You probably hear quite a few bloggers mention how they are an introvert, but one thing that isn’t super present in business is being an introvert with social anxiety. I have always wanted to create video content and Periscope about what I’m working on and give out helpful tips, but for me, it’s not that simple. I’m not saying that it’s something that’s not going to happen, it will just take me a little more time to work towards those goals. I’ve been creating social anxiety posts for a while now and I want to start including my journey towards breaking through my anxiety and using my business as a way to do so.
Talking to a Camera
This is one of my biggest struggles that I feel holds me back from thriving as an entrepreneur. I tried making videos a long time ago, but I was never able to talk on camera. When I tried I had no idea what to say, I worried about how kiddish my voice sounds and just felt super awkward. Video content will be my biggest hurdle to get over as I work through my social anxiety. It might seem like all the videos you watch were so easy to film, but you don’t see how long it takes to pump themselves up to create that video or how many times they filmed a clip. I just need to try and keep this in mind when I work on making videos.
Skyping with Bloggers
Skyping with someone new is probably the easiest anxiety to get through for me. Yes, I get super nervous and freak out a little when I know it’s happening soon, but as soon as we start talking it feels very natural. I can talk about all the things that my real life friends don’t always understand. There is still going to be some awkward pauses because I am a super awkward person, but it’s normal for new friends!
Emailing for Collaborations
The one reason that makes emailing someone new harder for me than Skyping with someone is that you can’t see how they are going to react. You just have to wait and see what they say and hope that they at least respond. The worst thing they can say is no, but that fear is still there and when they don’t respond you worry that they have no interest in collaborating. I’ve never had anyone respond in a negative way and if they don’t respond I just think about the fact that it wasn’t meant to be and move on.
Being an Entrepreneur
Part of being an entrepreneur is taking risks and finding ways to make yourself stand out from everyone else. Trying new things that are different from everyone else always gives me anxiety and it usually turns out amazing. I get anxiety about whether or not my business will be successful and whether or not the idea I have is crazy or if it’s actually awesome. Even just my transition away from web design gives me anxiety. I hadn’t had much success with web design and as much as I keep telling myself it was because the passion wasn’t behind it, I still worry about whether or not it will turn out better. I have gotten some interest from at least.
Tweet: Entrepreneurs need to take risks & find ways to stand out. This can be hard with social anxiety. via @emilyfinta http://ctt.ec/0faRF+
Working Past My Social Anxiety Publicly
One of my big goals for 2016 is to work through my social anxiety and posting about when I struggled and when I accomplished something awesome without my anxiety getting in the way. I want to be able to create videos and Periscope randomly without talking myself out of it. It’s going to be hard and there will definitely be times where it gets the best of me, but I won’t let it hold me back.
Oh my goodness, I’m SO with you on these! I can barely explain the feeling I get before I convince myself to jump on Periscope or Skype with someone. It’s definitely more than little “butterflies”. You’re not alone in this and thanks for being brave enough to write about it! 🙂
That feeling is definitely hard to explain! For me, Periscope & YouTube are so much worse because you aren’t actually talking to someone. I know you get instant comments on Periscope, but it’s still something that freaks me out! 🙂
Agreed, we’re not getting that instant feedback to be able to judge how we’re doing!
I can definitely relate to what you’ve written here. I used to suffer from social anxiety, but was thankfully able to get past it with CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy).
For me, recording for YouTube isn’t a problem. I’ve actually done it a few times before. But broadcasting on Periscope is a totally different story. It’s live, I can’t make edits, and I’m afraid of looking awkward.
I think it’s great that you’re sharing your story. As Krista said, you’re definitely not alone in this.
That’s so awesome, I’ll have to look into CBT at some point. I always find it interesting how anxiety is so different in everyone. I still haven’t done a Periscope, so maybe it would be more nerve-wracking than YouTube, but I won’t know until I try.
Totally get you on this. When I first started doing video content, I was a total ball of nerves. What I found was that editing was my BFF. When I first started, I’d often record a sentence at a time and the stitch them together with editing, because that was literally the only way I could get myself to say what I wanted to say. If I tried to do it all at once, I’d have these weird long pauses where I’d stop to think, or my phrasing would be awkward. As I got more used to it, I started to edit a lot less, but it’s still a big part of my process.
Live streaming, like Periscope is waaaaaay more difficult for me. I’ve only tried it once, and then was like, “Nope!”
That’s such a good tip! I feel like that’s something I always struggled with, I felt like I needed to say everything in one take or I’d need to start over!