In this episode of The Dietitian Success Podcast, Krista Kolodziejzyk talks about 5 tips for navigating the fear that prevents us from putting our content out there into the world. Whether it be a blog post, social media post, podcast episode or online course, fear of the unknown (and whether you will be critiqued or questioned) is completely normal. She discusses the mindset shifts that have helped her push past the fear and press “publish” on countless blog posts, social media posts and 177 podcast episodes!
Links:
- Check out the Dietitian Success Center membership here
- Connect with Krista on Instagram @dietitiansuccesscenter and @kristako.rd
- Check out our Freebies here – PES Statement Cheat Sheet, Client Resource Kit & Business Planning Workbook
Episode Transcript:
Welcome to the Dietitian Success Podcast. I’m Krista, the founder of Dietitian Success Center, an online learning platform for RDs and students. I am on a mission to help more dietitians build confidence and expertise in running successful, profitable businesses. I went to business school so you don’t have to.
My team and I have grown DSC to a platform that serves hundreds of members. We’ve experimented with all types of marketing, tech, sales strategies, productivity tools, systems, and more. And we want to spill the tea on what’s working, what’s not, and how you can leverage our insights to kickstart, expand, or elevate your own business.
Ready to dive into your business school crash course? If so, let’s get started.
Hey there and welcome to a new episode of the dietitian success podcast. I hope you’re having an awesome week. I it’s funny, this topic. You know, sometimes I need to be reminded that. It’s all well and good to talk about topics like SEO or social media or whatever. But if we don’t tackle some of the mindset pieces, That are foundational to doing a lot of these activities and business.
Then what’s really the point in talking about any of the strategies. Because if we’re feeling a lot of fear around putting ourselves out there, posting our content, a lot of imposter syndrome. And that’s preventing us from actually. Pressing. Publish on that blog posts that we have been working on, or that podcast episode we recorded or that Instagram posts we’ve been working on. Then what’s the point, right?
We have to address the mindset piece. And so this, the topic for today actually came from. Fantastic question that came in. And I’m going to keep this person obviously completely anonymous. So we’ll just speak about it very generally. But so one of the best features, I would say our. The best feature, but one of the relief valuable features in the nutrition plus a business DSE membership is that. We have what we call an on-demand Q and a feature, which is basically where we use this tool called video ask. And we have it embedded within our website.
And so you can essentially go to this tab that says business Q and a. And you can send us directly. Either a video, audio or text message and it will come to our team’s inbox. And then we will respond to you personally, whether it’s myself or whether it’s Maria or Olivia, we just direct the question appropriately, just depending on who is the most appropriate person to answer. But the cool thing about that is that it’s a way to receive one-on-one personalized coaching. For your business without any extra costs.
So you’re just paying for the price of the membership, which is $54 a month. And you get essentially some one-on-one business coaching, which you will never get one-on-one business coaching for that kind of a price anywhere else. Trust me on that. And so we love that feature because it’s a, it’s a great way for sometimes there’s of course we have our community forum, but sometimes there’s questions that maybe people don’t feel comfortable posting in the forum, or maybe they’re just really extensive questions about things like strategy that. You know, it’s hard to just write that out in a community forum.
And sometimes it’s just easier to. Talk about it, to tell somebody about it. And so those tend to be the best questions for this is like strategy related. So, somebody wondering about how to clarify their niche or what source of marketing tactics they should focus on based on their ideal client.
So anyways, it’s a really great feature, but. That is what inspired this podcast episode today, because. Somebody submitted a video, ask him was just talking about the fear around publishing content, right? So it’s like, and I have been here where I have written blog posts and this was like kind of early days when I had a food blog. And I would spend hours and hours and hours and hours of time on a blog post, or a recipe. And I would never post it, or it would take me forever to post it because I’d be so scared. Of what posting would mean. You know, what if, what if people don’t like it?
What if I get negative comments? What if it’s wrong? What if I did something? I made a mistake and something was done incorrectly. What if somebody calls me out for that mistake? Right. Like, there’s so much of that fear for me. And so I wanted to talk in this podcast episode about five things that really helped me get over that fear mindset and put content out there into the world.
And. It just for context, honestly, in this episode, like I still very much identify as somebody as who is a people pleaser. Like this is something I’m working on actively. But I am a people pleaser. I have a fear of being disliked. I want to be liked by everyone. I don’t have generally super polarizing opinions about things. You know, sometimes I see things on like Instagram, for instance, where people, have posts these things about like, I don’t know who needs to hear this or. You know, just things where they’re sharing a really polarizing opinion.
