how to embrace the cringe

Hey,

I recently had a coffee chat with a fellow Growclass pal. Over our catch-up she lamented how difficult she found it to start posting content consistently on LinkedIn.

"It doesn't feel authentic to me—it's just so... cringe."

I understood exactly what she meant because I felt that way once, too.

I sometimes daydream about a world where leads come easily, recruiters knock down my door just to get an interview with me, and my network consists solely of mutually supportive relationships with badass people I admire. The best part? It all happens without lifting a finger.

This perfect world also has peace, zero injustice, equality for all, and a completely intact ozone layer, but I digress.

I sadly don’t live in that reality, so I post online instead.

The first step of overcoming the cringe is understanding why we fear it so much.

Remember Billy Mays? The famous infomercial salesperson in the early aughts? That guy sold OxiClean like rent was due. Some people are just wired for sales and self-promotion. I look upon these people with awe, but I'm not one of them—and most people aren't either.

We fear posting online for the same reason we fear job interviews and public speaking: it makes us visible and vulnerable to judgment. But like job interviews and public speaking, self-promotion isn't an inherent skill—it's learned.

And while posting online isn't required, it is super helpful. It creates visibility, builds your reputation, future-proofs your career, and helps opportunities find you.

So what can you do?

Well, as the famous saying goes, the only way out (of the cringe fear) is through, so let’s explore how to push past it:

• Write like no one's watching—because they aren't. Not at first, anyway. The spotlight effect makes it feel like all eyes are on you, which only holds you back. This is your chance to put on your Growth Marketer hat and experiment to find your authentic voice.
• Sometimes your content is going to suck. It would be weird if it didn't. Thankfully, the algorithm is your friend here. If a post doesn't resonate, it won't get distributed widely. That's both data and a gift, baby.
• Don't think of it as self-promotion. Think of it as letting others know you through your story. When you get curious about yourself, others get curious about you too.
• Start with what you know. Everyone, regardless of experience, has something valuable to share:
  • What do you wish someone had told you when starting out?
  • What's been your most important professional lesson?
  • Talk about a time you failed and recovered.
  • What skills are you developing now?

Here’s the most important tip of all:

Embrace the cringe.

Who really cares if someone thinks you're cringe for learning something new? That says a lot more about them than you.

You know what’s really f*cking COOL? Trying.

The right people are going to see this and cheer you on. Anyone else's opinions simply don't matter, so dare to be seen trying and learning.

Everything you want professionally is on the other side of learning something new, and that might mean looking or feeling silly for a while. But isn’t that freeing?

So get out there. The world deserves your cringe.

Talk soon,

Ines

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