Avoiding the boredom trap

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Dauntless PR Unfiltered. What we're going to talk about today is avoiding the boredom trap. So this is a big thing that happens among entrepreneurs, coaches, practitioners. Isn't it, Catherine?

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Yeah, so what we mean by the boredom trap is usually when somebody has reached quite a good level of success. So there's we're not talking about people when they're just starting out and they're really hungry for building their business and working it out, and they've got that huge enthusiasm. It's what happens when you get to a level where things are going really good and your message is really consistent, and you've built probably quite a good audience on social media, and you have appearing in the media and you're saying lots of the same things lots and lots of times to different people. Not the audience, they're still lapping it up, they're still loving what you're saying, but you start to feel a little bit like, oh, but I've talked about this topic before, I've shared this story already, or I've, you know, I've done this, this kind of thing before. And you just start to feel a little bit bored because we're human, and that's what happens. But the reason it's a trap is because that's actually a sign that you're doing really well. And people see it as a negative, and they see that sometimes they can interpret this boredom in a few different ways. They might think, Oh, I need to start talking about something else, it's boring now, I need to switch it up, or they might just think, oh, I want to do less talking about this, or I'll withdraw from it. Actually, it's a sign that you really have nailed what it is that you're talking about, and you need to lean into that and focus on why you're doing it in the first place, completely, completely.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

And sometimes experts will go into the press and they'll say something like, But I've spoken about this already, I keep being asked these same questions, and that is a great sign because that means that you're getting known for what it is that you want to be known for. And the heartbreaking thing is when people feel that kind of, oh, I'm repeating myself over and over on board of this, and they take it as a sign to do something different, so something that they could do is definitely like think of new and exciting ways to be sharing that same message, creative new ways of explaining it, all of that, great, but something to remember, particularly with traditional media, but also with social media. So with traditional media is you're constantly going in front of new audiences on all of these different platforms. So to you it feels repetitive, but not to anybody else, and even with social media as well, like if you're talking about the same thing on social media, great. You like it's you talking about it all the time, but not everybody's seeing that all of the time, like, especially these days where there's so there's more content going out there than there are people consuming it. So it's like people aren't going on board with that. And you know, we're not saying, oh, just talk about your one topic, like, of course, show the range of who you are and what you stand for and what you're interested in and all of that, but there's your main topic, the thing that you want to be known for, that's the thing not to deviate from.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Yeah. And actually, that's a really good point because the reason we tell people to do a broad range of stories isn't actually because we want to save you from being bored. That's like a great, that's a great side, side benefit. It's actually to kind of create that real full impression of you as a person when people come across you. But it is a great point that you know, talking about some other things as well can help ease that feeling of not necessarily boredom for everybody. Sometimes it will just be feeling like you're repeating yourself, maybe feeling worrying for some people. Some people it will be a boredom. Oh, I'm sick of this. For other people, they'll be worried that other people are sick of it. But like you say, it will not be as you are the person that's hearing it all the time. You will be reaching new people who may never have heard it before. If you think, I want everyone to kind of like imagine someone that they can think of, that they know their message, they know them, they're really famous, they know something that that person is very famous for. And if you picture that person in your head, then imagine how many times they must have talked about that to get to that point that they're the first person that pops up in your head. So, say, like someone who would pop up in my head is like Martin Lewis, money saving expert, who is very, very consistently in newspapers, magazines, on TV, on radio in the UK, talking about how people can save money, particularly in the cost of living crisis. And he has all sorts of tips and I would say tricks, but they're not really tricks, they're more kind of here's what you need to know. But those things, a lot of them, he will have said them again and again and again and again. But he's helping new and different people every time he's saying it. So it's not about that kind of oh, I want to say something new, it's like people need to hear this. So sometimes it's about thinking of the people listening and thinking who needs to hear it? Has everybody in the world heard this and benefited from it? And if the answer is no, well then you know, keep going.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Exactly. And people need to hear things multiple times for it to land, they need to hear the same thing over and over in different ways. Like, just think about anybody who's well known and how much they've been speaking on their topic. And what you mentioned there, like that is the reframe, isn't it, Catherine? Where they take it from, okay, I am feeling bored, but this isn't about me. This is about the people who need this message, and something else that I do as well. Because yes, I get bored about talking the same thing about the same thing every now and again. You know, I'm only human. I love PR, but sometimes it's like, oh god, I just said that yesterday. I just said that in in this interview, and now I'm talking about the same thing again. Um what I do is I really reconnect with my purpose, like with why I'm doing this. I remind myself of things like client results, things that clients have been excited about, things that have happened because of their PR. Like even things where it hasn't been clients, like maybe it's been somebody coming and say saying, Oh, I saw you on on this TV show, like this really landed, you know. Even that kind of thing, it reminds me that every time I go out there sharing my message, I am making a difference. And I am never gonna like know the true impact of that difference. Like, it's it's not about me, it's about the people who need it. And yeah, that brings a whole new like it brings the energy and the passion and the life back into it every time. And the people who like everybody who's well of really well known as an expert, they always bring their A game. Like, you think these people don't get bored? Like, they get bored. The difference is that they don't let that boredom derail them because they are always thinking about the people who need it, they're putting their how they feel about it doesn't come into it, they bring their A game regardless, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

