A Mixed Tape

Better late than never?

We’ve been thinking about how the podcast is rolling out and shaping up. As we’re finding our voices, going through the different episodes, trying to piece together the conversations that we’ve had–we’ve gone from talking about just starting, to the overwhelm of starting, to perfectionism. 

So, how do we spend time with the things that light us up and surround ourselves with things that bring energy, excitement, and happiness? The ideas that you surround yourself with, the people, the things, the information, the practices, are ultimately what influences how you experience your world, your days.

We dive-in to the books we read, the music we listen to and get excited about. The small little practices that help us stay positive, shift or reframe our perspectives, and keep moving forward. They all play a role in our ability to keep showing up, to do the work. 

We talk at length about a favorite new artist of ours, LP. It came to our attention after recording and publishing the episode, that in our discussion, we address LP with the incorrect pronouns. LP prefers they/them pronouns. We apologize for our oversight. 

Our aim is to be inclusive and for people to feel comfortable listening, participating, sharing space with us. We can’t always be articulate. We wish we could. Even if we don’t have the ‘right’ words to express our thoughts all the time, we will continue to learn, grow, and make space for others as we strive to share and listen generously.

A Mixed Tape Episode 4 

Make Create Build Linktree

Practice Meets Perfection

Perfectionism is complex and may appear in various shapes and forms: over-processing, hesitation, avoidance, and overwhelm. Our relationships and projects can suffer if we chase perfection. Let’s lean in and harness the good, prepare for the bad, and close the door on the ugly.

How will I show up? What will people think? How will they perceive what I put out there? What do I post? What do I say? Is it good enough? Am I showing up the way I want to show up? What’s the message I wanted to convey?

Reading through the different types of perfectionism in Katherine Morgan Schafler’s The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power shows that perfectionism can be incredibly nuanced. And, being a perfectionist isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Can you recognizing it? And then, can you harness those things to be your superpowers? We also mention some insights from Jon Acuff’s Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done and Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking.

We talked last time, around perfectionism, and just getting started. Just doing it, getting out there, posting the post, starting the project. The practice is the point. It’s not about doing the thing perfectly, it’s about the process of going on that journey.

Laura, “And I guess for me, maybe specifically the way that my perfectionism shows up. One thing that I know I can do is instead of sitting and struggling, perhaps I can continue to connect with you and talk through it. I think that’s incredibly helpful for me. I also think just knowing that we’re doing the best we can, that we’re showing up honestly with good intention and letting that be good enough.”

The Overwhelm of Starting

How on earth do we start this? How do you start a project? We’ve got lots of reasons why we don’t start: Is it good enough? Is it even worth me doing? Who wants to hear from me? Do I have something worthy to say? What is it that I’m going to contribute that’s different and creative and thoughtful?

We put up barriers and get stuck and spin. Where do you find yourself struggling when it comes to starting a project?

You can overcome the resistance. Let’s dig deep, explore, learn, and grow as we lean into uncomfortable growth together. 

Brené Brown,  Seth Godin, Steven Pressfield, Simon Sinek, and James Victore are mentioned in the episode. Their work has been instrumental for us as we learn and grow. There are many more, and we are sure to mention them in future episodes.  Laura finds my copy of James Victore’s Feck Perfuction amongst my books and we go into a bit of an impromptu book club. Do you ever do that? Grab a random book, open to a random page, and see what the universe has to offer? 

Getting Started

We started. Episode 1 (Recorded way back on 4/8/2023)

When you’re In Residence as an artist, a writer, a musician, a leader–you’re digging deep and tapping into your creativity. Learning and practicing and honing your craft. Creating teams, building relationships and culture, connecting ideas that may not be clearly connected.

We see In Residence doing that via conversation.

Let’s dig deep, explore, learn, and grow as we lean into uncomfortable growth together. 

Introducing In Residence with Keith and Laura

Hi! We are Keith and Laura. We are creatives and makers at heart and looking to make change, for ourselves and people like us who want to dig a little deeper. 

Join us as we push through uncomfortable growth on our way to make a difference.

Some times

Some times, you need to fix the kitchen sink, or the dishwasher, or the garbage disposal. Research, find the correct part, the right part, the tools, the right tools. Other times, we simply show up and get the work done.

Long tail

Time in the game is more important than the outcome of the game.
Which game do you want to play? How will you choose to proceed?