Do you take your own advice? Hmmm...
Maybe you do...maybe you don't.
Believe it or not, every now and then, probably not as often as I should...I do take my own advice*. It might be because sometimes I'll be in a circumstance and someone close to me will say "Maybe you should read your own material."
Ouch, and it's so true. What's that saying..."Do as I say...not as I do"...ugh. Being human over here!
Recently, I was in new circumstance and it had me in awe of the courage of my clients. It's scary to be taking on something new, to be a beginner again
It's not necessarily like being a kid when it was exciting to try new things.
Doing something new now? It can be full of trepidation and fear, even if it seems simple and pretty benign. Those human reactions will come up every single time.
So here's what I did without giving you all the details of the situation, which, in and of itself, was pretty benign. It was the whole idea of stepping into something on my own, with no reference point, that felt really intimidating...and I decided to do it anyway. It felt awkward being in surroundings that were unfamiliar, being completely overwhelmed by all of the "foreignness" of the situation.
But here's what happened. I took my own advice and...
I asked for help.
Not surprisingly...people are really willing to give it and, asking for the first piece of assistance got me on my way. Then, as bumps occurred, because they did, I would stop and remind myself that I've done new things before. I've done things that felt foreign before. I can do this, and step-by-step...I accomplished what I set out to do. Go figure.
We are creatures of habit and routine. That's normal, and what this situation reminded me of is the fact that even the littlest things can help us to practice using the muscle of newness. Allowing us to prove to ourselves that we can do new and challenging things.
So here's my question for you.
When's the last time you did something for the first time?
Are you ready?
Let's get to it...
Your challenge...
Here's my challenge for you over the next little while. Due to the time of year, this may afford you the opportunity to do something new.
It doesn't have to be a big thing...in fact practicing on the small stuff will still build that muscle.
It could be trying a different food.
Saying yes to an engagement that you normally wouldn't.
Watching something you haven't given a chance to, or reading new material.
The little things that might put you on the edge of your comfort zone. Those things.
Maybe for you, it's more than that. Maybe there's something you've been thinking about for a while, and you've been waiting for the nudge to give it a try...here's your nudge...
I can't tell you the rush I got by figuring this thing out and getting home and realizing, well, yeah, I can do new things...and so can you!
I’ll ask you again…”When's the last time you did something for the first time?”
Want some help along the way? Contact me I get it!
Cheers,
Ann
*As a coach I don't give advice however, I sort of do in my books:
"The Wisdom of the Sticky Note" Edition 2.0
"You're Stuck ...Now what?”
"The Confidence Recipe"
And my videos...
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ann_the_coach