What Did 100 Days of Daily Vlogging Teach Me?

Today is 10 July, 2022, it's the 191 day of 2022. After 174 days, we are entering the year of 2023.

If there's one thing which makes us equal in the world, it is TIME. Everyone is equal in front of TIME.

How's your plan in the beginning of the year? Did you complete more than half? Or did you not start yet?

No matter what your situation is, you still have time to make it up.

My Goal for 2022

In the beginning of this year, I set a goal for myself, which is to deliver 12 speeches a year and become a confident speaker.

This goal was not coming from nowhere, but based on my reflection of last year.

Last year, I delivered 6 speeches here and there, sharing my passion for gender equality or cross-cultural engagement, encouraging younger students to participate in hands-on experiences outside of classroom, etc.

However, compared to what I did before, the number of public speaking opportunities was fewer. I felt less comfortable on the stage, and, I wanted to change.

Where There is a Will, There is a Way

Thanks to the recommendation of my friend Vee, I got to join Toastmasters club in Shanghai in February. Every Friday, BLAC Toastmasters club gather together for a 2-2.5 hours' meeting. I went there a few times, and I was AMAZED by its quality.

Later, it proved that joining BLAC Toastmasters club was the single best decision I made this year, and it opened an entirely new world for me to meet with a sensational group of growth-oriented individuals.

The meeting venue was on the top floor of a Lujiazui building, where we could have a holistic view of Huangpu River and the Bund, the best meeting venue one could ask for in Shanghai.

Life was Not a Linear Plan

However, it didn't take long to join the offline meeting before the COVID outbreak hit Shanghai.

The ever-busy city paused. People lost their minds. Everyone's plan was shuffled.

Honestly, I couldn't remember how many nights I doubted the meaning of life, and the choices I made. Seeing the daily increase of confirmed cases on social media enlarged the anxiety. On the one hand, I felt lucky that I was fine and healthy. On the other hand, I wish, I could change something.

If an egg is broken by outside force, life ends. If it's broken by inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from inside.

?Thus, I started focusing on what I could do. At that time, BLAC Toastmasters had a WeChat group for members to practice impromptu speech every day. We called it Table Topics Marathon Runners.

At the beginning, each of us sent our audio clip for a given topic into the group and we evaluated each other by offering our feedback.

Soon, I found that some of the speeches were fabulous, and definitely deserved more people to hear and gain inspiration. I started to change, record the daily speech video and post it on WeChat channels.

I still vividly remembered that, I'd spend 2-3 hours a day to record the video. I was not supposed to write a script for an impromptu speech, but it was not easy to deliver a fluent speech without making any mistakes. Perfectionism mindset almost killed me…

I was even questioning myself, whether it's worth the time invested. I started to think about the purpose.

Why do I want to make a perfect video? Because I cared how people thought about me, and I wanted to ensure its quality.

Was there really something called "perfect"? I bet not, because after I published it, I thought that I could do better for some parts.

Did anyone really care about you or did you overthink yourself? Well, I think it was imposter syndrome. It may not be that bad…

So why would you waste time recording so many times, rather than doing it as an impromptu speech? Well, I could try, to reward myself if I could deliver it only once or twice.

Wow, after those self-talks, I realised something deep:

good is the enemy of better, better is the enemy of the best.

The unattainable best is the enemy of all the available betters.

Change Can Happen If You Want?

Then, I started to change. I just spent less than 15 mins a day to record a 2-3 mins' speech, and added the English and Chinese subtitles for the ease of understanding by audiences who didn't know English.

Gradually, I formed a new habit. The first thing I woke up in the morning was to think what message I wanted to deliver to my audiences, what positive value or message I wanted to deliver.

Everyone in our secret marathon group was my accountability partner. It was purely an autonomous group. We made our own rules. We even brainstormed a slogan, and designed a logo for ourselves: baby step, infinite growth. Can you believe it??

During the weekday, we took turns to become a Table Topic Master, a.k.a group leader, to give a topic and arrange the evaluation pairs. During the weekend, I reflected my week, identified some key areas to improve for next week, and shared my own learnings and experiences.

So far, I have completed one pathway, Innovative Planning, in Toastmasters, which means that I have delivered over 12 prepared speeches (5-7 mins long) in the past five months. This is an unprecedented speed. Daily impromptu speech practice made that process much easier.

Insisting in doing something for 100 days is a battle of mind and soul. Sometimes I felt sick, lazy, and didn't want to do it, but when I saw that everyone else in the group was insisting, I was touched, and I knew I should lead by example, and it might make someone's day.

This week, during our regular club meeting, one of the guests showed appreciation and love to me OMG, and mentioned how much I have inspired her to make the change. It was out of blue, but it made sense to me.

Not only did my public speaking skill lift up to the next level, but also I saw a bigger heart of mine to cope with any challenges or roadblocks in life.

The journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination.

?The power of 100 is enormous. In the near future, it would soon hit 200, 300, and 365. I grasped the daily energy from delivering speeches and it ensured my high performance every single day. It's not far from realising my dream, being a TED talk speaker. The energy of the mind is the essence of life, says by Aristotle.?

?What's Next for you?

First half of the year has passed, what's your plan for the second half of the year?

Do you still live the day without visions and actions? Did you set a goal but find it hard to keep on track? Do you want to join me to make changes happen?

If you are interested in practicing your public speaking and leadership, please feel free to contact me, as we are still hosting our meetings online.

No matter what your goals are, remember:

good people on the road is the shortest cut.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, go together.

Find your tribe, and the rest will follow.

P.S.:

Many thanks to my fellow Table Topic Marathon Runners - you are my daily inspiration to keep running.

Big shout out to our club senior Toastmasters, Wikum, Yvonne, Fangming, your consistent dedication and effort inspired us, and we are lucky to grow with you together as a lifelong Toastmaster.

Special thanks to my mentor Rosemary to help me overcome my psychological fear of putting my video up online. You challenged me to think beyond the surface, and stepped out of my comfort zone. This article wouldn't be here without your encouragement and support, so thank you!?