Most of us loathe our own hesitation.
We fight it. We resist it. We try to ignore the discomfort.
We do our best to push through it.
Sometimes we even force ourselves to act even when every fiber of our being is saying "NO."
One of the reasons we do our best to avoid acknowledging our hesitation has to do with our "take action" culture.
From the time we were young, we were told to get over our nervousness, our shyness, our worries, and our discomfort. The message was that these states were so "bad" that we'd never succeed if we succumbed to these feelings.
One of My Long-Standing Hesitations
In the early years, I was painfully shy.
I was the child (and young adult) in EVERY class that was very attentive, very studious, and very quiet.
Even though "my grade depended on" participation and speaking up, I did not!
This pattern continued through grade school, junior high, high school, college, and graduate school.
Regardless of what I was I'd been told, I was at the top of my class at every school, even though I could not, and would not, volunteer to engage in class discussions.
Until I found my voice!
I still remember the scene quite well. In a seminar during my last year of grad school, we each had to research the primary sources for a well-known theory and then give a presentation on how the commonly held views of the theory differed from the original version.
As I gave my presentation, my professor argued with my points. She was sharing the popular version that did not completely align with the original source materials. She wanted to me to adjust my comments to align with HER knowledge. To the amazement of EVERYONE in my class, I found my authentic voice and stood my ground. I was literally shaking in my boots by the end, but I did it!
Discovering My Growing Edge
When I KNOW what I'm talking about, I am confident enough to step into conversations, discussions, and even debates. It's not always easy, but it's doable.
About six years after the turning point in my grad school seminar, I started my business that required me to speak to promote my work! I was able to step into this new role because I was talking about topics I knew well.
Now nearly 30 years later, speaking in front of groups is an inherent aspect of my work. I speak to training and mentoring groups several times a week! I'm in my element, naturally sharing the work and models I love.
(My young self is still quite amazed at how life has evolved!)
Your Hesitations Are Just As Valuable As Your Actions
Whether you are starting your first practice as a Change Catalyst or you are leaning in to develop a deeper body of work, your hesitation holds important wisdom for you.
When you learn how to honor your hesitation rather than fight it or silence it, you can listen for what it's trying to tell you. As you build this muscle, you'll find you have an easier time creating forward momentum with your projects and business.
Discovering that I could speak effectively when I knew my materials opened my options up quite dramatically. Now if I ever feel uneasy about an upcoming presentation I know to spend more time familiarizing myself with the material, background information, and the flow. By the time I start my presentation I'm usually calm and ready to go.
Your hesitations could show up as feeling confused about your niche, feeling uneasy about how you are structuring your offers or your business, or not knowing what to do next. The list is endless really. The key is to recognize that there's valuable information within your feelings of hesitation that will guide you forward when you know how to work with them rather than against them.
A Sign of Your Growing Edge
I have found that my hesitation is often an indication of my growing edge — personally and professionally. In working with Change Catalysts who are evolving their work and their business, I've seen the same pattern for them.
When you pick up on a signal of hesitation, you have the opportunity to lean in to discover how you can proactively evolve your idea, your work, your business, and your work with clients. Taking each sign of hesitation as another sign of your growing edge means you can stay focused on moving forward.
It's amazing how different it feels to see your hesitation
as a sign you are on the edge of evolution.
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What are the nuggets of truth that are woven into your hesitation?