Hello Everyone and welcome to the third episode of the Motivation Monday Podcast!
Imagine tuning in to a short pep talk at the start of every week to get you in the right frame of mind to tackle your goals and ease your way through the week without anxiety and procrastination.
That’s exactly what this is!
For those of you who don’t know me super well, I have been studying human behavior for over 15 years and have learned quite a bit about why we do what we do. It’s allowed me to peek into the operating system of our minds and fine tune what’s going on in there so that we can live with less chatter and distractions, and feel more confident and enthusiastic about what we’re doing in life.
If you want secrets to “hack” your mind and enhance your self-development, this is absolutely the place for you!
Each week, I’ll be releasing an episode on Monday mornings with tips and tricks to hit your week with your best foot forward
I hope you enjoy this Episode!
Transcript below if you’d like to read instead or follow along.
MM Podcast EP 3: Why Procrastinating On Your Ideas Is Pointless
Welcome to another Monday, which for me means another week of opportunity! Each week carries a little uncertainty with it, which can be viewed as something exciting, or something that you dread. I’d like to encourage you to view each week from a lens of excitement and opportunity.
Let’s reconnect to our inner child, who loves to play, explore, and live in a world where expectations are not as important as us adults make them out to be.
I'd like to share something with you today that really made an impact on my mind as I was reflecting about the end of this year
One of the things I was scared to do all of last year was film videos for YouTube. The fear mainly narrowed down to me not thinking I was knowledgeable enough to share information. I was also scared of my friends and family finding the videos and then laughing at what I was doing. These two things combined were enough to put me in a bind where I could not bring myself to start up a YouTube channel.
Then I had a realization come into my mind while I was reflecting about my progress this past year.
The thought went something like this:
Had I just started filming videos a year ago with no expectations attached, and set aside all thoughts of making money, getting subscribers, etc where would I be today?
Well I can tell you a few things:
I'd be a lot better at filming videos now, assuming I had a year of experience under my belt
I'd have more than 0 subscribers on YouTube, which is what I have right now
There is great probability that I would have at least 1 client, who saw my videos and then decided to invest in my help
There is also great probability that I would have had other ideas stem from those videos in the form of: digital products, courses, and chat groups where people joined to share and grow together
Lots of positives...
So the other question remains now...
Any negatives?
Sure I could have spent a year filming videos and it could have all been a waste of time and amounted to nothing (this was my greatest fear)
But thinking a little more, there's no way I would have let that happen. I'm someone who learns from my mistakes and is constantly looking for ways to make things better. I've even proven that to myself with past businesses that I've started and managed.
Also, if the main fear causing me not to film videos in the first place was that it would be a waste of time, how did I spend my quote "valuable time" this year then?
In all honesty, a lot of my time was wasted in general and sucked away by: distractions, ruts and hard events that came into my life, and fears I felt to start anything new.
So I was afraid of starting my YT channel due to the fear of it being a waste of time, and instead decided not to do it, but wasted a lot of time anyway.
Most people would be quick to call me stupid here after hearing about this, but I've learned to be kinder to myself recently when my own thoughts are involved.
Instead, when I noticed this, I saw something that sparked motivation.
"If I choose to the the thing I'm most afraid of, I will almost certainly end up in a better place than if I don't do the thing at all"
This ignited some power in me. And from my 15 years of studying human behavior, I know for a fact that this same fear path exists in a lot of people's lives, even if they don't realize it.
So what I want to talk to you about today is why you should start that thing you've been dreading.
So what if it doesn't work out?
What are you going to do instead? Just keep living the same life you've been living? This realization is a blessing in disguise. It almost automatically gives you permission to start.
The truth is:
Fear is not real, it's something our mind creates when the unknown is involved in order to keep us safe.
And when you start anything new, there is always the unknown.
So how can you minimize your fear and get yourself ready to start that new thing.
By realizing and getting behind a few points:
• Starting is the hardest part, and once you do, half the battle is already won
• You will never end up worse off from trying something, you can only improve
• The sooner you start something , the sooner you get good at it
• Any fears we have are almost always exaggerated in our own minds, we often see the worst case scenario
Ask yourself:
Am I better off by not doing this thing, or could I have become better just by trying it?
After a little reflecting, you will probably come to realize that it is always worth it to start the idea that you have. You never know what is going to come of it and how you're going to get to your final destination
Does that sound scary?
What if you decided to see it as "exciting" instead?
When you're a kid, isn't exploring the unknown exciting?
It's exciting because as a kid, we don't have attachment to the final outcome, we just want to relish in creativity
When we put expectations on our ideas such as:
making money
getting a specific outcome for our time spent
receiving a certain reaction from our peers
this messes with our process and provides a lot of friction, usually resulting in us not starting the idea that originally inspired us.
So what's the takeaway here?
Expectations kill motivation
So what drives motivation then?
Freedom to be creative and explore, with no strings attached.
Ironically, once we give up the idea of controlling whether or not something works out for us or not... That is essentially when the door opens even wider and shows us the path
It's all about trusting the unknown path that lies in front of us.
No matter how safe we may try to play things
Our future path is unknown, and embracing this can offer massive value.
Imagine if you were able to set aside your doubts and expectations and simply make an agreement with yourself to do a small amount of work towards your idea or goal each day?
I can guarantee you that oftentimes, those small work day efforts will turn into longer ones because you'll realize how much you enjoy what you're doing
It's also a great way to build self confidence and self respect for your ideas and aspirations.
And you also have a 1000% higher chance of something happening from your ideas than if you take no action at all. In fact, I can almost guarantee that if you take no action, nothing will happen.
So armed with this knowledge, it's only a few days into the new year and I'm well on my way to filming my first few sets of videos. As soon as my channel gets up and running, I'll be sure to share it with you as well.
But now I have a challenge for you?
What is the thing you've been fearing to start that you're NOW going to start after listening to this episode? Comment below and let's hold each other accountable to making progress, and taking action on our ideas.
After all, the fact that you had the idea in the first place is no accident. It's a gift. Now it's up to you to get around your mind and start creating that idea.
Your idea came to you because the world needs what you have to offer.
Let's make it happen.
If you’ enjoy these episodes, please consider supporting my work by buying me a coffee below! I do this pretty much full time and your support means the world!
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