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Have you ever been giving advice and only after you say it out
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loud you realize you really need to hear it too? For me, it does
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happen regularly, but I want to share a specific example
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related to this podcast in recent history
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where I really needed to hear it myself. Two episodes
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ago I talked about this idea of trying on someone else's
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mindset like you are putting on another person's glasses and
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seeing the world the way they do. A world where they don't hesitate,
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they're just, they're not afraid of taking action in the way that you might be
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right now. Now, in case you did not know, I actually
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record these episodes live on YouTube and that means that
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anyone who wants can come and watch the recording and I always stay
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around after to chat. Well, during the chat I shared
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how I was going to skip an in person holiday event at my
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local co working space. I feel really uncomfortable going to
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events where I don't know anyone else attending, so I tend to skip them. And
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I was sharing how that was my intention to skip it. And as the words
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came out of my mouth I realized, okay, I need to take my own
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advice. It's the chance to try on someone else's mindset. Show
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up to the event as a person who doesn't hesitate to go
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to an event even if they don't know anyone else that is going to be
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there. So I made a verbal commitment during
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that live stream that I would go to the event the next day
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and sure enough signed up and said yes, I'm going
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to go. But since that stream, I have been thinking
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a lot about comfort zones and specifically
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about how it's possible to confuse your mode,
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how you work with your comfort zone. Now in the
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momentum formula, when I talk about finding your mode, this is about
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paying attention to how you're wired, to how you work
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to and to what feels natural to you so that you can keep repeating,
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so that it's sustainable and you can keep it up and keep your momentum.
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Even Last week's episode about choosing which path to take
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considered your mode. Looking internally and asking which path
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is a good fit that you could see yourself sustaining.
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It's the type of path you want to keep taking. It's why I record
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all of these episodes live. It suits my brain and how I'm
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wired to know that if I said I'm going to show up, I live, I'm
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going to show up live. Now for others that could be the complete opposite,
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that might actually terrify them and that would not work for them and that's
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okay, that's all about how we are different and you need to figure out what
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works for you. But mode
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is not about staying in your comfort zone.
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It's about paying attention to what fits. And there is
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room for you to try things outside your comfort zone and
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see if those might fit. For example,
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I have a friend of mine who established herself as a writer. Her
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website, her newsletter had incredible reach, and she was really good
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at what she did, and she enjoyed the process of putting together her
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work. Last year, she decided to try a video
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podcast with a friend of hers. It was not in her
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comfort zone. She would talk about how uncomfortable it made her
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to be to record video compared to writing.
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But she realized it did suit her mode because the schedule to
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show up and record with a friend helped her to show up
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consistently every single week. And over time, she got
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more comfortable with the video aspect and recently
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told me that if she imagined the podcast ending, she
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realized she would really miss it. And she's having fun doing this
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with a friend of hers and talking about things that she loves discussing
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Mode is about finding a fit that works with how you work, but
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it's also about experimenting with ways of working
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until you learn firsthand how it feels. So even if
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it's uncomfortable or makes you a little bit nervous, you may still be
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able to sustain it. And with time and experience, those
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nerves will start to ease, confidence can start to
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rise, and you'll find out over time if it's something that you can
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sustain or not. Maybe over time you realize this. This actually never
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goes down, and I don't want to keep doing this, and that's okay
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too. But you gave it the chance and you stepped outside your comfort
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zone. Even I still get a little bit nervous for
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a live talk, presentation, a workshop, and yes, even
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recording this podcast live. And ultimately, it's because I
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care about it being good. And when I care about things, I feel a little
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bit nervous now. Speaking of nerves,
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you might be wondering, okay, well, did I go to the holiday party? I
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RSVP'd yes, but what happened next,
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friends? I did go and I was nervous,
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but you better believe, because I made a public commitment, that I was not going
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to back down, so I went anyway. I am pleased
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to report that it did go well. Not only did the
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event organizers create the perfect scenario for
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people to interact with others because they used
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a passport system with really good prizes as an incentive, but
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also early on, I met another attendee who didn't know
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anyone else. I was hanging up my coat and ran into
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somebody who's actually an external person who was invited
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and we started going around and collecting stamps together and we both met
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a ton of new people and everyone I talked to was
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so kind, so welcoming and open to having conversations.
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It completely blew past my expectations. Now I know
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that not every event is like that and this is a really well run event
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and yes, that made a difference. But a few people,
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when they told me about upcoming events and encouraged me to go to more of
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the events that are happening, I found myself wanting to
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go. I was not going to go to this event. Truly, I
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was not going to go to this event and if I hadn't said something about
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it during the stream, I would have missed it completely. And that's
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all because I wanted to stay comfortable. So I do owe
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a very big thank you to the Wednesday Livestream regulars who
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watched me in real time, recognized that I needed to take my
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own advice to challenge myself, try on someone else's
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mindset, and they also cheered me on to go to the event.
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So thank you. Now I am actually taking the next two weeks
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off for the holiday season, so no podcast episodes for a couple of
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weeks, but I'll be back to my regular schedule in January.
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And if you have never attended one of the live recordings on
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Wednesday at noon Eastern, I encourage you to join during
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the New Year. And if between now and
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then you get invited to an event that you think could be fun
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but you feel nervous about going, I encourage you to step outside your
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comfort zone because you never know what might be on the other
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side.
