Don't lean into stress

I’ve been reflecting a lot on choosing my emotions or at least choosing my reaction to my emotions.
The last few days have felt a bit stressful, with a bunch of technical difficulties with Impossible Incubator (laptop and hard drive and icloud AND all my other storage devices ran out of space all at once, while I was editing 60gb of footage), lots of distractions (friends, friends, and more friends coming to stay) and general life busy-ness (prior commitments).

I’ve felt stress rising throughout my body on several occasions over the past few days, but with a lot of reflection and self control I’ve realised this:

Just because you feel stress (or anger, or sadness or any other undesirable emotion) doesn’t mean you have to LEAN INTO it. You can observe the emotion, and choose “Do I want to go there? Do I want to turn this emotion into a full on meltdown?”

As an ENFP (a Campaigner in the Myers-Briggs Personality categories), my intuition and emotion is a huge part of how I perceive the world. But I also know I can control how I perceive the world. Whatever I believe is what I will perceive. So I choose to perceive the situation differently. Acknowledge the stress, but also not choose to go down the rabbit hole. Just see it for what it is, and choose to believe something else about the situation (i.e. actually, it’s not all that bad).

I choose how I perceive my reality.

De-stress

Technical difficulties. Gah. Who knew launching could be so intense? (Everyone, except me apparently!)
I’ve been staying up until 3am most nights trying to edit my final video for Impossible Incubator. I was super stressed about getting it out on the deadline (August 1), because that’s what all the business gurus say you need to do (plan a massive launch, send out loads of emails yada yada…) but it just wasn’t going to happen.

But then at 12:30am last night I decided to just let it go. Stop forcing it. It will launch when it launches. I want to offer you all THE BEST membership platform I possibly can. August 1 is an arbitrary date. I want to launch the way that I’m most excited and inspired to (and that is NOT writing a million emails and having it drop at exactly August 1 midnight on the dot.)

So today I worked during the day (which is new to me - I so often work late into the night!), and then I went out (for the first time almost a year, I went to a nightclub with my friend Shelley - I’d forgotten how fun they can be!). It felt really good to relax and forget about work for a while.

Now I’m at home, working on my launch again. There’s a reason I work all the time. Because I LOVE my business. It doesn’t feel like work. So I’m 3 days behind schedule and i’m totally unapologetic, because I’m having fun and I feel stress-free.

Maybe Impossible Incubator will come out tomorrow. Maybe it won’t. But either way it doesn’t matter.

Where have you been forcing something that you just need to let go?

Daily action

If there’s one thing that has absolutely changed the game for me in my life and business, it’s taking daily action. Not weekly action, not every second day action, not 6-days of the week action, DAILY action.

Showing up every single day.
Here’s a list of the things I actively commit to doing every single day:

1. Gratitude journal

2. Meditation

3. Brushing my teeth in the morning & evening (YES, I actually have this on my habit tracker, because I used to miss days when I was rushed, and now I never miss a day)

4. Exercising before showering

5. Taking vitamins

6. Mindset journaling

7. Posting on Instagram/Facebook

8. Posting on Instagram Stories

9. Blogging (I’ve committed to every single day for 2 years!)

I have every one of these daily actions scheduled into my habit tracker.
And I do them every single day.

And it feels SO good to know that no matter what, I’m always taking action.

Today I was absolutely chock-a-block busy (organising Impossible Incubator!), but I made it a priority to get all of those done!

If you want to see RESULTS in your life or business, commit to DAILY ACTION. It will move the needle forward faster than anything else.

Behind the scenes

I’ve been up until 3am almost every night this week preparing for the Impossible Incubator launch! I’m getting so excited, even when I go to bed earlier, I can’t sleep!

Above are some behind-the-scenes shots of just a few of the things I’ve been working on.

My biggest learning lessons over the past few evenings:

1. There’s no “right” way to launch a passion project. If it’s not fun, don’t do it.

2. Just because I feel stress rising in my body doesn’t mean I need to lean into it and choose to feel stressed. I can look at the bigger perspective and let it all go (I’ve been working a lot on choosing my emotions recently, and it’s made a huge difference).

