S1E7 Trying New Things: Why We Fear Them and How to Overcome That

"Try this first. Think about what you're assuming this will say about you, and by default, what you're assuming they will think about you if it goes wrong. And then I challenge you to come up with a completely different meaning, a completely different reaction that you could assume someone was going"

I turned 50 this year, and I made a commitment to myself to do 50 new things before the year is over. It's important for leaders to be willing to try new things. It shows that you're willing to take risks and that you're open to new ideas.

Sometimes people won't try new things because they're afraid of what others might think if it doesn't go according to plan. But I challenge you to reframe what the possible outcome could mean. It might not be as bad as you think.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. What's so good about trying new things?

2. Why is it so difficult for people to try new things?

3. What if you're wrong about the meaning you've put on something?

Resources: Women in Leadership Facebook group

Chapter Summaries: [00:00:01] - Rochelle turned 50 this year. She made a commitment to do 50 new things before the year is over. Being willing to try new things is an important trait for a leader.

[00:02:23] - For some people, the last new thing they tried was 20 years ago. Some new things are easy to try, like a new lipstick or a new color of beer. Other things are a bigger deal, like jumping out of a plane or swimming with sharks.

There are things in the middle that people are still afraid to try. They think failing at them means something about them. What if you put a different meaning on something? What if not hearing a response of I love you from the other person simply means they come from a family that never said it before? If choosing a restaurant that turns out to be awful means you and your friend both have a good laugh about it, if not being able to work out how to use the Digital Planner straight away is a great way of role modeling to your team,

[00:10:36] - Tracy's daughter has been teaching herself Spanish, and she'd asked Tracy to learn it with her. Tracy had let her fear of being terrible at it and the meaning that being terrible would disappoint her daughter, stop her from doing it altogether. Giving it a new possible meaning has allowed her to take action and start to learn the new language.

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