“I think you’re overthinking this.”

It’s something I’ve heard a lot in my life.

But this specific time was about three years ago, from my then-business coach Melisa.

It was my last session with her in our 3-month cycle, and I’d decided to spend a good chunk of it having her talk me off the ledge about, of all things, posting on LinkedIn.

For my entire first year solo, I hadn’t posted a single time.

I could say it was because I didn’t “need” to put myself out there — I’d been fortunate with a solid string of steady client work.

But the truth was, I was afraid.

Which turned into paranoia.

Which turned into avoidance.

Which turned into more fear.

And my self-imposed gag order grew stronger and stronger as the loop continued.

Strangely, I had no problem announcing my layoffs publicly on LinkedIn. It was almost en vogue at the time to break the news that you’d been off’d by your overlord, express gratitude, then ever-so-shamelessly ask for intros for your job search.

(Still not a terrible idea, by the way.)

But to formally proclaim that I had steered off the corporate track and was now working for myself seemed so so risky.

What if my work dries up tomorrow? Everyone will then see that I failed.

What if I have to go find a corporate job at some point? They’d see that I tried something and couldn’t hack it.

Mind you, this was after a year of paid client work.

I was so focused on “what if I fail?” that I couldn’t see that I, uh, wasn’t failing.

I also couldn’t see that anything I posted probably wouldn’t get much reach anyway.

And that those it did reach would react so positively.

And I definitely couldn’t see that the imaginary horde of boogeymen waiting to ridicule my career choices was actually just…me.

Melisa, with all the patience of a nurse talking someone down from a panic attack, simply had to bring me back.

“I think you’re overthinking this.”

And I most certainly was.

Her simple advice: No grand announcement needed. Just talk about the work.

And well, it worked.

I bring this up because I’m talking to more and more folks every day who are still in corporate.

Feeling itchy and peeking out the window to a self-deployed work model.

But paralyzed by fear of “what do I have to say?” or “who do I think I am?” or “what’s everyone going to think?”

These are self-doubts that will continue to follow you as long as you let them.

Even years into a solo practice, as I know all too well.

Or, you can just talk about your work. How you see it. Why you do it.

Watch what lands. Note what doesn’t. And let your story come into focus over time.

Sure beats overthinking it.

💡

-Wes