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Hi and welcome to the Travel Transformation Podcast, where we talk all things travel and all things transformation. I'm your host, Jessica Grace Coleman, and I'm currently in South Africa, where I'm staying in a cute coastal town called Kalk Bay near Cape Town. And, if you've heard my other podcasts that I've recorded here, you'll know that I have been having some issues. 

We have load shedding here, where the power and WiFi go off for hours at a time, and the times change each day. I'm also sharing a house with a few other digital nomads, so it can be hard to find a quiet time and place to record the podcasts. And we're on a main road right across from the sea, so there's always sort of traffic noise and/or the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Very nice in general, but not so good for recording sound. 

I've got a few interviews ready to record once I get back to the UK, so those will be coming to you in the future, but for the next few weeks, I thought I'd do something a little different, just until normal service resumes. 

I run the Flip the Script Travel Transformation Academy, and you can find more info on this at traveltransformationcoach.com/academy. And, as part of this, I record video courses and trainings on various topics. One of my favourites is the Flip the Script On Fear Challenge, which was a real challenge I did back in December 2021, and which was the catalyst for me changing my life and going travelling.

There are four main parts to this mini video course I did, so I thought I'd take the audio from each part and give it to you here on the podcast for absolutely free – bargain! It also means I don't have to battle with load shedding and all the stuff that comes along with living in a digital nomad house, trying to record full-length episodes while I'm in South Africa. 

Like I say, I'm taking the audio from what I've already done, so it will just be these little intros and outros that I need to record now. And apologies for the sound if you can hear traffic and the waves and the wind – that's why I'm doing this series of the Flip The Script On Fear challenge. 

Please note that these trainings refer to a Flip The Script On Fear Workbook and my own Flip The Script On Fear Challenge Diary, which you get when you become a member of the Academy. And again, to find out more, just head to traveltranformationcoach.com/academy. 

Like I said, this challenge pretty much changed my whole life. It was the start of me changing pretty much everything about my life, and it's something I came up with on a whim and stuck to for 30 days. And I think it can really change your life, too, if you give it a go. 

So, today will be part one, where you'll get to listen to the introduction and module one, which is ‘Mindset’. So, without further ado, let's get started with the Flip The Script On Fear Challenge.

Welcome to the Flip The Script On Fear Challenge. Yes, that's right. It's time to face your fears – but don't worry, it can be fun, and if you really commit to the challenge, it can be absolutely life-changing. It was for me, and it can be for you, too. 

This challenge is part of the Clap Method – it comes under P for ‘Prove Yourself To Yourself’ – but I wanted to give it its own section in the Academy and go into it in a little more depth, because I believe it can be one of the most transformational parts of the Academy portal. 

The Academy is all about flipping the script on your life and living a better story, and there's one underlying theme that runs throughout the whole of the Academy; fear, and how it can hold you back from achieving all your wildest dreams.

Fear has certainly held me back throughout my life. It stopped me from putting my hand up in class, from speaking up, from trying new things, from putting myself forward for exciting opportunities, and from going after my dreams. But that all changed when I decided to challenge myself. 30 days. 30 things that scared me or that I'd been putting off for whatever reason. They could be big things or small things, because it's often the little things that add up to the big changes, and it can also help to think of them as things that get you outside your comfort zone. 

I wondered if, by doing this challenge, I'd go through some kind of transformation, and if it would create a ripple effect in my life – or in other people's lives. I certainly thought I'd get more organised, doing the things I've been putting off for months, maybe even years. And I thought I'd learn things about myself and grow as a person. But, mainly, I hoped that it would show me that I can do anything I set my mind to, which is what I tell my clients on a daily basis. I also tell them that the more you do the thing that scares you, the more you get used to it and the less scary it becomes. And, once that happens, you can move on to the next thing that scares you, evolving and growing and becoming more badass with every fear you conquer. 

And, if you're wondering, this challenge gave me all of that and more. 

The main idea of the Flip The Script On Fear Challenge is that you get to prove to other people – but, more importantly, to yourself – that you've got what it takes to go out there and achieve all your dreams. You're not the kind of person who just daydreams about a better life. You're the kind of person who goes out there and makes things happen. 

