announce an epic change in the Stories of Hope in Hard Times podcast. Starting today, I will be launching an episode every week on Wednesday. This is helpful for you because now you get twice the content. Sometimes I will take an episode to tell additional stories and expound upon the previous episode (like I will do today). These episodes will be considerably shorter than our typical episodes.
Other times I might just launch a new episode every week.
Last week I interviewed Alan Gulledge and we talked about his bike crash and we talked about the fear that went along with setting new goals as Alan tried to build his body back. I wanted to kind of piggyback onto that story and tell you a story from my own life. And that story is actually the story of the launch of this podcast.
Overcoming Fears Launching This Podcast
In January of 2018 I decided I would spend that year learning all about podcasting and take all the steps necessary so that I could launch my podcast in January of 2019. I hit the ground running. I named my podcast (with your help), Stories of Hope in Hard Times. Then, I had my logo for my podcast professionally designed and people voted on it. And I even picked a format for my podcast.
I spent a lot of time, learning about podcasting, from professionals like John Lee Dumas. I even recorded my first podcasting episodes of May of 2018.
Stalling
And then in June I hit this dead stop when my kids got out of school. I made this conscious decision just stop and not do anything during the summer. Believe it or not I even stopped doing social media.
Come September, I got my kids back in school and I started just really reexamining where I was with my life and what my goals were. Then I remembered the podcasting goal and I realized I was scared to death to start and launch this podcast. It really freaked me out and that’s why I had stopped and had not made any progress.
Journaling
I really had to pause and think and write about it. In fact, I even drew a picture in my journal.
Here is what I wrote, “This is how I feel. My fear is real and it’s keeping me stuck on my path.” And so there I was–little me stuck on the path of this mountain that I wanted to climb. But there was this huge word in my way which said FEAR.
Where to Focus
And I learned that while I was looking at the fear, I couldn’t move forward. It was too scary. I’d had some experiences where I was picked on and bullied when I was a kid. And so I, I realized that I had to raise my sights a little bit higher and start thinking of my WHY: What are the benefits of the podcast? Who will this help? And set my sights on that. I realized that this podcast had the potential to help people who are struggling to help people who have lost their hope.
And as I focused on the benefit of doing the goal and not the fear itself (basically focusing on faith and I believed the outcome could be), then I was finally able to move forward again. I really had to detail a lot of this in my journal and figure it out.
Podcast Launch
I launched Stories of Hope in Hard Times in January of 2019 and it felt so good to accomplish that goal. But it also felt good to not have that fear incapacitate me anymore.
The Power of Fear and How to Overcome it
As imperfect people, we have goals that we set and get excited about and then all of a sudden we stop. And it’s often because there’s an underlying fear. So if you’re setting goals this year and you’re finding yourself at a stopping point, stop and examine that fear. Maybe you need to journal about it a little bit, like I did.
Joining an Accountability Group
And so it was at this time when I was struggling with this fear that I ended up joining an accountability group called AMP by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Ben is fantastic about motivating people and helping them move forward in new and powerful ways.
The Book That Helped Me
One of the first things which really helped me during my AMP group was when Ben recommended we read a book called, Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, by Susan Jeffers. This book was pivotal for me as I learned to face my fears. In this book Susan talks about the 5 Fear Truths.
The 5 Fear Truths
The fear will never go away as long as you continue to grow. When you think of anything you want to achieve in life, it often comes with fear. This is simply part of the process.
The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it. For example, I struggle with chronic migraines and they came out with a new medication that you administer to yourself in a shot form every 30 days. I have NEVER been a fan of shots. I really hate them. So, I about hyperventilated the first time I had to give myself this shot. It was so very scary. But after I gave myself the shot, I thought, “That wasn’t too bad.” It really wasn’t. And each month it has gotten easier (and my migraines have decreased by half–yay!)
The only way to feel better about yourself is to go out and do it. This is true. When we’re fearful of something, our self esteem is kind of fragile because we don’t feel confident. We don’t feel courageous. So if we accomplish little goals like cleaning out a drawer in our kitchen or decluttering our closet, these give you forward momentum. It will give you courage to do bigger and better things.
