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.

Do we really need so much ‘stuff’? Do we own it? Or does it own us?
Despite death, finally finding love made life worth it for new widow
Police mistakenly attack innocent man while hunting graffiti tagger
‘Curing’ unpopular beliefs through psychiatry is throwback to ugly past
We won’t be free until politicians lose power to control the Internet
Dogs, cats and children remind me of all the joy in small things
In the middle of world’s madness, happiness makes me think of her