How I’m learning to take action
Spring is here and it’s been nice and warm, but this bitch has been frozen.
I’m obviously not talking about temperature—I’m the hottest, sweatiest girl I know. I’m talking about posting on my blog, and, ironically, learning new things.
When I started this blog months ago, my goal was to post on it weekly. But then, as I do, I’ve been thinking so, so much.
“What are people going to think when they see that I have a blog?”
“Am I lame for sharing this with my 10 followers on Instagram?”
“Pretty sure my mom’s the only one who reads this. Should I quit?”
“Is this boring? Like, who even cares what I have to say?”
“I’m not a badass chick. I can’t learn to longboard dance.”
It’s a weird dichotomy of worrying that no one reads my blog, so what’s the point, with everyone cares and is making fun of me for trying to be a blogger and longboarder, so maybe I should stop.
On top of all this, there’s this added touch of perfectionism. Each post takes me so long to write because I’m so caught up in making sure there are no mistakes and that everything is worded perfectly.
And this overthinking, perfectionism paralysis, worrying what other people think bullshit, has led to nothing. No posts, no longboarding progress, no cooking progress. Just, being frozen.
If you’ve been reading my blogs, you may be thinking, “Wow, Kaitlin is insecure and has a lot of anxiety.”
To that, my friend, I say, you’re right. That’s what being in your 20s is though, right? Stressed, unsure, and trying to figure it out?
Right?
Ari and Selena are figuring it out, too. We’re in good company, y’all! https://www.instagram.com/p/BvjcF9jBJnS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
To help with all this negative self-talk, and for just general motivation and life advice, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts. My favourites are Gary Vee’s Audio Experience, Jay Shetty’s On Purpose, and Rachel Hollis’ RISE Podcast. I honestly love these so much and really, really recommend that you go listen!!!
As I’ve been thinking about my current situation, here’s some of the super relevant advice that I got from these three.
Gary Vaynerchuk aka Gary Vee:
Gary Vee is the man. He posts a new podcast every day, and I listen to it every day on the way to work. Below are some of his social media stories that are very applicable to me right now.
Jay Shetty:
On his podcast the other day, he talked about how the videos he shares are usually 75 per cent ready to go. He says that if he refused to wait until a video was perfect, or even 90 per cent ready, he wouldn’t post and he wouldn’t improve. So, he goes with 75, rather than not posting—like me.
Rachel Hollis:
On her podcast the other day, Rachel said something that I really liked: “Nobody who’s more successful than you will ever judge you.” Basically, she was saying that successful people don’t judge beginners because they know what it’s like to start and suck at something new. So, if you’re judging me for having a blog or for being a terrible longboarder, you can bugger off, you unsuccessful judger!
These pieces of advice, in combination with the realization that I’m only getting older and that I’ve been sitting on goals for years and years—how the hell am I already 26?!—have helped me to realize that I need to take action.
I need to stop worrying about what other people could be, but probably aren’t, thinking. I need to stop trying to be perfect. And I just need to accept that I’m going to suck at things I’m trying to learn, but that’s the only way I’ll ever get better—everyone who’s good at something now was once shit at it!
The other day, equipped with this slowly improving mindset, I saw that the Longboard Girls Crew Canada was hosting a longboarding event at High Park in Toronto. Annoyed at my lack of action, I decided that I was going. I’ve never driven over an hour to hang out with a bunch of people I don’t know, but I figured it’d be a good exercise to help break out of my frozen ways.
I was super nervous prior to the longboarding event, but I quickly learned that there was absolutely no reason to be. The girl running the event was soooo good, but also so nice and helpful (an example of a successful person not judging me, like Rachel Hollis said), and all the girls who came out were so encouraging.
I left that day with longboarding tips, as well as the realization that things are often less scary than they seem and that I need to do a lot less thinking and a lot more doing in my life!
Damn, the older I get, the more I’m aware of how insecurely I’ve been living. But, I’m happy to be figuring it out so I can l live more freely now, rather than when I’m older, or even worse, never at all.
Maybe my next step will be to stop freezing when it comes to boys and I’ll talk to my gym crush, whom I’ve been creeping on for months… Lol doubts.
In the meantime, I’ve got some goals I have to accomplish! I’ll be in Hawaii for the next week and a bit (WOOOOO!), but as soon as I get back, I’m cracking down and getting shit done!
Spring is here and it’s been nice and warm, and this bitch is ready to thaw out!
What I’ve learned/some realizations:
Perfectionism is insecurity in disguise. Less than perfect is better than nothing at all.
Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande feel lost and messed up sometimes, too. So I’m in good ass company!
Nobody who’s more successful than you will ever judge you. So take action now, bitch.
A completely unrelated video of my fave boy band’s new song. And the leads in the video are Asian. Yay for progress!