The Better You

I had a job lined up that involved a lot of face to face meetings and unfortunately, that is on hold. So, I've been using this time to focus on writing and expanding my website. I've been checking out other writers and observing how they integrate social media with their blogs. Because I have valued connections on Facebook from my years in teaching fitness, I've been working diligently on rebranding while still trying to maintain those connections. I found myself these last few days putting so much value on Facebook content than creating my own content. I started worrying. What if they don't like what I'm putting out? How can I make this easier for them? What if they think I think I'm full of myself? I had to literally ask myself, Kimmi, what is YOUR purpose? To make things easy and post everything on Facebook or is the goal to get people to know the real you in your own space? And I answered: My purpose is to share my lessons in a community that helps people feel better about themselves and the goodness they have to offer.“ Facebook can go away. I don't own Facebook. People come and go on Facebook. I needed to focus on sustainability, not necessarily what was easier to manage or what I was familiar with.

I've seen so many people using platforms to give goodness to their own communities. Zoom, an online video conferencing platform, has been quite popular for fitness instructors. But, it's not without its quirks. Lag, Sound, Video on or video off, share screen or not? Internal mic or external? Is the connection strong enough? When will my ethernet cord arrive so that I can have a better connection? If some of you only knew what conversations have gone on among fitness instructors behind the scenes before anything is ever launched. But, my level of anxiety always seemed to overshadow my desire to step out. Even though I had an army of encouragers who tested classes with me, I was ready to quit. Even after I had already publicized a class because I felt the format wasn't good enough. After all, It wasn't perfect. Let me just go back to my prerecorded videos. Sure, they are convenient for many, but I had different reasons for wanting to throw in the "live" towel. I like editing, spellcheck, overlaying sound, deleting my blunders...live is RAW.

When faced with something foreign, and everyone else was in their groove, I got lost in the comparisons. Then, I came back to my purpose. "To share my lessons...to help people find goodness in themselves"...You don't create a community of learning by staying in what you already know.

When we spend so much time in what we know, our growth is limited. I had so many hands held out to help me, but I was more afraid about how graceful my step would be. Why was I relying on Facebook to be my tool when it wasn't created for my purpose? It's a hand. Why was I losing sleep over Zoom working one day and not how I wanted it to the next? It's unpredictability wasn't my creation and it certainly would not be my undoing. It’s simply a hand.

Here is where the "If you build it, they will come" quote pops into my mind. "YOU!" Babies stumble and fall and hit things, but they have to get out of the pack 'n' play eventually. This isn't the cliche "you have to get out of your comfort zone" piece. This is a self assessment of your zone. Is your zone YOU at your best? Are you surviving, or are you thriving? This isn't about trying something new, this is about trying to create something that yields a better you.

So here's to your next step, whatever it may be.