Being Ready Is A Mindset | Five Things That Helped Me Get Out Of My Own Way

You will never “be ready” to start.  You’ll tell yourself so many things to justify it too.  You’re not good enough, don’t have enough followers or subscribers, your family doesn’t approve, you need to land that new job first….blah, blah, blah!

Being ready is a mindset.  You can have everything on paper, in a power point presentation, in a journal or even thought out but not written out but, pulling the trigger on whatever it is you’re planning or setting a goal for, is the first real step.

As humans we will find ways to talk ourselves out of something that is good for us or in one word, procrastinate about it but fact is, it’s our own fear holding us back.  It’s our inside voice saying we’re not ready or that same voice trying to convince us that we need to be “ready” to start.

So how do we get out of our own way?  I don’t have a blueprint but here are some things that helped me.

Just do it!

My first “just do it” moment was choosing myself.  In the moment I didn’t even know it, but I remember coming back from a wonderful three week vacation.  I was relaxed with my head in a good space telling myself I’d give my then job another chance.  I’ll leave the sordid details aside but walking into the building I was telling myself or trying to convince myself that maybe all I needed was a good break.

Well, 30 minutes later while talking to my then boss on the phone I realized nope, nothing has changed and that the shitshow I was in was NOT all in my head.  It was then I said, with a clear vision and a clear head “I’m out, I’m resigning today”.  Nothing else mattered after that because it felt right.  I felt every part of me relax and it was then that I knew everything else will fall into place.  It did.

Have a “there is no competition” mindset.

“It’s you vs you” may sound like a cliché but friends, it’s really not.  Just because someone is doing the same thing as you doesn’t mean there is no room for you.  When I started my blog I heard, “there are many similar blogs out there so don’t have big expectations”.  When I started my @shireenthemachine page with the intention to inspire and motivate others I heard it again.  Years later when I launched my Amazon and Etsy stores, I heard it again but I blocked out the noise and followed with my own Strong Is My Beautiful™  e-Store and while I heard it again, my supporters and customer base grew.  My message is landing, and the growth is proof that I’m doing the right things with a strong and consistent mindset.  Remember, nobody can do you like you.  Read it again if you have to.

I believe in what I am doing, and it will resonate.  It will catch on and it will grow.  It did.

Fuck Perfection

Make mistakes and be ok with it.

This one is something I had to really embrace.  Not so much making the mistakes but more so accepting that I won’t get everything right the first (or 2^nd and 3^rd) time.  The trick is to keep going.  The drive comes from getting up and trying again and again and the real flex is getting a little better at it every time.  Once I fully embraced that learning and growth required some mistakes along the way, I knew I’d start to really feel what I was doing from the inside out and that is the part would scream perfection.  It did.

Be you, always!

Until my late 30s I walked around not caring what people thought about me.  I did me and I did it loud and I did it proud.  One colleague I worked with used to say “I never met anyone like you” and a former boss in an annual review told me “everything you touch, turns to gold and it’s because you’re 100% real”.  As far as I was concerned, as long as my actions came from a good place I was on the right track.

That changed for a few years in my late 30s when it was pointed out to me that the people close to me thought I was abrasive.  They hated my straightforward, blunt and no sugar-coating demeanor and most of all, they were all afraid of me to say anything.  It was said in a heated conversation but regardless of context, I was shook to my core.  The hurt of the words ran deep and for the first time in my life I was self-conscious and went inward for a while if that makes sense?  I confronted the accused, and while they denied, the events that followed for years after that showed otherwise – OR, looking back, I was so in my head about it or so traumatized by it, I started taking everything personally.

I tried to change, be quiet, silent, not speak my mind – all the things I was not -until one day I said FUCK IT!  I am me and if you want to dim what I viewed as my light and my strength then you gotta go!  Step off!  I decided not to give it head anymore headspace, but I’ll tell you, I went into a dark place before that light came back.  That said, I knew that if I made the hard choices, stay true to myself and continue to take up the space I needed to in the rooms I deserved to be in, it would pay off tenfold.  It did.

Remember your why

When I worked on projects whether alone or with a team and I/we strayed from the point, I always went back to the core objective of what we were working on.  There was a why and reminding ourselves to go back to it when we veered off the path ALWAYS put us back on track.

There will always be setbacks or, as like to call them “character building days”.  If you can push through the hard parts to feel the good, keep pushing and keep going.

For me the only way was to really live my brand.  I knew that in order to succeed I had to live and breathe Strong Is My Beautiful™.  I believe that I have to be my first loyal customer and in doing so, my “WHY” will reach the people.  It did.

And so…

… I believe that  it will continue to reach people across the globe.  I believe it in my core.  I’m not the only business spreading positivity, strength and resilience – and that’s a good thing.  It’s a big, big world out there.  Sometimes it’s pretty and sometimes it can get ugly so if you’re waiting to make a difference because you don’t feel ready, I’m here to tell you otherwise.

You’re as ready as you’ll ever be – go get it.