"Hey, Me Too."
Guest Blog by Heather Parady
We have a lot in common.
You may not know me personally, and you may not know many people in your industry, but the internal barriers that keep us from moving forward are not as uncommon as you may think.
Fear is not creative. It screams repetitive themes in the ears of those with any form of ambition. It says,
“Nope. You can’t”
“Who do you think you are?”
“You don’t know enough.”
“You don’t have enough.”
“They won’t understand.”
“Your work doesn’t matter.”
Unfortunately we keep most of these fears bottled up inside. We think that their mere presence is an indicator that we are not qualified to pursue our dreams. We look at other people trotting along in their pursuits and assume that these fears never cross their minds.
Nope.
They do.
In fact, the best way to overcome these fears, is to call them out. Shine light on them, admit that they are there. You will be surprised when you do this that instead of hearing criticism you hear other people say, “Hey, me too.”
However, instead of linking arms and plowing through the doubt, fear, and external (and internal) barriers that we ALL face, we shrink back and try to fight them secretly alone. Because we do not realize that we all are fighting the same battle.
What if we could openly acknowledge our barriers and fight together? Not only would we be more empowered, but we would experience the ripple effect. We would see other people arise, admit their fears, and walk deliberately into their purpose.
Pursing a goal, dream, or passion is mostly mental. Whether that is a health goal, financial goal, or relational goal, most of the battle is in the mind. If you read any self-development, psychology, or business books they will continual stress the point that you have to surround yourself with likeminded people in order to survive the waves of self-doubt.
“Hey, me too.” Isn’t necessarily “profound” in and of itself, but it causes three powerful things to happen.
1. “Hey, me too” normalizes what you are experiencing. Hearing someone acknowledge that they have dealt (or are dealing) with your same issue helps you to understand that it’s normal and expected) to have fears and doubts. Knowing this allows you to proceed anyway with more confidence.
2. “Hey, me too” can allow room for creative solutions. Brainstorming with likeminded people can help present lists of possible solutions that you would have never come up with by yourself. Tackle problems as a team. They won’t have a chance of surviving.
3. “Hey me too” empowers others. It’s not only important to seek out people who are willing to disclose about their REAL journey towards their goals (real journeys include struggle) but it’s vital for you to be brave enough to say, “Hey me too” when you hear others share their doubt. When you are vulnerable you free others to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is strength (for more information on vulnerability and strength please read anything by researcher Brene’ Brown).
I am one semester away from having my masters in counseling (I tease everyone that I am 80% therapist so my therapeutic advice is about 80% good, haha). One thing that they continually drive home for us is that by simply acknowledging (authentically) the emotions of our clients, we empower them. People do not necessarily need ground breaking solutions, they need to feel understood and a part of something bigger than them.
Instead of trying to secretly climb your mountain alone, be brave enough to climb with others. Yeah, climbing up a mountain with someone means they will see you at your worst. They will see you sweating, your hair looking crazy, and you may will trip and stumble here and there.
But climbing alone makes it easier to turn around and give up. No one would ever know. Right?
When you climb together you are accountable. Everyone will look a hot mess in the journey. Sometimes you will be having fun singing songs during the climb, and other times you may be cussing the mountain. But linking arms makes it easier to move forward anyway. Simply hearing, “Hey me too” in your journey may be the little extra ounce of resolve that you need to climb and conquer your mountain.
-Heather Parady
Heather is a wife, mom, graduate student, and business owner. She facilitates online networking groups including weekly masterminds for entrepreneurs. Her hope is to promote "Big Picture Purpose” for business owners, creatives, and thought leaders. She also likes to run, climb mountains, and drink coffee (a whole bunch of coffee).
You can connect with her on most social media platforms @heatherparady or check out her website www.heatherparady.com
"I'm a part of the Big Picture People. It has been such a wonderful community to be a part of; they push you to reach your dreams. Whether it's people to take a quick look at your site & give you pointers, to help lift you up on social media, or the weekly Mastermind group session for accountability of goals, it's been such a great force. You make real connections, with real people who care. For me, whether it's been for my modeling, team building & website scripting consulting, or for my exclusive Values First community, the Big Picture People have always been amazingly supportive. A key to my success."
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