What Gets Me Fired Up?

I had a phone call recently with my marketing coach (yes, coaches have coaches too, to help us get out of our own way and move to a new level!)

One area I want to develop is refining my messages to share what I have to say in a way that resonates most with you.

A challenge I got from my coach (and have received from others as well) is to be more “real and raw” in how I communicate – to be more passionate and super excited, and more vulnerable and emotional when sharing what I feel.

To talk about the things that fire me up and be more dramatic in how I write and speak.

I resist time and time again. In my head, I am doing it already – I just don’t get too excited or worked up about things. And, the response I get is to let my guard down.

So, today, I’ll accept the challenge. Here’s what gets me fired up: When people tell me I should get fired up!

The bottom line — I feel like I just don’t get too excited or expressive about things, and I’m perfectly happy with that. My guard isn’t up now – it’s who I am.

But I didn’t used to think this way. Years ago, I would be pretty dramatic – with the good and the bad.

I got really frustrated when I felt hard done by, I yelled at others when I got angry and I cried when things were a flop.

And when something good happened, it was THE MOST AMAZING THING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

Then I would pile it on – the guilt from making others feel bad, the anxiety from worrying what others thought of me, and the frustration when someone said something that I didn’t like that led to another argument.

My highs were high and my lows were low.

Not anymore. (We all have off days – but they are few and far between).

There’s something magical that happens in your life when you let go of all the drama.

When you don’t let self-doubt and worry eat at you, and you don’t treat others poorly when you are in a bad mood, and you don’t blame others when you should really be asking yourself: “What am I doing to make it better?”

When you get caught up in the drama of worrying if you are good enough or arguing with others, you waste your mental energy when you could put that energy to more positive and productive use instead. And besides it feels a whole lot better.

Save the drama for REAL threats, such as being physically hurt or something serious in your life.

You know what I do get excited about now? When I hear my kid say after months of encouraging him to keep trying and not give up on things that he “learned from Mom to not give up” even if five minutes later he wants to quit AGAIN. It’s progress.

Or when a client has the smallest win from their week and shares that with me. That’s exciting!

Or the biggest “down” I have these days is when I yell at my computer for not working properly (typically it’s user error!!).

And, I don’t believe you will die or stay stuck forever if you don’t work with me. I don’t feel “this” is EPIC or “that” is UNBELIEVABLE. I also don’t believe there is one way to get the result you want. So I am likely not going to tell you that.

Do I think you can find a better way? Absolutely, we all have room for growth. Do I think I could help you reach your goals? Absolutely, when it’s the right fit.

At the same time, we all need to push out of our comfort zone in the areas we want to grow – yet, with doing that you can also be OK being who you want to be.

So, here’s my challenge to you: Instead of asking what gets you fired up, I’ll ask: What is an area in your life where you can dial back the drama? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

PS – When you are ready to dial back the drama in your work and the rest of life, and want a partner to help you do that, let’s chat.

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.