Why my life improved when I made space for fear…

Alex Mathers
2 min readMar 4, 2024

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‘Eat Pray Love’ wasn’t what I’d usually pick up in the bookshop.

But I did get into Elizabeth Gilbert’s other book: ‘Big Magic.’

One idea in it stuck with me.

‘If I wanted creativity in my life, I’d have to make space for fear too.’

The two things are intertwined.

Inseparable.

It hit me like a rock.

SO SO SO SO true.

Creativity, by its very nature, is about stepping into the unknown.

You’re bringing something into existence that previously wasn’t, and OF COURSE you don’t know how it will come across.

Will it be ridiculed?

Will you make a mistake?

Will the thing explode?

Because we’re dealing in unknowns, when we create anything new, we’re inevitably going to be side by side with fear.

So, please remember this whenever you are struggling to motivate yourself or create anything.

It helps me every time.

It’s ok to feel nervous.

It’s good to have some fear.

It’s ok to feel a little icky.

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