|
April 2010 Newsletter: Noticing how you wobble There are times when our confidence levels take a knock – commonly known as the wobbly moments. In fact you wouldn’t be ‘normal’ if you didn’t experience them when the ground gets pulled out from under your feet. The thing with these wobbles is you don’t see them coming; they happen at the most unlikely time and circumstances and you’re not sure how you’re going to react. I’m writing this just as the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown fell from favour in his election campaign yesterday when a comment that he thought was private was picked up and broadcast from his television microphone. Last month I took a wonderful trip to the French Alps; I hadn’t skied for several years and decided it was time for some fun, celebration and romance with my husband Bob. “Now the children are older”, our thinking went, “let’s treat ourselves to a ‘grown-up’ ski holiday – travel in a civilised way with comfortable hotel and scheduled flight without the rough and tumble approach of family and provisions loaded in the car and setting off across Europe. What bliss! I expected to fall over a few times. The first fall took me by surprise a month before the trip. In my pre-holiday training efforts I tripped off a wobble board in the gym, landed flat on the back of my head with bruising to my elbow and a few other sensitive body parts. Once I realised I hadn’t broken my skull, I felt acutely embarrassed as well as physically sore. So I beat a hasty retreat and kept well away from the gym – too dangerous. Once on the mountain slopes, things turned out surprisingly well. I was waiting for the falls that didn’t happen – well maybe one or two hairy moments when I slid a bit, but never totally out of control. With blue skies and sunshine most of the week, I was feeling on top of the world and mentally stocking up on positive energy and sense of well-being. So supremely confident was I, that each evening I made a note of the key lessons from the mountains that I’d offer you on my return. Here they are: Day One – Always face in the direction you’re going. Day Two – Attack the difficult bumpy bits with a vengeance. Day Three – Let go of looking good and what others think of you. Day Four – Take lots of breaks and stop when you’re ahead. Day Five – Sets your sights for the top – it’s more fun and a better view. Then by day six, a cloud appeared on the horizon out of nowhere. Having spent the week deliberately detached from news, I learn that volcanic ash had closed UK airports and I began to notice that I felt some unease about the return journey, yet knew it was a problem that could be dealt with logically and rationally and popped the travel question to the back of my mind until tomorrow. By day seven, it is clear that there are no planes for the next few days, French trains are on strike, no cars to hire, there’s no clear route of how and when I can get home. My confidence levels plummet – I feel the knot in my stomach, out of control and I want to cry as I ask the hotel receptionist for help: the wobbly moment is a horrible sensation. I remember with a grimace what I was told by a ski instructor some years back: “You must learn to fall, and fall and fall, so that falling holds no fear for you.” My story has a happy ending. I took decisive action and after several disappointments and lots of luck managed to buy seats on an overnight bus back to the UK – thanks to the wonderful Joel, owner of www.skibusuk.com Never before have I been so delighted to sit on a coach for 14 hours and it was just like old times travelled surrounded by kids, noise and mess. With hindsight of course, my small adventure is insignificant in the tales of distress we’ve heard of travelers caught up in all parts of the world who needed to get home for truly critical reasons. It’s also insignificant in terms of the disasters that people face in their lives. However, it left us curious as to how we habitually react under pressure and the value of being able to mentally stop, step aside and be witness to our experience. It’s something all the politicians are up against in this election week. So this month, I simply invite you to consider how you are when you wobble and how you pick yourself up and carry on: I know how resilient you naturally are and that there are times when we all need extra help. In our book, which is now out on CD too there are loads of tips. I’m just off to have a listen to my own advice. Best wishes - Kate
kate@kateburton.co.uk
Kate’s new "Neuro-Linguistic Programming Workbook for Dummies" by Romilla Ready and Kate Burton ISBN 9780 470 51973 8 is now out on Amazon and in good bookstores. It’s the sequel to "Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Dummies" by Romilla Ready and Kate Burton ISBN 0764570285
|
|
|
|
|
|
