Episode Transcript
Transcript:
Intro: This is words that move me, the podcast where movers and shakers, like you get the information and inspiration. You need to navigate your creative career with clarity and confidence. I am your host master mover, Dana Wilson. And if you're someone that loves to learn, laugh and is looking to rewrite the starving artist story, then sit tight. But don't stop moving because you're in the right place.
Dana: All right. All right. Hello, my friend I'm Dana. This is words that move me. I'm stoked that you are here today. This is a fun one. Um, last week we talked about FOMO, fear of missing out, which is of course the anxiety that so many of us experience when we think that we're missing out on something, good, something cool and exciting and rad. And we aren't a part of it that is FOMO. And, um, I, I suppose as much of the world comes out of lockdown and some of the world goes back into lockdown. That's a pretty timely subject. So if you're feeling that FOMO, or if you've ever felt FOMO, go check out last week's episode. But, um, something else recently slightly related has caught my attention. And, uh, for now I am calling it FOMAD. That is the working title. We might evolve it to something else. FOMAD: the fear of making a decision, I'm calling it FOMAD, and it's real. It pairs quite well with this moment in time. And honestly, many moments in time. Uh, so lace up and hit the rosin box. I said that hit the rosin box because we're going to take this new conceptFOMAD for a spin. We're going to address having many different interests and that being a strength, not a weakness. And we will find the adventure in going and going at your own pace. Even if you don't know exactly where you're going. Even if you have no idea where you're going, we are going, but first wins. If you're new to the pod every single week, I start the episode with wins because I think it's important to celebrate. What's going well, big and small. This week, I'm celebrating well, is it okay if I celebrate two? I'm the host I can. I'm going to celebrate two. Number one win, I am really loving clown school, I mentioned I think two episodes ago, I don't know. You guys.. They really do blend together. Um, I enrolled in clown school. It's called the clown school. There's an online program kind of at your own pace one-on-one feedback every so often. I love it. I'm having an absolute ball. Uh, so that's win. Number one, shout out the clown school. They didn't tell me to say that. Win number two, is that I recently got to talk with, uh, a dear friend. I almost said an old friend, but we were both quite young relatively, I guess anyways, a longtime friend. Um, that's been part of my dance life journey since I was probably nine years old. And I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. Uh, lucky for you, by the way, we were rolling on that conversation. So be on the lookout for an upcoming episode with Erika Mori, um, fascinating woman with a very interesting story and some exciting wins of her own that I'm jazzed about sharing. Okay, that's it for me?
What is going well in your world,
Keep it up. You're doing it really doing it. I'm proud of you. Super stoked for you. Keep winning. All right. Now I have gotten word from many of my students, some coaching clients, my coworkers, um, words that move me community members and friends and family all alike hearing that people have used the lockdown, the quarantine to spend time working on themselves. A lot of soul searching, um, honing in on strengths, strengthening weaknesses, um, focusing on self care, focusing on self love, growing, centering, giving back all of these lovely, lovely things, right until FOMO creeps in or real life, quote unquote comes a knockin. Um, which by the way, I would like to remind you, everybody was asking for everybody was like, why can't we go back to real life? And now real life is here and we're like, wait, something's not right. Um, so somewhere in, in our minds at, or around the time that FOMO sets in or real life comes knocking, we, we start to think that some imaginary gate has been opened and some imaginary starter pistol has been fired and everyone's off the blocks and running full speed ahead. And you're like, wait, where am I? What am I doing before I start running? Just, I don't want to exert any unnecessary energy. Where am I? Where am I going? What am I doing? And do I even want to be running right now? Everybody's running. Wait, I want to restart, right. Is this sounding familiar? Now it might look like everyone who has their one focus and one desire. And one thing that they wish they'd been doing for all of lockdown, it might look like they're running full speed ahead, getting closer to their finish line. But what about the rest of us that have many different interests, many different creative callings projects, people, things to tend to, what basket or baskets do we put our eggs into? Oh, drats, just missed Easter. We're going to leave the basket analogy. Let's go back to this race thing. What finish line do I run towards? What track do I take? And also, is it bad if I don't want to be running, I got you, my friends, this episode, we'll be answering all of those questions. So I'll use this example.
