Episode 50: Reflecting on a Year of Pursuing a Goal

In this episode,

Lizzie reflects on a year of making podcast episodes, what she has learned, and what she would tell herself if she could go back.

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Post-pod questions to consider

Is there something you have been afraid to try? Can you use any of Lizzie's advice to get your passion project off the ground?

Episode Transcript

Hey, you're listening to Midnight Philosopher with Lizzie. Thanks for tuning in. Today, I'm going to celebrate and reflect on doing a year's worth of podcast episodes. 

First, I'd like to thank all of you for listening. Thank you so much. Secondly, I'd like to thank my best friend and podcast manager, Ben. Without his help and support, I never would have started this podcast or kept it going. He listened to the episodes every week and gave me feedback before they came out. He even wrote the blurbs and titles for each episode, and he made the awesome logo and website. I really can't express my gratitude enough to him. And third, I'd also like to thank myself for putting in the effort and believing myself. But I'll say more about that at the end. 

So what did I learn from doing a year's worth of podcasts? First, I learned some basic things. I learned that I didn't need to get any special equipment. With Ben's help and suggestions, I found a couple of free apps to record the episodes and a not-super-expensive app to transcribe the episodes after. All that is to say, if you wanna make a podcast and you have a smartphone, I encourage you to try it. You probably have all the materials you need. 

Also, the podcast helped me integrate lessons my own therapist has taught me and and helped me integrate these lessons into my day-to-day life, but also helped me with the podcast and to figure out what worked and what didn't. And I'm just really grateful for my therapist. 

Finally, the more I made the podcast, the more I improved. The more I kept trying, the better I got. From my first episode until now, I've definitely improved a lot. And that's because I, as Ben likes to say, did the thing. I wrote and recorded and rewrote and rerecorded and took feedback from Ben and some of my listeners and improved. So with practice, I really did get better. 

If I were to make the podcast again and start over, I'd tell myself that I'd need to pace myself and follow through. And it helps to keep your goals in mind and go one step at a time towards them. Now, I wasn't recording a mental health podcast overnight. I have been honestly working on this for years in my own way, even though I didn't realize it. 

I spent years in therapy and worked on myself and techniques that helped me and skills that helped me. And then I also was so interested in mental health topics because of my own history and because I wanted to help people that I got a master's degree in social work and learned about more about mental health topics there. And then after that, just because mental health is kind of an interest of mine, I spent a lot of time on the internet reading and learning about other topics that interested me. 

So while this podcast may have only lasted for a year, it was years in the making. I really spent a long time working on it. And I think all my life experiences and all the years I spent in therapy and grad school and they all just kind of came together in a culmination of what turned out to be this podcast. 

So, I would tell myself that I'm knowledgeable enough to make this podcast, that I know enough, that I can believe in myself, I know enough to make the podcast. I don't need to worry that I don't, that I'm not good enough because I've literally been working on this even though I didn't realize I've been working on it for years. 

And in starting this project, what would have helped me upfront is knowing that consistency is key and that it's important that I show up every single week, except for scheduled breaks, of course, so that I can produce the podcast. I would also tell myself that at times, it will be super challenging, but it will also be worth it because it's so cool to look back at all the work I've done over the past year and how hard I've worked. And it's really cool to see all the notes Ben has given me and to just, I would say if I could do it again, I would because it's so worth it. So if I could go back in time, I would do this all again. 

Finally, I learned some things about myself. I learned that I can believe in myself. Next time I start to do something new, I wanna tell myself that, you know what? I think I can do this. You know what? If I put my effort and my time and my patience and my persistence into it, I think I can accomplish my goal. Because with patience and persistence, I can accomplish a lot. 

And this was this podcast was also a great creative outlet and a great bonding experience with my best friend, Ben. Ben and I spent a lot of time on the phone and texting each other and in Google Apps, talking about this podcast and creating it and were even thinking of maybe getting the logo as a tattoo because this experience was really bonding for us and really beautiful in many ways. 

Making this podcast gave me the courage to start new projects as well. Because I was able to do this podcast, I realized I could start other things and maybe follow through and that I could believe in myself and that I could accomplish things. So while I was doing this podcast, I started a chat book about improv that I've been working on, and I also started producing Lizzy Talks and comedy shows. I even used one of my Lizzy Talks as an episode in the podcast, Episode 38. 

I also learned that I'm passionate about mental health topics. This was a great way for me to stay connected to the profession of being a social worker without being a clinical social worker in a setting that wasn't good for my mental health. Being a social worker is a way of life and I'm really passionate about it. However, the clinical work was really draining for me. And so it means so much to me that I'm able to continue my career in a way that feels meaningful to me and hopefully help people, while also not burning myself out. 

I also learned that I can actually complete a project if I put my mind to it, and I learned that I can allow people to help me. I don't like accepting help, but help but accepting Ben's help truly made this project come to life and truly made the podcast last a year. And, also, I have trouble finishing projects that I start. And with Ben's help and with my own determination, this was a great reminder that I can do it, that I just need to pace myself and follow through. As I said in Episode One, all it takes is all you've got. 

In this episode, I celebrated a year's worth of podcasts. I talked about accepting help from my best friend, Ben, as well as being persistent, consistent, and creative. I talked about how I can achieve my goals if I set myself up for success and keep myself accountable. Finally, I'm just super proud of myself and for all that I've accomplished in this podcast. 

So, I just want to give a heartfelt thank you so, so much to all of you again for listening. Thank you. Truly, it means a lot to me. This podcast is on indefinite hiatus, but you can always come back to it, and you can keep following me @TheMidnightPhilosopher on Instagram. 

Well, I'm gonna go be proud of myself now. Have a good night.