Do You Have Second -Guess Paralysis??
Last Friday I hosted 12- 12 year olds for a birthday collage party for my niece. Everyone had scissors, glue, a pile of magazines, poster board and I said…
“No rules! Just put on the poster all of the things you’d like to see this year -
everything you love!”
It was wild – if you saw clouds of “snow” over my house – it wasn’t snow at all…it was little pieces of paper from my 12 Edward ScissorHands!
I really loved watching the girls – they were yakking up a storm, lots of laughing and I noticed 2 very important things.
Things that apply to you too Lady!
Do You Have Second-Guess Paralysis?
50% of the girls went crazy clipping stuff – honestly they had so many pictures they had to flip the paper and use the backside.
The other 50% had collages that were almost barren. Just a few random pictures. And what did I hear them asking?
“Do you guys like this picture? Do you think I should use it? My collage is ugly…”
They were stuck. They had what I lovingly call Second Guess Paralysis. They didn’t trust themselves.
Of course I jumped in and told them their collage was off to great start! I then asked what kind of food, flowers, movies, actors, pets, animals, fashion, places in the world, books, music etc that they liked ….and their 12-year old sparkling eyes LIT UP….and immediately their collages started filling up like crazy too!
(They had no idea they’d just been Diva-dized)
The second thing I noticed?
The girls that were ROCKING right out of the gate – did this:
“Hey everyone – I’ve got a picture of a dog – anyone need it?”
“Hey guys – I need a picture of a cat – do you have one?”
Get the picture?
What Are You Paralyzed About?
Are you currently feeling stuck about …
- How to jump in on social media?
- How to get new customers?
- Your lack-luster sales?
- How and why you should network?
- How you can get media coverage?
- Your website/ezine/blog?
- Fill in the _____________?
Listen cupcake – I know what you’re up to.
You’re trying to be PERFECT.
You don’t want to SCREW-UP.
You don’t want anyone to laugh at your “collage”!
Gotcha – didn’t I?
Guess what? You’ve got the basics down – all you need is to ASK some questions. Who can you help and WHO can HELP YOU?
Here’s your Sales Diva Dare. If you want to be more successful then you need
to step out of Second-Guess Paralysis.
Within the next 48 hours I want you to TAKE ACTION on something you’ve been stalling on in your business. (Yeah – THAT THING THAT JUST POPPED INTO YOUR HEAD)
Share how Second-Guess Paralysis is affecting your business and what you’re doing to overcome it, in the comments!
Love from your bossy Sales Diva,
Kim
P.S. I’m devoted to helping as many women entrepreneurs and women in sales as I can. If you know of someone who would love to learn HOW TO SELL THE RIGHT WAY, then please encourage them to sign up at www.salesdivas.com and we’ll get them on the track to success!
I find I can get paralyzed about things that I don’t want to do. Here’s what I learned from you about my business – ditch it if it really doesn’t need to get done, hire someone else to do it, or if it’s something that needs my personal attention, suck it up and do it. Then energy it takes to procrastinate is far greater than the energy it takes to probably complete the task. Guess what? This is true in all areas of your life – not just your business. Thanks Kim for the as always delightful anedote.
Comment by Laurel Vespi — March 18, 2010 @ 11:29 am
Thanks for the note Laurel! Second-guessing yourself leads everyone down the Garden Path of Mediocrity and Missed Opportunities. Ick. Loved your points – thanks for sharing!
Comment by kimduke — March 18, 2010 @ 11:34 am