For years I have held myself back from actively pursuing anything creative, I stopped singing even though I was working with respected producers and had support from people who told me how beautiful my voice was, how great my songwriting was and how much potential I had. I convinced myself I wasn't good enough and had so much shame attached because it felt embarrassing to try, like people would be rooting for me to fail (of course I had entirely made up this narrative, there was no proof of this being the case). I also actively wrote essays, think pieces, poetry etc which received constant praise and interest from both strangers and my peers. I also gave up on this out of fear of failing (and the cringe of having to try). My question is where do you find the confidence to pursue things you love, how do you ignore the inner critic, how can one be free of eternal cringe? EDIT: Even posting this has made me cringe. Md