Your Mind Will Try to Talk You Out of Growth

I just got back from my second inspection today. Interestingly enough, my very first inspection ever was this morning. I made sure I had everything ready. I had my briefcase with all of my paperwork, forms to walk customers through the process of getting their vehicle cleaned in a professional manner, and my business shirt with my logo on it. This was completely new territory for me. I've never done this before. I've never stepped out and run my own business. I've never shown up to a customer's home representing myself in that way. I'm naturally a social person and pretty extroverted, but this felt different. It carried a level of responsibility that I hadn't experienced before, and honestly, I think I did a really good job.

What was interesting was what happened after the first inspection. When I got home, I started feeling overwhelmed. My mind immediately began creating stories. Maybe this is too much. Maybe this business isn't for you. Maybe there's too much responsibility. Maybe you're in over your head. Part of the reason was that I spent nearly two hours putting together the post-inspection report. I was literally building the systems as I went. I was learning everything in real time and trying to create a professional experience for my customers. Looking back, I can see that I was being hard on myself. The funny thing is that I had another inspection scheduled later that same day, and for a moment I started thinking about putting it off. I was home. I was comfortable. The first inspection had taken a lot of energy out of me, and it would have been easy to come up with an excuse.

But then I thought, "No. Screw that." There was about an hour and a half between appointments, so I decided to lay down for a nap instead. When I first laid down, my mind was still racing, but eventually I fell asleep. When I woke up, I had about thirty minutes before I needed to leave, and the thoughts came right back. Maybe you should reschedule. Maybe this business isn't for you. Maybe there's too much responsibility. Maybe you're not cut out for this. Then, while driving over there, my mind started creating even more nonsense. What if you get into an accident? What if something goes wrong? What if this doesn't work out? What if, what if, what if. The interesting thing was that at the same time, I knew exactly what was happening. I knew it wasn't reality. I knew it was my nervous system reacting to a new experience. My inner child was freaking out. My nervous system was trying to protect me from uncertainty.

Then I arrived. The moment I knocked on the door and another human being answered, everything disappeared. The anxiety disappeared. The worry disappeared. The stories disappeared. I felt completely relaxed, completely comfortable, like I had been doing it for years. I completed the inspection, took the pictures, talked with the customer, and drove home feeling great. It was amazing how quickly all of those fears vanished the moment I stepped into reality instead of living inside my imagination.

It reminded me of something important. When you step into something new, your mind will often try to convince you not to do it. It has to. Growth requires stepping outside of your comfort zone. If you're doing things you've never done before, you're naturally going to feel uncomfortable at times. That's part of the process. The goal isn't to eliminate the discomfort. The goal is to move forward despite it. Because on the other side of that discomfort is confidence. On the other side of that discomfort is growth. There is something incredibly satisfying about conquering a challenge, especially when the biggest obstacle isn't outside of you but inside of you. When you push through the internal resistance and discover that the fear wasn't telling the truth, you become stronger because of it.

Today was a reminder that confidence doesn't come before action. Confidence comes after action. You do the thing first. Then confidence follows. That's the lesson I'm taking away from today. Every new level in life is going to ask something from us. Every new opportunity is going to require us to step into uncertainty. The question isn't whether fear will show up. The question is whether we're willing to keep moving forward when it does.

God bless.

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