All the 2s...

I am currently feeling extremely proud of myself. Last Sunday, The Listening House held its first major event - an online summit regarding all things to do with listening (of course) called The BIG Listen2 2022. The event ran over 7 hours and we had 5 guest speakers. We had about 20 people attending and most of them stayed for the whole time, even though we had expected people to drop in and out, as 7 hours is a long time to sit in front of a computer on a Sunday!

When Beth Number 2 (as she is affectionately known), my partner-in-crime at The Listening House, first broached the idea of a summit, I didn't want to do it. And I didn't want to do it because I was scared of doing it. I had no experience of running an online event such as this, and I didn't think we were ready. So I resisted. Then I felt bad, not only because it was her idea (and a very good one), but also because I'm usually not that scared of stepping outside of my comfort zone. And even if I am nervous about it, I'm usually quite adept at facing those fears and doing it anyway... The last 2 years have seen a change in me - whether it's to do with the pandemic, or my advancing years (and menopause) I can't say, but I do know that I seem to be losing my adventurous side somewhat and becoming more cautious. And I get jittery about things that I'm not familiar with - even down to going somewhere new and not knowing if I'll be able to park...

So this time, I decided to dig really deep and run with it. I wasn't doing it on my own, so I put complete trust in Beth that she would have my back if it got too hard and I felt that I was in over my head. I was really lucky that Beth was able to work especially hard putting this event together, both on the creative and technical side, and on the promotional material, I was determined to do everything that I could to ensure that the event was as good as it could be, which included 100% believing in it and us.

When it came to the actual day, I was really really nervous. And once we got going, I had an absolute ball. The day was a resounding success and I am still basking in the glow of pride I feel about what we pulled off. I'm inordinately proud of having run with something that I could easily have said no to. It's served me a wonderful lesson, and will undoubtedly shape the way that I do things going forward.

Thank you for listening.

*if you enjoy the themes of these musings and would like to learn more, or join in similar conversations, please head over to The Listening House.

www.atthelisteninghouse.com