Natalie:
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What do you do when you reach a crossroads and
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you have to make a decision?
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You have to go left or
you have to go right.
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And when you make that decision, you
can no longer look the other way.
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Well, that's kind of where I'm at.
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I came to a crossroads and
I had to make a decision.
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I've had this podcast
and I love this podcast.
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We're halfway through the second
season, but a lot of things happened
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in my life where I just no longer
have the capacity to do the podcast.
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And so I was left with two decisions.
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One, do I continue and burn
myself out along the way?
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Two, do I say that's a wrap
and I end the season early and
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I stop the podcast altogether?
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And those were kind of the two
options I was debating back
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and forth for a long time.
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And then it dawned on me
that I could have a third.
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So sometimes we have a clear decision
of a right or a left, but sometimes
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you can create your own path.
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You can create another path that
goes somewhere in the middle.
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And so what I've decided to do
is to continue the podcast, but
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only with off the cuff episodes.
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Why?
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Because the off the cuff
episodes are easy for me.
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They're about five minutes.
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They're actually the most listened to.
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Podcast episodes, I think because people
just like to get little doses of truth
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or little doses of nuggets of wisdom
There are so many podcasts out there
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that are an hour long an hour and a
half long 45 minutes long But there's
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not a lot of really short podcasts.
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So I think I've actually created
a space for myself there.
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And that also allows me to keep
doing what I love, which is just
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sharing encouragement, sharing tips,
sharing things that I feel can make
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a positive impact on people's lives,
all in the name of encouraging people
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to prioritize their own well being
and to live a life that is aligned
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with their values and their purpose.
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That is what excites me.
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That's what keeps me going.
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And so that's what I'm going to do.
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So we're going to be doing
off the cuff episodes only.
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I'm hoping I can do it weekly.
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I think so.
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We'll see.
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But sometimes you just have
to give yourself grace and ask
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yourself, what, why am I doing this?
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And what's the outcome?
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And is anything else being impacted?
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Sometimes your hands are just too
full and something has to give.
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And so in this case, it's those
full episodes and the interviews
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because they take a lot out of me.
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I'm doing a lot more speaking engagements
and coaching, so I just don't have it
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to go, but this is not really about me.
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This is really for anybody out there
who's forced to make a decision or
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feels forced to make a decision.
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I think a lot of times there is Just
decision paralysis where people are
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unable to make a decision, but sometimes
in life you just have to move forward.
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Now, I'm not going to lie.
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I kind of sat in limbo for the last
month, which is why you haven't
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heard from me because I wasn't
ready to commit to a new decision.
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And I was still thinking maybe there was
a way that I could do full interviews
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and full episodes still, or I was
thinking I had to quit and let it go.
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Yeah.
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And sometimes the power of a
pause is good, like before making
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any final decisions, because if
I had decided a month ago, then
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there just would be no podcast.
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Or maybe even two or three months
ago, then we would have just stopped.
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But the power of a pause is good.
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And the clarity really only came in
the last, I would say, week or two,
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because multiple people have come up
to me, or called me, or messaged me or
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just spoken to me at an engagement,
something, and talked about my podcast.
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And I keep thinking, wow, well, if I had
shut it down, then they wouldn't even have
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that frame of reference to talk about.
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So.
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So sometimes the power of a pause
creates another path for you or allows
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you to see what other possibilities
exist when needing to make a decision.
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And of course, this decision is
still aligned with my values for
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work life balance and having personal
time for myself and doing something
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that's sustainable and enjoyable.
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Because if I don't enjoy
it, then I'm not doing it.
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And I think a lot of people are
doing things that they don't enjoy
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because they're just kind of stuck
in the routine or stuck with what
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they're, they've been doing before.
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So that would be my encouragement to
you is take a pause, but find decisions
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that can still align with your values
and align with your joy and create that
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third path for yourself if you need to,
or go right or go left, until next time,
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continue to serve yourself, your loved
ones, and your community from a full cup.