One of my words that move me, community members brought up an awesome story and I'd love to share what it uncovered. They talked about being a very goal oriented person in the past and that serving them very well. They studied the people. Who'd accomplished great things. They did interviews, they set goals, they stressed. Then they achieved the goals. And that went pretty much according to plan. But now with much new growth, new perspective, but without having a specific material or hard coded goal, this person is feeling lost. Now they mentioned that in school, they had a professor tell them that people with many passions or skills are often paralyzed to take action because of not knowing which avenue to pursue next. Yeah. That's why we're here. And what I would like to offer you today is that the story that people with many passions and skills are being paralyzed to take action because of not knowing which avenue to take that story. That story is exactly that.
It's a thought. Just because a professor said it does not mean that it is true. And it certainly, isn't always true. Always the case for all people, right? Certainly not. And furthermore, it is probably not helping you. So if you're still reading that story, the one that says people with many interests get paralyzed with not knowing what to do next. If you're reading that story, I beg of thee, put it down, put that story down. Here's why I say that. If you hear “people with many passions and skills, get paralyzed to take action because of not knowing which avenue to pursue next.” If you hear those words and you think, “Oh my gosh, yes, that's happening to me. I'm totally immobilized by all of my interests.” And you're probably feeling lost or frustrated. And when you feel lost or frustrated, the action that you take is probably more widely inaction, right? You retreat, you have cyclical thoughts, you lack follow through. So on. And so on the result of that, the result of feeling lost, feeling frustrated, because you're thinking that you're immobilized by all of your interests. The result there is not only are you immobile, but you're likely losing interest in all of those wonderful things that used to interest you. All of those things that sparkled to you, you're letting them dim. You're likely sparkling a bit less yourself and that's okay. That's totally okay. We do not all need to be full voltage, electricity all of the time, but it's important that you know that there is another option. You don't need to buy that story. So what if you could choose the thing that your many diverse interests, all of the things that sparkle to you are, what make you sparkle? What if, what if all of those various interests put together are your superpower? What if, what if, all of those unique and varied interests? What if those don't make it hard for you to decide what to do? What if they help you to enjoy where you are no matter where you go, what if they help you to enjoy where you are? Even when you're lost? That is the true beauty of having many different interests is that no matter where you are or who you talk to, you can get interested in something. You can make something sparkle. You can sparkle no matter where you are, no matter who you're talking to. And that is an interesting person. My friend, that is an interesting person with an interesting life. Now I'd much prefer to feel that an interesting person with an interesting life than to feel immobilized and to be losing my shit. So if you're a person who's looking for some sort of harmony and balance and shine in your life yet you don't have a clear material goal, fear not to get there, to achieve that life of harmony of balance of shine. All you have to do is explore you, follow what shines and what sparkles. You try things. You course correct. You trust your gut. You don't go too fast. You don't go too slow, but mostly you don't quit. And in order to do those things right, in order to trust your gut, don't go too fast. Course-correct all those things in order to do that in order to do that and to not quit, you probably want to feel something like adventurous or open. Or how about, I don't know if this is an actual, actual technical feeling. Like, I don't think this is an actual emotion, but I'm going to try it. What about cruising? Like when I feel like I'm cruising, I don't go too fast. I don't go too slow. I don't stop. I course correct. Check my lane, check my mirrors. I follow what's ahead of me when I'm cruising. That feels good. And to feel like I'm cruising, I might need to think a thought like I am in the driver's seat. And my drive is the perfect kind of drive. My drive is never over or under. I am driving and my drive is perfect or this is not a race. This is the ride of my life. And I'm driving a convertible and it can change shape and change route. While I write multi-dimensional thoughts for multi-dimensional people with multiple different interests, this is what I'm talking about. So can you see how I just turned multiple interests and modes and directions and options and things into a strength. I went from feeling lost to feeling adventurous from feeling frustrated, to feeling easy, open cruising. That is powerful. My friends. And it is an option for you.