And if you think about it, like imagine someone like Taylor Swift on The Earest Talk. Like the first show, when it all came together for the first time in front of an audience, will have been hugely exciting. The last show is probably very exciting and quite emotional when you're kind of bringing it to a close, but there will definitely have been some shows in the middle where it's I'm doing this again, but they were sold out, they had people that were there because they wanted to hear what she was doing in that show, and because she's an absolute superstar, she went out and will not have shown. If there was a day when she was feeling like, oh, this again, she never let it show, and that's the key is the people who are hugely successful recognise that not every single media interview, every single thing that you're doing is going to be wildly exciting, but it's not about that. The first ones might be, and that can trick people sometimes into thinking this is how it should feel, and then when it stops feeling like that, they go, It's out of alignment, is what sometimes people say they mean it's just not exciting me anymore, and you know, obviously, some things will occasionally be out of alignment, but you do need to ask yourself, do I really mean that, or do I just mean, yeah, I'm not as excited today? But if you actually sit down and ask yourself some questions, do I still agree with what I'm saying? Do I still believe in my message? Do I think everyone who needs to hear this has heard it yet? And if the answer is no, they haven't. Okay, could me doing this mean some new people hear what I've got to say? Could this help them? And asking yourself questions like that will hopefully help you push through that. And what I will say is that usually the boredom trap only lasts for a little bit, and then people push through and they go through the other side and they're fine. It's not, we're not saying, oh, it'll be exciting for a couple of months, and then you're gonna be bored forever. It's just something that often creeps up on people and they go, and it's usually when they have reached a certain level of success, and in a way, it's similar to the things that might hold you back at the start. It's like fear, and then this kind of almost complacency is another kind of visibility like block that comes up, kind of, oh, you've you've done this before, you don't need to do it anymore. You can you can sort of you can focus on something else, you can move on to the next shiny, shiny object. But actually, no, like that's a sign. You said something really great to me about your when you were dancing, and about that's a really great analogy.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yeah, so when this was back when I was in dance college, like when I was a teenager, but it stuck with me forever, and I think this is partly why you know I am in that mindset where I can just keep going. And it's I remember like training for rehearsing over and over and over again for a musical, being absolutely sick to death of the song, sick to death of the routine, not wanting to do it anymore, like so, so bored of the whole thing, and the teachers saying, Good, that means that you're you're just starting to get good at it. Now carry on. And it was like it was like you've reached the point where you're like so sick of this, I don't want to do it anymore. And then it's like, okay, well, that means you're just getting good. Carry on. So that's something that really stuck with me.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Yeah, and I feel like anybody listening who's written a book is gonna relate to that.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

That's the exact same thing, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Where you are super excited at the beginning of writing your book, and then you're you keep that going for a little while, and then as the book goes on, you get to the point at one point where you want to chuck it all out the window because you're bored of it. Yeah. But those of you with books that are out know that what you need to do is not chuck it out the window but keep going until, and then when it's out, you feel the buzz again because you've had you've created that and you've put that into the world. So it's like with anything, if it's worth doing, it's worth that persistence and that pushing through because I know full well that anyone who has written a book has had a moment of thinking that. Some people will have had multiple moments of thinking that, some people may have had just a little, a little wobble where they thought that, but it's the same with with anything, with PR, with building a business, with anything that really matters. You know, it's realizing that you need to stay on that journey and keep going. And that when you do level up and get to that better thing, that's often when you're kind of gonna have some little things going, okay. Well, am I still doing this? Well, yeah, because that's when it's really getting good. And then you'll get to the next thing that will be exciting about it, and that will keep, you know, because that's the thing, there is always new, exciting things along the way. If you can just avoid getting into these boredom traps on the journey, that's it, and just keep going, just keep going.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Like the most heartbreaking thing is when somebody takes that feeling of boredom as a sign that something's wrong, that something's out of alignment, instead of seeing it for what it actually is, which is a real, real positive sign that you are making your mark. You are getting known for what it is that you do. So we will finish there for today, and we will see you next time. Any questions, comments, email hello at dauntlesspr.com.