I've watched/listened to a lottt of them over the years. Never have I ever teared up from one, until a few days ago...
Btw, me as a human = not a big crier. Honestly I've never been a very expressive person in general. Empathetic, yes. Emotional, no (with the exception of a few things, of course).
So when I started tearing up on the treadmill while watching the end of this interview the other day, I surprised myself 😂
It was a recent podcast with Leila Hormozi, a highly intelligent and successful entrepreneur I've been following for a few years now. Her content has been so helpful to me, I feel like she's my mentor and therapist 😅
In the interview, she talks about how she was angry and depressed growing up. Therapists diagnosed her with mental illnesses, tried prescribing her medications, and told her to take things easy.
However, she didn't think anything was wrong with herself. She had traumatizing experiences as a kid, so it was normal to feel those things.
I can relate.
Instead of letting those people and feelings control her, she took agency in her life. She decided to run with fear instead of away from it.
"Fear is always present when I'm doing something worth doing."
-Leila Hormozi
It's important to understand the difference between what feels good and what is good.
So many people trade long-term comfort for short-term comfort by hiding and running away from fear.
They might avoid their problems by going on a wild party trip and call it "self-care" (you know, like Logan in that one episode of Gilmore Girls).
In reality, this is just training them to keep running away from their problems. (No shame to the real self-care examples out there!)
To me, this is kind of like peer pressure. We hear everyone talking about "self-care" and we don't think to ourselves "what does this actually mean to me? Is this actually good for me long-term?"
Personal example: I chose not to try alcohol until I was almost 23.
I still went to parties and bars with my intoxicated friends in college. I didn't judge them. In fact, it was refreshing being around goofy, funny drunk people for a change.
People pressured me, thought I was weird, and told me I was "no fun" without understanding my reasons. It didn't feel good.
At first, going out was uncomfortable. I stood around awkwardly, waiting for my friends to be ready for me to walk them home at 2am. (Don't even get me started on how awkward dating was 😂)
Eventually, though, I learned to dance, have fun, and not care what other people thought.
21-year-old me holding a random stranger's dog in the line for "drunk food" (sober) at 2:30am.
I could've easily given in and taken a drink at any point throughout the years, but I pushed through the hardship of peer pressure because I knew what was right for me long-term.
It takes a lot of courage, but when you run towards fear instead of away from it, you gain confidence.
You prove to yourself that you can do the scary, uncomfortable things. And eventually, they don't feel so uncomfortable.
At the end, Leila talks about how learning to run with fear has made her more resilient.
I think this struck a chord with me because I can relate so much to what she's been through, personally and professionally.
I feel like I've overcome a lot in my life and have become so much more resilient, especially over the past couple of years while running this business.
In fact, earlier this week Chris was telling me he can tell I've grown because "if you had this much going on a year ago, it would've crippled you." 😅
I just want you to know that when I show up every day, there's always a little or a lotta fear in my pocket.
I imagine this is true for you too, and I'm proud of you for fighting through and continuing to do what's best for long-term you.
And now I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the interview...
Leila asks herself this question when she has a decision to make - big or small:
I'm a baking blogger and food blog coach based in Chicago! I've been sharing easy, sweet recipes since 2020. In 2023 I started helping other food bloggers grow their businesses. You can find blogging tips & resources in my weekly food blog newsletter and coaching website!