3. 90% perfect is perfect enough. Super tempting to try to make every little detail perfect (explains why I’m up at 3am). My Grandma always says “If you’re getting an A+, you’re in the wrong class.”

I can’t wait to share it with you all properly, I’ve basically created my DREAM membership site that I want to be part of. That’s why I did it. I wanted to be part of a community of people all taking on Impossible Goals. But it didn’t exist, so I’ve built it!

Goodnight!

"Sarah, how are you so motivated?"

“Sarah, how are you so motivated?”

People ask me all the time, how am I so motivated? To exercise, meditate, blog, show up, run my business etc. etc!

I’ve been sharing my goals really publicly recently. And it is SCARY. I’d rather just write them down in my journal and not tell anyone about them until they’re a done deal. But unfortunately, I don’t have the motivation for that.

Which is why I discovered that declaring my actions publicly is THE key to staying motivated.

Blogging? I’ve been intending to blog for 3 whole years and haven’t been doing it at all. I’m dead serious, I bought this domain in 2016.
But a week ago, I publicly declared that I will show up online (including blogging) every single day for TWO WHOLE YEARS. I’m 7 days in and totally afraid (and that’s the whole point) but I’m even more inspired. A challenge like this gets me so. damn. excited! This is the first time EVER that I’ve stuck with it properly.
I’m writing this at 12.25am, when I should be in bed. But I won’t go to sleep without publishing a blog post.

The same goes for mediation. The first time I meditated I was 12, which means I’ve been meditating on and off for 11 years. But this year I decided I really wanted to make it a habit, so I decided - and publicly declared - I would meditate every single day for a year.

Why isn’t it enough to just make the decision privately?

When I was 16 I wanted to a DJ. Not just any DJ, I wanted to be the world’s first ultra successful female DJ. Like, as successful as Avicii or Calvin Harris (Instead of putting up posters of celebrities, I had DJ logos on my bedroom walls). I thought about it constantly. I dreamed about DJing at Tomorrowland. But I never told anyone. So I never took any action. I never even learned to spin decks.

We are too comfortable letting ourselves down.
But no one wants to look foolish or stupid in front of other people.

Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your online followers. Tell your teachers, your mentors, your boss.
Sing it from the ROOFTOPS!

HERE’S AN IMPORTANT BIT: don’t just declare the end result, the goal, declare the daily ACTION you will take.

e.g. “I will win an Oscar” isn’t enough to declare. Because you’ve got YEARS to pull that off. You might think people have forgotten, and give up. You need to say “I will act out a scene from Shakespeare every single day.” Because suddenly you can’t hide behind time and the hope of tomorrow.

Believe me, if you do this, motivation won’t be a problem anymore. You won’t want to have to tell people you gave up on my dreams because you got tired or bored or lazy. You’ll be so worried about embarrassing yourself, you will do whatever it takes to stick to your declaration.

Declare your actions publicly and you’ll have your motivation sorted.

Is your goal real or just pipe dream?

Most people believe that success is about setting realistic, ordinary goals. But the truth is if you only ever set realistic, ordinary goals, you’re only ever going to get realistic, ordinary success. If you want extraordinary success - you need to set impossible goals.

But how do you know if your impossible goal is actually achievable?

Here’s the test:

1. Do you know your WHY?
   The driving force, the reason behind why you want it? If you’re not clear on why you want to achieve this goal, you’re going to struggle to push on when the going gets tough.

2. Is it relevant to your future identity?
   Is this goal relevant to how you see yourself in the future? If it’s not attached to your future identity, you’re unlikely to gather the motivation to do it.

3. Is it something you’re passionate about?
   Would you do it regardless of money, status, recognition or power?

If you can answer YES to all three of these questions, your impossible goal is COMPLETELY achievable. It means you’ve got the right drive, desire and reason behind your goal. The truth is, the only thing stopping you from achieving ANYTHING in this life, is you. So if your answer is no to any one of these questions, dig a little bit deeper into your heart about the impossible goal to REALLY want to pursue.

So now what? You’ve got an impossible goal that’s passed the goal setting test, actually achieving it depends on three things:

Mindset, Strategy & Execution

You need to have a STELLAR mindset, a SOLID strategy and POWERFUL execution.

