A knot in your stomach, tightness in your chest, a flushed face, feeling like you're going to throw up, everything around you seems more intense than usual...all of these are ways that I experience fear.
About five minutes before typing this, I didn't think my finger could simply click a mouse to post to my newly created Coate Mindset Instagram and Facebook accounts without rushing to the bathroom to rid my stomach of its contents. Clearly, a simple click of the mouse is not the problem. My muscles are completely capable of completing the act of clicking the mouse. The issue is in my head! Does this happen to anyone else when you are afraid, or is it just me? Is it rational to be scared to click the mouse? Well, it is when that click puts a piece of me out into the digital world.
"What are you afraid of?" you may ask. Honestly, I don't know. It's probably not just one thing. The risk associated with vulnerability opens oneself to a whole host of critics, and that's terrifying. I established this website in 2021 and have shared blog posts inconsistently since February of that year. The idea of putting content out there is not new to me.
What makes this content different? Recently, it occurred to me that I want to be an entrepreneur. These most recent social media posts are steps inching me closer to making this dream a reality. If I reflect on the idea of being an entrepreneur, it is something that I have wanted to pursue for a long time, but I always talk myself out of it. I have a voice in my head that says it’s not smart to be in business for yourself. The voice goes something like this, “never go into business for yourself. It’s feast or famine,” and “get a job with a reliable paycheck, it is a much more sensible way to live.”
For those that know me, you understand that I am an all or nothing type of person, and it never dawned on me that there may be a way to do both. In November, I started a job working at Southern Specialty in Navarre, FL. The seven and a half hours I spend there every Saturday is “that one thing” (thanks Dr. Charles Morleyi) that I didn’t even know that I needed. It’s my creative and social outlet while still giving me the feeling of being productive. I look forward to it every week. Who doesn’t want to be surrounded by beautiful clothes (Z Supply and Dear John), fashionable handbags (Consuela and HOBO) and delicious smelling candles (Bridgewater Sweet Grace) and laundry soap (Diva by Tyler)? Sometimes I wish I was more like my mother and had been given the gift of sewing, which is an admirable hobby. Apparently, the sewing gene skips a generation, but the love of clothes did not. So, my hobby is my second job! This new hobby has really sparked the entrepreneurial spirit within me. Honestly, I think that I am pretty good at it, too. It may sound crazy, but it’s helped build my confidence and remind me of a person that I thought disappeared long ago.
No lie. I can think of two different occasions recently that I talked myself out of attending an event and reunion getaway because I was afraid that I wouldn’t fit in or that, maybe somehow, I didn’t belong anymore. If you have read any of my other posts, the struggle with my internal dialog is real! My newfound hobby job and the community of women that I have been introduced to through this opportunity have breathed new life into me. This newness is igniting my spirit to take a risk and make a leap of faith into a venture that can help me lean into my goal of living with intention and finding purpose with a joyful heart. It’s no accident that I found Southern Specialty and this community of women to support me in finding my authentic self again.
So here I am, clicking the mouse—fear and all—and stepping into something new. Not because I’m fearless, but because I’m finally ready to stop letting fear be the loudest voice in the room. This is more than a blog post. It’s the start of something that’s been growing quietly inside me for years: a desire to live intentionally, give freely, and create something that matters.
That’s where the Blessing Ring comes in.
It’s simple, really. A small ring with a big heart. You wear it as a reminder, gift it as encouragement, and pass it on when someone needs a blessing. It’s a symbol of the kind of life I’m trying to build—one that says, “You matter. You’re seen. You’re not alone.” Every ring is a chance to start a ripple of kindness, just like the one that helped me find my voice again.
I’ll be sharing more soon. But for now, I just want to say thank you—for reading, for being here, and maybe even for clicking your own mouse toward something brave.
Let’s #passtheblessing.
i Dr. Charles Morely, my history teacher, at Bayside Academy had two pieces of advice he gave frequently, “Marry your best friend. And find “that one thing” in life that turns you on and