Hello, everyone. Well, I showed up again. There was some question earlier today in my mind if I actually would or could. I wasn't feeling like a dynamic podcast host earlier today, feeling tired, a little exhausted from a lot of extra things going on in my life, as I make room for this podcast and some new programs that I'm offering.
Truthfully, I really had to drag my ass out of bed this morning. And that says something because I'm a morning person. I'm not a night person. I do love waking up before the sun. I love beginning the day when it's quiet out there in the world and I start to see the colors creeping into the sky. I think about, wow, what am I going to do with this day, this time, this opportunity to grow again, evolve, live my life as an entrepreneur, as a woman who has many encores ahead of me.
But the confession is, today, I didn't feel like any of that earlier in the day. I really truly was dragging quite a while. Then I realized, I made a promise. I made a promise to show up here every week, and share intimately the truths of my life as I am growing up in my 60s; figuring out who I want to be next and how I'm going to make that happen; who I want to become with unlimited possibilities!
But today was a day, I wasn't feeling all that spunky. And then I remembered I have a secret weapon. Now if you're watching this video, you've already figured out I bet what I'm going to say next. But if you are on audio, you will not know that I am wearing one of the most powerful T-shirts I have in my wardrobe. It was a gift to me from a dear friend, a Vitamin G in my life, Jaci Scully, and my T-shirt says “Because I Said I Would”. This is a T-shirt from a social movement, an organization called Because I Said I Would. I encourage you to check them out on the internet. There's some great TED talks on this theme. And there's certainly some social programs and ideas that you may really find helpful in your life.
But for today, I'm just valuing the opportunity that I have this T-shirt because it's kind of like, you know, my super woman costume when I am feeling less than invincible. If I put this T-shirt on, and I look at myself in the mirror, and I set my chin, I can pretty much talk myself into getting back out there and doing what I need to do - Because I Said I Would.
The worst thing we can do is to let ourselves down. It is bad enough how we tear ourselves up, when we know we've let somebody else down. But I think far worse is when we let ourselves down, because we've made a commitment, we made a decision.
You know, there's lots of reasons that I want to some days just hide under the covers, eat snacks, binge watch Netflix, whimper a little and have a little pity party by myself. And then I think “Oh Yuck”! I don't like this here. It doesn't feel good at all. Yes, I need to allow myself time to process and my emotions to heal. Especially I need to get some rest which is part of why I was cranky this morning. I haven't been sleeping very well for a couple of days. And that's another episode.
But I also know, aside from the T-shirt, and own personal “talking to”, some thought downloads, some journaling; there's another surefire tool in my toolbox. And that's my Vitamin G network.
Now if you've heard me talk a little bit about how I believe that the most healthy supplement on the planet is Vitamin G. “G” stands for girlfriends! That's a carefully curated and nurtured network of close personal friends who make you want to be a better woman, who want you to succeed. But they will tell you the truth when you're wimping out. And they will share everything that they have gone through and learned, and all the mistakes that they have made, so that you will benefit and that will save you time and money and heartache.
So that was also what I did today that enabled me to show up here for you on this episode. I reached out and I called one of my very, very favorite Vitamin G's. And I talked to her and I said, I'm feeling like a complete loser today. I don't have the energy, I don't feel like I can follow through, I've got a lot of things started. And I don't know how I'm going to get this all finished. And I know that if I don't finish some of these today, I'm letting some other people down. And I'm letting myself down.
So when you are experiencing those days of ‘I don't know’, avoidance, procrastination, hesitation, resorting to unhelpful practices and habits like snacking and whining and wine-ing, think about really, how important is this?
Do you really legitimately deserve to give yourself a free pass? postpone it to another time? Do you really, really need to say, “I no longer need to do that” and make it right, finishing off, tie it up, clean it up? Or do you say ‘Suck It Up Buttercup’, let's go get it done. Because then there will be no more energy draining, fighting, resisting what you keep saying I should do. And instead, you'll be able to say I did it!
Have another very, very dear friend who inspires me every day. Her name is Michele Bailey. And Michele Bailey says “I can. I will. I did!” And that's a driving motto for her. And that's a great one to keep tucked away in your reserve, when you need to have a little chat with your limiting belief character - LB; the Little Bitch that sometimes talks in your ears and talks you out of why you should finish something. Or when you just feel like other people are trying to convince you and distract you from getting done what you know is important to the future that you desire and that you deserve.
Another tip from me around getting over the hump. On the days when it's feeling like just too much, too much to do, too much drama, requiring too much energy is to go for a walk. How incredibly simple is that! But there is definitely huge return in the value of connecting with Mother Nature for a while. Leave your devices behind. Or simply turn off the ringer on your phone and play some uplifting music or one of your favorite and uplifting podcasts. Just get away from the environment that you're in right now that you're resisting for 30 minutes or 45 minutes. It's amazing when you come back how much easier it is to just dive in and get that done.
As an entrepreneur, you know, and as you may face also, we are always teased about having squirrel or bright shiny object syndrome. I've learned over the years, not only is that because I have this amazingly curious brain and I really love to create and to build and vision and I vision futures for people, sometimes bigger than their own vision for themselves. But also, the squirrel or the bright shiny objects syndrome can be a disguise for procrastination. Because if I don't want to work on that I can make myself think it's because this is so much more fun and interesting - and I abdicate my responsibilities, so I can go over here and play mentally. I don't know if that's something that presents for you. But watch out because it's sneaky. It just pops in there because it seems like way more fun.
So for now, I just like to say, thank you, thank you for being part of my recovery and my recharge today. I'm feeling much more like I can now get busy, and tick off some of those things on my list and feel better for having done it, because you've allowed me to just share here with you, friend to friend, and be honest and candid about the things that some days I'm a little embarrassed or a little ashamed of my bad habits and my misbehaviors. Good thing is every day is a new day! And we start over and I look forward to talking to you again next week. And I'll let you know how I'm doing with that staying on track. And if I have any other T-shirts that I want to share with you!
Goodbye for now.
