Facing your career fears
By Rachel Fowler, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief | TLT Publisher's Pen December 2023
Conquering your fears is something to work through every single day.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” Well, I wish I could tell him that’s easier said than done. When you think about it, we spend most of our time avoiding things we are afraid of. I’m scared of heights, so I don’t spend a lot of time looking out the window in tall buildings or standing near a ledge. I’m afraid of tight, enclosed spaces, so I steer clear of those small tube waterslides at a water park. Those are just a few examples for you to get to know me.
One fear I have in my career is giving presentations—basically public speaking. I’m pretty sure this fear started when I was in school, but I don’t remember the exact moment. Once a week, my 5th grade teacher made us memorize a poem, and we had to say it in front of class by Friday. I never liked doing that, but I would try doing it on a Monday or Tuesday just to get it over with. There were times I fumbled and had to try again later in the week, and I was embarrassed. But looking back on this, it did help me.
Speech class was a requirement in my high school. The teacher was great, but sometimes I wonder if the class made my fear worse. One requirement was that you had to say something in class every single day. Sometimes he’d even make everyone stand up, and if you said something, you got to sit down. Usually I’d be one of the last people still standing, and then I’d get embarrassed again.
Generally I’m a quiet person, which is why presentations are difficult for me. I think of myself as a better writer than speaker. Certain thoughts run through my head before a presentation, such as, “What if I’m wrong? What if someone makes fun of me?” Both have definitely happened in the past, but it’s impossible to be right all of the time. In school, I was nervous about saying the wrong answer. I always thought I’d do horrible on the show Jeopardy because I’d hesitate to use the buzzer even if I knew the answer. Maybe I have a fear of failure, too—but if we don’t fail, how do we learn?
But Emerson has a point. How else can we get over our fears? To get over my fear of heights, years ago I went on The Ledge, a glass balcony near the top of Willis Tower in Chicago. I also climbed the 422 steps to the top of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In my career I’ve given smaller presentations within STLE, and I’ve learned that the STLE audience is polite and interested while listening to presentations. The STLE annual meetings are a great place to present as well, since the audience is engaged, patient and knowledgeable.
Something flipped for me in the past few years, especially when becoming TLT publisher/editor-in-chief. I realized if we don’t speak up, we won’t be able to share any good ideas we have. That’s why I’m still working on facing my career fear every single day. It’s OK to fumble while speaking or have the wrong answer—because you tried. STLE is a great support system and will always be there to help in your career.
What are your career fears? Whatever they are, I hope you are able to face them soon.
You can reach TLT publisher/editor-in-chief Rachel Fowler at rfowler@stle.org.