Hey again, friends! Here we are, the beginning of June and for me, that means it’s time to take stock. (ugh, sounds like fun, eh?) It is… and it isn’t. But more on that in a bit. First – a quick thanks for sticking with me for OMG 23 weeks now yikes… really?! And I hope there’s at least been a tidbit here or there that is helpful… there’s some exciting things coming the 2nd half of the year with book releases scheduled and such, which will bring a whole slew of other info-sharing!
This Past Week
Today I want to chat just a wee bit about something that (for me) ties in directly with my ‘taking stock’ task. Every quarter (give or take a few) I sit down with myself to have a “comin’ to Jesus” meeting. In other words, I take stock of the previous quarter, get real honest with myself at where I succeeded, where I didn’t, and why (on both counts). More importantly, it lets me see where I over- or under-estimated myself, and helps me to get clear and focused on the next quarter.
Because, let’s be real, our goals, wants, dreams, etc., are a living, breathing part of us – they change and evolve just as we change and evolve. And sometimes, the goals and dreams we were working our tail off for may have not been dead-center on the target… instead, maybe some of them were what we thought we “should” be doing based on others, society, past failures, etc.
I had a lightbulb moment recently.
And man, was it a doozy.
Like one of those, slap upside the head moments where when it happens you have to call yourself out on your own bullsh!t, right?
The kind where once it happens, you only have two choices, and two choices only… act on it and fix the damned thing… or consciously and willingly stick your head in the sand, plug your fingers into your hears and go “la-la-la I’m not listening!”
/sigh/
Knowing that I still have some pretty big goals I plan to hit this year — act on it and fix the damned thing was my only option.
So… what was this slap upside the head, you may ask?
I have been keeping myself playing in the very small, shallow pool by needing others permission and validation under the guise of “feedback”.
Ouch.
Double-whammy ouch, in fact.
Now — let me preface this by saying there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting feedback – it is a necessary and integral part of our growth, our businesses, etc…
BUT…
When we use that to go against our own better judgement… it allows us to keep playing small. It’s our “easy out” excuse that our brains use to justify why we didn’t do this or that. To not put ourselves “out there” in a bigger way… even when we know that is EXACTLY what we need to be doing.
It was a big wake-up moment for me, and not the nicest one to wake up to — but I’m grateful for it.
And… I’m grateful for the timing of it most of all, because coming into my ‘taking stock’ meeting with myself, I can look at the past few months with a more clear vision and see exactly where I was using these excuses to not move forward and progress… and how I can recognize that and keep myself from falling back into that same trap over the next few months.
I use reverse engineering to plan out how to try to achieve those things I want – I just recently made a post about it over on Author’s Mojo if you’d like to check it out — because phew, am I gonna be reworking some plans after that lightbulb moment!!
So – leave me a message, want to do your own taking stock meeting? Remember, it’s not about judging yourself or making yourself “wrong”… it’s about learning more about yourself and how you can grow. As the great Maya Angelou once said:
What I Accomplished
- Webinars & writer summit conference
- Began migrations away from MailChimp
- Book trailer creation
- Prepping for launch of new products in my Author’s Mojo biz
- Hosting server troubleshooting (bleh!)
- Last week of school for my son – tons going on!
- Family in hospital – (prayers please!)
- Trying to remember to be gentle with myself – I’m not superhuman though some days I try to be
The Big Takeaway
[bctt tweet=”Life is a constant learning experience – but once we ‘know better’ we have an obligation to ‘do better’, otherwise we consciously choose ignorance. ❤ https://www.moriganshaw.com/indie-author-adventures-23/ ” username=”MoriganShaw”]