Fear of Judgement, FOJ, can stop us from doing the things we want to do, here is my reason behind this website, what it's about and what I hope to achieve.
So why have I decided to start this website/blog? The truth is it is completely selfish and for my own gain. I want to get over something - Fear of Judgement, FoJ. Maybe this isn't a common thing many people experience as I don't hear it spoken about often but then I guess a symptom of FoJ is never saying anything is case you are, judged. Maybe many people experience it and aren't doing something they want to, however this is something purely for my benefit and maybe someone else might get something from it.
Some wise man called Seneca said;
“We suffer more from imagination than from reality.”
FoJ has ruled my life for the past years, It directed me into a job in finance. It led to me to secretly setting up a food business and keeping it from my best friends for nearly a year! I would literally be out on the weekends with my friends, them clueless that I had quit my job and set up a business all because I was worried they would laugh at me. Even after they found out and celebrated it, I still publicly didn't tell anyone for another year! Even now with a business doing 6 figures a year, I still have that same fear.
So why a website and what is this about?
I consume a lot of information on a daily basis whether its podcasts, newsletter, blogs or books, I'm a junkie and I have become fan of so many talented people, too many to name. For years I have been writing my own thoughts and ideas down, capturing them on to notepads, Apple notes, Evernote and many other places because thats how I process information and learn. Also in this time I have been approached by people asking for advice on how to start up a food business and I have helped them. I have considered for a while now putting my own experiences in a public place for other aspiring food businesses to hopefully learn from and limit mistakes (I made and make many), but I always had that voice in the back of my head saying no one cares, people will say you're not successful so how can you talk about business and people will say things about you behind your back.
Then someone I admire opened up publicly about something so deeply personal to them, something they’d been battling with for over a decade and I just thought - “and you're worried about the 2 people who might bother to read something you put out". Ultimately, I’m not doing this to please people, become famous or any other reason. I am doing this because it makes me happy. I have a choice to make, be unhappy and regretful or have fun and accept some people may laugh at you. That moment was very liberating for me - when I accepted it was for me and only me I didn’t even care people could be laughing at me.
“ I wonder how many people feel or have felt like this and haven't done the thing they've always wanted to do because of FoJ.”
I wonder how many people feel or have felt like this and haven't done the thing they've always wanted to do because of FoJ. That scares the hell out of me and the thought of being 80 and feeling like that shocked me so much I had to give it a go, for my own sanity.
So here it is, me writing about my journey growing my food business, setting up other ones.
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