There's a workbook you can download for this mini-course, but there's also my own Flip The Script On Fear Challenge Diary, which includes my personal journal entries of what I did for each day of my own 30-day challenge, including any results I saw. Use my diary to get ideas, to get inspiration, and to see just how impactful this challenge can be if you really go for it. And, don't worry, not everything you do as part of this challenge has to be full-on terrifying. As you'll see, a lot of it involves doing things you've been putting off, and it can even include fun things that you might think are scary for other reasons.

By the end of this challenge, we will have made fear our best friend and we’ll have achieved things we never thought possible. This challenge can push you to do things you wouldn't ordinarily do, and it can help you to achieve big goals far faster than you normally would. Plus, it's always good to challenge yourself now and then.

I also highly recommend that you document your own challenge somewhere, whether it's on social media or in your own private journal, and there's info on how to do this in your workbook. If you do document your challenge on social media, you might inspire others to get outside their comfort zones and start doing awesome stuff too, which is always worth it. If you do create any posts, stories, or videos on this, don't forget to use the hashtag #flipthescriptonfearchallenge.

I'm going to walk you through the whole challenge in these quick, easy-to-digest videos, so let's get started. 

Before we get going on the actual challenge itself, I want to talk for just a moment about your mindset going into this. We're not doing this for the sake of it or just so we have something to post about on social media. We're doing this with several main aims in mind: facing our fears, growing as a person, and becoming more confident in general.

As my business bestie Beth often says in our ‘Booch and Biz’ meetings, “If the idea of doing something scares me, I know that's exactly what I need to do.” Practice makes perfect, and the more you do things that scare you, the less power they'll hold over you. Getting outside your comfort zone is how you grow and improve, and that's exactly what this challenge is all about.

I chose to do this challenge because I thought it would be a good catalyst for getting things moving again in my life after the pandemic, and I was certainly right about that. But it also gave me a kind of excuse to do all these things I'd been putting off. Having a challenge to complete – including an actual structure of how to go about it – gave me the chance to do new things and to have conversations I might not otherwise have had.

If you're like me – an introvert who sometimes finds it difficult to talk about themselves – it can be hard when other people notice you're up to something. They ask: Why are you doing this? What made you think of doing that? Why now? And, if you're into self-development and mindset and all that stuff and they're not, you might find it a little tricky to explain.

If, however, you're trying new things as part of a structured challenge, that's all you need to say: “I'm doing this online challenge about facing your fears and getting outside your comfort zone, so all these new things I'm doing are part of that.” People find this a lot easier to understand, and you'll probably find it a lot easier to explain. You can even invite them to join you on the challenge. 

If you find it hard to get into this challenge because you have an aversion to doing things that scare you or make you anxious – which makes total sense – then don't focus on the actual task itself, focus on what will come afterwards. There's the relief at having finally done the thing, plus the satisfaction of checking something off your to-do list. And don't forget the results you'll get – whether they're instant or whether they'll become apparent weeks or months down the line. Focus on how you'll be evolving, growing and levelling up, not on how you'll feel before or during the actual task itself, because that usually only lasts a few minutes or even a few seconds. What comes after can last a lifetime. 

It's also worth noting that this isn't just about doing things that scare you; it's also about checking things off your to-do list that might have been on there for weeks, months, or even years. Whether we realise it or not, having a constant to-do list in our heads can weigh us down, especially if we know there's stuff on there that needs doing but that we're ignoring for whatever reason – especially with things like making doctor’s appointments or having tough conversations. Having these types of tasks hanging over us can stress us out, even if we're not actively thinking of them all the time. It's amazing how freeing it can be to simply get stuff done that you've been putting off, giving you a lot more mental space for other, more important things.

Despite the name, this challenge doesn't have to be as scary as you think, so let's go in confidently with our heads held high. Let's get ready to transform.

That's it for this week – like I said, short and sweet. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to tune into the podcast next week, where we'll be doing module two, which is ‘Your Fear List’. 

Do you want to learn how you can use travel – and travel-related principles – to completely change your life?

Written by Travel Transformation Coach Jessica Grace Coleman, this guide walks you through 10 ways you can transform yourself – and your life – through travel... even when you can't travel!

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