Muscles and physical fitness analogies pervaded my last letter. In this letter I’m writing about stretching. Am I a “gym rat”?
Noun. 1. gym rat – someone who spends all of his/ her leisure time playing sports or working out in a gymnasium or health spa. – someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction.
No, not really. While I’m learning, after several months, to enjoy the fitness process so that I’ll achieve the results towards which I’m working, I am by no means a gym rat. Physical fitness continues to be a hard-earned, easy-to-find-excuses-not-to-do-it endeavor.
The stretch I refer to here is about pushing ourselves to do things that are a “stretch” for us; being bold, taking the initiative to do something big, trying something we have not tried before, or upping our game. For example, I speak professionally on conference and convention stages and to small groups at focused events. I am comfortable and reasonably skilled at being in the proverbial front of the room, maintaining audience attention, and communicating messages effectively. However, I choose to set a stretch goal every year or two that challenges my speaking competencies and causes me to learn an aspect of speaking I’ve not previously tried.
I am most comfortable and skilled at being an instructional speaker, relaying content that is fact-based and experience-tested, as opposed to what many consider to be motivational speaking. Ask me to deliver two hours of information and how-to’s in my areas of expertise, with a half-hour’s notice, and I have copious material on which I can expand to do so. Ask me to deliver a 45-minute motivational keynote with two weeks’ notice and I’m a nervous mess! So my stretches involve challenging myself to do styles of speaking that make me uncomfortable and require me to practice a lot more than I usually do.
A few years ago I did an Ignite® talk. Ignite® is a worldwide program where speakers give 5-minute presentations and each presenter must use 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Not only did I have to develop a succinct presentation telling a complete story, but I also had to create 20 illustrative slides and make sure my timing was such that I covered what I wanted to say for each slide while the slides advanced without my controlling them. “Ignite…enlighten us, but make it quick.”
Stretch achieved!
In 2020, I hired a story development coach to work with me on my story-telling skills. She pulled me, kicking and complaining, deep into my life experiences to bring out a story I had not thought of telling. She helped me relate it to the business messages on which I speak. While I will continue to be an instructional-style speaker, I now have a story on which I can expand to make my content more relatable for my audiences.
Stretch achieved!
Less speech-related, yet still performance-based, my stretch this summer was to perform at a community open mic session. I play an acoustic guitar yet only for myself and for Girl Scout campfire sing-alongs. I’ve not played for “the public”. I saw an announcement for a local open mic sign-up and, on a whim, clicked on the registration link and jumped in. Nervous? You bet. Yet I did pretty well…and now that those first-time nerves are calmed, I’m going to sign up for another open mic event when it’s offered again.
Stretch achieved!
I’m now working with a different speaking coach to develop a different style of presentation and will be looking for opportunities to deliver the talk in the months ahead.
Stretch in progress.
While this has been all about me so far, let me turn this around to all about you. From the examples I’ve given, I hope you are thinking about what your stretches might be. They don’t have to be about speaking or playing an instrument in public.
- Are you stretching towards leadership or another career opportunity that seemed beyond your reach just a few months or years ago?
- Can you up your game in a sport or performance or other activity you already do to develop new skills or improve your stats?
- Will you work with or reach out to someone you might otherwise avoid or be afraid to connect with and start a new relationship?
- How about making yourself vulnerable with people whom you deeply care about yet have hesitated to show your true feelings or share revealing thoughts?