Last month a friend of mine sent me the link to a YouTube video. Honestly, I rarely watch YouTube videos. Shortly after I received her email, I launched it. My eyes immediately went to the length of the video (22:40) and I wondered whether or not this was something I had time for right now.
After letting it play for about 30 seconds and not really listening to it, I decided to close it so I could watch and listen to it another time. I realized my heart was not into it at the moment. Rather than schedule it into my calendar with a link to the video so I could delete the email, I just left the email sit in my Inbox. I can’t tell you how many times I have looked at that email in my Inbox.
For some reason, today was the day I decided to make time for this video. Today really isn’t that much different than the day I opened the video last month. I have a bunch of things on my to-do list today just like I did before, just different tasks. Yet, I felt compelled to watch the video today.
I am so glad I watched the video today. Several of the points Brené touched on really had an impact on me today. Maybe I would have glossed over these points before. I was meant to watch this video today.
Imperfection – I won’t repeat what Brené says here as I encourage you to listen to it. She is speaking to criticism about a TED Talks video that she did (listen from 4:10 to 5:56). Imperfection is. We all have to face it. There is no perfect. Don’t expect it.
Support – As I said on the “My Loves” page, you need others in your life that will support you, especially that one person that will help pick you up when you have fallen. Greg has been incredibly supportive through this journey, even at times when I wasn’t doing much to support myself. While it is incredibly important for us to stand on our own two feet, I don’t know where I would be without Greg in my life.
We are our own worst critic – Yes, we all know this. When I was working on my website and before I launched my Facebook page, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. I told myself I needed to post a blog every week. I told myself I needed to post on Facebook daily. Why? The only thing I was accomplishing by putting this pressure on myself was overwhelming me and paralyzing myself with fear.
Well, that was not getting me very far. So, I finally let it go. I decided that I would post a blog when I wrote one, whether that was two days in a row or three weeks since my last one. I decided I didn’t need to post everyday on Facebook, or even on a regular schedule.
Has this decision hurt me? I don’t know. As Brené says, when you put yourself out there, there will be critics. And I had to make the decision not to worry about what people would think if I didn’t reach out on a scheduled basis. I was fine with this decision and I am my worst critic, so surely others would come to understand it.
There are even more amazing points that Brené makes in this video. I considered including one or two others and then realized I had to stop. The points that resonate with you may be different than the ones I speak to here. What speaks to you today may be different than another day. I heard what I needed to hear today. Thank you, Gerry, for sending this link to me and for being a friend in my support system.
When you decide it is your time to watch the video, you must listen to all of it, all the way to the very last moment she speaks. Powerful!
