“Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.” – Morgan Harper Nichols STORYTELLER, 100 Poem Letters
Do you find it more nerve wracking to post a video of yourself talking on Instagram than to actually speak to someone in person? Have you been putting off starting that youtube channel because you feel like you’re going to throw up everytime you hear your voice on tape? What will people say? Do comments like “Oh she’s just trying to be an influencer” or “I can’t believe he’s trying to start a YouTube channel” haunt you in your sleep. If this resonates with you keep reading.
You know when you’re watching someone’s IG story or youtube channel and you’re just thinking to yourself how much you wish you had the courage to do something like that? (me with @maggiemacdonald) I’m talking about posting your first youtube video or writing a blog where you put yourself in the position to be completely vulnerable to the public eye and I’m not just talking about posting that bikini pic from your trip to Bali. I’m talking about showing your true, authentic, beautiful soul to the world that so many of us have been told to hide.
I began writing a post about getting over my major fear of judgment from others and although I’ve made major strides in the right direction it’s something I still struggle with every single day. I’m not even close to where I want to be but I think we all feel that way about ourselves. When I sat down to write this post it wasn’t flowing as naturally as I wanted it to, I felt like I wasn’t practicing what I preached. There’s no way I’m going to sit here and BS an entire post about getting over the fear of judgment when I still struggle with it on a daily basis so I decided to find someone who I feel embodies this practice every single day.
Meet Cassady Farris aka @consciouslycass. After quietly creating @stilllinprogress on instagram months ago I came across her account. I was so drawn to the way she carried her online presence. She spoke so naturally into the camera, she was always saying exactly what I needed to hear, she had a calm, cool and collected confidence (say that 3 times fast) about herself that was magnetic. I found myself looking forward to her posts because they left me feeling inspired and uplifted which is extremely difficult to find on Instagram these days. How did Cassady make this seem so effortless? How does she do it? What’s her secret? and no its not Maybelline. I had so many unanswered questions for her. So what better way to find out then to slide right in her DM’s and bring her on the blog. Today you’re going to be learning all about how Cassady overcame her fear of judgement and began building her online health and wellness presence with @consciouslycass. Without further ado, here she is.
My journey with Consciously Cass (@consciouslycass) has been an integral catalyst in the immense self-growth and personal healing that I have gone through this year. With the help of this platform, I have worked through several underlying fears, some of which I didn’t even know existed. One of these fears was being judged. It is unknown to many, but I created the @consciouslycass Instagram account sometime back in 2018. However, I never posted on it until June 25, 2019. It took me that long to finally post because I was paralyzed by my own insecurities and the fear of people judging me. I was terrified of what people would say or think. More than anything, I was afraid of my own thoughts: “Will anyone actually care about what I say?” or “What do I have to say that will bring value to anyone’s life?”.
Over the last 4 months I have experienced tremendous personal growth, as well as a deep spiritual awakening. Through this amazing, difficult, and beautiful growth I have had the precious gift of rediscovering who I am. I have been reacquainted with my intuition. I have also been reintroduced to my inner voice, which is an integral part of who I am, yet I feel I had lost over the course of my adolescence. Together, my new-found inner voice and intuition work hand in hand to guide me to my truth, especially in times where I want to retreat to “safety” and listen to my ego and fear-based thoughts. My ultimate truth is: I am one-of-a-kind. That alone makes my story valuable and worth sharing with the world.
Many people have asked me how I moved past the fear of being judged, since I frequently share my thoughts and life via Instagram stories. My truth for that is: I would be lying if I said I didn’t experience any doubt, negative self-talk, or concern that people would judge me. Hell, I KNOW that people are going to judge me! I can’t control that, nor am I going to spend my time or energy trying to. I have made peace with it. What I can control, however, is my mindset and my reaction. In June of this year, I finally made a choice, which allowed me to move past my fear. I chose to direct my attention and energy to all of the positive that could come from me sharing my authenticity and truth; to all of the people who could find meaning and comfort in the messages I share, rather than focusing on the judgement that might come my way. I still make this conscious decision everyday and every time I post on Instagram. It really is true, that energy flows where your mind and attention goes. If you focus on the good, the good gets better. And I believe that this is why I have had an amazing experience with Instagram and have attracted nothing but loving and positive people to the @consciouslycass community.
Everything that I post on @consciouslycass comes from something I have experienced, worked through, or might currently be working through. I am a beautiful work in progress, just like every human being’s soul is here on Earth! A thought I frequently reference when I feel fear and doubt creeping up into my conscious is: “If I am working through something, or find solace in a particular quote or message, there is a very high probability that in a world of 7 BILLION people, there is at least one other person out there who is experiencing something similar; who could benefit from me speaking my truth and sharing my experiences in this current life I am living”. This thought has been a guiding light throughout my recent journey of self-discovery and strengthening my inner voice. It is what encourages me to share who I am and what I am going through via @consciouslycass even when I am having doubts, battling my ego, or fearing judgement. More than anything, my fear of judgement is silenced by my hope and faith that I can be a guiding light for someone else, who may not yet know just how brilliantly strong and magnificently resilient their soul is.
As one of my absolute favourite poets + authors says:
“Take deep breaths and take your time for this mountain here you will learn to climb. You will learn to be brave these all new heights, you will learn to grow in grace, you will be alright. You will learn to see the world from here: a thousand miles above your fears.
-Morgan Harper Nichols STORYTELLER, 100 Poem Letters
Oh hiiii its me again if you can’t tell because I am definitely not that well spoken. I hope you beautiful people have gained some inspiration today. If this post helps you move half a step closer to where you want to be then we did our job. I am so beyond grateful for Cassady for taking her precious energy and pouring it into this post. The most wonderful thing about overcoming this fear is the people, like Cassady, I get to encounter along the way. The moment you stop listening to your fears is the moment magical beings will start coming into your life. So get your journals out ladies & gents you’ve got some work to do.
Still in Progress 