Failure is success in progress. - Albert Einstein
Hey guys. I haven’t posted anything since spring of 21. Not a blog post, not a video. Nada.
When I began, I was full of energy and ideas and very much enjoyed making content.
The thing is, I knew that when I started this endeavor that I would let myself down. Well, that is how I viewed this stopping and starting in the past. As failure and a let down to myself. What a terrible, self-fulfilling prophecy over my endeavors! I have since learned to reframe my thinking. I’ll explain in a minute.
I am a dreamer. I mean, I love to conceptualize and plan things out. I do believe the “sky is the limit” and so I have never had a problem dreaming big.
I am also a doer. I love setting up systems to accomplish all the things. But, I can get really bored, or overwhelmed by a deadline I have set for myself and decide that I just don’t have to do it. Have big ideas, get started on said big ideas, get bored and/or overwhelmed and then engage in negative thinking. But then, I start dreaming again about what could be and I am re-motivated to try again. It is a cycle, that’s for sure.
This time, though, is going to be different because I am different. I’m not necessarily even talking about my consistency, but about my thoughts and attitudes towards Beat the Brew. I have learned about process. I have learned that I can start and stop and start again as many times as I want. It doesn’t mean anything other than the meaning I ascribe to it. If I choose to look at a time of stopping as failure, or inconsistency, or as “you always do this”, well, I really am setting myself up for struggle. It will be more difficult to restart if I choose to think those thoughts.
However, if I choose to think another way, continuing what I have begun may be easier.
For example, if I choose to see stopping as an indicator that something is off, I can get curious. Why do I feel the need to stop? Have I set unrealistic expectations for myself? Do I need to give myself more time? A better plan? Some time to rest and a date to get going again? In this way, I can choose to think helpful thoughts that allow me to figure out the actual problem.
As I reflect on what caused my stopping last time, I recognize that I put too much pressure on myself to complete the 14 days to Fabulous project. I was literally filming and editing all of those days in a row and I burnt out and then followed a line of thinking like the first example above. “Katie, you always do this. You get excited about a new project and then you give up. You failed again.” NO wonder it has taken me this long to get back to it!
Instead, I’m going to remind myself that it is okay for me to find a groove. It is okay for me to make mistakes and learn from them. It is okay for me to pick back up right where I am. It’s okay to build slowly.
BTW, 14 days still isn’t done. And that is really okay! I might get back to finishing it, or I might not. I’m still a loved daughter of the King no matter what.
So what about you? What is stopping you from picking back up, or starting altogether? Is it fear of judgement? Fear of failure? Lack of planning? Whatever it is, start identifying your thoughts about it right now. Once you identify the thoughts holding you back, you can choose to think new thoughts that help you along your path.
Here’s the thing about failure thoughts. Some of them are true. I do have a history of starting and stopping. That’s okay! The new thoughts are true, too. I am going to choose to focus on the thoughts that help me advance my cause rather than keep me held back.
May I suggest you do the same? We have great things to offer this world. If it were not so, we would not be here. But we are, and created for just a time as this. Go get ‘em!