Potentially flawed: fearing to begin
There are a lot of opportunities in the world and those that have come into the cryptosphere recently like myself, are slowly having their eyes widened to include a whole lot more that they previously had no idea about at all. This candy store selection of possibility opens up so many options that it can freeze action altogether.
There are so many things to learn, try, invest in and play with that it is hard to know where to get started. If looking at it all together, the sheer volume of opportunity and the speed at which it travels is enough to raise the FOMO. And that is before having a good understanding it.
This high speed movement and changeover of information means that we are unsure which tail to grab onto and even when we grab one, we are wondering if we should have grabbed for another instead. Last night I was chatting with an intelligent young guy who has just these issues.
He is full of enthusiasm but does not know where to start, he sees many tails, but none clearly enough to grab for any. He has big dreams but not the skills or knowledge to get started, nor the capital to buy them.
My advice in these areas is nearly always the same, make a small step, the next will lead from there. The reason is that while watching it all rush by trying to decide, the opportunities missed keep piling up but, yet very little is being learned. This increasing the feeling of missing out and keeps piling on the pressure, especially since one sees others making moves.
Making a small step means that one can learn and build some kind of platform to spring off to the next and each move has a cumulative effect so the next step is a little longer than the last. This means that travel becomes faster and faster and catching tails easier.
At each learning point, discovery takes place which will point several logical paths forward and with each layer of movement added, the choice becomes easier, the skillset higher, and the potential to take to hand more than one tail at a time, greater.
This builds a continually expanding network of experience and platforms that will not only help go forward but be able to take a wide view and notice trends through the various strings. It becomes a spider web that is able to detect the vibrations made in one area and recognise what effects it may have on another.
This again expands opportunity and choice but, it is an expansion based on experience and knowledge, not a naive fear of missing out. There are so many opportunities and potential pathways however that is is likely impossible for anyone person to invest themselves into all.
So, once one begins, it is advisable to find a niche to specialise in and build outwards from there. This means that there is a core trunk with logical branches so that if the core path is no longer viable for some reason, any number of branching fields can replace it. It is having numerous streams plus a continual contingency approach in case of calamity.
But, all of the thinking and ideas, hopes and dreams are for nought if one is never going to take a step. In a field as immature as crypto and blockchain, the ones that step first have the chance to make very large gains indeed and become influencing forces on the directions.
There are so many people I know and have met recently who have so much potential to do so much with yet, they are frozen, unsure, unwilling to grab a tail just in case it is not the right one. It is not because they are unskilled in what they currently do, but they are uncomfortable with the uncertainty of doing different.
Unfortunately, many of these people are likely to become the coulda, woulda, shoulda types of the future. The ones who had the skills and capital at the right time, but waited because it was not the right time for them. We have all experienced this in different forms and different areas throughout our lives.
This is the fear talking, nothing else.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
People are not born with a fear of failure, but once acquired it holds us in place, prevents us from embarking on something new, out of the ordinary or seemingly uncomfortable. We tend to tether ourselves with stories from the past or simple fear of failure rather than cut the morning lines and setting sail.
On the other hand, some of us cut those lines, hoist the sails and seek the trade winds eager to embrace the freedom to choose, to explore, succeed and possibly fail.
resteemed and will be sharing on other social media sites. this article is perfect for myself and some of my friends eager to get started. waiting on the next installment of this conversation...
I really enjoyed your article and will definitity share it to our friends that are just starting to learn about cryptos and blockchain and what it can offer and most importantly what new can be create out of it.
However, maybe I misunderstood your point, but some hesitation before actually chasing a specific tale is a good thing in my opinion, because it is smarter to make an informed decision on which one to chase rather than simply hope for luck. At the moment I am trying to spread the word about crypto and platforms like this as much as possible (although I am very new to it all myself), however I always first encourage my friends to do research, to grasp the concept first and only then act. Signing up un a platform is one thing of course, very different thing is investing money in crypto, and the latter should be done with caution and information. While I agree that unwillingess or indecisiveness to act because of a plethora of opportunities is a no no, taking time to gain some extra knowledge is crucial. At least to create intelligent community instead of having a bunch of trend-chasers joining in without any understanding what they are into.
good article @tarazkp - at least the steemians can use proof of brain to get a foothold by usingtheir existing skills. My guess is that steemit has provided a soft doorway for many people, (especially those with little experience and even less capital to invest) into the cryptosphere* where existing skills can be converted into seed investments. I think that' why so many people are hooked on steemit.
I have found that the resources and knowledge available on steemit invaluable to my crypto quest and much more, trustworthy than the crap on the bitcoin forums. I have also put the time in and used my business and mentoring experience to learn how to evaluate and analyse crypto projects.(I have probably learned more in the last 12 months about crypto) than anytime, since my postgraduate studies in multimedia-technology, which was the platform I leapt from almost 20 years ago. That stood me in good stead for the last 19.. blockchain came at the right time for me. I needed a new wave to surf. The last one was just hitting the shore as my expertise was beginning to be surplus to requirement. (I had begun to upgrade and modify my skillset over the last few years to reflect the changing markets!)
People get tentative sometimes I guess -- it's almost like being afraid to dive in the pool cuz the water's cold, but by all means, we know the water's fine. On a side note, congrats on Rep 69! (hehe)
Interesting piece, @tarazkp!
As for finding a niche and holding on to it....while I think you are right in a sense, because there truly are a lot of people out there who are overwhelmed by fear, I think others just don't feel they belong to a particular niche.
I mean I can't settle on one particular thing to write about because I'd get bored, not because I'm afraid it's not the right one. If it's not, there'll always be another pen and another post, so...:D
Just my opinion, though.
My niche at the moment is writing itself, not the topic I write about. From this position, I can explore all kinds of things and get feedback and advice from a very wide group of people with diverse experiences. I am not holding onto it though, it is just my position now, tomorrow I may find myself somewhere else :)
I agree, I find myself in the same position. :)
But indeed, who knows what tomorrow holds.