STOP Procrastinating and Create the Space YOU need for Change and for Growth!
What I’m talking about today is something that I know very well and have experienced. As ambitious successful career women, we can get in our OWN way by wearing a Superwoman cape, looking like we got it all together on the outside, wearing our fancy clothes, living in the big house, driving a luxury car, but on the inside, we don’t feel good about our bodies, we struggle with aging, and we don’t make our health and wellness a top priority from the inside out.
Ladies, I promise you…you can get out of your own way by taking your Superwoman cape off!
I got three points that will help you create space to make room for positive change and growth in your life:
Get Out of your Comfort Zone and Be Comfortable with Getting Uncomfortable
So, what does that really mean and why is it important?
Well, it means first identifying and becoming clear on what you need to overcome to create space for positive change and growth.
What are your discomforts or struggles that are holding you back? Why is it important that you overcome those discomforts?
For example, as it pertains to health and wellness, the reason we struggle with proper nutrition and maintaining weight loss is because we don’t make it a priority cause we’re too busy being superwoman for everything and everybody else.
Now I know you can relate to this – Most of us have been working from home since the start of the pandemic or only go into the office once or twice a week. Have you found yourself on your laptop, desktop, whatever from 8 or 9 am and you don’t move until about 12 or 1 pm for a quick break? You go right back to the computer and sit there until 5 pm or later and all you ate was some crackers and drank two cups of coffee or you ate nothing and called it intermittent fasting. Even worse, you ate nothing but sweets and junk food all day.
So, what does this have to do with getting out of your comfort zone?
Well, we think we are being productive by working non-stop. Working hard and making things happen is easy for us ambitious career-driven women; it’s our comfort zone. However, taking the time to make better food choices by meal prepping and planning for the week is hard for us - that’s the discomfort.
Be honest with yourself. When you start to make excuses like I don’t have the time or the motivation or the energy to elevate and level up on my health and wellness, know that you can get out of your own way if you take off your cape and get comfortable with being uncomfortable for change and growth to occur.
Another key point when it comes to getting out of your comfort zone is you must be consistent. You must be intentionally committed to changing your mindset by incorporating daily healthy habits and strategies to make the change you want to see. The more and more you do it - the better you will get, the more confidence you’ll gain, and the easier and more natural it becomes.
While I’m writing this, I’m in a space of being comfortable with being uncomfortable as it pertains to being more active on social media platforms. About four months ago, I was non-existence on social media. To be honest, I did really bother or care to post anything on social media. It just wasn’t me. The reality is I wasn’t comfortable with it – mainly because in the past, I would see a lot of negativity whenever I viewed certain platforms. I’ve come to realize that there are true benefits to interacting with other people through social media and that it opens the doors for opportunities to learn and grow if used correctly. Also, when it comes to trolls, haters will always hate. We can’t control the hate and negativity that others have when they hid behind a keyboard, but we can control ourselves and our reactions. So, I decided to become more active and have found a great community of like-minded individuals who want to add value that is not superficial but comes from a place of love which leads me to point number two.
Open Yourself Up to New Meaningful Connections and Opportunities
For me, I AM a motivator, I AM an encourager and I like to lift people up, so I'm the first to reach out to somebody when they do something that resonates with me and hits my spirit, my soul - just to tell them thank you and ask if I can connect. That is something I've learned to do. In the past, I would never do that but now I do it all the time. I think it’s critical and important to give flowers and to show love to all those people who do something that resonates with you.
So, being willing to open up and to make meaningful connections is the key. For growth to occur, you must get into position with people who have mastered want you are aiming to do or become. That means you must be willing to open yourself up to connect with and to have opportunities to collaborate with like-minded individuals who will add value to your life and positive vibrations. Getting into position means opening yourself up to engage with people who are on the same path, their journey will be different than yours but at least you are on the same path to achieving success in whatever it is. Additionally, you must put yourself in positions to connect with experts that have been there and have successfully overcome challenges and struggles to get where they are at. There is a saying, if you are the smartest person in your circle then you need another circle.
So going back to social media…I have had the opportunity to reach out and meet amazing people on different social media platforms that I would have never meet anywhere else that are experienced with starting businesses, being successful entrepreneurs, and experienced in coaching. Also, being willing to open up to new meaningful connections and opportunities will help you to find your right tribe and community which is point number three.
Finding Your Right Tribe/Community/Coach
This right here is so important because you cannot do anything alone! You definitely need to surround yourself with those like-minded people that are going to push you, that are going to encourage and motivate you to continue to learn and grow. You can try but you’ll continue to stay stuck and struggle to move forward because you are trying to do it all by yourself. So, remember it is better when you don’t have to do it alone.
For example, when it comes to health and wellness, I talk to career-driven professionals women (GenXrs) who are constantly busy all the time and have 50 million things going on (I like to say 50 million all the time for some reason that’s just a number I like). As career-driven women (and that includes me), we can get so overwhelmed with responsibilities – taking care of everyone else and being everything for others that at times we neglect our health and wellness. We feel exhausted, stressed out, and think we lack the time, energy, and motivation to make ourselves (our well-being) a top priority.
We know the things that we need to do but we're not held accountable, so we fall into and remain in the comfortable trap. This is exactly why you need the RIGHT Tribe, the RIGHT Community, and the RIGHT Coach (strong emphasis on RIGHT), to help you to be accountable, to stay on track, to push you, to motivate you, and to give you the tools that you need for growth and change to occur. One thing to remember is that the right tribe, community, and coach are there to support and help you, but YOU must be the one to execute and make things happen.
So again, just to recap…To Create the Space YOU need for Change and Growth, you must:
Get out of your comfort zone and be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Open yourself up to new meaningful connections and opportunities.
Find Your RIGHT Tribe/Community/Coach to push you and keep you accountable.
So, Ladies, let’s STOP Procrastinating and make 2021 the year for Transformational Change and Growth!