S2. E35. Off the Cuff: Making a Decision When You're at a Crossroads

Natalie: 00:00:01

What do you do when you reach a crossroads and

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you have to make a decision?

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You have to go left or

you have to go right.

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And when you make that decision, you

can no longer look the other way.

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Well, that's kind of where I'm at.

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I came to a crossroads and

I had to make a decision.

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I've had this podcast

and I love this podcast.

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We're halfway through the second

season, but a lot of things happened

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in my life where I just no longer

have the capacity to do the podcast.

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And so I was left with two decisions.

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One, do I continue and burn

myself out along the way?

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Two, do I say that's a wrap

and I end the season early and

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I stop the podcast altogether?

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And those were kind of the two

options I was debating back

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and forth for a long time.

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And then it dawned on me

that I could have a third.

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So sometimes we have a clear decision

of a right or a left, but sometimes

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you can create your own path.

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You can create another path that

goes somewhere in the middle.

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And so what I've decided to do

is to continue the podcast, but

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only with off the cuff episodes.

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Why?

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Because the off the cuff

episodes are easy for me.

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They're about five minutes.

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They're actually the most listened to.

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Podcast episodes, I think because people

just like to get little doses of truth

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or little doses of nuggets of wisdom

There are so many podcasts out there

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that are an hour long an hour and a

half long 45 minutes long But there's

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not a lot of really short podcasts.

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So I think I've actually created

a space for myself there.

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And that also allows me to keep

doing what I love, which is just

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sharing encouragement, sharing tips,

sharing things that I feel can make

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a positive impact on people's lives,

all in the name of encouraging people

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to prioritize their own well being

and to live a life that is aligned

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with their values and their purpose.

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That is what excites me.

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That's what keeps me going.

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And so that's what I'm going to do.

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So we're going to be doing

off the cuff episodes only.

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I'm hoping I can do it weekly.

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I think so.

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We'll see.

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But sometimes you just have

to give yourself grace and ask

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yourself, what, why am I doing this?

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And what's the outcome?

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And is anything else being impacted?

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Sometimes your hands are just too

full and something has to give.

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And so in this case, it's those

full episodes and the interviews

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because they take a lot out of me.

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I'm doing a lot more speaking engagements

and coaching, so I just don't have it

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to go, but this is not really about me.

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This is really for anybody out there

who's forced to make a decision or

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feels forced to make a decision.

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I think a lot of times there is Just

decision paralysis where people are

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unable to make a decision, but sometimes

in life you just have to move forward.

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Now, I'm not going to lie.

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I kind of sat in limbo for the last

month, which is why you haven't

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heard from me because I wasn't

ready to commit to a new decision.

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And I was still thinking maybe there was

a way that I could do full interviews

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and full episodes still, or I was

thinking I had to quit and let it go.

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Yeah.

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And sometimes the power of a

pause is good, like before making

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any final decisions, because if

I had decided a month ago, then

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there just would be no podcast.

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Or maybe even two or three months

ago, then we would have just stopped.

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But the power of a pause is good.

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And the clarity really only came in

the last, I would say, week or two,

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because multiple people have come up

to me, or called me, or messaged me or

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just spoken to me at an engagement,

something, and talked about my podcast.

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And I keep thinking, wow, well, if I had

shut it down, then they wouldn't even have

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that frame of reference to talk about.

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So.

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So sometimes the power of a pause

creates another path for you or allows

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you to see what other possibilities

exist when needing to make a decision.

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And of course, this decision is

still aligned with my values for

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work life balance and having personal

time for myself and doing something

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that's sustainable and enjoyable.

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Because if I don't enjoy

it, then I'm not doing it.

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And I think a lot of people are

doing things that they don't enjoy

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because they're just kind of stuck

in the routine or stuck with what

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they're, they've been doing before.

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So that would be my encouragement to

you is take a pause, but find decisions

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that can still align with your values

and align with your joy and create that

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third path for yourself if you need to,

or go right or go left, until next time,

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continue to serve yourself, your loved

ones, and your community from a full cup.