The Only Sin in My Religion is Being Scared of Looking Stupid
Published: February 4, 2026 - 6 min read
January 31st. That was the day.
It was the final day of my January sprint of stepping out every single day to meet people. I attended my final event, called Link Up. This event brought together women who wanted to turn their vision into action in 2026.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this event, but my gosh, the number of amazing, beautiful, ambitious, and supportive women in this room evoked so many positive emotions in me. I left feeling powerful, unstoppable, and incredibly grateful for the hosts who created this space.
But I want to tell you an important story. The moment where I felt an emotional peak during this event.
The Meditation That Broke Me Open
It was during a meditative session, led by Simran. She had us stand up, close our eyes, while she played a calming and reflective song. Then she took us on a journey with her voice... a journey to our past, a journey that forced us to picture our futures while simultaneously keeping us grounded in the present.
I don't remember her exact words. I can only describe how she made me feel.
You see, during that session, she took me back to the night of December 2nd. The night where I had first shared the French Writing Playground with so much enthusiasm, and then watched as a few negative comments rolled in on Reddit and the app itself. I watched as the thing I had built and was so proud of did not seem as impressive to other people. I also watched as certain functionalities I had built broke because I hadn't tested enough edge cases. And I spent the night fixing and debugging issues when I should have been asleep.
You can read more about that experience in my Hall of Shame post, or even watch the YouTube video where I talk about it.
The point is, Simran's voice took me back to that night. And I was standing there, watching myself from a third-person perspective. I could see how scared I was. Scared and sad that things did not turn out as perfectly as I had imagined. That people were not raving and excited about this thing I had built.
I felt that fear all over again while listening to her voice.
Then tears streamed down my face.
Not because I was scared. No, there was another feeling. A mild feeling of pride.
Oh gosh, I didn't expect I would start crying while typing this, but here we go.
There was a feeling of pride because I recognized that the girl standing there in that room was different from the girl who sat staring at those Reddit comments, looking out the window and feeling deeply sad. That feeling of pride came because I did not let that fear stop me from moving forward. I found a way to deal with it in that moment by creating my Hall of Shame.
But Guess What? The Fear is Back.
Let me explain.
On Sunday, February 1st, I had the inspiration to create and host a workshop online to teach people how to use Claude in ways that are more innovative and take full advantage of its functionalities. I was going to teach them so much in a 5-hour workshop.
Then, on par with my lightning speed execution, I designed the full course, created the event on Eventbrite, and then came the final crux: I had to share it.
I had to convince people that they would benefit greatly from what I had to share with them.
And that was when it happened. My mind started spiraling with excuses about why this is not the right time and why I should not do this. I somehow managed to get myself to announce it on LinkedIn today, but the fear is not gone. It's still there. And I am tempted to delete the post.
From Young Sheldon to Audacism
Remember when I jokingly wrote that I was going to start a religion, a movement of some sort? Now it's more apparent that it is necessary that I start this movement and focus on becoming an embodiment of all that it teaches.
When I used the word "religion," I thought back to one of my favorite shows, Young Sheldon. In Season 1, Episode 11, Sheldon, after spending weeks studying multiple religions to make sense of them, decides to create a religion called Mathology based on a binary system. He attempts to convert his Sunday school class and holds a gathering with Billy Sparks.
I remember the exact scene that made me burst into laughter: it was when he said that the only sin was being stupid.
But then I reflect back to every moment I have felt fear since the beginning of my SDR Era up until now. That feeling came from being scared of looking stupid. Sure, I have learned so much and know how to do a lot of things, but what if I fail? What if I realize I was wrong about something I was so sure of? What if what I think will benefit people actually makes no difference in their lives?
Fear, fear, fear. That is all this is.
That is why the only sin in this religion is the fear of looking stupid.
Why This Fear Must Be Murdered
This fear is paralyzing and compounds in many negative ways. The fear of looking stupid compounds into the fear of failure, which leads to overthinking and paralyzes you when you want to and need to execute.
This fear kills dreams. This fear leads to graves of people buried with all their potentials. This fear causes one to follow the crowd instead of boldly holding their stance and standing out.
This was the fear that made me delete the Reddit posts when I shared my app.
This was the fear I sat with that night as I stared at the comments.
This is the fear that makes me switch to English when I could attempt to speak French here in Montreal.
This is the fear that caused me to publish a blog post without fully understanding it and then start the Battle Against Chauffeur Knowledge series after calling myself out on it.
This is the fear stopping me from boldly going out there and promoting my workshop.
This is the fear that must be murdered before it leads me to my grave with everything I could've offered other people but failed to simply because I was scared.
The Name: Audacism
Remember when I said I had not yet come up with a name for my religion? Well, now I have.
It's Audacism. From the Latin word audax, meaning bold or daring.
In this religion, someone who tries something bold and fails spectacularly would be virtuous, while someone who plays it safe to avoid embarrassment would be sinning.
What I'm Actually Asking For
If you're reading this, this is not a "Join My Religion" blog post.
This is a "I am going to be the embodiment of this religion and anytime I fail to take the chance to embody it, I need you to call me out on it" blog post.
By starting this movement, I aim to keep myself accountable. Every time the fear comes and tries to stop me, I will remember that I am sinning by letting that fear win.
The Ego Problem at the Root
One thing I have had to come to terms with about my fear is that it is fundamentally an ego issue. I am waiting to feel perfectly ready because I want to be the best in the room right from the get-go.
But that is not how it works. Every great thing starts out imperfect, and I have to embrace that.
Following the core principles of this religion will be my ultimate humility checker. When you embrace the habit of facing things head-on without fully feeling ready, you accept that it is okay to not feel 100% ready but still try. In taking actions from this place, you walk into rooms with full knowledge that you don't know or understand everything, and that is okay because it keeps you humble.
And that is a trait I always want to strive for.
The Relief of Putting This Out Here
Hmm, I am glad I finally put this out here. I feel a sense of relief.
And now, I will go tell people about my workshop and encourage them to join me in having the way they use AI be transformed.
Right now, there are a few blog posts sitting on my website where I have written about how to track tokens within Claude on the web. I attempted the mechanisms and noticed that they were not working anymore. Anthropic has taken out the feature. Now I could go to their individual pages on LinkedIn and let them know that I want the feature back, but do you know what is stopping me?
You guessed right. The fear of looking stupid.
Well, not anymore.
As always, thanks for reading!