Step

Welcome to Your Weekly Words with Julie Avis Rogers, where public speaking meets personal flourishing. In these posts (the video and the written transcript below), I’ll share one word to enhance your effectiveness as a public speaker while also giving a boost for your soul! This week’s word is *step* so let’s dive in!

There is a common scenario that I hear again and again– and it often goes something like this:

“I just gave a talk (or I just led a session, etc) and I really wasn’t prepared!! I didn’t practice what I was going to say. I didn’t think ahead of time about the questions I might be asked. I didn’t have a strong way of introducing myself. I just wish I had been more prepared!!!”

And if this sounds like you, then really, NO SHAME! I, for one, have been in this situation plenty of times and in my own experience, I usually think it’s either because I’m a terrible procrastinator OR I literally just did not have enough time!

But as I’ve been digging in further, I am beginning to see more and more how when we feel unprepared, it’s often not because we are BAD procrastinators or we are so busy that there is no possible time, it’s often largely because the task at hand seems so overwhelming and stressful and nebulous that we freeze.

In my own life, I’ve certainly seen this happen with speaking events but I also see it all the time throughout many areas of life. I’ve seen this happen when I need to understand a financial task or when I am about to embark on a big project that I know will take hours of my time– it feels so daunting and nebulous that I just let it fester in my mind and then I just confirm my story that I am just “a bad procrastinator”!

But I am slowly beginning to realize that this is not the full story. At the beginning of this year, I read a New York Times article “35 Health Tips Experts Swear By” and I came across an idea that I keep thinking about:

“My second grade teacher, Ms. Edson, told us: If something feels too hard to do, it just means that the first step isn’t small enough. So often when we’re struggling, we tell ourselves that it’s a sign that we’re broken or that something is our fault, and then we freeze. But when something is too hard in the moment, tell yourself Ms. Edson’s advice.” - Dr. Becky Kennedy, Clinical Psychologist

If something feels too hard to do, it just means that the first step isn’t small enough.

I don’t know about you, but this rings SO true to me– and I think that the invitation to just name and plan our *next small step* can re-write any self blaming narrative of “I’m just such a procrastinator” to actually being quite an empowering experience!

Do you have a speaking engagement coming up? Or maybe a project or a task that looms large? If so, what will be your *first small step* to get ready for it?

And if you need an idea, here’s one: Go back to the very first article in this series and ask yourself three questions to ground yourself in excitement. Let me know how it goes and remember:

If something feels too hard to do, it just means that the first step isn’t small enough.

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As you know, the theme is "where public speaking meets personal flourishing” and I’d love to pick a new name that more clearly encapsulates the theme.

Click here to view 4 top contenders for the new name– and to cast your vote!