I first reached out to Jonathan Haidt for a Real Leader interview on 28/10/2012. I received no response.
I tried again a week later on 3/11/2012. Again, no response.
I am a big fan of Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Happiness Hypothesis” and did not want to give up on the idea of interviewing him. So, I tried again on 3/3/2012. Again, silence.
When I was sifting through my list for interview follow ups in May, I asked myself if writing to Jon was a good idea. Cue self doubt. He had after all not gotten back to me three times in a row now. Perhaps he was just ignoring me. Knowing I was facing the resistance, I shook away these concerns and wrote him a note again on 18/05/2013.
I heard back from him almost immediately. A few emails later, we’d found a slot for the interview and one week after the interview, I am very very glad I decided to write to Jon. Aside from a wonderful 25 odd minutes interviewing, Jon is amongst the nicest people I’ve met. And I know I was very close to rejecting myself out of this opportunity.
I find myself face-to-face with the resistance very often. Since I don’t know most of the luminaries I’ve interviewed on RealLeaders.tv, it often takes 4-5 emails before I even receive a response. It is so tempting to just reject myself and run away from putting myself out there..again. I don’t even need to go so far – even my friends often choose to stay silent as I try out one idea after another with them over email (Of course, maybe that’s a hint..haha).
By now, I’ve learnt recognize the resistance’s familiar countenance as it attempts to fill me with self doubt and, inspired by the wonderful Steven Pressfield’s words, I realize I must destroy it with action and say “Rest in peace, @$&*#$&*@*^##@.”
A Learning a Day 