What does it mean to be ordinary? For me, to be ordinary is to be human. To be human means that you will have doubts, insecurities, fears…the list goes on. This “ordinary” feeling is an inevitable part of being human and was ever so palpable for me when I decided to launch this website.
I knew I wanted to include testimonials on my website. There have been so many occasions where I have gotten such great feedback and responses after a presentation or workshop. I knew I wanted to include those types of responses on my website. However, I also knew that doing so would mean that I would have to reach out to family, friends, and colleagues and ask for help. For me, asking for help also meant that I would have to be vulnerable. What if they thought that creating a website was a bad idea? What if they did not find me “worthy” of a testimonial? All these “what if’s” creeped into my psyche and I began feeling pretty ordinary. I was a vulnerable human who became afraid and doubtful.
I also know that I wanted to share some of my own personal journeys in leadership on my website. After all, I pride myself on being an authentic leader. But being authentic also requires vulnerability. I like being authentic but I don’t always like being vulnerable. The thought of sharing some of my most vulnerable moments for the world to see also had me feeling “ordinary” and filled with doubts, fears, and insecurities.
Once I felt that the website was almost ready to launch, I decided to share the link with some close friends first. I knew that I needed additional eyes on the site before fully launching it. In doing so, I also felt vulnerable. I was vulnerable to their feedback, their edits, and ideas. Thankfully, I trusted those close friends to give me good critical feedback. In fact, I actually wanted the most honest feedback they could offer. But actually wanting that feedback did not make me feel less ordinary or less vulnerable.
So how did I move from ordinary to extraordinary you might ask? Well, I asked for testimonials, I included personal stories on my page, and I launched my website despite how ordinary I felt. The lesson here is that feeling ordinary is human and is normal. What makes you extraordinary is the ability to follow your dreams despite those feelings of doubt, fear and insecurity. If you can think of any person you deeply admire, are inspired by, or aspire to be like, I can guarantee you that they have many moments when they feel ordinary. What makes them extraordinary is that they put themselves out there and they show up anyway! They don’t allow their dreams to fade away in the midst of uncertainly. They insist on sharing their gifts with the world through shaky voices, trembling knees, fast-beating hearts, and sweaty palms. This is what makes them extraordinary.
So I encourage you not to let those ordinary feelings get in the way of you becoming extraordinary. Also, don’t run from those feelings; they are part of your humanity. While we can’t hide from our humanity, we can journey towards extraordinary in spite of it.So if there is dream you have yet to realize, I challenge you today to take the steps towards making it a reality. Whatever that dream is, make it happen! Allow yourself to be extraordinary!