Now let's, let's stick on this road, car driving analogy thing, because I had another words that move me community friend, come to me this week, struggling to get off the blocks, like trying to get out of the garage off the starting line. Oh man, my analogies are getting weak. Um, so she has also done a lot of work, very impressive work, finding her creative voice, refining her tools. Um, yet she still doesn't know how to direct her focus out there in the big world. That seems so, so, so much bigger now than it did maybe pre quarantine. And what we discovered in her particular case, and you might relate was that the real problem here was the thought “I can't crack where I fit in. I I'm, I'm starting to know who I am and what I can do, but I can't see where I fit in .” Classic. I've thought this thought 1000 times. And when I think that thought, I don't know where I fit in, I feel uncertain. And when I feel uncertain, I procrastinate. I don't follow through. I engage in self doubt, negative self-talk I retreat. I isolate. Oh, and here's one of my favorites. I busy myself with mindless tasks that get me nowhere, but keep my mind very busy. They keep me from taking risks from putting my feelers out from initiating new projects in general. My busy-ness keeps me from putting myself forward. I stay right where I am and when I behave that way, right. When I feel uncertain and I do those things and I don't take risks, I don't put myself out there. The result of thinking, I don't know where I fit in is I do not stand out. Hell. I don't even step out. And when I don't step out, I'm much less likely to find the places where I feel I truly belong. Right? So the result of thinking, I don't know where I fit in leads you to not standing out and not finding places where you feel you belong. The spin-off struggle of that as if that wasn't enough, right? That is so not the dream. The spin-off struggle there is that, so many of us find in this situation, when you, when you don't know exactly where you fit, right. When you can't see that crystal clear destination, people find it hard to make moves, right? Hard to leave at all without a clear idea of where you're going or where you belong. Again. Of course, that makes total sense. It's hard to get somewhere that you don't know how to get to because you don't know the location of it, but there's always a but, right? What, if you could think that it was fun to not know exactly how things will work out or where you're going to land. Think about every time you go to a movie where you don't know how it will end. If you're like me, you beg people to not tell you how the movie ends. Like, honestly, raise your hand if you like being surprised. And I don't mean like the jump out from behind a corner type of surprise. I mean like, what do you want for dinner? I don't know. Surprise me like that type of surprise. Not knowing is okay. Now hear me out, I get it, I am a huge fan of goal setting, but nobody, even the people with iron clad, crystal clear goals and tools and life coaches and all the things, no one, no one actually knows where they're going or exactly how to get there. Because humans cannot 100% predict or see the future. None or all of us have any idea where we're going or how we're getting there. Some of us just think that we do, and that makes a really, really big difference. So pretend for a second that you do know where you're going, I'm going on an adventure, right? I'm going on an adventure. And I might start by thinking of a place that I wouldn't mind ending up. Career-wise that might mean, um, I w I ended up a featured dancer in a film or a soloist for a company or, or, or et cetera, et cetera. I encourage you to fill in that blank for yourself. What is a place that you really wouldn't mind being a place you would like being now, you get to ask yourself, what do I do to get there? Surely if I am a feature dancer in a film, Is your desired, uh, destination. Then dance training would be on your list of things to do probably exposure and familiarity with casting directors, agents, choreographers, understanding, dance for camera, probably some acting training, possibly voice training, solid materials, like a headshot, a website, resume, et cetera, et cetera. Oh, also being in the right place at the right time. And in order to be in the right place at the right time, time in order for that to happen, you must trust your gut and go with the flow and you must leave the cave. You have to get out of the bubble, get out from the inside. And of course you must not quit. Even when you don't know exactly what you're doing, you must not
