Find Your Five
I love to write. Alone with a cup of coffee in a quiet place is my idea of heaven on earth. Starting this blog has been something I have dreamt about for nearly 5 years, finally becoming #braveenough to do so didn’t happen by accident. It took a lot of people, of whom I am very close, to encourage me to take the plunge.
Really, it came down to six people.
Did you hear that? Six people I can easily name, on a routine basis, said “Sasha, do it.”
And finally, I did.
Fast-forward 2 weeks.
I just got back from a week of working out of town with a great organization. I was busy from morning until night, leaving little time for communicating or connecting to my closest family and friends. My best friend, Jenn, on Day 6, texted me and said “I feel as though you are on a desert island.” Oh how right she was.
Each night I would crash into bed feeling great about the work I accomplished that day, and planning for the next day. However, also each night, imposter syndrome suddenly reared its head. Doubt about my blog, my abilities, my future, all started creeping in like a vine. Did you know if you don’t pull a vine by the root when it is small, it will grow in strength enough to pull an entire cement wall down? Doubt is like that. And for me, my friends often are the ones who encourage me to pull that weed.
Yesterday, as I was flying home, relishing in the success of the week, I realized how much doubt and insecurity I was feeling about the blog and my vision. Why? Because it is hard to change your behavior and your mission. It is difficult to blaze a new trail. It is SO much easier to listen to doubt and let the fear of failure keep you pinned in to a comfortable, easy life.
“I better stick to what I know I’m good at, what’s comfortable.”
“I think I have stretched my abilities enough. I am going to follow the crowd and not push the envelope anymore.”
These were all the thoughts in my head.
Then I reconnected with my six towers of truth and strength. I started to plug back in, and they asked me how my new project was going, and how my future planning was going. These people know me. They know who I am and what I am capable of. And their accountability to me, to my dream, allowed me to pull out any weeds of doubt that had crept in over a week away. I could not believe what a week lapse in positive validation and accountability did to my confidence. I consider myself an extremely strong and confident person, and yet it affected me. As I was reflecting, I realized I needed to write about the power of your closest friends, because perhaps many of you are disconnected.
Growth requires community. We were not meant to succeed alone. Success comes to those willing to take risks, and willing to fail. Success also comes to those who surround themselves with people who push you to get out of the comfort zone. To speak truth to you, to hold you accountability to be your best self. I cannot express how important it is!
If you don’t have those people, find them. Cultivate your community of accountability. As Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Who do you spend the most time with?
I bet your life answers that question.