You are on the right track here, friend. Fear of judgement does hold many of us back to some extent. To that, I will add that BELIEFS are the number one thing that holds us back.
The single best piece of advice I can give to everyone is to google Morty motherfucking Lefkoe. He has the answer to life, the universe and everything. Or you can read my post about the Lefkoe Method:
who-wants-to-get-rid-of-approach-anxiety-vt126937.html
All fear comes from our beliefs. If you eliminate all of the beliefs that are causing your fear, the fear will disappear.