Lately, One of the recurring themes in my coaching sessions is “consistency.” I’m not doing an excellent job with that. Particularly concerning the big goals I’ve set for myself. They’re not in alignment with the time that I can spend. Yet, I try and fail.
The result, as you can imagine, is an archive of efforts that scream mediocrity. And even if there are gems, there’s no way to find out because nobody else is looking. It’s not that I don’t know what I need to be doing to get out of my head, but I have a hard time letting things go. Because doing so feels like a personal failure, which you and I know isn’t the case.
I have often let my desire for “perfection” get in the way. One of the examples that my coach highlighted was that even though I was blogging every single day, I don’t share even a single post on LinkedIn, where my audience lives.
What’s stopping me from reposting my thoughts there? Given that most people have a hard time creating content, I have it easy, and still, I’m not doing what should be super-obvious to anyone with a brain.
The answer might lie in what I believe is the number one reason people hesitate to do anything — the fear of being judged. But upon more profound exploration, two questions popped up:
- Who do I fear?
My audience? But only the ones who resonate with your thoughts become your audience, no?
- What’s the worst that could happen to me?
People might not follow me or remove me from their “connections.” How does that impact me? Not much because I can’t force people to read my stuff either nor buy my services. If they’re not ready for my ideas, it’s expected that they will (eventually) leave me. What’s so special about that? Nothing.
So, I’ve been letting my thoughts get in the way of what could’ve been an incredible legacy on LinkedIn. Heck, I’ve seen some of my friends becoming “influencers” on LinkedIn only because they dared to show up every day. Not everything they posted was good. They knew it, yet they showed up.
I’ve come to think that we overdo perfection instead of overdoing showing up in the right places.
Yes, I do show up here, but what’s the point when the people with whom it’s going to resonate the most are somewhere else That’s akin to investing the time of life to climb a ladder knowing fully well that it’s the wrong one!
It doesn’t make any sense! Sure, I can’t use the “f” words on LinkedIn but come on, being professional doesn’t mean you don’t think those thoughts. Do you not? And that’s a BS excuse I’m telling myself.
While I’ve been a massive proponent of showing up every day, I have also been not true to my own goals, which like any other entrepreneur, is to:
- Build an audience of people I want to work with
- Establish credibility by showing up everyday and sharing something useful
- Engage with my audience, have meaningful conversations, and most importantly, add more value
But having clarity isn’t enough. Showing up and keeping at it is what matters the most. But in the right direction.