False belief.
Many years ago when I was still green, I was asked to give the physiological testing results back to the Canadian National Rowing Team. These results were used for monitoring their training programs.
The day came. The team meeting was at the University of Victoria. I was there early, prepared and a wee bit nervous… to be expected especially as the room filled with ginormous fit rowers. My job, give them an understanding of what their individual test results meant; discuss the team average and national standards; answer questions. Simple… yes… however…
There were a few things that stuck in my mind from that day
- All of them looking at me
- The sound of my voice. I am dead serious; it sounded like I had been sucking on helium!
- Not only a mickey voice but I had no volume
- A room that had moments before been full of chatter and noise was now dead quiet. They had to be that quiet to hear me
- Palatably feeling through the airwaves their embarrassment for me
- I did manage to say what needed to be covered, however, out of compassion for me the question period was non-existent
As I write this I am laughing. It is up there on memorable moments.
So what were my thoughts THAT DAY?
- I was mortified. I could barely look at any of them as they walked out of the room
- I was embarrassed. I did not look professional. I dwelt on the negative.
- I did not believe that I knew enough, which was a lie.
What are my thoughts TODAY?
- It is an event, not a reflection of who I am
- Learn from it.
Ask yourself, “What can I do/learn to decrease nervousness?”
Ask yourself, “What could I have done differently?”
- Laugh at yourself and then laugh again when the memory comes back.
- Ask yourself what your beliefs are
Often times they are false beliefs. They need to be recognized as a false belief and then replaced with what is true.
You see I had a false belief. I thought I did not know enough. The truth was, I knew all that I needed to know to give an A-one talk and have a great question period. After all, this was my area of expertise.
- If someone had asked me a question I did not know, all I need to reply was, “Great question, I will get back to you on that!”
Thanks for the great photo from Jonas Nilsson Lee www.nilssonlee.se
Thanks for sharing Dawn. It always amazes me to hear others’ stories and to be reminded how ‘human’ we each are. The difference often is do we stay stuck in the less than perfect moments or learn and move on. I love the fact that you are a person continually learning and moving upward. It is encouraging. A couple of months after our walk/talk I submitted a poem to the Anglican Post. It was accepted and published this month (March) Scary yes, afraid of rejection, heck yes! Still a bit nervous for some reason but I did it and it felt amazing!! (You can find it on my FB if interested)
Thanks for being an encourager! Love T