Sometimes a song can give you insights you didn’t expect but needed. That happened to me this week with a song. I wrote about it earlier this week because the title and lyrics resonated with me emotionally on things going on in our country. If you haven’t read it, please check out my newsletter entitled, “America, Why Not Me?” But the song that inspired that newsletter is a song that just kept on giving this week, and this newsletter is about something else the song inspired in me.
“Let our dream inspire you today.” That’s the opening line from a live performance in 1989 by the country duet, The Judds, opening their song, Why Not Me. I heard that song on the radio this week while driving to the subway station nearby for my hour-long commute into my office in downtown Washington DC. The song struck a chord with me as I am contemplating some career and personal goals. And I turned the question internally to ask myself, why not me for the career and personal goals I want to accomplish? I sometimes find myself hesitating to attempt a goal or dream out of fear or a feeling that they are out of reach for me. Why not me?
I asked that question and sat with it on the subway to work and all day at the office. As a professional coach, I also believe in the benefits of working with a coach, and this past week my own personal coach gave me feedback that was quite hard to hear but resonated deeply. Through my coaching conversation we discovered that I’ve been predominately leading with my logical mind and not my intuition. That my body (intuition) is misaligned with my logical mind, resulting in a lot of procrastination, self-doubt and more. The coach encouraged me to experiment with being still and reflective to listen more to my body and intuition. We also talked about some logical, practical and tactical strategies for creating structure, something my logical mind loves, making this a regular reoccurring practice to listen to my body and then align by body (intuition) and logical mind. When I heard the song, Why Not Me, on the radio the next morning it felt like a bolt of lightning hitting my body and I knew intuitively that question was something I needed to sit with longer and listen to how my body reacted. So, that’s what I did on the hour-long subway ride to work and off and on all day. And what I felt in my body was the awareness of my true passion, strengths, goals, and dreams, and that they are possible. But I also noticed that my logical mind kept trying to interrupt those intuitive thoughts with fear, but it wasn’t a fear of failure, what came to me was a fear of success. What if I was successful at even half if not all my dreams and goals? That would mean I was open to more scrutiny and critique. That others would look at my work and accomplishments and criticize, judge, belittle, question my authenticity or worse, call me a fraud and an imposter. These are deep emotions and responses that came up for me when pausing to reflect and listen to my body and intuition. I’m sure this is a gold mine of things to explore with my coaches, therapist perhaps and other mentors and supporters. But I know in my logical mind and body that I’m not alone in feeling this way and it isn’t uncommon.
Ironically, this weekend, I found myself procrastinating on writing and fell into a social media blackhole while watching video after video clip. And I caught some interviews with famous celebrities (musicians, singers, actors, artists, etc.) many of whom talked about not watching, listening, or reading any of their work once it was finished. They all said the same thing I feel; they don’t want to hear the critiques and criticisms once the end product is out there. Now, we all know that we can’t always avoid criticism and it is going to come no matter how hard we try to avoid it. But in the end, I’m boldly embracing the mantra of,’ Why not me? Forget the fear and do it anyway.” These are dreams and goals, many of which I know I would be good at doing and give me great pleasure and sense of purpose to help others and do some small part to make the world a better place. Will I fail sometimes? Absolutely. As one author said in a Masterclass video that talks about learning to be a better writer, “fail, fail often, fail better.” Will I create some things that don’t work out? Yes, and I’ll adapt and keep failing forward and growing. But most importantly, I’ll be aligning my body (intuition) and logical mind to do the things that bring me the greatest joy. Even when I fail at them, I am enjoying the journey and effort instead of letting fear of success stop me from trying. So, why not me? The answer for me to that question this week is, there’s no reason why not me, so I’m doing it, amid the fear, and the thought of that makes me feel exhilarated and aligned between my body and mind.
As always, I encourage you to reflect on your own stories with goals and dreams deferred. What does the question “Why Not Me?” bring up for you? What are things that hold you back from attempting or accomplishing your goals? Spend some time sitting quietly and reflecting with the question “Why Not Me?” in context of personal and/or professional goals and dreams. And journal afterwards to see what comes up for you. You may be surprised by what you discover. Be bold and step out of fear and procrastination and do it anyway because there are many new chapters to write in your story, because as always, Your Story Matters.
+ You’ll notice that I didn’t say I am doing this alone, and neither should you. Consider what mentors and other resources will help as you find the intuition from reflecting on this question and seek to translate it into logical action. As someone who faces challenges with procrastination and similar blocks to my own career and personal goals but continues to work with my support network of coaches and mentors, I’m on a mission as a professional coach to help others break through the procrastination and blockers to achieve their goals. If you’d like to learn more about coaching and how it may be helpful for your journey, book a free coaching strategy session with me on the link below. And always remember that your story matters.
