"If you do the thing you fear...

The death of fear is certain."
Emerson.

One of my favorite quotes.

Today I had my least favorite training session. Yes in the pool- how did you guess??:)
I sometimes dread this session. It's really tough, and if I'm tired its even tougher. I often have to use a pull buoy just to complete the set without totally losing my form. But the problem is that I psyche myself out before I even start...

So today...I changed my attitude. I wanted the session to be a confidence boost before NZ-not demoralizing! So I've been listening to my "Success Mastery Academy" audio cds by Brian Tracy (best selling author and public speaker), and he made me think about why I don't like this session. It's the fear of failure. So I decided there was nothing to be afraid of. I would do the repeats as well as I could. I was confident that I could hit my desired splits.

And guess what? I did hit my splits. I did this session better than ever before. It's such a good feeling. Doing the thing you fear boosts self esteem and gives you confidence. It makes you like yourself. You keep doing the thing you fear, and your self esteem goes up and up and up! You like yourself more and more, you develop a bias for action and you become...UNSTOPPABLE!!

Brian makes me feel like I can take on the World!

Charlotte

Timely lessons from Oprah

Isn't it funny how things pop up when you most need them to...

Kristian and I were watching Oprah last night, and she was interviewing the cast of "the secret life of bees". Sophie Okonedo was asked how she planned her performance. She replied...that she did a lot of research into her character and a lot of hard work went into it. But when the cameras started to roll, she threw it all away and trusted in it, and just let it happen...

It's now just 8 days till the cameras start to roll. All the work has been done, time to trust, and let it happen.

Charlotte

"If you risk nothing, then you risk everything."

Geena Davis.

Mental training

This was sent to me by a friend.

"Testing the capacity for survival doesn't necessarily require being placed in harsh surroundings. All of us, whether living at an extreme or protected by an advanced society, are surrounded by emotional and mental, if not physical, obstacles. We spend most of our lives on the near side of these barriers, even as we long to surmount them. We take the easy way out, arguing, often with much validity, that to do so is safer or more practical. If, however, we gather the will to cross over the obstacle, to confront the emotion or solve the problem, we gain strength from it. Telling the truth, making the sacrifice, doing the job though there won't be any recognition for it - these are mental exercises that strengthen will as much as physical exercise strengthens muscle. Such efforts actually form nerve connections in the brain that make it easier to overcome an obstacle the next time. Moreover, if we persist in the face of adversity, we often get a 'second wind', much as an endurance runner when he refuses to quit. The unexpected energy can carry us much farther than we ever thought possible and allow us to triumph over seemingly unsurmountable odds."

Kamler, Kenneth, 2004, Surviving the Extremes, St Martins Press, New York , p 279

Charlotte