It’s Motivation Monday time! And today, I’m drawing so much strength from popular television producer, screenwriter, and author, Shonda Rhimes.
As I watched this video, I realized that I was this person Shonda describes, just a few weeks ago.
Like many of us who tend to reach for the stars, there comes a point where life forces you to pause and take stock. This is a scary time because reflection can make or mar you. You might find that you’ve performed absolutely terribly in the past months or year and may allow the knowledge of this to propel you forward OR you might find that it discourages you. On the flip side, you could also find that you’re doing great and allow the knowledge of this to make you rest on your laurels or the reverse, to keep pushing. For Shonda, it was the former.
There’s only so much of kicking down doors and conquering of obstacles that a person can participate in where your body doesn’t eventually give way. It doesn’t necessarily mean that your physical body gets ill although, this is the case in some instances, but, it could be either mental or emotional. Hence the recent awareness being raised on ‘self-care’ for girl bosses like you and I.
About two months ago, I began to have anxiety attacks. I couldn’t really place it, as I had never had them before – at least not pertaining to my career or my business. Actions I knew I needed to take for my own growth became extremely scary. I was afraid of talking to the necessary people, putting myself out there or even networking, which wasn’t always second nature but I would do anyway. The easiest tasks began to seem like a dead weight. If you find that this is you right now, you’ll definitely want to watch this video.
Uncertainty, self-doubt, insecurity are all factors that come to play in perpetrating fear and allowing for it to blossom. Shonda speaks on saying yes to everything that made her afraid. If she didn’t feel like doing it, she did it anyway. I personally took this stand before coming across this video and what a difference it has made in my life.
Watch Shonda Rhimes’ really get into conquering Fear in this TEDTalks video below:
Photo Credit: NPR
