[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddhart here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness, and leadership.
[00:21] So if you want to take your.
[00:22] Performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.
[00:37] How to be bold and show up every day. If you've checked out the previous episode on The Magic of Raising Necessity, then you know that the High performance habits by Brendan bashard has a huge influence on my work, but also that he has looked into the lives. Of high performers to find out what are some of the key ingredients what are some of the key tools that help people to be high performers in their life and in their work? And one of them is courage. Courage is such an important aspect of showing up every day, of being bold. And it's kind of tricky because in many ways we seek comfort and we want to be comfortable. And this is part of what our brain wants, our body wants. We're sort of wired to look for comfort and shelter. But on the other hand, if we're too comfortable, we're not growing. So life and work and everything is all about this balance between, sure, it's good to be comfortable sometimes and not constantly pushing yourself, because that can lead to overwhelm or stress or burnout. But on the other hand, if you're too comfortable, first of all, you'll be under, challenged, bored, dissatisfied, frustrated in your life, and you're not growing, you're not learning, you can't contribute on a higher level. You're not delivering at a higher level from yourself. And that's frustrating. You know that you have that higher potential in you that you're just not tapping into. So it's really about finding what are some of the things that you can do to meet that balance, to find that key point of balance between being bold, being there, but still sometimes being able to relax and be comfortable. One of the first tips is honor the struggles. So really look at these daily struggles, these moments where you're pushing yourselves, and know that it's part of the journey. And if you're not feeling comfortable, it's a good thing. Good thing. I know that sometimes in moments where I've really challenged myself, I found myself asking, why have I done this? Why have I accepted this? Whatever it is. It could be anything from speaking at a gig or going on a long meditation retreat or something that I'm finding on the moment a bit challenging. And so before going, I'll be slightly nervous and I'll wonder, why did I even accept this? Now, if you have this thought, that's amazing, because whenever you're thinking, why did I even accept this? This means that it's scary, that it's out of your comfort zone, and this means that you're growing. Now, on the other hand, if you're thinking, oh, well, this is fairly easy, walk in the park kind of boring, then you're not growing, you're not challenging yourself, you're not being bold. And so whenever you have that scary thought that, why did I even accept this? It's good, it's good, it's scary on the moment. It's a bit nerve wracking, but it's a good feeling. So honor that struggles and also choose your struggles. Look at what is worth you growing, getting uncomfortable, because every day you can find something to challenge yourself. But it might not be the right type of challenge for you. So what's aligned with what matters for you? What makes sense for you right now? And looking, what are some of the struggles that you're willing to actually go through to grow as a person and to contribute on a higher level? The second aspect is think of who you want to fight for. So by this I mean, if you're about to take on a challenge, it's a lot easier to do this if you're doing it for someone. This is why a single mother who's raising four children will have maybe a lot more courage to show up every day to grow her business, because she has four people that she needs to feed at home. And so if she doesn't do the work and brings in the money, then she might not be able to feed her children. And that extra sense of duty and responsibility can really push someone to be bold and brave. Now, even if you don't have any children or partner, you can fight for someone else. So it could be some of your profits you're giving to something, a cause that makes sense for you. It can be you're fighting for. It could be anything. But a person can help, and it can be a group of person or people. And this will support you to find that inner fire. Again, this is linked to raising necessity that I discussed in the previous episode. Because if you have someone or a cause that you're dedicating your energy for, this can make it a lot easier. It's a psychological phenomenon, and it raises that feeling of necessity. And so therefore, it helps you to show up in a more bold way. And this is why, for instance, being part of a mastermind or a group or some form of peer group responsibility can also really help you to raise your game. Because if you have a fantastic coach and a fantastic mentor and I know I'm very grateful for the mentors and coaches I've had in my life, sometimes you show up for them, right? Sometimes you had a conversation with them and like, oh, I don't want to disappoint my coach. I'm really going to show up, I'm really going to go all in. And that could be what you're fighting for, right? It could just be that extra energy that you're putting in. Maybe it's someone you're collaborating with and you don't want to disappoint them. And therefore you're putting all of your energy into delivering a fantastic workshop because you're doing it collaborating with another group or another person. So this is extremely useful when showing up every day to be courageous and bold. And the last tip is to look at sharing. So looking at sharing some of your goals, some of your dreams, and be very mindful who you share them with. Once more, look at your peer group, look at who you would like to share it with, who you feel would best support you. And this is linked slightly to who you fight for, but it's not exactly the same because even though it can give you that extra energy to share it, it's not exactly like you're doing the goal for them. And so just being clear on who you can share your goal with, who you can share your dreams with, so that you have that extra sense of energy and accountability also, and they kind of give you that extra little thing that can be missing sometimes. I know that, for instance, there's this app, Focus Mate. And at the beginning, okay, maybe you don't share your biggest projects and dreams and goals, but you can share that one task, that one project you're working on for an hour. You have that sense of accountability with a total stranger. You do your work and then you leave. And that can be a great way. If there's one thing where you feel you're just not being courageous enough, either reaching out to people or something that you find intimidating, you can block a time on Focusmate. For instance, I actually interviewed Taylor Jacobson also on the podcast the founder of Focus Made. And that was just a side note because I remembered that I really enjoyed our conversation with him. And so, yes, you can look at booking a time so that in that moment you do that thing that requires to be brave and courageous. Now a lot of it might be offline and then it's just a matter of practicing. For instance, if you struggle with public speaking or doing a presentation, then it's just having the courage to say I'll do it, and then practicing, maybe even getting mentors or coaches. If it's public speaking, you can join Toastmasters. So it's really just looking at A, what areas do you want to be more brave in? Courageous? Show up. What does that mean for you then? B noticing are you taking action? Are you doing those things that are scary or intimidating for you? And C if you are doing them, you'll notice you'll have that voice in your head and then mastering yourself, mastering your emotions, so that you can continue to take action in that direction. And as I said, you can do this by thinking of someone you're doing this for, or by sharing your dreams and goals with. Somebody and also just honoring the struggles, honoring that journey, knowing that this is all part of your growth, of your development of contributing to the world. And we all struggle and being courageous doesn't mean there is no fear, right? Let's just all keep this in mind. Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the mastery of fear. So fear is still there can still have butterflies in your stomach, but then you still do it. Right? And this is why we admire people that are courageous. It's not just they don't have fear. Good for them. It's, oh, they have fear. And they still did it. And they still showed up and they still took action on something that was important for them. So, yeah, notice where you are. What do you want to be more courageous on, and how can you take action in that direction? I hope that this was useful for you. Please leave a comment.
[10:28] A review.
[10:29] I always love to hear how are you implementing this in your life? What actions have you taken as a consequence of this episode? Thank you for listening and wishing you a magical and wonderful day ahead.
[10:45] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Bee show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback. So let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you. And feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.