Pushing through the Suck. Are you OK with sucking at first? And on emerging Victorious through it.
We are terrible at allowing ourselves to suck at things. Have you noticed this? We’re just not very good at allowing ourselves to suck. We hate to suck. You know? We hate to admit we suck!
It’s OK to admit that you suck at something! Really. Try it. Say it out loud. “I suck at this!” WOW! If you say it enough times aloud, you will start to smile, even laugh at yourself. Now, you can do something about it. You can start to get better.
There is power in admitting it, in acknowledging it. You’re acknowledging weakness. We shouldn’t ignore this. Just because we’re terrible at something doesn’t let us off the hook to do it. If that were the case, none of us — including me — would be writers / authors. Nope. We’d just talk, which is FAR easier.
Why not just admit at the start that you know nothing, your writing will almost certainly suck, your writing session will definitely suck, it won’t be fun, it’ll be unpleasant like a hard work-out, and you’ll spend a lot of time staring into a blank screen with yourself and your MacBook Pro while you listen to Metal blasting through Bose NC 700s. OK — Let’s GO!
And this is where most people stop.
But what if…What if we hung in there and sat with the suck? Gained comfort in knowing, well, this sucks but I am here sitting with it. Pushing through.
# “Today, I take scalps!”
Do not stop. Say it with me and Jocko and Goggins,
“I don’t stop! Today, I take scalps!”
As they say in the SEAL Teams, you’re either Hard or you’re soft. If you’re a Creator, especially a writer, you’ve got to be Hard. You don’t have a choice. Like Goggins says over and over again, you have to callous your mind, which is a wonderful metaphor for consistently showing up in the battle for your own mind, ready to fight over and over and over and over again, never giving up. Ever. Never.
“I have chosen to stay and fight!”
Showing up to every writing session ready to go even if you don’t feel like it.
Showing up for every work-out — especially when you don’t feel like it.
Showing up to every commitment even when you don’t feel like it.
Showing up to the crafting table every day to make something out of nothing.
Showing up to shoot the video even if you hate the way you look and sound on video.
Consistently showing up for your people to let them know you’ve got their backs.
Showing up — ready to serve again and again and again and again and again and again.
Showing up because you don’t stop!
Here’s what happens when we stop showing up. Here’s what happens when we’re not ready to creatively serve. Here’s what happens when we’re inconsistent. Or, far worse, think we’re unworthy.
When we stop showing up, we let our people down. We let the team down. We let ourselves down. We wallow in our own self-indulgence and pity. We feel foolish and stupid. We want to bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich. We drop the ball. Why would we do that!? Why wouldn’t we command & demand better of ourselves and our creations? Who are we? And more important — *Who do we want to become?*
#The self-confidence in Creativity.
We’ve got to be OK with sitting with the discomfort of creation, the messiness of it all. We’ve got to be OK with the not knowing. We’ve got to be OK with embracing the unknown. We’ve got to get good at saying and acknowledging, “I don’t know how this is going to turn out. But I believe in my ability to figure things out. I’ve seen similar things before. I’ve been here before. It was weird. But it turned out OK for me and my friends. Let’s GO do this!”
The self-confidence of creation. The self-confidence of movement. The self-confidence of going. The self-confidence of momentum. The self-confidence of YOU GOT THIS. Let’s do this now! Then, it builds upon itself and you emerge *Confident* — believing in yourself and in your abilities. You know you got this.
# We need more “I Got THIS!” In this country. It ought to be our new mantra.
There’s no need to be scared. There’s no need to be worried. There’s no need to be full of doubt. Just GO! Move! Now!
Because with movement comes momentum.
“People are momentum.”
— Marcus Buckingham
And as the Great Marcus Buckingham reminds us in his teachings, *We are all momentum*. We are energy. We are spirit. We are all chock-full of potential. All of us — together. This is us. And this is exciting to realize! All we have to do is move! GO!
“I am showing up. I am ready to serve. Let’s GO!”
Show up — ready to serve.
It’s an acknowledgement that you don’t need anything else to go serve. You already have everything you need right now! Everything you need — all things — you’ve already got! It’s all right here inside of you RIGHT NOW. You don’t need anything else! You’ve already got it. Everything you need to show up, ready to serve, you already got!
Do not make us wait any longer. Do not break the Movement. Do not let the team down. Do not bury your head in the sand like the ostrich.
Go Now! Create now! Move now! Write now! Right now!
How will you show up today?
We’re waiting for you.
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