What You'll Discover In This Episode:
It’s half past two in the morning. You’re sleeping soundly in bed when you hear a blood-curdling scream from down the hallway.
You leap out of bed and race down the hall to find out what’s going on.
You swing open the door and find little Penelope sitting up in bed, blanket pulled up tight, almost hiding her face. She sees you and performs a long, drawn-out point toward the half-open closet door. You say, “Oh Penelope, is it the monster again?” She nods and swears she sees scary eyes staring at her.
So you turn on the light, walk over and give her a hug, then say, “Let’s see how big and scary the monster is this time.” You tiptoe to the closet and as you slowly pull open the door, out falls a giant teddy bear from off a shelf. You pick up the cuddly, brown stuffed animal with shimmering glass eyes and say, “See Penelope? It’s just your favorite teddy bear staring at you. He’s not so scary. There’s no monster in your closet and you have nothing to be afraid of.”
You hug and kiss her goodnight (again) and as Penelope drifts off into peaceful sleep, you head back to your own bed, knowing you did your job well.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had someone in your life who could open the closet door on all the monsters in your business to reveal they’re just teddy bears? Open the door on all the things that seem too big, too scary, too overwhelming to tackle so you just continue avoiding them day after day? Things like your email inbox, text messages, clutter, projects, tasks, activities, taxes, decisions, new offerings, hard conversations, and finances?
The fact is, while those things may not be easy tasks you can knock in 10 minutes, they’re never the giant, scary monsters you make them out to be in your head and tell yourself inaccurate stories about. As the adult in your life, it’s your job to rip the Band-Aid off, open the closet door, and confront the monsters in your business. You’re likely to find out they’re just harmless teddy bears.
In this episode of Productivity Straight Talk, I dive into the topic of avoiding things in your business that seem too overwhelming, too uncomfortable, or too big, and the stories you tell yourself to rationalize avoiding them.
