It never fails… January floods the interwebs with content about change, hope and building new habits.
It’s not surprising when you think about the feeling a new year evokes coupled with the capitalistic stance of most American companies.
Leaders are asking, “How can we attract more people to our product/service/offering this time of year?”
And there’s no shame in the game. As marketers, we are charged with finding creative ways to connect our brands and products to new audience segments and finding meaningful ways to solve people‘s needs — whether or not those needs actually exist (which is a separate topic for another day).
In the theme of January and my personal commitment to “no new resolutions,” I’ve decided to continue the behaviors that served me well in the past and stop the ones that don’t. No big declarations. No major tracking tools to prove to myself that I followed through.
Just a commitment to myself to focus more on what brings me joy and less on what does not. And, if I’m being brutally honest, the need to figure out what those things actually are at this stage of my life. #ThisIs39
One of the positive behaviors is to continue listening to Brené Brown’s podcasts — both Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead, which is what triggered my “big aha” moment of the week.
You see, I haven’t written on my blog in months. Mostly because I’ve been spending my “work” time on my clients (which also brings me immense joy) and building my consultancy business. But I also feel this immense pressure to show up perfectly in my business. To find the perfect topics and provide perfect advice that aligns perfectly to my perfectly curated audience. Ha! No wonder I barely publish more than a quippy social media post most days.
Perfection is a fool’s game and I know better. I haven’t been successful because my work is perfect. Rather it’s because I genuinely love a good challenge and apply my natural curiosity and strengths in connecting dots and data points to deliver smart ideas and actionable strategies.
I’ve also built a professional network that embraced me when I went on my own so I could do more of what I genuinely love to do: help business leaders solve problems with smart marketing campaigns.
So, if you’re still reading this, thank you. You’re one of those incredible people I just mentioned.
I‘ll end with a takeaway from the podcast that inspired this impromptu post. I was listening to the latest episode of Unlocking Us with James Clear, author of the book “Atomic Habits.” In it, James talks about how consistency is far more important than intensity when it comes to building new habits that help you become a better version of yourself. Another valuable point he makes is to ask yourself questions rather than beat yourself up for being human.
On that moment, I though, “What would a writer do?”
They write. So here we go…
Comments