Not only are you afraid when facing the unknown, so is everyone else. This is true as well. You are not the only one who feels fear. You have survived 100% of the things you have faced so far. And the question you need to ask yourself is, “Do I want to be one of the people who lets fear stop me or do I want to be one of the people who conquers their fears?”
Pushing through the fear is less frightening than living with the bigger underlying fear that comes from the feeling of helplessness.
A Bible Story About Fear
There’s an awesome scripture story in the Bible that talks about fear. It is the story of the children of Israel in the Old Testament. They left Egypt and went through the Red Sea. They had all these amazing experiences where God helped them find water when there was no water.
The 10 Spies Fear Report
Well, the children of Israel finally arrive at the land of Canaan, which God has promised them. Then they send these spies to check out the land. Ten of the spies come back and they report in Numbers 13:27-28,
“We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great.”
Basically they say it’s a great place, but the cities are walled and we can’t conquer the people. And they gave the children of Israel a fear report.
The Faith Report
Then Joshua and Caleb gave a different report in Number 13:30,
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once. Let’s go do this and possess it for we are well able to overcome it.”
And so they had 10 spies saying no, and two saying, Let’s do this!
Decision Time: Nope, Don’t Do It!
And how do the children of Israel react? Well, in Numbers 14:1 it says, “The congregation wept all night.” In verse two they murmured wishing they had died and then they said they wanted to go back to Egypt.
Their reaction of extreme fear is easy for us to laugh about it. But at the same time, I was in the same place in my story. I totally stalled out. I didn’t want to launch my podcast.
Sometimes we set brave new goals to move forward and all of a sudden we are too scared to move forward. We may even go back to the way things were. But, you can’t go back.
Go Forward
Joshua and Caleb encourage the people in Numbers 14:7-9,
“The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”
So basically Joshua and Caleb were saying, don’t be scared. You can do this. Focus on the goal. Focus on the end result and let that pull you forward.
Maybe you need to write about the end result and visualize it like I did. Help it come to life in your mind. And then, pray for help.
Goal Setting
Last week, Alan talked about accountability and he said that in order to set a really good goal, we needed to have three things:
Set a specific, time bound goal.
Have a process written down or recorded in some way that you are going to follow. Basically you break your goal down into bite-sized achievable goals on a monthly, then weekly, then daily basis.
Have someone who you are accountable to. Be accountable to a friend or coach. But Alan reminded us that, “the greatest accountability we have is to God.”
I think we need to involve God in our goals as we set them each new year. Set those goals with God. Have Him help you be accountable because He’s the one who can give life to your goal and help you achieve it.
Invitation: Set new goals with faith.
Motivational Bible Verse
Right before the children of Israel go into the promised land (after they have wandered for 40 years). In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses gives the children of Israel these final powerful, amazing words.
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
My takeaway from this verse is: Don’t be afraid. God is on your side. He wants you to become your best self. You will become your best self as you set goals and set up a accountability with friends.
Accountability Tips
When I was able to joined AMP, one of the amazing things they reinforced was how important it was to be accountable each day, each week and each month. My amazing accountability group helped me reach my goals. I would tell them my goals as I started each new week and then I’d have to account to them at the end of the week.
And you better believe there were Saturday nights where I was scrambling because I knew I had to give an accounting to them. And so that idea of having an accountability partner or group is powerful. It is so much easier to get a goal done when you’re not by yourself or when you have people who will ask you come Monday, “Tamara, did you achieve that goal?” And so I worked really hard so that I could say yes because I wanted to tell them that I did it.
So, accountability is one of the key key ingredients to goal setting. Many people don’t do this part and that is another reason why they fail. So be sure that you do all three parts when you set a goal.
Accountability Resources
Some great resources out there to help you with reporting to an accountability partner.
You can report via email–everyone has email.
There is a video call app called Zoom which is phenomenal to use as well.
You can report via an app called Marco Polo. On this app we just record ourselves videoing our report for the week. And it’s fantastic because you can report or listen when you have time.
In one of my groups we report weekly through Marco Polo and do a monthly Zoom call. So, find what accountability resources work for you.
Final Encouragement
You can do it. And I believe in you. You can set brave new goals that stretch you, that, that maybe you’re scared of, but you can do anything with God on your side. And I totally am a firm believer of that. I’ve seen it in my own life and I wish you the best this coming year of 2020.