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Posts Tagged ‘direction’

Ride that bike

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

ride-that-bike

What do you do about your fear of presenting? How can you learn to become aware where you are stuck and how to take action.

Do you remember when you learned how to ride a pushbike? You probably had help from your parents or maybe an older sibling. Falling off the bike, getting hurt and being frightened did not held you back in mastering the bike. You chose to learn to ride that bike no matter what.

When we grow into adults we sometimes loose that ability because there seems to be so much at stake – status, reputation, financial success, your place in the community, your public image,… – everything you work hard to achieve and maintain.

How can you re-discover this ability of choice? Practice is key to improving your presentation skills and developing confidence. So, think of those situations where you have to prepare for a presentation, but you procrastinate and wait until the last moment. Or, you do prepare in a certain way but it doesn’t seem to help you develop confidence. In both situations you are stuck and worries, fear or unhelpful thoughts seem to have the power to keep you there.

They literally narrow your ability to see and discover other ways to practice.

You can make those unwanted thoughts and feelings less powerful. Start today, and become curious about them. When you do that on a regularly it will open up the narrow view into a vista of possibilities. Here is where you can choose to prepare for presentations differently.

Learn to become aware of what is coming up for you, also notice all your reasons why you might not be able to do things differently. They are all part of your unhelpful thoughts that keep you stuck. Write them down and just let them be as they are. Don’t try to change them, push them away or turn them into a positive. Simply notice them. It might seem counter-intuitive to you, but over time you will realise that their power becomes weaker.

Also, ask yourself the following question:
If I would not struggle with worries or fear, what kind of presenter would I want to be?

“Start wherever you are and start small” – Rita Bailey

Do you know where you are going?

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

roadsigns

This morning I was heading to a meeting and realised how many road signs you see when driving a car.
How do we know which ones to follow or give attention to?

Imagine, for the first time in your life you see a road. And it is full of signs with different colours, shapes, sizes and information. Would you give each sign the same attention? What if you meet people on the road and they are telling you different stories about which signs you should look out for? How would you know which are the most important ones for you?

This morning I knew my destination, the direction and how to drive a car. So, those hundreds of signs didn’t distract me or got me off course. I knew which ones I needed to follow.

When you don’t know your direction it is like being on the road with all those signs for the first time. You easily get distracted.

What is your destination? Which road signs do you follow?

The curious case of stress

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

curious“I have no special gift – I am only passionately curious”
- Albert Einstein

A curious mindset, it turns out, is not only essential in the development of science but is one of the key ingredients in reducing stress and promoting change.

Have you ever tried to control or push away the feeling of stress, because you really didn’t have time to be stressed? You probably felt you put lot’s of energy into it, not leaving much attention left to the things you really wanted to do. Maybe it was a project you wanted to start, a decision you needed to make or you just would have loved to spend time with your family.

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Who is on your support team?

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Bridging the East River by Randy Wick / © Some rights reserved.

I frequently talk to people who struggle with the experience of being alone when facing change. They don’t think they can call on a friend or family member and feel overwhelmed at times. Here are some tips that can help you build your own support team.

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Simple ways to go beyond procrastination

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Have you ever kept yourself busy in order to put off getting started with a big project or making that change? Chances are that you have. Making the important initial step is often the most difficult task. When we procrastinate we keep ourselves busy with many things – cleaning the desk, getting that second cup of coffee or checking email for the ten’s time.

One of the most common reasons we get ourselves stuck in inaction is the avoidance of fear. The fear of failure, success, pain, rejection or embarrassment. However, you can do two things to transform the habit of procrastination into action.

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