Well over year ago, I signed up for a year’s worth of journaling prompts to discover my authentic self. A year later and I’ve barely written a few words at best. My authentic self sure was—you know what? In the spirit of being kind to myself, I’m not even gonna go there.

What was standing in my way then, when I first decided to cultivate a new writing practice? The original idea was to leverage the guided prompts as a creative jumpstart in hopes that I would no longer need the prompts by the end of the year-long writing challenge. The intention was there, but my integrity, clearly, was not.

Ultimately, what got in the way was a conflicting priority that became all-consuming—studying for and passing my licensing exam as a marriage and family therapist. After six years of grueling hard work, I was finally ready to take the biggest exam of my life.

During those six years, I essentially tore down my foundation to start my life all over again with a new career in self-improvement and mental health. I parlayed all of my research, interviewing, and writing skills into a career that helps people reality test their own words and turn them into purposeful actions. I rebuilt myself from scratch because the life I was living wasn’t working for me anymore.

Well, it’s been nearly a year since I passed the board exam. I now work independently in partnership with at least four different referral sources. I’m also re-focusing my efforts into scaling my hypnosis practice by expanding the offerings to include at least three online courses: one to support self-esteem development, one to support motivation management, and one to support relational communication effectiveness.

Once upon a time, what used to stand in my way would be a lack of resources like money, time, or energy. While I do believe those three things will always be factors to consider—if I were being honest with myself—I think what really stands in the way between me and my first online course is…me 😳

What gets in the way for me right now is a fear of wasting my time, that my efforts will have been for nothing, and that I won’t get any kind of return on my investments. Hanging onto these thoughts keep me stuck in a cycle of starting, but never finishing, starting over and never finishing. Rinse and repeat. Again and again. Can anyone relate?

If I build it and no one buys it, does it really matter? If my purpose is self-expression, then the mere creation of an online course from idea and conceptualization to a finished product is an accomplishment alone in itself whether it sells or not. If I remove the expectation of monetization, and help even just one person, then it will have been worth it knowing that the wisdom I have to share could make a positive difference in that person’s life.