stop putting so much pressure on yourself.
Have you ever had that feeling where you feel like you’re in a hurry or a rush? A hurry to get somewhere or do something, but you don’t know what exactly that is?
The first time I experienced this feeling was in the early stages of my podcast. Whether it was a day before a guest interview or right before the interview, I would get a tight feeling in my chest and feel very anxious about what was going to happen next.
I was so confused about why this was happening and where this was coming from. I’ve never really had this feeling before. Maybe before a big exam in high school, but back then, I had the confidence that I knew the material because I had practiced it so many times before and had taken practice exams nearly every day to prepare. It was nothing new.
But for the podcast? Man, it was the first major time I was feeling really hurried. And I HATED it. So what’d I do? I asked myself questions!
What am I doing in this moment or today that is making me feel like this? I thought about any emails I’d gotten. No reaction from my body. Any specific people that made me feel anxious? Nah. Hm… the interview?? Bingo.
So I knew that the feeling came from something that had to do with the podcast interview. But what? The guest? The recording tools? I kept asking myself tons of questions and I ended up with: the expectation that everything had to be perfect.
The guest HAS to have a great time, or else I’ll be a horrible host. I HAVE to ask great questions, or I’ll look dumb. This interview HAS to be perfect, so that I can be #1 on the charts and get more listens.
I was putting so. much. PRESSURE. on myself. I had unrealistically high expectations for the interview and didn’t help myself hold my head over the water at all. I compared myself to Pay Flynn and Amy Porterfield. I was comparing my chapter 1 to other people’s chapter 20’s, and my body was suffering the consequences.
Other than the mental strain and tight chest feeling, putting so much pressure on myself showed. I stuck so strictly to the script I made for the interview that I wasn’t even really listening to what the guest had to say, because I was so locked up in my own thoughts and how I was doing every single second. It affected my performance and thus affected my judgement of my performance in a toxic cycle.
After finally figuring out the culprit of all these problems, I started working on the solution.
I made a general outline of how the interview would go, but I wrote fewer questions that were more focused. I made it a priority to actually LISTEN to what the guest said, rather than trying to fill up the time with my own pre-made questions.
Most importantly, I released the chains of pressure. I reminded myself that authenticity is a huge value for me in life, and so I should be sticking to that and started acting like myself again, rather than trying to be someone else.
I already knew what I wanted in my episodes (good audio quality, 30+ min of conversation) and focused on those.
And as long as I was passionate about podcasting for, I kept going. And making sure that I remembered what’s most important to me - that I continue to learn and to grow, while having fun! It’s my show after all! :)
So dear reader, I encourage you to explore the feelings behind your own feelings of heavy pressure or unrealistically high expectations. When you release the chains, I promise you will feel more confident and comfortable in your own skin.
Rooting for your success,
Suzanne
