Just a passing entry...

Mental Imagery seems to be a favourite among many of my participants. Am a little surprised as I had thought that MI would be a concept which is a little complex to grasp. Well, at least it shows that I have managed to simplify it so that its understandable.

So it just reminds not to be presumptuous...

Feedback..

I have been collecting quite a lot of written feedback from my participants. Most of it has been very encouraging.. however, one pertinent grouse seems to be that the sessions should be longer. Hmm... how to compromise this? I am thinking perhaps I could combine 2 groups together so that in this way I can perhaps have time to conduct more sessions..

The next session in the pipeline would be relaxation.. am kinda looking forward to it as I certainly need some of that too. I have realised through an activity I conducted during Mental Imagery that my colleagues are fond of the sound of water (as in like waves crashing onto the shores)... How to incorporate it? Any suggestions?

Well before I leave, I wanna kindle you guys with these 2 quotes I had used for my imagery sessions. Love them... esp Einstein's (who happens to be my favourite 'quotist' of all times). Love William James too...

Here we go... read and contemplate my friends!

Logics will get you from A to B,
Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein

Imagination will often carry us
to worlds that never were.
But without it, we go nowhere.
bCarl Sagan

While teaching, I learned.. :))

Well from now on its gonna be all about time-management. With the fasting month coming up, I am expecting it to be all the more challenging but I believe I am to the challenge.

In any case, I have been visiting the library quite frequently and I have become quite a fan of the non-fiction books which I borrow to gimme some inspiration for my practicum. They teach about handling fear, dealing with embarrassment and increasing self-confidence.

It came in handy during one of my sessions!!

I had a big mental block and in the middle of a self-talk class, totally ran out of anything to say. I desperately flipped through my notes.. but alas could not find anything to say. I had 6 pairs of eyes staring at me and the silence couldn't have been more awkward..

If this had been say 3 months back, the sheer embarassment of the situation would have eaten me up and I would not have been able to concentrate on work later at all..

But thankfully, it all turned out great as I managed to regained my composure and even used it as an example of how to change your negative self-talk during an embarrassing moment. From 'I can't believe I did that and I am gonna mess up from here' to 'Its ok, it happens even to the best.. you haven't committed any murder.. just laugh it off and get on with it.' Not to forget, I have amazing colleagues too!!

Hehe and guess what? I didn't spend a minute after mulling over it and even shared it with my other classes...

Wow.. there are never lack of opportunities to learn, are there?

busy busy busy

I doubt I have ever been busier... I have a session tomorrow with 2 of my colleagues who initially didn't wanna be part of my sessions. So yeah.. that's like cool. So it will be a cosy group of 2 for my intro session tomorrow.

What is more stress-inducing would be the self-talk session for some loud-mouthed and judgemental peers on Wednesday. I was a bundle of nerves when I did the intro with them. I will ensure that I try my hand at some relaxation-cum-stress mgt techniques before I stride into the class.

Anyhow, I like this quote by William James..

If you aspire for a trait, act like you already have it :-P

Nice ain't it?

Later...

The show continues...

The next 2 weeks are going to be very challenging for me... I have some some major stuff coming up at work and I have deadlines to meet for school stuff too. My practicum is underway and while it has been very exciting... it can be nerve-wrecking too. Like what Emily mentioned once, it is no mean feat to go about conducting a MST class when your own level of motivation is down the pits.

Well thats precisely how I felt like last Thursday. Thankfully, I was able to overcome my emotions and the session went without major hiccups...

I still think that my control over the class could be improved and I could brush up on my confidence level... I feel that one session of self-talk is not enough to cover all that I wanted. Well.. I would be needing to work on my schedule to try to squeeze in another...

As the show begins...

Well... I am more or less done with the intro portion of my practicum. The response so far has been encouraging.. I am going to start on self-talk next week and I am in the midst of finalising the activities which i will be including.

Though I have my stuff ready, I am wondering how to make the sessions more interesting... well at least at interesting as my intro.

Will update later..

As the curtain is lifted...

Well.. I know it has been amazingly long hiatus and I have alot to blog about but am gonna keep it brief till my next post as I am tired..

Well I have started my practicum proper from yesterday 21/7 after some delay as I had to rush fro some deadlines at work.

I wanna get my feelings out of the way first and I will post the details later

Feelings over first session - 21/7

It couldn't have been more perfect!! My audience was interactive and I could feel from their vibes that they were being soaked up by what I was sharing! It was totally exhilarating... I had rave reviews and saw my colleagues somewhat glow after the session. For the rest of the day, we shared a certain comradeship found among those who shared secrets. It was awesome really! Needless to say, I was totally revved up for the batch the next day...

