When was the last time you held back from … pretty much anything you have been thinking about?
What’s getting in your way?
If you’re like me, you wait until you’re “Ready.” (Pigs might fly before I ever feel like I’m ready.)
Which also means that at least 78% of my ideas or ambitions will never see the light of day.
And when you think about it, that is really a terrible outcome for all involved. I hold myself back in that situation, which limits my potential. And others don’t get the benefit of whatever it was I was hoping to birth into the world.
For example, I’ve had an idea for at least a year, possibly longer, to launch something on LinkedIn called Fluent Fridays – basically a super short post with a nugget that someone could use immediately to increase their Leadership Fluency™.
You may be thinking, “Hey, that’s a great idea! What’s taking you so long?”
Well, I wasn’t “ready.”
Meaning, I hadn’t done the legwork. I hadn’t mapped out a strategy for posting with my various content pillars, or put together a posting calendar so I know what to post when, or asked someone to come up with the graphics for it… or, or, or.
You get my drift?
It’s possible I’ve been overthinking this (she thinks, dryly.). Thus, it’s been in my brain for a long time, and not necessarily online.
Until… I got fed up with myself. And I just posted the damned thing.
Was it perfect? No.
Was it what I thought I would post? No.
Did I hire a designer? No.
Did I commit to all of LinkedIn that I would be posting on Fridays? Yes.
Did I post the following Friday? No.
The point is, if I keep waiting until I have it all wrapped up in a pretty box with a bow, it will never happen.
This is low stakes at the end of the day. No one on LinkedIn is checking my posting dates to make sure I’ve been consistent.
I’m not suggesting you show up for a strategy rollout meeting unprepared.
What I am suggesting is that it’s possible, just maybe within the realm of possibility, that you are more prepared than you give yourself credit for.
So let’s just name what’s holding you back for what it is: Fear.
It’s not that you (or I) aren’t ready. It’s that you’re afraid. You don’t want to be judged (people will judge, it’s what our brains do.) You don’t want to look stupid. You don’t want to be compared to others. Or a million other things that your brain will come up with to keep you safe in your little cocoon and hold you back from whatever it is that your heart really wants to pursue.
Now, I’m taking (small) steps toward goals. Not the mundane goals. The BHAGs. You with me?
