This week I launched a new customer service blog about taking unusually good care of people.

I was incredibly excited to start something new until about 6AM on launch day when all my delight gave way to panic.

I have no business doing this! What was I thinking?!

So many wonderful people had subscribed to this project sight unseen and I was feeling a great deal of pressure to share something worthwhile. The pressure was completely imagined, but I was pretty sure I was drowning in it.

(SPOILER ALERT: I survived)

Here are a few takeaways from this brush with fear that I hope will help you the next time you have to do something worthwhile/terrifying:

• Fear can keep you from being eaten by a bear, but it can also keep you from doing your most meaningful work.
• You are not immune to the fear, no matter how many times you do something that matters to you. Expect it. Embrace it.
• Being afraid of a project might mean that you care a lot, which is a very good thing.
• You are not alone. Most people are doing something that terrifies them, or are avoiding doing something that terrifies them, every single day. The fear is a constant, but maybe knowing that everyone is dealing with it will help you do your meaningful work in spite of the fear.