I don’t tend to have those. That’s just like, not really. I tend to be a pretty neutral person. And so that’s just some context for this is if you are like that too, like, you don’t have to be one of those people that’s like loud and bold and has really. Polarizing opinions to put your stuff out there into the world and to create really good content that helps people. So, you know, it’s really all about doing this because. It is truly, and I’m kind of skipping ahead here, but like, Putting your content out there into the world, I believe is like, it’s such an important part of. You following through on like your life’s purpose, your I don’t know if you’ve ever, if you’ve read the book By Jay Shetty on purpose, but he talks about this concept of a Dharma, which is like, what is your life’s purpose?
What is your life’s mission? And I think a lot of times the work that we do as part of our Dharma. And I think, putting our content out into the world is. Way that we can connect to that Dharma and we can follow through on our life’s purpose. But again, we need to have the tactics in place for how to get over that fear of putting yourself out there.
So the first tip that I want to talk about is reframing. And, if you’ve ever been to therapy, you know, that reframing is a huge part of. Navigating. Different challenges in life, right? It’s like, okay, I’m thinking about this in a really negative way. How do I reframe this in a positive way? And so. You know, I think a lot of times, like I mentioned before, the reason why we don’t put something out there into the world is because we’re really scared. There’s fear of the, like what if all of this negative stuff happens? And so I think one really helpful reframe on this is like, but what’s the best that could happen.
How many people could benefit from your message and from your content, people who maybe don’t have. A reliable evidence-based source that they can go to for this type of information. And they’re just, you know, consuming information online or on social media. From anyone. You are someone as a dietitian who has gone through the training and has the skills to put good quality evidence-based content out there into the world.
And so people deserve to have access to that. So what’s the best that could happen. How many people could benefit from your message and could benefit from your content. One piece of content or one piece of advice could change someone’s life. And I always think about this quote. From Amy Porterfield.
And I heard it in a podcast and it was like such an aha moment for me. And I know I’ve said it on this podcast before, and I’ve had people reflect back to me that it was an aha moment for them. Just this idea that you only need to know 10% more than someone in order to teach them something. And so. Like you with your extensive background and training and education. Like how much more do you know about this topic than the person who’s going to be reading it? Just remember that, remember that you have so much value that you bring to the table. And your content is going to help people.
So that’s the first piece is reframing. What’s the best that could happen. You know, I’m often. Surprised at like sometimes, you know, when we put in this doesn’t always happen because people aren’t always going to. Tell you, if something was helpful for them, they’re not always going to come out and say, Hey, that was really helpful for me.
But every once in a while I hear from someone. You know, or we receive feedback from DSC members. Who just will say, Hey, like this thing really resonated with me. And that’s so powerful to know that you had that impact on somebody’s life. And so give yourself the opportunity to, to do that for someone else.
So that’s number one is reframing.
Number two is starting small. I just want to remind you that one blog post does not have to cover absolutely everything about a topic. I used to get really overwhelmed with writing. A blog post, because I would be like, oh my God, but it’s got to include this and this and this and this and this, like, thinking that, if I was going to choose a topic. I needed to write a complete essay. Literature review on this topic and that’s just not the case.
And in fact, you’re doing people a disservice. If you’re writing. Like, don’t forget that you most likely and, I know that different people with different businesses listened to this podcast, but most likely like your target audience is not other dietitians. Don’t write for other dietitians.
Write for. Your target audience, who is the average person who doesn’t want to, or can’t necessarily consume that much information, because that’s just too much, right. We know when we work with people one-on-one or in groups, or if you’re doing an online course, like. Short, concise bite sized pieces of information are so much more digestible.
They’re easier for people to take in. And action against and content, whether that be social media, blogging, podcasting is the same thing. So instead of saying, oh my gosh, I got to like, write this blog post on what is PCOM and like, have it include every thing about. PCO S and like all the different facets of PCLs and it it’s gotta be 10,000 words. It’s like, what if you just wrote a blog post on like vitamin D for PCAs or some supplement for PCOS?
Like you can start small. You don’t have to cover everything about a topic in one blog post. And start with what, you know, start with something that you feel really comfortable talking about. If you feel really comfortable talking about label reading, Have that be the first post that you put out there in the world, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter what it is. But just don’t forget that it doesn’t have to be some expansive, extensive thing.
It can still be really high quality. It can still be really well-researched while also being concise. And I think actually that’s. A really important piece. So let’s number two is starting small.
