Monthly Archives: February 2019

How to Recover from a “Visibility Hangover”

By Larissa Popov | Confidence , Visibility

What happens when you get more VISIBLE?

You may have experienced this interesting phenomenon when you’re putting yourself “out there” in the world in a bigger way, like when you’re:

• getting in front of a bigger audience—whether it’s in print, in person, or on camera
• sharing with more freely, with more vulnerability
• doing something new that will be seen by other people

The HANGOVER?

The hangover happens sometime after the fact, maybe it’s a few minutes, hours or days later when you have some gut-wrenching feeling that in your mind sounds something like:

• “Ugh, did I really say that?”
• “OUCH! I can’t believe I just did that! [So embarrassing!’]”
• “What are people going to think about it?”
• “What are people going to think of me?”

This feeling is also often accompanied by a feeling of panic, anxiety, embarrassment, guilt or even shame.

First of all, if you recognize this experience, CONGRATULATIONS! I celebrate YOU! Because it means you are bravely putting yourself out there in the world!

Why it happens:

• stepping into the spotlight and becoming more visible can make you feel more vulnerable or exposed
• What we feel vulnerable and/or exposed to is criticism and judgment from other people.
• The truth is: often we are way more critical of ourselves than others could ever be.

Why it’s a VERY GOOD THING:

• It’s a sign you are becoming more VISIBLE! YAY!
• You are sharing MORE OF YOU in an authentic way which is WAY better than sharing a FAKE version of you.
• The hangover is worst when you are stepping up to a NEW LEVEL of visibility—so it’s a great sign that you are growing as a person and expanding your reach.

How to handle your “hangover”:

• Honour and acknowledge the feeling — it’s just there because you’re doing something new & a bit scary!
• Congratulate yourself for taking that step to becoming more visible, even though it was challenging
• Remember that the more you continue sharing more of yourself, the easier it will be.
• Be kind to yourself: We are our own worst critics – work on loving and accepting everything you’ve done, mistakes and ALL!
• Remember that your ideal audience is going to love you the way you are, so if others might not receive what you did in the spirit it was delivered…just realize that they’re not the audience for you!

What’s your biggest takeaway?  Share your experience in the comments below!

Want to explore more of the inner work that allows you to be more CONFIDENT & EMPOWERED, LIVE with me?  Join my FB group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/confident.empowered/

My Humbling Path to Finding my Voice Again

By Larissa Popov | Authenticity

After closing my clinical practice of over a decade to transition fully into coaching, and I was determined to hit the ground running.  I was eager to make the most of the extra time to promote my business and increase my social media presence.

I’ve been blessed with a tremendous ability to focus.  The downside, being that it also comes at the cost of forgetting to eat, and possibly working well into the wee hours of the night.   At this point I had been working weekends too…there was just SO MUCH to get done, with no end in sight.

I was crossing tasks off my to-do list with unyielding tenacity and great pride until Christmas Eve, I got sick….like, really sick.  It started with the flu, then it evolved into laryngitis — I lost my voice completely for over a week and partially for much longer… it just seemed to keep going and going.

I was being forced to stop and the worst part about it was that I HAD LOST MY VOICE.

Here I was, at a stage in my business where I was ready to GO OUT THERE and SHARE MY MESSAGE IN A BIGGER WAY and I couldn’t speak.  I couldn’t do what I wanted to do the most: teach and make videos…I felt completely helpless.

So I surrendered.  I surrendered to the pain and discomfort, and to the fact that there was nothing I could do but just be sick.  I tried all of my go-to remedies, even antibiotics, and nothing worked.

That’s when my suspicion was confirmed…this was no ordinary cold-season bug.  This was a lesson. This was my body taking a stand, and taking away what mattered most to me because clearly, I wasn’t listening.

So I started listening. My recovery required nothing less than ACTIVE and CONSISTENT PARTICIPATION on my part, multiple self-care regimes throughout the day, and slowly and gradually, I started to feel better.

My body was forcing me to turn my attention back to my body. The most painful part of that whole experience was realizing that

I WAS SELF-DESTRUCTING IN THE NAME OF AMBITION!

I had hurt myself and neglected my needs chasing after a narrowly-focused goal.

As I write this I’m still recovering, and my voice still isn’t 100%, but I can say that I’m very grateful for this experience.

I’m grateful that it didn’t have to be worse for me to get back on track.  It took this utter failure to help me see how important I am to ME, how precious it is to have a VOICE, to EXPRESS MYSELF and SHARE MY IDEAS.  I need to pay more attention to honouring this body, its limitations and giving myself the same loving care that I wish for others.

Your turn:

In what areas of life have you been neglecting your needs?

How does your body let you know that you’ve gone too far?

What can you do to create more balance in your day-to-day life?

May we all move towards greater integrity with ourselves,

Larissa