Penny Casselman:
How can we look at fear and choose courage every day? Because it is something we have to choose. This is not a personality trait. It is a habit. It is something that you need to install. And the more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, the less they feel as uncomfortable. Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman.
Penny Casselman:
I believe everyone is deserving of of a phenomenal life. Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Hello, director. Welcome back. What are we celebrating today? Yes. I'm asking you directly, what are we celebrating? Because this question is not related to this episode at all, but conversely, absolutely related to this episode, and I'll show you what I mean by the end of it.
Penny Casselman:
First, we don't celebrate enough of things that we accomplish in life. For me, this past week, I finished a vision journal. Think of it as a vision board, but in journal form because I wanted something that I could take with me that would be special every time I opened it. Having said that, what are you celebrating? And if you can't think of anything, try again, because I guarantee within the last twenty four hours, there is something that you did that you can celebrate. Maybe it was trying a new recipe. Maybe it was picking up the phone and finally calling a friend. Maybe you said yes to an invitation, or you did some research and found out something new. You did not hit snooze and instead woke up happy and ready to conquer your day.
Penny Casselman:
Noodle on it and make sure that you pause some point today and celebrate what you have accomplished. So today, I wanna dive into the boldest people are not fearless. They're just fed up. And this resonates so deeply with me because I kind of find myself in that exact situation right now. I am not fearless. Trust me, as I will get to later in the episode, there's something that I've been dragging my feet on. When you hear it, you will be like, Penny, what the hell is your problem? Well, that is what we are here to discuss. Because I bet you still have something similar.
Penny Casselman:
Something where you have not yet chosen to pursue, chosen to take action on. And we're gonna get to all that inside this episode. Thanks for showing up for yourself. The core message here that we're going to get into is courage isn't about the absence of fear. It's really about hitting that enough is enough moment or as I like to say inside of my red marker moment philosophy is that moment where you realize fine is no longer good enough. That is the moment that you find courage to do something different, to take action, to believe in yourself, or to create and hold a brand new vision. And like I mentioned earlier, I really have been feeling this in my bones lately, and I know that I am not the only one. So let's go.
Penny Casselman:
It's time for a clarity cocktail. Today's clarity cocktail comes from Joseph Campbell, and he shares, the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. I do not know where these people come up with such sage quotes. And I know I say this every week, but I love this one, because courage is not the absence of fear. In fact, fear is not what blocks us from doing something. Fear is simply an indicator that what we are going after is important to us. And I want you to lean into that. As a certified high performance coach, I have access to a community of people who are certified just like myself.
Penny Casselman:
And a month and a half ago, I was really feeling down, and I did not want to hop on the Zoom call that day to be surrounded by other high performance coaches. And I went back and forth probably for about five minutes, like, I should go, but I don't feel like going. Back and forth, I went until I finally stopped and said, you know what? Because you're not in the mood to go, that's the whole reason to go. So without belaboring that decision, I sat down, navigated to the Zoom room, and had a really transformative session to the point where the person that I was interacting with most of the call, I hired as my next high performance coach. Yes. Coaches have coaches. Why? Because I always know that nothing is done alone. And just like Joseph Campbell said, the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
Penny Casselman:
And in that moment when I had so much resistance to going to this monthly training, I went, and in so doing found my next coach who is pushing me to make some big, bold, courageous moves in not only my personal life, but in my business as well. And I want the same for you. I want you to feel as fired up as I do about life and what is possible. Because I know when you are fed up, when you are tired of hearing yourself say, it's fine. That is when the fear might get smaller because your desire for change becomes so loud that you can no longer ignore it. So, director, let any fear that you are experiencing today, last week, or tomorrow be the clue that pushes you towards the treasure you seek. And now back to the episode. Cheers.
Penny Casselman:
Circling back to this idea that the boldest people aren't fearless, they're just fed up. I mean, if we think about my red marker moment, that moment when you say fine is no longer good enough, when you declare either the start of something new or the ending of something that no longer serves you. Let's keep exploring and debunk the myth that courage equals fearlessness. Because here's the nuance, Having courage doesn't mean you don't have fear. Courage is that catalyst for change. Courage, you look it in the eye and you do it anyway. You're done with being fed up. You're done with being fine.
Penny Casselman:
And I'm curious, what something you have been tolerating for too long? What is something where you think, I am fed up with this circumstance? I am fed up with this situation? How long has it been going on? How long have you been allowing yourself to say, it's fine, it's fine, director. Fine is no longer good enough. It is time to find and choose your courage. What are some signs that you might be fed up? Or signs that you keep saying it's fine, it's fine. Maybe you have low energy. Maybe you have some resentment. Maybe you've been overthinking something. Maybe you are procrastinating.
Penny Casselman:
You name it. Do we end up numbing out and scrolling through social media? Or picking up some snack foods? Or do we simply allow ourselves to stay stuck? I think it was last episode where I mentioned I took Facebook off of my phone, because I was finding myself doom scrolling when I felt like procrastinating, or I had low energy. But in that moment, it took courage to take it off of my phone. But I did it anyway. Because I knew on the other side of taking it off my phone, I would find twenty minutes at minimum in my day that I could now devote to more important pursuits. How can we look at fear and choose courage every day? Because it is something we have to choose. This is not a personality trait. It is a habit.
