It was time to get uncomfortable again. Part 2/2

Welcome back to part two.

If you missed part one, please read first here

Or you can watch the video:

Onto part two

6) Start early…give yourself wiggle room

The nature of being creative and running my own gig is that I am great at working under pressure. I can pull off magical results at the final hour. I can adapt quickly if needed and PIVOT!

However I’m sure my nervous system prefers more wiggle room. Just because I can, it doesn’t mean that I should and that is ultimately the best solution.

I also realised that if I went back to my intention (see point 5) ‘winging it’ was not going to give me the result I wanted.

So I decided to start early.

Give myself more time than I think I need.

Space to create and experiment.

Capacity to really see what I am capable of.

I wanted to really challenge myself which is so hard in lots of areas of life because we require and crave simplicity because otherwise it would all get too much.

Having a ten week window was a great opportunity to stretch. Plenty of space to level up but also knowing it would have a closing point.

My packages always include ongoing support after our time together, so have a look and see where you could benefit from my support. Details here

7) If you assign time + focus, you are going to experience change…

I knew that making the commitment of showing up for at least thirty hours over ten weeks was going to create an enormous shift. In fact, it turned out to be more like fifty hours and I was blown away by the progress. The truth was, in the previous 10 weeks, I had maybe only shown up for a maximum of 5 so to suddenly go to 50 was a big leap.

The structure of doing a course created the pace for the commitment, so if something more formal suits you, sign up.

However, if you want to set your own pace, start small with something manageable. I believe we have to be in conscious conversation with our own time all the time.

If we are not; time slips away unexpectedly, or we don’t spend our time in a way that we would choose, or other people claim it.

Once I fully understood that a) It was going to be very rare and unlikely that I was ever going to have a window of time with nowt to do (as we say up North!) and b) Saying ‘I don’t have time’ isn’t solution focused; it is just a filler sentence. I then realised it was all on me and your time is all on you.

Now 30/50 hours may feel so out of reach, so instead, let’s focus on what you could do.

Firstly knowing you want to shift will support you.

What is your goal? Where do you want to focus? What results do you want to achieve?

When you map out what you want to change (if you want specific help go to Jam and Plan: You may find that it is going to take some time. That’s fine. Don’t give up, instead make a plan.

How much time could you assign to this one area this week? Try and choose times and days that are going to be doable and manageable. For example I am never scheduling anything at 11pm:) Well only, hopefully, uninterrupted sleep :)

Now let’s make it official, schedule the windows into your calendar and block yourself out. Marie Forleo wisely says, ‘If it is not scheduled, it isn’t real’ I think there is a lot in that.

Let me know how you get on and use the comments down below for accountability.

8) Work the muscle and it will get stronger and more effective.

Waking up the muscle in the first can be the trickiest. Take exercise for example. If you haven’t done any for a while… you know about it. When I went back to hot yoga, I suddenly became aware of every muscle in my body. The process of building the habit again can be spiky and intense.

However I often find, this is when you get the information you need. You find out where your gaps are. What’s easy and strong and what needs more attention, consideration and care.

In terms of the acting class being able to analyse, learn and deliver scripts instinctively is a key skill. As an actor, I can tell when I am rusty; I am indecisive, stumble over my words and everything takes more time. The ten week course accelerated the process and I am now back in the groove.

Linking back to the above… your goal and what requires your time and focus, I would like to ask you, what does that look like in terms of action? What is ‘working the muscle’ — who do you need to be? What do you need to put in place?

This is your time to make it real; Dreaming, creating, exploring, considering, designing, imagining, visioning, questioning, answering, inventing, constructing, discovering, remembering, reassuring, connecting…

To dig in. I can support you to find some answers.

What you want to be, do, have and feel. (P.S. It may be different from the previous version of you…)

I hold space and time for you to reconnect with your instinct and vision.

To explore. Gently inviting everything that is in your head to move on to a piece of paper (imperfectly).

Opening the next chapter of you.

Then to make it happen:

Building, launching, selling, sharing, making, declaring, helping, impacting, delivering, producing, advocating, leading, surprising, elevating…

and fulfilling… to you, to your people, to your dream and to your work in the world…

We will get into the ‘action’ How you can actualise your idea into reality. Once we have got clear on what your version is aka the specifics, I will be there every step of the way to bring it all to life.

This is when you begin to tick things off your list, you build momentum, you press play, you go live, you say yes (and maybe no)and become the person who does… not the one that just talks about it.

9) The tweaks, the adjustments, the blind spots…

Inviting another pair of eyes/ears to experience your work and offer support can be nerve wracking. Did you ever get a ‘SEE ME’ in red pen at school…? You would nervously carry your school book through your sweaty palms to the teacher’s desk to be told what you had done wrong or where you had mistakes; probably in quite a scary and intimidating tone.

I think this prospect haunts us. Therefore we don’t open ourselves up to help or support; for the fear of what may be said.

However, if you can be open, curious, ask great questions and be willing to welcome answers, here is where you will grow.

Now sometimes feedback is not said with a supportive intention (and you can then choose whether you take it or leave it) but generally if you choose wisely, the feedback will be in support of you. Wise words from someone who sees your potential greatness and only wants to see you thrive is so powerful.

I know in my coaching work, I can see spaces and gaps of opportunity. I can support my client to remember who they are and boost their confidence, because I can see it, I can see their excellence, even when sometimes they can’t. Supportive, encouraging cheerleaders are so important and a key part of the process.

10) Playing in possibility

My final feeling after the course was of possibility. I was raring to go. Excited, sharp, ready and reconnected. I got exactly what I wanted to gain plus so much more.

When my clients talk about their dreams and ideas, sometimes there is a feeling that they are far away. They are at the end of the path and we need to work out how to get there.

However what if we flipped the idea around. What if in fact, your dreams and ideas were already in, they were already inside of you. You just have to nurture them and bring them to life. Give them what they need; keep supporting them, making space for them, trusting the timing, the process and that they are on their way.

Check out how we can work with together here