What's holding you back?
How can you overcome your own obstacles, and are these truly barriers, or just excuses you tell yourself?
The following insights and reflection come from a recent post by Alejandra Villacis Miranda.
A couple of weeks ago, I joined my first online networking session with IMMA Collective which is a wonderful community full of freelancers looking to work or working in climate change or social impact.
You see, freelancing is hard! Putting yourself out there, chasing people for money, not having a team to rely on for support and the financial pressures are not a joke.
During the session hosted by Elisabeth (Lilli) Graf, one of the questions was "What's holding you back?". We all took 5 minutes to think about the question before moving to breakout rooms to share our answers. This exercise made me think of Susan David, Ph.D.'s Newsletter of that very week about excuses.
"When left unexamined, our excuses can keep us from living into this possibility."
If you are like me and feel like sometimes you are drowning in excuses, here are 3 steps you can take to recover your agency, so your life moves in the direction you want according to Susan David, Ph.D. :
1. Prioritize values over comfort
When you find yourself rationalizing a certain action (or inaction), ask yourself: “Who’s in charge, the thinker or the thought?” Do your behaviours reflect the person you want to be, or are you trying to avoid discomfort?
2. Think beyond the present moment
Excuses can offer a little relief now for a lot of trouble later. Are your current actions or behaviours going to make the “future you” proud?
3. Change your perspective
We tend to have an excellent eye for spotting the excuses of others but we’re often blind to our own. It can be useful to imagine that you’re advising a friend who’s in the same situation. Maybe you could benefit from your advice!
Thank you IMMA Collective and Elisabeth (Lilli) Graf for the wonderful time and to Kati Björninen, Christina Clark FRSA, Ruth Mériot and Perle Laouenan-Catchpole for the great chats! Looking forward to the next one!
What is holding you back and what helps you overcome it. Please let us know in the comments.
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As a freelancer or solopreneur focused on climate and social impact, join our community whenever you seek more peer support and better opportunities.
The spotlight
In this issue, featuring Alejandra, we spotlight her multifaceted work. As a designer, 'athlete', and a person of curiosity, Alejandra helps organizations in connecting with their end-users. She emphasizes the importance of customer intelligence, leveraging it to create genuine value and solve problems.
Check our Alejandra’s work and connect with her.
Interesting opportunities for you
Discover 10 curated freelanceBefore opportunities in the climate and impact sector. We invest hours weekly sifting through job boards, saving you valuable time.
3D Designer - Destinus
📍Madrid, Hybrid
Policy Communications Advisor - Digital Trust & Safety Partnership
📍 Remote
Media Manager - Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)
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💰 day rate of up to £220/day including VAT
⏰ 11 February 2024
Commercial Program Manager - Lilium
📍Munich, DE
Project Controller - Phoenix Hydrogen
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Evaluator - Making for Change
💰 £1800 (including VAT) for 5 days work.
⏰ 26th of February
Consultant: Digital Voices for Change Toolkit Development - Politics4Her
📍Remote
💰 300€
Senior consultant philanthropic organisation - The Children’s Society
📍 Remote
Junior Talent Acquisition Manager - Climeworks
📍 Zürich, CH
Lead Software Engineer - Carbon’s Clear
📍Remote
💰 $4,000-$8,000/Month
Become a member for full access to exclusive opportunities. This January we have been sharing over 100 gigs and supporting each other to find more and better clients.
Behind the Scenes at IMMA:
Last week was buzzing in our community! Big thanks to our local hosts for kickstarting in-person meetups in London and Berlin, setting the stage for more in Milan, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.
Cheers to Joshua for guiding our first finance & admin co-working session.
Together with many other great tips around outreach, facilitation and speaking opportunities.
I will visit your inbox next week, in the meantime take care.
Lilli