A case for putting myself out there, aka, how to be okay appearing stupid

I recently faced some scenarios where I was afraid to put myself (more specifically, my thoughts/ideas) out there because of the fear of appearing stupid (i.e., my ideas not being good enough). I work with some really smart people, so this fear is not unfounded either. I realized that not putting my thoughts out there would hurt more than putting out "wrong" thoughts and pushed through. First off,…