I like things to be easy.
When I was young, most things came very easily to me. I didn’t have to work hard for much of anything. I quickly learned to stick to the things which were most obvious to me — and which impressed people the most — and just sit back to receive the praise.
For the most part, I‘ve done the same thing for my adult life. Unless I have a huge incentive, I stick to what I know how to do. It’s safe. It gets the praise I crave. And it keeps me from having to risk failure.
But every now and then, I push myself into something completely new. The old fears start surfacing. What if I’m a fraud? What if I fail at this? What if I‘m just embarrassing myself? What if I’m not perfect?
I’m in that position right now as I work toward the first complete episode of my new podcast, Love & Hope. (Listen to the three-minute introduction here.) I know the things I need to do. I’m working on them. But I’m not an expert at these things — and I once again feel the old fear of not being perfect.

Nothing new here: Russell Brand pushing same old socialist idiocy
Does the delusion that most people agree with us explain the appeal of majoritarian systems?
Unexpected proposal leaves me pondering my craving to be loved
Briefly: Is it heroism or madness to stand against popular culture?
Briefly: There’s nothing racist about wanting film casting to match a character
Briefly: We need to learn to walk away from dangerous disputes
Objective reality has now become offensive in dysfunctional culture