Well, Anyway... #6- Is Christmas done so I can plan for New Year? And other thoughts on life.
mackenziekoppa.substack.com
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as the next person. Heck, I’ve had my tree up since the middle of November. But planning, planning is my life blood. Planning is where I shine. All the efficiency and thought-out strategizing does wonders for my little Enneagram 3 heart! Yes, Christmas is wonderful, but for me, the magic is in New Years!
However, I knew my planning this year had to be different. 2020 pretty much blew up the effectiveness of my goal planning, and finding an alternative method to get where I’m going has been one of the things keeping me up at night.
I’m happy to report, after much pondering, I think I’ve found a way through the planning darkness. It centers on process instead of big end-goal visions- a monumental shift to all the planning I’ve ever done. Friends literally gasped in surprise when I revealed this change to them! Haha! (You can actually hear Katie suck in her breath in awe and wonder on The Mini (our bi-weekly podcast in Patreon).
Yes, yes, I am actually going to focus on small daily changes and follow through in order to create actual lasting impact, instead of painting a picture of an unrealistic goal that I never seem to make actual progress towards. Crazy, right? I feel like I deserve some sort of award for finally listening to all the similar wisdom I’ve been hearing about this for years.
True to form, I want to share this process with all of you. I mean, what’s the fun in planning and figuring these processes out if you don’t bring other people along for the ride? So, I’m hosting 3 webinars next week (you pick the time that works for you) where I’m going to spill the tea on how I’m going about all of this planning. Participants in the webinar will receive a PDF guide and Trello Board template to kick off their own planning for the New Year. It will be the most fun you’ve had since… well, since the last time you had a bucket of fun!
Alright, so generally I would consider myself to be someone who is fairly confident in her own skin. I’ve worked hard to know who I am and I try to show up everyday put together (well, most days anyway) and authentically myself. Howevvverrrrr… this fall it has been TOUGH! With the rebrand of my platform I suddenly became very nearly completely paralyzed to show up, almost at all.
Yes, I have been putting out new content, but have you heard me mention that content very often? That’s a solid nope! Have you seen me show up in your inbox with this here little newslettery, bloggy thingy on the regular? That’s a no again.
Why?
Fear.
I became suddenly overwhelmingly worried that the people who actively chose to sign up here, or follow me on Instagram, or subscribe on YouTube, didn’t actually want to hear from me. I felt almost as though I would be bothering people if I showed up. After all these years of podcasting and live streaming I felt like what I had to say didn’t matter- like other people were doing it better, so why should I bother? (I mean, other than the fact that I have these four kids to provide for and stuff. Ya know, that aside.)
Want to hear another hiccup that had me stunted? I’m not the expert! Am I pretty good at some things (like planning)? Sure! Do I like to try lots of things to figure out what’s working well right now? Absolutely! But if people are looking for the Top 5 Ways To (insert expert topic here), I’m not that girl. I don’t really want to be that girl. I just want to share from my real life.
So, I started sharing with some people what was holing me back- both with friends and people I barely knew but whose professional opinions I highly respected. Time and time again they told me three things-
People follow you because they want to hear from you. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t follow.
Your story is your gold. No one else has your story and you’ve learned so much through it- share from there.
You’re funny and authentic. Keep sharing your real life and weirdness. (Ok, so maybe they didn’t use the word “weirdness,” but I’m pretty sure it was insinuated!)
And so, here I am, rambling on and on as though it’s therapy, hoping that maybe some of this will resonate with some of you. Does it? I’d love for this to be a catalyst for conversation. And yes, this is my extrovert talking!
So, what content have you been putting out, MacKenzie?
Awww, that’s so sweet of you to ask! And since you’re here, we might as well get all my recent content out there, right?
Well, there’s this whole series I started on my blog where I share my Five Friday Favorites. It’s pretty fun!
Or my latest podcast episode (and one of my favorites of the year) with Robyn Conley Downs about how we can think about goals in a whole new way.
Wow- you just never know what you’re going to get with me. I hold multitudes!
Let’s chat!
So, am I the only one? Have you ever struggled with imposter syndrome? Or maybe you have resonated with some of the content I have recently put out- let’s chat about it! We can all dialogue together in the comments on this thread and I can’t wait to hear from you.
Well, Anyway... #6- Is Christmas done so I can plan for New Year? And other thoughts on life.
Well, Anyway... #6- Is Christmas done so I can plan for New Year? And other thoughts on life.
