Finding Your Good Fit Season With Mitch Matthews
Mitch Matthews is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, success coach, and the host of the Dream. Think. Do. Podcast. In episode 22 of the Ministry at Scale Podcast, Mitch was gracious enough to share with us a bit about his story, and a lot of wisdom he’s picked up about finding your passion and being intentional about walking your gifting.
Finding Your “Good Fit” Season
We all go through different seasons in our lives and careers. Mitch shares how being intentional is a key part of finding a job that is a good fit for you. While he was trying to figure out what would be the best fit for his current season, he found that there are patterns and processes that can help you find your way.
One simple way you can be intentional is to make a list of 100 things that you love, or once loved, to do. This sounds like an easy task, and the first 25-or-so items are easy, but going beyond that is the real work that reveals significant insights. Give it a try, and let us know how it impacts you.
Progress is Better Than Perfection
Mitch, is a self-proclaimed “recovering perfectionist,” and as he talks about the lessons he learned, both in his own career and when it comes to coaching, one of the key points is that he had to give himself permission to focus on progress and not perfection. Most people are more critical of their own work than they are of others, so if you are looking for perfection in your own work there is a good chance you’ll never put it out there and it will never grow. We have to remember that we are not perfect people, and our audience is not made up of perfect people, so focusing on progress allows you to provide a more authentic experience that can resonate both with you and your community.
Give Yourself and “Out” When Testing New Things
Processes and habits are a great way to ensure things are getting down. However, it’s really easy to start new things and get into the rhythm of the everyday process, and then completely lose sight of why you started that project in the first place. When Mitch started his podcast, he gave himself an intentional “out” at every 50 episodes. This gives him time to pause roughly once per year to check and see if he is still doing it for the right reasons. This regular pause helps to ensure you’re consistently doing the right things for the right reasons, and if there are tasks or projects that no longer meet a need, you have the ability to let them go.
Be Aware of the “Intellectual Immune System”
Mitch shares, that the intellect has its own metaphorical immune system. Just like our body’s immune system is designed to attack things that come from outside of us, our intellect will often attack or shut down ideas that feel like they come from outside us. While we all understand we need new ideas and need to test new things, subconsciously we can reject any ideas that we don’t feel ownership in. So as you are bringing new ideas invite others to have ownership to help get buy-in. Ask questions such as How can we make this better?, How might we try that here?, or How can we use this? Not only does this invite others in, but it also opens the door to learning new ideas from all the talented people on your team.
Be sure to listen to the full episode to get all the insights Mitch shares, including why being an introvert can be a leadership superpower, as well as a few things innovators can learn from the production of Star Wars. Also, be sure to catch more of Mitch’s wisdom on the Dream. Think. Do. Podcast.