The Self-Aware Soloprenuer

Dear SAS Community,( Thank you for your patience as I am late today and working out the kinks with this new platform for the newsletter).

Today's Question: Are you making decisions based on your mood?

In this week's edition, we cover:

• Doing the uncomfortable to get comfortable

• Emotional Blindness can keep you from trying new things and growing

• Reading Time: 4 mins

How was your weekend, my friend?My Saturday was a full day of excursion at the Renaissance Festival. I was overstimulated would be an understatement. To tell you the truth, I am not a fan and it was never my thing. This year, however, that changed my mood from "it's not my thing to I am curious."

I will share with you how and why that matters. The last 3 years have been unfathomably hard for a lot of people. Can we agree on that?

If you are quiet, curl up with a blanket and a warm drink kind of person, then you will most likely resonate. I am somewhere in between. I can do large crowds but to a certain extent and then my energy will slowly fade.

Even though it was never my thing, my husband bought 4 tickets. There was no way he was going to let me spend the day by myself.

"C'mmon Maira you will have fun with the kids," he kept convincing me the entire week. The day arrived. Kids woke up at the usual school time, all dressed, and brushed their teeth. I was pleasantly surprised as this is almost never the case during the school week.

We got there and sure enough, the place was like buzzing with crowds. Your senses are off the charts with loud noises, costumes, and constant chatter. It felt uncomfortable, especially after 3 years of social distancing. In the past, I was firm in making decisions. If I was not in the mood, I didn't let anyone make me decide what I needed to do. After all, you make your own decisions.

However, this time I didn't realize I was blinded by my emotions. Here's what I mean. Often times we can hold ourselves back from making new experiences because of how we feel about certain things. We can lead to making decisions when we let our emotions drive them. I was not forced to participate but seeing my kids in complete joy shifted my mood. Being the person who takes notice of my emotions, behavior, and actions, I noticed a shift. We sat in the car, listened to music, and shared stories of our childhood. When we got there, my mood changed. I became curious about this "newly shifted emotion."

It was mainly influenced by the idea of making new memories. We watched our kids on the pony rides, rock climbing, and pretending to be a pirate which changed everything.

I had my hair braided for the first time. We had funnel cakes, and steak on a stake, and waited in long lines while enjoying people-watching. My mood went from "it's not my thing to "this could be fun."

See, I often hear from first-time founders or Solopreneurs who are getting their feet wet online, say "social media is not my thing."

• What if you asked yourself a different question and injected more curiosity?

• What if you learned from others?

• What if your "feeling" of being not in the mood could turn something into new possibilities?

Frankly, it was never mine either. But, if you do it ALL for yourself and not curate a whole new experience for others, it will become a drag. It is uncomfortable to put yourself out there. If all you are deciding is from "good vibes and feel" place then you miss the opportunities to learn and grow. In this case, I learned from watching and seeing my kids having a blast override my emotions. You are building it alongside people you care about. When you see others having a positive result or outcome, even if it's a small change, it can mount to something BIG. That is where new learning and growth happen. It is easy to fall into this trap of "emotional blindness" but become conscious of how your decisions can affect others.

Here are 4 ways to overcome Blindspots:-

• Identity what assumptions are you making

• Confront your assumptions with a qualifier statement like, "Is this how I truly feel?"

• Keep learning and growing especially in areas where you have self-biases that you know a lot

• Gather feedback from others to help you improve

All of these ways can bring you closer to looking at things objectively rather than making decisions solely based on how you "feel."

Take some time to reflect on what is guiding and driving your decisions today.

Stay Humble, my friend.Yours Truly, Humaira"Create a collection of memories. Not distraction"