You are not boring.
Recently, a client of mine was speaking to a small group of newly-certified yoga teachers. She was telling the story of how she opened her very first studio.
She walked through every single detail–like how she found the right location, and how much it cost per month, and the process of signing the lease paperwork, and where she got the bolsters, mats, and other supplies, and how she marketed the new studio and got new members to join in.
Midway through the story, she started feeling bashful.
“Is this boring?” she asked the group. “Do you guys really want to hear all of this?”
“YES! YES! Keep going!” they told her, practically shouting in unison. They were on the edge of their seats, soaking in every word, and furiously taking notes.
She was surprised. She thought her story was “kinda boring.”
After all, it’s not like she runs a multi-billion dollar yoga brand, and she’s definitely not a “celebrity” or “the leading voice in the yoga industry” or anything like that. Comparatively speaking, she runs a fairly small company with healthy but modest profits. Nothing flashy. Boring, right?
Nope. What seems “boring” or “ordinary” or “obvious” to you might be eye-opening, beautiful, cool, moving, motivating, helpful, or hugely inspiring to someone else.
OK, maybe you’re not the founder of a multi-million dollar smartphone app. Maybe you’ve never scaled Mount Everest. Maybe you’re not an Olympic athlete. But that doesn’t mean you have “nothing to say.” Actually, you’ve got plenty to say.
You can write about your first heartbreak, or how you got your first job.
You can share your favorite summer beach trip essentials, and what you pack in your carry-on bag to make an economy flight feel more like first class.
You can talk about living with depression, or what it’s like to raise a kid with Autism.
You can write about your morning routine, or your favorite 5-minute breakfast recipe.
You can write about how you keep your hair color so vivid even after 16 washes.
You can tell the story of how you took your first martial arts class at age 45, and what happened next…
You can write about so many things. Things you’ve survived. Things you’ve discovered. Things you’re certain about. Things you’re no longer certain about. Things you’ve created. Things you attempted that didn’t exactly work out. Things you’ve overcome, big or small.
You are not boring.
You might secretly worry that you are–almost everyone does–but you’re not.
You’ve got a lifetime of memories and experiences, challenges and victories, trial and error, beauty and sorrow, not to mention, extremely valuable tips you could share.
Your body is made of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen–the same material as the stars in the sky. Down to every muscle and bone, every molecule, there is nothing boring about you.