Well, Anyway... #6- Is Christmas done so I can plan for New Year? And other thoughts on life.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as the next person. Heck, I’ve had my tree up since the middle of November. But planning, planning is my life blood. Planning is where I shine. All the efficiency and thought-out strategizing does wonders for my little Enneagram 3 heart! Yes, Christmas is wonderful, but for me, the magic is in New Years!
However, I knew my planning this year had to be different. 2020 pretty much blew up the effectiveness of my goal planning, and finding an alternative method to get where I’m going has been one of the things keeping me up at night.
I’m happy to report, after much pondering, I think I’ve found a way through the planning darkness. It centers on process instead of big end-goal visions- a monumental shift to all the planning I’ve ever done. Friends literally gasped in surprise when I revealed this change to them! Haha! (You can actually hear Katie suck in her breath in awe and wonder on The Mini (our bi-weekly podcast in Patreon).
Yes, yes, I am actually going to focus on small daily changes and follow through in order to create actual lasting impact, instead of painting a picture of an unrealistic goal that I never seem to make actual progress towards. Crazy, right? I feel like I deserve some sort of award for finally listening to all the similar wisdom I’ve been hearing about this for years.
True to form, I want to share this process with all of you. I mean, what’s the fun in planning and figuring these processes out if you don’t bring other people along for the ride? So, I’m hosting 3 webinars next week (you pick the time that works for you) where I’m going to spill the tea on how I’m going about all of this planning. Participants in the webinar will receive a PDF guide and Trello Board template to kick off their own planning for the New Year. It will be the most fun you’ve had since… well, since the last time you had a bucket of fun!
Sign Up for The Webinar!
Let’s talk about insecurity for a minute…
Alright, so generally I would consider myself to be someone who is fairly confident in her own skin. I’ve worked hard to know who I am and I try to show up everyday put together (well, most days anyway) and authentically myself. Howevvverrrrr… this fall it has been TOUGH! With the rebrand of my platform I suddenly became very nearly completely paralyzed to show up, almost at all.
Yes, I have been putting out new content, but have you heard me mention that content very often? That’s a solid nope! Have you seen me show up in your inbox with this here little newslettery, bloggy thingy on the regular? That’s a no again.
Why?
Fear.
I became suddenly overwhelmingly worried that the people who actively chose to sign up here, or follow me on Instagram, or subscribe on YouTube, didn’t actually want to hear from me. I felt almost as though I would be bothering people if I showed up. After all these years of podcasting and live streaming I felt like what I had to say didn’t matter- like other people were doing it better, so why should I bother? (I mean, other than the fact that I have these four kids to provide for and stuff. Ya know, that aside.)
Want to hear another hiccup that had me stunted? I’m not the expert! Am I pretty good at some things (like planning)? Sure! Do I like to try lots of things to figure out what’s working well right now? Absolutely! But if people are looking for the Top 5 Ways To (insert expert topic here), I’m not that girl. I don’t really want to be that girl. I just want to share from my real life.
So, I started sharing with some people what was holing me back- both with friends and people I barely knew but whose professional opinions I highly respected. Time and time again they told me three things-
People follow you because they want to hear from you. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t follow.
Your story is your gold. No one else has your story and you’ve learned so much through it- share from there.
You’re funny and authentic. Keep sharing your real life and weirdness. (Ok, so maybe they didn’t use the word “weirdness,” but I’m pretty sure it was insinuated!)
And so, here I am, rambling on and on as though it’s therapy, hoping that maybe some of this will resonate with some of you. Does it? I’d love for this to be a catalyst for conversation. And yes, this is my extrovert talking!
So, what content have you been putting out, MacKenzie?
Awww, that’s so sweet of you to ask! And since you’re here, we might as well get all my recent content out there, right?
Well, there’s this whole series I started on my blog where I share my Five Friday Favorites. It’s pretty fun!
Or my latest podcast episode (and one of my favorites of the year) with Robyn Conley Downs about how we can think about goals in a whole new way.
Or this podcast episode where Jared Koch and I talk about the importance of taking charge of your own health and how to start going about that.
Or maybe this YouTube video where I talk about handling the holidays as a single mom.
Or this Reel on Instagram where I do an impression of my teenage son and his view on virtual band class.
Or this IG Live where I randomly make Zuppa Toscana for dinner and discuss facts about the British monarchy.
Wow- you just never know what you’re going to get with me. I hold multitudes!
Let’s chat!
So, am I the only one? Have you ever struggled with imposter syndrome? Or maybe you have resonated with some of the content I have recently put out- let’s chat about it! We can all dialogue together in the comments on this thread and I can’t wait to hear from you.
Until next time- go be bold and gracious!
-MacKenzie