I have been wanting to start my podcast for two years. That's a long time. I mean, if I had started two years ago, I could already have 100 episodes in the bag. I would be figuring out the next level stuff instead of just starting out. But it is what it is, we're here now. I decided to stop beating myself up about it and get started. I started - by starting. LISTEN IN TO THIS EPISODE.
Well, to be completely honest, I got so annoyed with myself that I started looking for solutions. I got very curious about WHY I was putting it off. I mean, I know I can do it, I have most of the tools and the resources already. So what was the issue? What was holding me back? There are three main things I recognized happening in my mind: 1. Fear, 2. Fear and lastly - 3. Fear. Of course that fear dresses up as different things and I know it does for you too.
I noticed my fear fell into three main buckets: My Brain Keeping Me Safe, Comparaison and Perfectionism.
Our Brains Keep Us Safe
Our brains like us to stay safe. They are designed to make sure we stay alive so when something is unknown, our brain tells us to stay in the safe zone. That is where we know what happens and what to expect. We are animals and when an animal walks past a dark unknown cave, the brain says, "Whoa, better stay out of there, there might be a big scary bear hiding out in there". But WE can tell our brain that's it'ok to give it a shot, take a little baby step and see what happens. Trust our own capabilities and know that you will be fine. Once your brains sees that you are safe, you can try a little more! Because your brain, while it wants to keep you safe, can also learn new ways. It needs to be trained, so the more you do brave things, even if they are small, your brain learns that it's safe to do that.
Bet on yourself, because you deserve to be happy.
Comparing
A second thing I noticed I was doing was comparing. At first, it didn't seem like an issue, I mean I want to have a successful podcast so I was looking at podcasts and learning from people who were successful like Mel Robbins and Guy Kawasaki. But here's the thing. I am just starting out and they are years in, so of course it's suuuuper intimidating to see their perfect sets and sound edits. Here's what I do. I scrolled alllllllll the way back to their first posts and episodes. I learned about how they STARTED, not just what they are doing now. Did you know Jenna Kutcher recorded her first episodes in her car on her iPhone and Mel Robbins narrated her first audio book on her Macbook. She said she was dropping papers everywhere and fumblong words all over the place.
So while of course I am motivated to follow their leads, I am way less intimidated now that I have learned that they started out jut like me. And the same goes for you. Start where you are. Comparaison gets you in trouble and even more so when you are comparing yourself as a juicy red apple to a bright orange carrot. Nobody ever wins in that scenario.
Stick with what you already know and just be yourself. That's who everybody wants to be around anyway.
Getting It Done is More Important than Making it Perfect
Perfection is not achievable anyway, there is always something that can be improved upon and there is ALWAYS someone who can do things a little better than you. Just keep doing it YOUR way and keep chipping away at your goals. This applies to a lot of areas in life. It is more importnat to get out of bed and get your butt to the gym, even if you don't complete every rep perfectly. And getting the social media posts out there trumps impeccable branding and execution.
Be real, and get it done.
You know what are my favourite posts lately? The ones where Drew Barrymore shows her messy apartment and Jennifer Garner dumps out her disaster of a bag filled with old kids snacks. Why? Because they're not perfect. They make me feel like it's ok that my bag is a mess too. And guess what? That's ok.
So get it done. Press publish, hand it in, or pake the pitch. Your goals and your dreams matter. And I believe in you. When we train our brains to do brave things, stop comparing ourselves to carrots and quit worrying about being "perfect" (which is impossible to be anyway), do you know what happens? The pressure stops too.
You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be YOU.
Look around and who you follow and who you look up to. I guarantee they are doing brave things, whether that is just learning a new language to building empires. They are bring themselves and taking action towards their goals.
So now I have recorded the very first episode of the Real Talk Podcast. I know I have a lot of things to learn and to improve upon. But I did it, I started the ball rolling, and you can too on whatever your dreams are. Xo
