Last week was a challenging one as I had two presentations at work that had me feeling quite anxious.

However, today, I am sitting back thinking how well they went and how I utilised some of the tools and techniques I have learnt over the last couple of years that have helped me deal with the “not so easy” situations.

The 1^st thing I did was watch this Ted Talk by Kelly McGonigal

Kelly talks about making stress your friend and some of the things Kelly talks about are very powerful.

One of the presentations I had to do was much more formal, in front of a crowd of people and considering I have only been at the company a matter of weeks, I was feeling my heart pounding. As I watched all my other colleagues present before me, I noticed my body react to this upcoming challenge. I did have “knots” in my stomach, but instead of seeing this as a bad thing I tried to see it as my body’s way of rising to the challenge and becoming energised. These are some of the things that Kelly talks about. I said over and over again to myself just before I went up on “stage” – energise, energise, energise and then just as I stood up to present, I did honestly feel energised. I even managed to get the room quite energised.

So, thank you Kelly for this very useful talk. I actually enjoyed it and also received some great feedback.

The other technique I used was my formal mediation practice which I had been doing all week. The practice I used the most was the ability of “allowing” my feelings of nerves to just be there, not to turn away from them and wish they would go away but turn towards them and just recognise that the feelings are there.

I also continued with my self compassion meditation where I have my compassionate friend with me telling me “it’s ok”. This makes me feel less alone when taking on challenges. I also used the concept of “common humanity” which to me means that I know other people feel like this when they do public speaking and I am not the only one.

Using all the above techniques I found a way to enjoy the moment. I can’t say I am looking forward to the next one, but I will continue to live in the Now and when the next one comes I will deal with it in a similar way.

In the other presentation I did this week, I had to do a one-page introduction about myself to 60 other people in my department. One of the things I needed to state was my favourite quote. I found this easy and I want to share it with you:

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become” – C.G. Jung

This quote is so meaningful for me. It reminds me that life is about choices and not to get stuck in the past. In all these years of not reaching motherhood I have continued to make choices that remind me that you have one life and you need to choose to make it a good one which is exactly what I am trying to do.

Thank you for reading

 

Keep enjoying every moment (as best you can)

PS: I took this pic during my lunch hour next to my office. Very lucky to have such wonderful scenes to close to my work.