The third tip I want to talk about is. Following the fear to the end. So, again, this is something that I learned from a therapist. And it’s this idea of when you’re feeling fear about something. You follow that fear through to the end. So you think about. Okay. So like what. If the worst case scenario would have happened, what would I do that? And then what. And then what. And then what, and you sort of follow this fear. To the end. And the end is typically well, okay.
Then, then I would move on with my life. Right. So, for example, I know for me, I was always really scared of other practitioners reading my content and like pointing out something that I said wrong. Right. Or even, or just like people in general, like I always was so scared of that. And so, if we’re going to follow that fear to the end, if that happened, what would you do? If you made a mistake in a blog post, and someone called you out on it, what would happen? Would you die? No, you would not. Realistically, you could say, oh, great. Thank you so much for pointing that out. And you would fix it. And then what, well then you would move on with your life, right?
Like it’s not the end of the world. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s going to be okay. And sometimes it’s helpful to just think through. That. So following that fear to the end and asking yourself, well, if the worst case scenario happened in, you know, with my worst case scenario happened, what would I do in that scenario? And would I be fine? Yeah, chances are you would be fine.
So that’s number three, follow the fear to the end. Number four. Is create a bigger vision. Or get clear on your bigger vision. So.
If you spend some time really dreaming about what you want for the future of your career and your business and your life. And you’re able to visualize what that bigger vision is. Sometimes zooming out like that helps us to see why. We need to take these small steps. If we want to get there. Like, let’s say you’re a bigot.
Your big vision is to be. Well-known in the dietitian world in whatever niche you’re in. Let’s say that’s digestive health. And let’s say your big vision is that you have a big following on Instagram, you know, hundreds of thousands of people on Instagram. You have a super successful group program, helping people navigate the low FODMAP diet. You want to write a low FODMAP cookbook?
You want to work with brands. This is your big vision. Well, if that’s your big vision, you’re not going to get there. If you don’t press publish, if you don’t post that thing. And so I find sometimes. Having that bigger vision helps us to take a step back and sort of look at the fact that like there’s a blueprint that needs to happen in order to get to that bigger vision. And people who are living that bigger vision today, they’ve done all of those steps.
And last but not least number five is asking yourself the question. When you are 80 years old. Do you want to look back on your career? And wonder. What if. Or would you rather, even if something ended up not working out. When she rather. Be able to say yourself? Well, at least I tried, at least, I know at least I tried. At least I. Was consistent in the pursuit of my purpose, my Dharma. Versus the regret of not knowing what could have been.
I know for me, that’s a big motivator for me is like, I don’t want to look back. With regret that I didn’t do something. We only have one life to live. And so I want to know that like I’ve done everything that I wanted to do. And so I know that this is a little bit. You know, this is a big one and I know that You know, the intent is not for it to sound morbid or anything like that, but it’s just sort of this. This I think when we think about like being. Like finishing your career and kind of looking back on your life. That helps to put things into perspective sometimes.
Right. It helps us have this. Awareness of like, okay. The minute things of the day to day. They’re not really that big of a deal. Overall it’s it’s those big actions. Those. Big steps that we take that matter. And so I find that that really helps to put things into perspective as well. So just to recap, five of the tips that I myself have used to get over that fear mindset, when it comes to putting something out there into the world, something that I’ve created, whether that’s a blog post podcast episode. Instagram post. Whatever that is.
And I am someone who has been there, like I’ve dealt with that fear. I have sat on blog posts. Or recipes or whatever for, for forever. And sometimes never put them out there into the world. Because I’ve been so fearful. So I get it. I totally I’ve been there. So the five tips, the first one reframing. You know, what’s the best that could happen.
If I put this out there into the world, how many people could I help with? What I have to say? Number two is starting small. Start with something, you know? Number three is when you’re feeling fear, follow the fear to the end. Number four is connects back to your bigger vision. And number five. Is how do you want to reflect back when you’re 80 years old? Do you want to feel regret or do you want to be able to say yourself?
Well, at least I tried. All right. So if you have those types of questions or you’re struggling with those things in business, then I want to support you. I want to help you. So join the nutrition plus business membership, the dietitian success center, nutrition plus business membership. It’s $54 a month.
You can cancel whenever you want. But at least try it out. Come join us. Try out the business Q and a feature. Asked me a question I would love to chat back and forth with you. It’s a really awesome feature and I’m so happy we can offer that. So the link for all, all of the links for all of our things are in the description of this episode, but obviously just go on over to dietitian success center.com and just click the membership tab. And become a member today.
I would love to see you and Hey, if you become a member. And you submit a video, ask. Then letting me know that the reason why you did it is because you listened to this podcast episode. Okay. Hope you have an awesome week and I will see you next Thursday.
