Dare to share: Empower yourself to contribute and connect with others.

When I talk with people and ask if they are active on LinkedIn, I often receive a negative response. The common reason given is a combination of being afraid to put yourself out there and the belief that what they have to say won’t be interesting to others.   

It is normal to wonder if someone will like what I wrote, if I face criticism, or if I get any likes after taking the risk to put myself out there.

If you’re at the beginning of your posting journey and compare yourself to others who have 10 times more followers and a few hundred of them commenting on their posts, you may convince yourself it is better to stop or not start at all. You may think they have way more knowledge and authority than you, and that no one will listen to what you have to say. And if you take a leap of faith, post and only receive a few likes on your post, it is easy to follow that narrative and take it as proof of not being good or interesting enough.

In my opinion, these fears and doubts we feel stem from our self-esteem. Self-esteem is a belief and confidence in your own ability and value. It is your subjective sense of overall personal worth and value.

I recently read an insightful paragraph in “Manifest: 7 steps to living your best life.” by Roxie Hafousi: “From our earliest years, we search for clues from the people around us to tell us how to behave and how to be loved. We take note of when we do something that makes us lovable, and we do more of it. As we grow up, we continue this pattern: moulding ourselves based on the feedback we get from our family, friends and community. We are taught to look for external validation and associate our sense of self-worth with the opinions and judgement of others.”

That’s why so often we measure our success by the number of likes or followers we have: the more we get, the more knowledgeable and of value we are.

When I started posting, my initial motivation was to increase my visibility for future opportunities. Sharing my perspective also gave others a chance to understand me better and the values I represent. On a conscious level I understood all the benefits of posting, but subconsciously, I also struggled with the fear of being judged.

One simple sentence I heard in a podcast helped me tremendously:

I don’t have the same thoughts as you!

It was so simple, yet so powerful. I reflected on it for some time and realised how true it is. Yet, we often believe we have nothing interesting to say. We think since others are already talking about the subject, we wouldn’t have anything new to contribute. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Everyone else’s perspective will always be slightly different because we are all so unique individuals. We go through different experiences that shape our views, and there will always be people interested in listening to what you have to say.

To illustrate this, let me share an analogy I heard a long time ago about the water aisle in the supermarket. When you go to the water aisle in any supermarket you will see different brands of bottled water. Although it’s all water at the end of the day, we don’t all buy the same brand. We have our preferences, and certain companies’ messages resonate with us more than others. The same applies to sharing your knowledge and expertise.

Personally, I learn so much from others. Their experiences are completely different to mine, which means their perspectives are often unique. New perspectives expand my mind and increase my self-awareness. It also makes it easier to tackle challenges because I have a broader range of experiences to draw from to make better decisions. 

When it comes to posting, our focus tends to turn inward instead of outward. We think about ourselves and being judged instead of realising that we have a unique opportunity to positively contribute to someone’s life. That’s why I encourage you to challenge yourself the next time you hesitate to share your expertise, an obstacle you’ve overcame, or a lesson you’ve learned. If you find yourself talking yourself out of the idea of posting something valuable, I would like you to ask a question: What if my post has the power to help even one person? Take a moment to reflect on that question, and you may find that putting yourself out there isn’t as scary as it seems.