Just before sitting down to write this article, I went for a walk. Walks are part of my daily routine: it's how I start my day in the morning to get into the right state of mind before coaching. It's also how I like to end my days, to process the conversations I've had.
Besides allowing me to focus and process, I go for walks whenever I seek inspiration. I put on an energizing playlist to match the mood I'd like to be in, and in no time it'll have me feeling like dancing on the street (sometimes I actually dance! I probably look ridiculous while doing so, but it's often in those moments that I have my best ideas...).
On today's walk, I began to think of topics for this newsletter. It didn't take long before inspiration hit me like a tidal wave. Do you know that feeling? Your mind starts racing, thoughts come flooding in faster than you can keep up with. Perhaps you even get goose bumps all over because you feel that creative energy running through your body.
For me, it's a sensation of pure pleasure mixed with a pinch of panic.
Why panic?
Because I want to capture all those wonderful ideas, yet my mind feels out of control. I literally cannot keep up. Sometimes I'll try to write down my ideas in my Notes app on my phone, but I physically can't type fast enough. And so I panic.
Today I handled this differently: instead of Notes, I opened up my voice memos app as quickly as I could, to record myself saying my ideas out loud. If you're like me and you can talk faster than you can type, I highly recommend it. Sure, I may have received a few strange glances from people who were wondering what on earth has come over this woman, walking so rapidly while feverishly typing and talking and dancing and laughing all at once (at some point, I literally grasped my head as I exclaimed "Aahhhh I have too many ideas! Slow down!").
But you know what? It's totally worth it. You've got to capture the inspiration while it's there. And now I have a huge list of topics I can't wait to write to you about...
Content creation on Instagram
The same thing happened to me earlier this week, on Instagram. Yes, that's right, Instagram! A few days ago I discovered making reels (you know, those very short TikTok-style videos). And wow, I've been having so much fun creating videos about giftedness on my account @thesmartrebel_
The same mad rush happened though: I got so many ideas that I had to carefully keep myself from panicking. Because I want to use ALL the sounds and create ALL the content and it's almost physically painful not to. And that's overwhelming. The real thing you want to watch out for here is that, because you want to do ALL of it but can't, you end up doing nothing at all.
Because that, my friend, is perfectionism in disguise...
To think in terms of 'all or nothing' isn't helpful. It's not that black and white. You can choose to do SOME instead; you can still ride that wave of inspiration but avoid burning yourself out.
What comes up for you when reading this story? Is there any area in your life where you suspect you may have fallen victim to the 'all or nothing' mentality? And could you practice doing some of a particular task without putting pressure on yourself to do it all? Tell me below in the comments...
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram (@thesmartrebel_) for funny, relatable and inspiring reels on a daily basis.
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