The Moment Panic Shows Up After You've Done Something Bold

There is often a moment right after you’ve done something bold in your business — pressing publish on a stance-taking post, raising your prices beyond your comfort level, or saying “no” to a prospect who is not an ideal client — when a thought suddenly enters your mind:

Have I lost my ever-loving mind?

That moment, the moment of doubt and panic, is an inflection point.

What happens next determines whether you step into the next level of your business or retreat back to your Comfort Cave.

The Moment After the Bold Move

I recently published a post about how I intentionally non-renewed two of my clients.

In it, I shared something I’ve been noticing for a while: the coaching industry often creates long-term dependency between coach and client because recurring revenue becomes more important than client independence.

This post was way out of my element. I was used to being someone who stayed in the shadows, never saying anything that might provoke someone else to disagree.

But as I wrote the post, I felt bold.

This was something I believed deeply, but I hadn’t seen many people say it publicly.

So I decided to go first.

I wrote the post and pressed publish.

And then the panic showed up.

What if I get pushback?What if people judge me?What if I just overestimated myself?What if? What if? What if?

My mind immediately started spinning through worst-case scenarios.

But this time I handled it differently.

Instead of letting those thoughts carry me down the familiar slope of panic, I stepped back and watched them.

And what I noticed was fascinating.

My thoughts were telling me I had just made a dangerous move. That I had exposed myself. That I should delete the post before anyone saw it.

But that emotional wave of panic didn’t actually last very long.

Normally, I might have fed those thoughts with more drama, convinced myself I’d made a mistake, and deleted the post before anyone saw it.

This time I didn’t.

I let the thoughts pass through without arguing with them or acting on them, and a few minutes later, the panic was gone.

The post stayed up, and I made a major deposit in my Self-Trust Bank.

Panic is Protection

The panic I experienced was real, but it was giving me more drama than truth.

Could I have experienced pushback? Yes, but I can handle pushback.

Could readers have judged me or disagreed with me? Of course. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts.

Could I have thought I was braver than I actually am? No way. I’ve decided I’m in my bold era.

Those panic thoughts felt convincing in the moment. But they weren’t truth. They were protection.

To my primal brain, the part responsible for keeping me safe, that bold post looked like a threat. Not a physical threat, but a threat to the identity that once kept me safe: staying agreeable, not saying anything too controversial, and avoiding too much attention.

The panic was simply my brain trying to pull me back into my old way of being.

Not because the move was wrong. But because the move represented a level-up in my identity.

That panic I felt was trying to lure me back into my Comfort Cave, where everything stayed predictable and safe.

If I had deleted the post, that’s exactly where I would have gone.

Instead, by watching my thoughts, I gave panic space to pass without the need to act on it.

The post stayed up.I didn’t give in to my panic.

My Self-Trust Bank got a major deposit.

And I started seeing myself as someone who can say hard things.

The me of 2025 would not have done this.

The me of 2026 knows boldness is part of my growth plan.

Moving Through The Panic

There is a moment in business that almost no one talks about.

It’s the moment right after you’ve done something bold.

You hit publish.

You raise your prices.

You share your opinion.

You say the hard thing.

You send the pitch email to the podcast you want to be on.

For a brief second, you feel proud. (And you should!) You and your Future Self are celebrating!

And then the panic rushes in. Hard.

It tries to convince you that you’ve just made a terrible mistake.

That’s the moment when you have a choice to make:

Retreat or level up.

Honestly, that's the moment I see many entrepreneurs quietly retreat.

They edit the post.

Lower the price.

Walk back the opinion.

Tell themselves they moved too fast.

And just like that, they slide right back into their Comfort Cave and remain who they’ve always been.

But for those who level up?

They choose to see that panic as something else.

For these entrepreneurs, that panic is simply the emotional turbulence that comes with expanding beyond who they used to be.

Because growth rarely feels calm in the moment it’s happening.

It feels like uncomfortable exposure.

Uncertainty and unpreparedness.

A little bit reckless and crazy.

But every time you allow yourself to move through that panic without abandoning the decision you made in clarity, something important happens.

You make a deposit in your Self-Trust Bank.

You prove to yourself that you can feel discomfort without immediately retreating.

You begin to see yourself differently. (This is the coolest part!)

Not as someone who stays quiet to avoid judgment, but as someone who is willing to say what they believe, even when their primal brain would prefer that they stay safe and small.

Boldness is not a personality trait. No one is born with it.

Boldness is a practice.

One that is available to anyone willing to step up to the plate.

And sometimes that practice begins with letting the panic pass without letting it decide who you are allowed to become.

Because you, my friend, are sitting in the driver’s seat on your journey through life.

Keep looking forward because that’s the way you’re headed.

(Oh, and that post that I almost deleted has become my most widely viewed post ever on LinkedIn.)

You May Also Enjoy…

My Free Q2 Momentum Reset 5-Day Challenge: I’ve gamified goal getting! Spend 5 days with me (April 6 - 10, 2026) as we create major momentum going into Q2. Sign up here.

Your Avoidance Protocol Workshop: Uncover the Hidden Patterns Stalling Your Business Growth: A free workshop on 4/1 where I’ll guide you into discovering exactly what happens when you step into avoidance and how to stop it. Sign up here.

Your Comfort Cave: Why Your Brain Keeps You Playing Small: This podcast episode explains so much. Listen here.

Jen Laffin is a Chief Momentum Officer for solopreneurs and small business owners. She helps her clients step out of avoidance and into action. She is also the host of The Goal Getter Guide Podcast. Learn more about Jen at www.JenLaffin.com.