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Facing Your Fears Should Start Today

The Third Year Doing #100dayproject from February-June in Community

For the past few of years I’ve participated in the global art project called #the100dayproject from mid-February through around Memorial Day weekend. The first year, I created unique daily reels and posted them on six different social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok. As a professional photographer, I was comfortable behind the camera, but not as the subject of the photo. A fellow photographer colleague, Rigel Jackson, and I did the 100 Day Project together, and we checked in weekly via our accountability mastermind group via Zoom. 

By doing self-portraits and sharing some talking videos on social media, I gradually became more comfortable with seeing my aging face and body.  It normalized that I’m a human being who is living, moving, breathing, aging, and learning in this ever-changing world. Sounds simple, but it was a profound lesson in my early 50s. I started to not even use Photoshop on myself, except for some teeth whitening.  Deep mindset shifts were taking place that year.

The next year that I did #the100dayproject, I told myself that I could pick “A” activity or “B” activity each day. (I can’t even remember what the activities were?)  And there was no posting or sharing it on social media. So you guessed it, I ended up with no motivation to complete the challenge by day 30 or so, when it starts to get really hard!  I learned that I needed more than an accountability buddy, but also some showing up to my clients via social media.

Here in 2026, I’ve chosen the creative movement of rollerskating for my #the100dayproject.  I told myself that I don’t have to post it on social media daily, but I do need to document the process on video. Make some reels to share my journey along the way so that people would see that I’m a middle-aged woman trying to relearn how to do a creative movement that is very difficult but fun.  I want my followers to see my struggles and celebrate with me when I accomplish mini goals, like skating backwards.  Why on video?  For me to see the incremental changes in my skating technique and to learn objectively from the videos. If they can be used as a reel using CapCut, then that’s great!
The other big change this year is that I launched a free cohort community of nineteen people to do the #the100dayproject with me this year! I created four ways for this accountability group to interact: a WhatsApp group, a weekly Zoom, a weekly email, and three in-person events.  At the time of writing this (Day 61), about half of the people are engaging in the “group” aspect while several others are doing it on their own.  Next year I will create a paid offering to work alongside me in this project. By working alongside them, I will be providing even more coaching, guidance, and helping clients with breakthroughs in their personal and professional life!

What Roller Skating Has Taught Me so Far 

  • Being appropriately vulnerable in front of others is empowering not only to me but also to my audience.  The word “authentic” might be overused, but people purchase from other people who are real and not trying to look perfect. The photo used in this blog was not altered in any way to make me look “smaller” or “thinner” or “prettier.”
  • Don’t let others’ fears and tragic stories of failing stop you from doing what you know you should do.  Friends, family, and colleagues might think they are helping you by keeping you safe from falling, for example.  But living your full creative life is the way to thriving.  Get B-I-G and try new things.  You’ll never grow by staying small.
  • Prospective clients want to chat with me about something besides my business.  I’ve known this for many years, but by doing something as radical as roller skating for my challenge, they can learn more about me along the way.  Existing clients want to see me grow and build in public as well!
  • Skating is scary, silly, and freeing all at the same time!  Many of the same parallel feelings as when you become a new parent!  I’m a creative person, but this challenge is pushing my creative boundaries from my head and into my body.  Literally!
  • Starting is more important than finishing.  This is controversial because our western society is very focused on results and fancy finishes.  Even on Day 61, if I don’t finish, I have learned more about myself and my business than if I’d never tried. Facing your fears should start today.  Even if you don’t finish, you have learned something about yourself so that you can tackle a new challenge that is more in alignment with your goals.
  • When I’m tasked to do something hard in my business, I think about roller skating.  “I can do hard things” keeps popping up in my head.  Doing XYZ might be hard, but it’s not as hard as roller skating!?
  • Tune into what makes skating feel easier (preferred time of day, music, inside vs. outside, etc.) and think about the parallels with my business life.  How can I keep the natural rhythm of my day in sync with my business to go farther?
  • My clients want more creative interactions with me.  As a professional photographer, I’m comfortable doing personal, family, and brand photography for clients.  But this year I’ve branched out doing Vision Board workshops and now this accountability group with #the100dayproject, and I’m loving this new branch of my business services!
  • I need quality roller skating professionals to help me learn good techniques from the onset.  I found Confidence on Skates with Mel early on, and she’s awesome, especially for the over-age-40 audience.  Her method is about taking it slow and not trying to perform for others.  Everyone has their own learning or relearning curve.  If I decide to get into teaching more workshops, I vibe with Mel’s techniques of validation, clear explanations, and incremental growth.
  • Learn to stop in several ways!  In skating, you might need different ways to stop based on the situation.  In my photography business, I might need to stop doing certain types of photo sessions so that I can do more of other sessions that I enjoy more!
  • All growth isn’t positively linearly upward!  You will have setbacks such as dips in enthusiasm for the project such as sore knees, or dreading how to learn to fall on skates properly.  But just as in business, there are daily setbacks in being an entrepreneur. You have to see the horizon and not get discouraged.

What’s Next?

Keep going. Thirty-nine more days.  Keep lacing up those skates every day, just like I show up in my creativity business daily.  Each day will look and feel different, but I’ve learned to create systems that make me feel more confident and get more efficient.  Also, this reflection makes me thankful for great collaborative partners like First Hill Marketing and Bamboo Ann Arbor when I need their logistical and marketing help hosting creative workshops, for example.

Ginger’s Special Headshot/Creative Events Coming Up:

— Ginger