This is EXACTLY what we’re working on step-by-step in my new private membership!

I’m so excited to welcome you to Impossible Incubator, a Global Private Members Club for people pursuing impossible goals!
If you’re not already on the waitlist, get on now because it’s opening in 3 days!

It's finally here!

I’m SO excited to announce…

IMPOSSIBLE
INCUBATOR

A Global Private Members Club for People Pursuing Impossible Goals

This has been in the making for four months, and I can’t believe it’s finally ready to launch!

SO WHAT IS IT?!

It’s a membership dedicated to helping you actually execute your biggest, wildest, most impossible goals!

Want to write a bestselling book?
Start a billion dollar company?
Break a world record?
Go to the olympics?
Lose 20kg?
Start your own fashion label?
Buy a penthouse?
Travel to every country in the world?

Most people believe that success is about setting realistic, ordinary goals. But the truth is if you only ever set realistic, ordinary goals, you’re only ever going to get realistic, ordinary success. If you want extraordinary success - you need to set impossible goals.

This is for you if you’ve got BIG DREAMS but haven’t had the support from your friends and family, the motivation to actually do it, or the strategy to figure out how on earth to actually START!

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Impossible Incubator is set up to take you through the entire process - from setting your goals to achieving them.

The membership is based on taking you through the entire goals process, from goal setting to goal achieving in three main areas:

CLARITY
find deep clarity on what you really, really desire
STRATEGY
map out in detail what you need to do to achieve those desires
EXECUTION
get zero-excuses accountability to make sure you actually take the required action to accomplish your wildest, most impossible dreams

WHAT DO YOU GET?

Monthly Masterclasses with Guest Experts who have already achieved the impossible: breaking world records in sport, launching new technology & creating game-changing businesses. These experts will teach you step-by-step how to create a plan, overcome your fears and take powerful action towards your goals

Monthly Mastermind Group Calls where we’ll brainstorm and problem-solve solutions to your specific challenges - whether you’re struggling with motivation, mindset, focus, or anything else

Access to a Private Community of High-Level Achievers to share your Impossible Goals, update on your progress, ask questions and help others achieve their Impossible Goals

Downloadable Workbooks to create plans and work through challenges

Group Pods to Connect You with people with similar goals

Consistent Accountability to help you take bold action and stay on track

In Impossible Incubator, we’re backing your success every step of the way, so you’ve got no option but to succeed!

Let’s get crystal clear on your vision, define exactly how you’re going to get there, and start taking action right now so you can accomplish something impossible!

It’s launching August 1st!

How setting impossible goals changed everything for me

Running today in the park near our house

The grey circles are the days that I didn’t run but also didn’t shower (so they still count as successful). If I were to shower without exercising, I would have to colour it RED! Ah!

I had no idea that the word impossible would transform my entire life.

Impossible fires me up. When I hear someone say the word impossible, I’m like, challenge accepted.

One of my biggest fears is leaving this world without having made a positive impact. And the thought of leaving it in a worse state than when I arrived here (e.g. from my carbon footprint, damage to the planet or the beings on it) makes me feel absolutely sick to my stomach.

What lights me up is my vision of an extraordinary life! Going for a run occasionally doesn’t fuel me with excitement. I don’t want to sort-of live life. I want to go ALL IN on life.

Turns out I need an IMPOSSIBLE GOAL to be fired up.

Impossible goals that I’m actively working on day to day:
I have a bunch, you can read about the others here, but these are the one’s I’m working on at the moment:

1. Showing up online every single day for TWO YEARS (e.g. blogging, Instagram, Instastories, Facebook, Youtube etc.). Just getting started - I’m on day 5!

2. Meditating every single day for a whole year (day 125 today).

3. Exercising every single day (or I don’t get a shower) I’m on day 47, 39 of which have been running days, 8 no shower. I’m totally astonished at how by setting an impossible goal to exercise every single day, I’ve suddenly been able to become a runner, after 23 years of thinking I just wasn’t the TYPE of person who could go for a run.

I feel a buzz every evening when I get to check these goals off on my habit tracker. Nothing feels as good as going to sleep with a perfect record, knowing today I’m one step closer to doing something I used to think was impossible for me!

