Have you ever been in a negative spiral in your head, feeling shame and wanting to crawl under a rock?
That was me three days ago after my first experience commentating on the livestream for K-1 Women at the ICF World Freestyle Championships in Columbus, GA.
When I agreed to commentate I was certain that I could do a good job and add value to the listeners. I didn’t really give a lot of thought into the details of what live commentating would actually be like.
As soon as I got in the hot seat of the commentator’s chair with my co-commentator, it was on! There were no breaks between competitors, and no breaks between heats (due to the restricted water release because of the drought in the SE). The app they had provided for athlete bios was hard for me to read, and it was a learning curve for me to understand where to look for the live scoring. I didn’t know my co-commentator very well and it was our first time working together. We were trying to find our groove, and it felt awkward.
At one point he had to leave to get ready to compete himself, and I had to hold it down on my own.
I felt like a fish out of water and was freaking out internally, keeping composure externally. I told myself to keep it together and I did my best. They brought in a new co-commentator who also had experience, brought a different energy and it was a struggle to find any flow. I felt self-conscious and felt like I was sucking!
Two questions came to mind: What the heck just happened, and why did I CHOOSE to do this?!
It felt emotionally painful and I wanted to crawl under a rock. The worst part is that I felt like I had let viewers down, and hadn’t achieved my goal of bringing value to the livestream.
I was starting to go into a shame cycle so I called in reinforcements to talk me off the ledge. Instead of staying in the negativity I decided to create a strategy for myself that helped me feel comfortable and on top of the info and skills that I needed to get better. And I did!
What I’ve learned
I’m sharing this with you because what I’m learning is this:
- It’s important to do hard things and put myself in situations where I’m not in control and I have to play with the edge of my comfort zone.
- Feeling bad, or experiencing tough emotions are part of the growth process. It sucks in the moment, but it also offers an opportunity to see blind spots and habit patterns that you can choose out of.
- When I persevere and focus on what I CAN do and what I CAN control in new situations I learn, grow and feel accomplished.
- The bad feelings/hard things don’t last forever. My goals typically sit on the other side of the hard. Avoiding doing hard things doesn’t contribute to helping me become who I want to become.
Yesterday I got a lot better and had so much fun commentating, and today I really feel like I hit my stride both with commentary and with connecting with my co-commentators. I had so much fun and am really looking forward to commentating for semi finals and finals.
Facilitating growth experiences
During my latest free webinar, Food for Thought, a participant asked me: “How do you keep people from feeling bad or getting headaches when they give up caffeine for the 5 days of the Guided Fall Cleanse?”
“I don’t” I replied. “Feeling bad or getting headaches or cravings, or low energy is part of the process.” The benefits of the cleanse come BECAUSE you take on doing something hard and are willing to work through the discomfort to reach the other side of feeling good.
Yes, you can lose weight if you do the cleanse, you can gain clarity of mind and you can reset your digestion. All of those things will help you feel better, healthier and empowered. The BIGGEST benefit of the cleanse, however, is putting yourself in a situation that challenges you to engage with discomfort and come out the other side. That’s the juice!
Just like I had to call in reinforcements to talk me off the ledge, the community support in the Guided Cleanse is there to help you through the hard parts and celebrate the great parts with you.
Stop wishing and hoping and take action. Join the Guided Fall Cleanse now. Last day to register is Monday. Here’s the link.
