Do not share what you’re going to do next because you’ll create complications for your future self.
Your interests and workflows are far too amorphous for it to make sense to make “announcements” on what’s going to come next (before you’ve done that thing).
This is THE thorn in my side for creating more episodes of the podcast. I have lots of ideas (and even some recordings ready to go!) that I want to publish, but because I mentioned that “the next episode of the podcast is with the Creator Coalition and we talk about ALINEA”, I have verbally painted myself into a corner.
I can give myself grace for having all the excitement and intentions to roll straight into the Creator Coalition recording(s) because that’s how I was feeling and what I was expecting in that moment.
I can give myself grace for not knowing that I would hit a wall of resistance, overthinking that episode as much as I’m overthinking the process I’m in now.
Because of that one sentence (“in the next episode…”), I’ve created hours of turmoil:
Do I stick with my word of posting that episode (which is NOT ready) or do I “break my word”, deviate, and post something else next instead?
Anyone playing along at home can see that this is not worth the overthinking:
1) There’s nobody else in control but yourself. Momentum trumps it being “perfect”.
2) Nobody is going to notice, let alone care if you go out of order.
3) You’re allowed to change your mind. (“oops, today’s episode is actually _”)
4) You’re doing this to yourself. Nobody has this expectation of you. And even if they did and you broke that expectation, so what?
5) It’s not going to matter in the grand scheme because the intention is to KEEP CREATING. Therefor get any episode out now because your mind and the ambitions you have are 100x your rate of creation now so… hop to it. 😅
Embracing the above 👆 helps me lower the pressure I’m putting on myself WHILE adopting the lessons as I transition forward:
1) Keep your damn mouth shut about what you’re going to do next [unless that thing is already in the queue to go live]. 😉
(This, ironically was a conversation I had in Creator Coalition that might end up becoming a podcast episode, lol. → BUT I am not committing to that because what the heck did I just write 😂)
This keeps you agile. You can flow through the rivers of your own chaotic mind and you have no artificial “anchors” on where you go in a given moment. Others will only see the wake of your actions without realizing how chaotic and messy it was in the captain’s quarters of your mind to get there. 👀
2) The overthinking of the perfect system, flow, types of content, what to post, what’s useful to others, (etc) is what is literally preventing you from creating and doing A N Y T H I N G.
I barely know what project I’m going to feel drawn to tomorrow, let alone trying to determine my existential purpose for the rest of my life and how creating online is going to play into that. 😅
As I move forward, notes to myself:
1) You are operating best when you don’t have a lot of structure or commitments. The liberation creates opportunities within your psyche and private experience to run wild.
2) Occasionally (or routinely) let your mind and behaviors run wild to burn off steam to let your nervous system calm down. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s when I give myself permission to be as unstructured, chaotic, and “bounce around between tasks,” I end up feeling more fulfilled than when I’m sitting still and trying to “think” my way into what to do next.
Yes, this may mean that you don’t make solid progress on “one thing” for today. The alternative, at this stage, is that you make zero progress because you’re overthinking and not doing anything whatsoever but think, plan, and avoid.
For example, despite wanting to write/share/express for months, I keep putting it off. “Writing” this article wasn’t on the agenda today at all, and yet here we are. An accidental article in one sitting.
Does this also mean that I’m technically avoiding that one podcast episode? Yep. 😆
But — in exchange, I now actually feel less anxious, more in control and intentional because I let myself run a bit “wild” with my time.
3) Embrace your unconventional processes. They may be conventional to YOU, not others. Focus on that.
What’s conventional to others, “the average person”, or what science dictates might not actually apply to you, or perhaps not at this stage of life. Content online can’t engage with YOU, the person with a unique mind, behaviors, upbringing, etc. This doesn’t mean that the conventional methods aren’t correct or useful — you just might not apply to those situations those “correct” situations are relevant for.
Do you consider yourself normal or average? There are probably AREAS where you are normal/average and other areas where you’re abnormal/unconventional: so of course, some methods others use will work – and others won’t. Experiment: adopt the ones that work for as long as they work and discard the others.
4) Expect that most systems, ideas, and intentions will evolve over time. Embracing something unconventional might be necessary because you need to get out of the situation you’re in that is very nuanced.
PERHAPS over time you’ll be able to adopt a more “conventional” method once you’re out of the weeds of your situation. Or maybe you won’t.
Either way, you won’t know until you’re moving forward and testing it for yourself.
5) You may not always know what’s valuable to others. If you’re not making, doing, serving, then it’s untested theories. It’s generally up to others to find (or not find) value in what you do — regardless if it’s valuable to you or you “think” it’s valuable to others.
6) And that 👆 is NOT a reason not to create.
My overthinking on what’s “best” to create in the online space, when I know it’s already a “crowded space” is what prevents me from making.
If instead I focus my attention on what feels relevant, exciting, compelling, etc. for myself … then I’m more likely to create, cultivate my skills over time, and learn through interaction with YOU about what you naturally find useful.
None of that happens if I let all the “reasons” prevent me from creating in the first place.
… like telling viewers what I’m posting next on YouTube. 🙅♂️ 😂