quit. I know that kind of sounds like a lot, especially for somebody who previously didn't know what to do. And now you're like, Oh my goodness, all of these things, I know what to do now. You're like, Oh my goodness. It turns out I know a lot of things that I could possibly do, or a lot of different route routes, routes, routes that I could take to end up at this destination. That wouldn't be so bad. Okay, cool. So you leave, you go, you don't quit. And one of the things that's tremendously helpful in doing that is a feeling, how would you need to feel in order to train, expose yourself to agents, directors, choreographers, understand dance for camera, take some acting classes, take some voice classes, get your materials all solid together. Um, stay the course, right. Be in the right place, be in the right time, trust yourself. How do you need to feel in order to do those things? How do you need to feel in order to not quit? For me? I think optimistic would help. I think determined would help. I think excited might help, but it might burn out. So I, I really do prefer determined or optimistic really when I think like, Oh, absolutely, yeah, this is going to work. Or this is going to be fun or, Ooh, that's going to be great when I feel optimistic. I think I do. I take a lot of those actions that I just mentioned. Oh. And I don't quit because I'm thinking of how of how great this could turn out. One of the thoughts that helps me feel optimistic is I love adventures or a new, personal favorite of mine that I found as a meme recently. And will 100% be sharing with you in the show notes is ‘chances are slim. Hopes are low, but I live for the gamble. So let's see how it goes.’ Um, and this, this photo of a cat jumping over flames, it's not a photo, it's an illustration. And I love it. Chances are slim hopes are low, but I live for the gamble. So let's see how this goes. Um, I suppose, with a gamble involved, that thought doesn't have me feeling optimistic per se, but adventurous for sure. Okay. So we just remembered that it's not actually hard to go when you don't know where you're going. You're just not thinking that it's fun yet. Right? Remember all the times that not knowing exactly what's going to happen is fun is exciting. And remind yourself that that's life you won't always know. In fact, you will never know. Even people who pretend to know don't really know, raise his hand silently in podcast booth. Alright. So the next time you're feeling stuck, lost uncertain of where to put your efforts or unable to decide, simply decide that having a lot of interests or options does not immobilize you thinking, I don't know where to go or how fast to go. There does immobilize. You decide that this creative life is not about fitting in, decide to stand out and decide to step out, knowing that no matter where you think you're going, you have no idea how you'll actually get there. And that's okay. Nobody does. Which reminds me any expert that you talk to about their journey. Any, any person that's quote made it there. They're talking about their journey in retrospect. So of course their route looks clear. Of course it looks like they know exactly what they did to arrive where they are, because they've already done it, but they likely are not telling you about all the dead ends and the flat tires, et cetera, et cetera. Remember driver's seat. You got this. Learn how to fix flats with your mind. Okay. Enough with the car analogy. I think I need to move on.
Listen, Super duper, shout out to my words that moved me, community members for bringing these topics forward for coaching. I know you are not alone. I know that I have struggled with this in the past. And depending on the day, my friends, you might find me coaching myself into the driver's seat right there with you. Um, so thank you words that move me members. And if you're relating to these topics, if you're digging what you're hearing and you aren't already a member head over to theDanawilson.com and click on the membership tab, I would love to see you in the words that move me community and work with you, uh, along this journey on becoming a person who is not afraid of making decisions. Yes, I will help you tackle that FOMAD and maybe rename it. I don't know if I'm FOMAD fan. I think I like the nomadic nature. I'm not sold. Give me your feedback FOMAD is on the table. Um, thank you all so much for listening. I hope you found this episode useful and I hope that you head out there into the world and keep it super funky. I'll talk to you later.
Me again. Wondering if you ever noticed that one more time. Almost never means one more time. Well, here on the podcast, one more thing actually means two more things. Number one thing. If you're digging the pod, if these words are moving you, please don't forget to download, subscribe and leave a rating or review because your words move me too. Number two things I make more than weekly podcasts. So please visit thedanawilson.com for links to free workshops. And so, so much more. All right, that's it now for real talk to you soon. Bye.