Penny Casselman:
It is something that you need to install. And the more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, the less they feel as uncomfortable. Because we want to reframe courage as a choice that we make daily, I'm going to invite you to do something called a courage check-in. And this is something you could put on a post it, put it on your desk, so you'd look at it before you start work every day, maybe you post it next to your makeup station and look at that. Just somewhere that you are prompted to ask these three questions. The first one is, what's something I've been avoiding? The second is, what am I really afraid of? And third, what action would I take if I was no longer afraid? There are very few decisions in our daily lives that are life or death situations. When you identify something that you've been avoiding, and then ask yourself, what am I really afraid of? If you're not gonna die from it, do you really need to be afraid of it? Now at the top of the episode, I told you that I've been dragging my feet on doing something because I was afraid, which now that I'm sharing this with you sounds so ridiculous, but I'm gonna share it with you anyway. One of my dreams is to step out on stage in a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.
Penny Casselman:
And if you don't know what those are, they are the high heel pumps stilettos that have a red bottom. They are minimum $800 a pair, and I want them. They're so not only on brand, but to me they are iconic, they are stylish, and they kind of embody everything that I want to become. I am ten minutes away from a store that sells them. Last week I walked in to the store. I walked up to the shoes. I held the shoe, but I did not try it on. I didn't summon the courage, and I know this probably sounds so ridiculous, but I told myself so many stories when I was standing in that store.
Penny Casselman:
Penny, why are you doing this? You don't deserve these yet. Why would you spend $800 on a pair of shoes? These people work on commission. Why am I gonna try on shoes that I'm not gonna buy today? And on and on it went. What is the worst thing that could have happened? So let's just go through these three questions with me. What was something I was avoiding? Actually trying on the shoes. What am I afraid of? I'm afraid that I am going to get judged by not only other customers in the shoe department who are going to buy a pair of shoes, but also judged by the person who has to go to the back stockroom and pull whatever size I want. I was afraid of being judged. So having said all those things, I'm not gonna die if every person in the shoe department hates me and if every customer looks down their nose at me.
Penny Casselman:
I'm still me. I'm still pretty freaking awesome. So what am I really afraid of? Saying it out loud kinda makes it sound a little ridiculous right now. But the third question is what action would I take if I was no longer afraid? Oh, I will tell you. I will drive myself to that store today. I will walk up to the shoes, find a salesperson, ask them to bring out a few pairs so I can get what size I am, and then thank them for their time and leave. Because the whole purpose of my exercise for this is to, one, do something uncomfortable so that I get used to doing it over and over again. But it's also to help me dream.
Penny Casselman:
Just like that vision book that I put together, I deserve a phenomenal life, director. And guess what? So do you. If you have stopped dreaming, what an act of courage for you to start dreaming again today. How can I support you in that effort? How can you support yourself in that effort is saying yes to help, to guidance, and to growth. You are already showing up here to this podcast, to listen to me talk about things that impact us all, and how we can all pick up a red marker, claim our phenomenal life, and move forward with purpose and passion and belief and vision. So if you are fed up with being stuck, maybe high performance coaching is your next brave move. I will put in the show notes the courage check-in questions because we are trying to make courage a daily choice. So think of courage like a muscle.
Penny Casselman:
Right? If you never use your muscle, it feels weak. Again, I will say, think when you go play golf or you go bowling for the first time in months, where do you feel it the next day? You feel it in every muscle that you are not usually engaging, right? Courage is the same way. If you don't continually choose courage, it is hard to get back started flexing that muscle. But remember, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes and the more second nature it is for you to step up into a level of courage that advances everything you are going after. And if the bowling and muscle and golf analogy don't land with you, think of courage as lighting a match. You don't have to eliminate all of the darkness. You just need a spark that provides enough light for you to take the next step. Just a spark, a small candle, a tea light instead of a bonfire.
Penny Casselman:
They both produce light, but the tea light will still help you move forward. Flexing that courage muscle, sparking that moment of courage, both allow you to get stronger in your daily efforts and to keep moving forward. Remember, director, you don't have to be fearless. Courage is a choice and one that just takes a little effort to get used to how it makes you feel. You just have to be done with your current situation. You just have to be done with saying it's fine. You have to embrace enough is enough. And then in that moment, you pick up your red marker and choose to be courageous in how you move forward.
Penny Casselman:
What brave step are you ready to make this next week? What small spark of courage can you ignite to move you forward? Because director, you don't have to have it all figured out. You simply need to choose courage today to move you forward. And if you still find yourself feeling fearful, not sure about how to step up and be courageous, know that I am holding that vision for you. As a high performance coach, courage is one of the foundational ideas that we explore and develop because it is only with courage that you can go out, step into the best version of yourself, and live your phenomenal life. Until next week, director. Dig deep, find your courage, and get out there and do something amazing. Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve.
Penny Casselman:
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker, get excited for your future, and make your first move to pivot with passion.
