Do You Show Up?
Warning: this post might make you take a hard look at yourself.
I recently took a course called Show Up Speak Up with Karly Nimmo. I already enjoy Karly’s outlook and candid Instagram posts, but the title itself made me sign up immediately. The concept of “showing up” has been present of mind for several years, especially after I realized that a whole lot of behaviours I had in my late 20s and early 30s were avoiding showing up.
These could look like any of the following:
Not preparing for my auditions until the last minute, doing a half-assed job and wondering why I didn’t get any work. (Holy shit, I’m leaving that sentence as is, but it is not fully true, and you can understand how people get pretty hard on themselves, eh? I DID try sometimes, and it hurt even more not getting the job.)
Calling and cancelling my RSVP for a friend’s wedding shower the morning of because I hadn’t got her a gift and felt stressed about going to a party where I didn’t know anybody.
Cancelling plans in general. Avoiding calling people back.
And I’m noticing it a lot lately in Zoom meetings. For every free workshop that has an RSVP list of 60 people, about half will show up, and only about 5 or 6 of those people will have their camera on.
Now, there could be several possible reasons for this. Lots of parents have kids they’re managing, and are trying to participate in whatever way they can. You might have to eat your lunch or dinner during the time of the call. Maybe you didn’t have time to get properly presentable.
But I’m thinking one of the main culprits here is anxiety and having a hard time showing up and committing to being present. Because if you’re going to a free webinar or a course, and you’re passively watching from behind a screen, you’re not getting as much out of it as you could.
One rule that I made for myself recently was this: if I’m going to a Zoom call, and if there’s supposed to be participation, then I am going to be present. Otherwise: why am I there? What am I doing if I’m half reading emails/scrolling Facebook, half listening? I’ll tell you what I’m doing: zoning out.
I would love to know where you stand here. Are you showing up fully? Are you participating? If not, why not? It’s worth exploring for yourself, and it’s worth seeing where it bleeds into other areas of your life.
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Interested in exploring ways where you can learn how to be more comfortable showing up? Being more yourself? Being visible? Book a free 15 minute call with me here and we can talk about how my coaching can help peel away your layers of fear, and learn how to be confident and more authentically present!
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