Landing a massive opportunity should feel like Christmas morning — but sometimes it feels more like standing at the edge of a cliff in your pyjamas, staring down at a giant drop you should be ready for. That mix of excitement and pure terror? Completely normal — even if it doesn’t feel that way at 3am when you’re frozen in front of a blank screen.

Psychologist Caitlin Thamm, Paper Moose CEO Nick Hunter, and Streamtime’s Sarah Nguyen sat down to share how to tackle the fear and make this project work for you — not against you.

Stop shoulding all over yourself

Caitlin says it best: "There's this wonderful saying that you shouldn't should all over yourself."

All those shoulds — I should be excited, I should be more confident, I should nail this immediately — only pile on more pressure. The truth is, if your creative director has trusted you with this, they see something in you: "If your creative director has seen your work and they've given this to you, I think there's some trust that you can give them that they've seen that you have the ability to take this on."

And that fear you’re feeling? It’s not weakness — it’s proof you care. "You probably are so fearful and nervous about what the outcome is going to be because you care about it so much."

Remember: your CD is on your side

Nick shares what it’s like on the other side of the brief: "I would never give an assignment to anyone that I don't think is going to kick it out of the park."

The best creative directors want to help you get there: "The creative process is messy and you're not going to nail it on the first go and they understand that because they were creative at some point too. They should be able to help guide you through the creative process and come up with an absolutely awesome idea – it shouldn't be just on you."

So if you’re stuck, say so. "Say hey, I'm feeling a little bit nervous about this, I can't nail this, something's blocking me, help me with it, because that should also be their role."

Get your fear out of your head

Fear loves living in the dark corners of your mind. Caitlin’s tip? Bring it into the light. "When we're scared of things, knowing exactly what it is or putting it outside ourselves rather than holding it inside can be a really powerful thing."

Write it down. Talk it out. Figure out what’s really freaking you out — is it letting your team down? Not knowing where to start? Once you know what’s underneath, you can tackle it. "If there are uncertainties of what you need to do, that can give you opportunity to find a mentor. Find someone who can walk alongside you while you're doing this because this is the first time."

Zoom out — it’s an opportunity to play

Nick reminds us why we signed up for this industry in the first place: "How incredible – we get to be creative every day and come up with wacky ideas that solve clients' business problems. We're in such a fun industry."

One of his old acting teachers had the best mindset: treat each opportunity like practice. "Think of this as an opportunity to be creative and try and remove some of the more stressful KPIs around it."

And as Sarah says, it doesn’t have to be perfect from day one: "You can always work on it over time, so there's always the ability to make tweaks and feedback."

You’ve got this — and you’re not doing it alone

That fear you’re feeling? It means you care — and that’s what makes your work good. Your creative director gave you this project because they know you can handle it. The process is meant to be messy. It’s meant to be collaborative.

So breathe. Get the fear out of your head and onto paper. Ask for help when you need it. Celebrate the fact you’ve landed this opportunity — because the only thing scarier than doing it would be not having the chance at all.

Your job isn’t to get it perfect in one go. It’s to care enough to work through it, step by step. And you do. That’s why you’re here.

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