Today we’re talking about what it really means when you feel resistance to an idea.
Has someone ever shared an idea with you or given you advice, and you feel major resistance to it? Like, a physical feeling where maybe your chest tightens and you get really uncomfortable and you just want to stop talking about it?
Like when you think about putting your first blog post online for the world to see. Or making a video. Or recording your voice for a podcast. Or even scarier, going live on Facebook or instagram.
I used to think feeling resistance was a red flag, that it meant something was a bad idea, but what I’ve come to realize is that when I feel resistance, my shield is up and I’m trying to protect my blind spots.
I’m trying to be right. I’m trying to stay in control, to have what I “know” to be true continue to be true. It’s a safe place to be.
When I have my shield up, I’m not receptive to new ideas.
But if I’m safe where I am right now, what’s the incentive to grow? To grow, I need to lower that shield, reveal those blind spots and consider that maybe I need to get a little bit uncomfortable in order to grow.
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably always in GO mode.
I’m always trying something new, I get impatient and I don’t always give things the time they need to marinate and develop before I decide that it’s not working out and I’m on to the next thing.
Because then still right get to be right.
It didn’t work, I did it right, so it must not work. Moving on.
But what I’m really doing is avoiding taking risks and staying in my comfy little comfort zone.
I’m actually really grateful for what I’ve been able to accomplish operating from that safe place. Quitting my day job, helping over 5,000 people build their website (even if they all don’t stick around on my email list) and starting my business from scratch and figuring it out along the way.
Imagine what I could accomplish if I didn’t play it so safe all of the time? If I’m going to get to where I want to be, it’s time to examine that feeling of resistance a little bit deeper to uncover what it is telling me, and let the people that I trust to help me actually help me.
If I hadn’t acknowledge resistance to a new idea, this podcast and Alexa Flash briefing would never have happened.
I was on my weekly coaching call with my business coach, Vicki Fitch, and
I was complaining that no matter what I seemed to be doing, my email list has been stuck right at 4,600 subscribers, and I’m losing people at the same rate that I’m bringing them on, and I’m afraid that I’m not going to make enough money now that I don’t have a secure paycheck… and on and on and on.
After we unpacked that I was actually redirecting grief from the recent loss of a close family member into feeling like the ground I was standing on in my business was shaky (a pep talk for another time), Vicki suggested that I needed to expand where I was looking for my target audience, that I was fishing in the same pond as everyone else in my niche and the pond was overfished.
And then, she shared with me an idea that I was totally not feeling.
She suggested that I create an Alexa Flash Briefing. And here’s exactly what I thought:
Yeah, that thing was fun to play with on Christmas Day… I even got one as a gift but I never got around to opening it because I have no use for it. Everything I need to do I can do on my iPhone. I mean, my niece uses it to make fart sounds. That’s going to be a waste of time.
“Sure, I’ll look into it.” I said, but lucky for me, Vicki can tell by my voice when I’ve got my shield Lucky for me, she knows that I do that, so she asked me to just research and consider it. Fair enough, I thought, and I lowered my shield just a little bit.
As I was doing my research, And then, it all became crystal clear. all of these ideas that have been swirling around in my mind for the past few months that I wasn’t taking action on because I was scared or I couldn’t figure out where they fit with my current business model, or how to execute them – they just came into focus as Pep Talks For Side Hustlers.
I could finally see how this new idea was going to help me fish in a different pond while also staying true to who I am and creating fresh new ways to serve my existing audience.
When you have that kind of clarity, things come together fast.
A completely new brand was born. I built the Pep Talks for Side Hustlers website in just a couple of hours, came up with a list of a year’s worth of pep talks in just a few hours, and recorded, produced, published and scheduled a month’s worth of content in just a couple weeks time.
So when you’re feeling that resistance, pay attention. It’s not always a bad thing. And tomorrow, I’m going to share 4 questions you can ask to tap into that resistance and find out what it’s really trying to tell you.
Today’s pep talk is brought to you by Bluehost. Go to www.shannonmattern.com/bluehost and get 36 months of web hosting for just $2.95 a month. That’s less than one trip to Starbucks a month – and if you’re anything like me, you’re at Starbucks more than that!
Then you can sign up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge at www.shannonmattern.com/5day and I’ll show you step by step how to get started building your new website for your side hustle.