'Tired' is just a state of mind

Today I felt exhausted. I had the longest to do list and I just didn’t feel like doing any of it. Especially going for a run.

But I managed to complete WAY more than I thought I would because I changed my beliefs about my mental state. I DECIDED I am full of energy!

Tiredness is just a state of mind.

I’m not talking about physical exhaustion here (just to be clear: you absolutely need to take care of yourself and make sure you’re getting enough sleep and the right nutrition).

I’m talking about the mental exhaustion that we bring upon ourselves in our thoughts. The pretend tiredness. The tiredness we subconsciously CHOOSE to buy into, because we can’t be bothered dealing with the things we know we need to do to progress our lives forward. When you’ve come home after a long day of work and you’ve promised yourself you’ll work on that new business idea or podcast you wanted to start, but then you just end up sitting in front of the TV doing nothing. Your mind is tricking you. You aren’t tired. You’re choosing to feel tired.

I know that this is going to cause some pushback, like my last post!

But the thing is, you already know that you get to choose how you feel. You know that YOU control your thoughts, which control your feelings, which control your actions. You get to change your mental state by changing your beliefs about the situation.

How do you do it?

When I was a kid, people used to ask me how I always had so much energy. I remember being confused and saying, “...you just make it!”

A lesson from my 8 year old self: Try it, right now. Decide to be energised. Close your eyes, and consciously imagine filling your whole body with energy, starting from your toes and bringing it all the way to the crown of your head. Feel it vibrating through your body. Throw your hands up in the air and jump up! Put on a song and dance around! Your mind has the power to give yourself renewed energy.

I choose to feel energised!

Envy is inspiration in disguise

Nice girls don’t get jealous.

We’ve banished envy to the naughty corner, making it out to be this awful emotion that we should feel guilty for even FEELING, let alone ADMITTING.

What absolute BS. I’m outing myself, I get jealous! Absolutely, outrageously emerald with envy! And I’m unapologetic about it.

Today, I was scrolling through Instagram and it just hit me like a WAVE. Ka-DOOSH! I got a major hit of envy over someone I really admire, who’s absolutely crushing it in business, seemingly without any effort. She posted a photo about her fabulous life and I turned into a green monster faster than you can say “50,000 likes”. But you know what? I’m not feeling an ounce of guilt for feeling that way. Instead of pretending I wasn’t jealous, I just admitted it! I don’t want to pretend that I’m not jealous.

BUT instead of letting that jealousy turn into vengeance, we can allow jealousy to guide us.

Jealousy is a desire compass. It’s inspiration in disguise.

WHY am I jealous of her?

1. She has built her business to a brilliant level of success in a really short amount of time

2. She has loads of followers who care about what she’s doing

3. People ADORE and rave about her products and services

4. She makes loads of money (I’m definitely going to talk about money in another post, I have so much to say on this topic!)

5. She’s so honest with the world

6. She’s constantly traveling to exotic places

What does that say about my desires?

1. I desire a level of success like she has

2. I’d love to have a follower base who really care about the work I do

3. I want to put out brilliant products and services

4. I’d love to make loads of money (again, soooo taboo for women to say, going to discuss this in the future!)

5. I would like to be more honest with the world

6. I’d love to do more travel

Why am I grateful to her?

1. Because she has shown me what is possible for me

2. Because she has made mistakes I can learn from

3. Because she has paved a path that I can follow

All of a sudden I feel fantastically inspired and excited and motivated! If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even KNOW I wanted all of those things. She helped guide my desires. I want to THANK her for showing me a future I can have! I want to rise up to the challenge of building that for myself, not tear her down to make me feel better about my own situation.

Let your envy drive your heart to unexpected places.

Ever wonder what your purpose is, where to go next, or where to begin? Let envy take hold of the wheel and it will drive you to the foot of someone else’s castle to show you what to build. Your only job now is to lay your first brick.

Mantra: My Envy Is My Inspiration.

Also on the list of things I got jealous of today: This bathroom I saw at a friend’s house.
Flipping the jealousy into inspiration: I now know the exact bathroom I want in my future dream house.