Put The Damn Camera On!

"You won't be important to other people all the time, and that's why you have to be important to yourself. Learn to enjoy your own company. Take care of yourself. Encourage positive self-talk - and become your own support system. Your needs matter, so start meeting them yourself. Don't rely on others." - Vex King

If you're anything like the old me, the very thought of being live on camera and being on camera during this pandemic and after pandemic-induced Zoom era or recording yourself is enough to put the fear of God into you.

I could never envision myself doing it and I'd come up with all kinds of excuses to avoid it, from blaming technical difficulties to insisting that my old laptop wasn't up to the task. Believe me, I had plenty of them in my excuses dictionary. My go-to phrases were "Sorry, the camera isn't working" and "I'm still using a pretty old laptop."

Can't you use your phone? Sadly, I won't be able to hear you utilizing it properly. I would never run out of excuses.

I was convinced that I could never do it, this was for other people better good looking and sounding better and when occasionally, I came across any job postings that required a recording video of the candidate, I would dismiss it with a quick "No, not for me." I would brush it off and this would be added to my pile of justifications for why where I am was the best place for me to be, no surprise, no challenge but at the same time I have to accept a fact that nothing new will never happen to me because in the comfort zone nothing grows.

But at the beginning of 2023, I made a firm promise to myself to leave my comfort zone and never look back. So, when I received a newsletter from a company, that I admired announcing a remote job opening, I knew I had to apply. However, my heart sank when I read that one of their requirements was to submit a one-minute video of myself. My brain immediately started searching for excuses once again.

It was then that I realized I was sabotaging myself again. If I truly want to leave my comfort zone, I have to stop using excuses to avoid doing the work that would take me there. So, I began to change my thought process and asked myself: what was wrong with recording a video? If I couldn't bear the thought of seeing and hearing myself in a video, who else would? It made me understand that I still have a long way to go in my self-development journey and that I needed to love myself enough to overcome my fears.

With a lot of self -encouragement and pep talk, I started recording video after video of myself to showcase my unique qualifications for the job. The first few were terrible, but I refused to give up. The moment I set my intention and changed my thought pattern, my brain started looking for ways to make an awesome one-minute video. I remembered what Eva Longoria said on the Jay Shetty podcast "On Purpose", when she stepped into his studio she made sure to sit in a place where she get a good lighting for a more flattering appearance. So, I looked the best lighting spot in my apartment, chose an outfit that flatters my skin tone, and let my hair down instead of putting it up in a ponytail, which had made me look stiff.

I'm proud to say that I'm happy with the final product. I feel like hugging and kissing myself! Regardless of the outcome of the job application, I've overcome something I thought was impossible for me. That's the real victory here.

This experience reminded me again that our brain is our most valuable asset, and we can harness its power to overcome our fears. We can choose what kind of thoughts we feed it every day. So, let's make sure we're feeding it positive ones that will help us leave our comfort zone and achieve our goals.

Your Truly,

The Queen Of Africa