Hitting a Century!
By Kerryn Vaughan
18th February 2022
Well, I did it! I have actually released 100 shows on my podcast ‘Get Off The Bench’, and I’m really proud of myself.
It’s funny how we keep plodding along and chipping away at something and we have our head so buried in it that we don’t even notice when we’re nearing a milestone. That’s exactly what happened to me.
I love the work I do so much, that the immersion is like being transported to another dimension where the hustle and grind of every day life doesn’t seem to be able to penetrate our bubble. And I’ve long pondered the whole immersion thing.
Many years ago I was asked how I just keep going, kind of like an energiser bunny, and often on very little sleep. To be honest, I used to wear that as a badge of honour!
Nowadays I’ve come to realise just how important sleep actually is, and that charging though life without it is asking for disaster - physically, mentally and emotionally. But some of us with go go go personalities take a little longer to learn these things!
But immersion has been the main ingredient, and the space it holds is incredible. It’s when you are so into something and energised by it that you don’t notice time passing. And then you have to go to bed!!
Recording podcast episodes is incredibly immersing. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be completely and wholeheartedly invested in a raw conversation about somebody’s story. And I don’t call it luck. It really is about designing the life you want.
So this week, as I realised on Tuesday that I would be at episode 100 on Friday, I had a bit of a ‘stuck’ moment as I pondered how that show might look. Then a friend suggested I get somebody to interview me. But who? Somebody who knows me well and can pull out all the juicy info, or somebody who barely knows me and who can ask questions from a place of genuine intrigue?
I’m going to be honest, I got a little overwhelmed wondering how I could achieve that in 24hrs, and eventually froze. By Wednesday night I still hadn’t made any headway, because I was avoiding it, but I knew I had to record something that night.
So I gathered questions I had received from listeners over time, and decided to interview myself. How cool is that?? And I went deep!
My point here is that we can fuddle fart around as much as we like, but ultimately we’re just putting off the inevitable. Further, there is always a way to achieve something, but sometimes we just have to look to the side or behind, rather than straight ahead.
So there were questions like:
How did you get to doing Get Off The Bench?
What else are you working on?
How do you keep putting it out there, not knowing who is listening, if anybody?
You seem extremely resilient - why?
All wonderful questions!
And then I cracked open a little box of cards I received in the mail earlier in the day, and randomly answered some of those. One of them made my hairs stand on end and metaphorically my mirror cracked!
What conversation do you need to have to set yourself free? - OUCH!!
Despite the ouch, I answered honestly. I need to have a conversation with myself about feeling good enough. And I’m not the only person who needs to have this conversation. I think the vast majority of us feel this way and I think that’s so sad.
We come into the world absolutely magnificent, but by the time we’ve racked up a few short years, we’re already questioning our worth. Life shouldn’t be like that. Imagine if we all lived in our full magnificence like we’re supposed to. Wow!
So this 100th episode is jam-packed with thoughts and reflections, and while it’s an everyday job to ascend and get thrown off that mountain of ‘good enough’, I’m still bloody proud of myself for resiliently continuing attempts to conquer it.
To you I say this… Please keep trying. Please get back up. Please share your magnificence with the world even if it’s still messy.
And if you want to immerse in a space where there’s honesty, vulnerability and love, listen to that episode here, and gift yourself an hour to feel the OK’ness of being exactly where you are right now.
Much love to you xx
Kerryn Vaughan is the author of ‘Magnificent Kids!’ and ‘Get Off The Bench!’, founder of One Planet Classrooms, co-founder of Girls With Hammers, and host of Get Off The Bench Podcast.
Kerryn is also a DISC ADVANCED® accredited consultant.