Feelings over second session - 22/7

Hmm.. well I would say that this session was so-so. I guess I had been complacent and expected that this too would go seamlessly! Well, not quite. Firstly, I felt that my team leader who wanted to participate in my session was kinda trynna take control. As much as I appreciate her support, I feel that the rest of my team-mates feel a lil reticent with her around. Felt a lil cheesed with some comments she made and she was trynna act bossy. So I have to say the vibes I got from this group was certainly not as positive. Overall, I would rate it as a 5.5/10.

I personally called each of my client to gather feedback. I felt better after that and found out that they were lookin forward to the next session and that was something nice.

And ya know what? As I reflect on both experiences... as much as I loved the first session, I think that it is the second session which allowed me to learn more! Like I should have been more assertive with my TL when she tried to be bossy and also I forgot to mete out some impt instructions... And also because of some of the challenging questions raised, I felt a need to brush up on some of my answers... So there we go! I have done some extra research and improvised on my handout... so yeah like what I read somewhere, there is nothing you can learn more from than negative criticism.

Laterz..

Feeling accomplished :)

Am so proud of myself!!

I have done half of my SLE assignment and one case study for S&P!! not bad at all.. but well all my efforts will come to naught if i do not maintain my momentum and finish them soon..

A few ideas popped in my mind as I was doing both my assignments. I would wanna pay more attention to Stress and Performance. I will incorporate the Reversal Theory, Cusp Theory, etc. I gotta simplify them of course.. before that I would like to have a firmer grasp on those theories myself.

Well will update more laterz.. Have a good week ahead!

Uncanny?

Today was not quite productive... was trying to complete my SLE assignment but not much headway. Ended up surfing about many random stuffs.

Well, decided to a search on what results would show up if my Western zodiac (Aries, the Ram) and my Chinese Zodiac (Snake) were tossed up together..

The accuracy of the results astounded me... Here it is..

'The Snake helps the Ram get what he wants, for Snakes love power and money and the Ram's persistence helps him obtain it. But the Snake teaches him to go about it in a different way-- slyly, by being charming and persuasive. Ram/Snakes do well as salesmen and politicians, or in any endeavor that takes a combination of tenacity and suavity. Though most people will admire an Ram/Snake, they tend to be loners who like to keep their true feelings to themselves and find it difficult to share to much of themselves with anyone.'

Anyway, this quote cracked me up... Haha

I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical. ~Arthur C. Clarke

...

Well.. I have been surfing around for stuff on my practicum... but nothing seems to click yet.. Let's see. I should be going down to the library soon...

Sex and The City

Spoke to my team members about what is in store for them for my practicum. I should have practised my speech a little but took it for granted that I would somehow manage. I was thrown quite a lot of questions, which is a good sign becos it means people are interested in what I had to say. I was a lil stumped at some instances esp when one member asked for detailed info. Overall, I would say that it went pretty well. End result: My team members are excited and eagerly awaiting for their session.. This was the main message which I had wanted to convey: Never give up hope, things will getter. How long you are stuck in a rut is essentially is how long you want to. I was asked pointed qns about whtr the sessions will directly help sales but I frankly told them I just impart the skills and it was up to the individual to utilise it. So yeah.. I was satisfied with the session.


That ups the jig for me and I have to make it real interesting, I would have to say that at this point in time, I am feeling positive and confident about. I am gonna savour this FABULOUS feeling becos I have no idea how long it'll last. Now.. I aint being negative... just realistic.

Now talking about FABULOUS... that would explain my title for this post!! Sex and The City! It was meant to titiliate and tempt you into reading this post (if anyone is reading it at all :))

Anyway Sex and The City is the very epitome of FABULOUS! Words cannot describe how special it is to me... I have re-watched the whole 6 seasons on YouTube (which has been removed by HBO unfortunately). They are the Fab Four and as much feminist brickbats they have gotten, these 4 fabulous ladies have cheered me up and uplifted me on countless occasion. Just hear Sam say 'Fabulous' or ' Grab the world by the balls' is enough to get me through a rough day or fill me with courage and discard some of my fears. Yeah the show is kinda empowering. These 4 ladies are so very special to me.. .and only a fellow SATC fan will feel what i am feeling, I just love everything about SATC from the pit of my guts!!

Oh yeah.. am planning to have a second date with my ladies pretty soon..

Anyways, I have to say this. Trust your gut feel... the primal one which beats close to your heart just a second before rational thoughts cloud it. Listen to it closely.. because it rarely wrong.

I was shocked by it myself this morning. Even though facts and figures would make me think otherwise, my gut feeling hit me with a clarity. I ignored it becos I didn't like what my gut was telling me...

Till my gut instinct kicked me right in the gut to might how mighty and unerring it was..

A quote a post (well almost) ;

Reasoning at every step he
treads, Man yet mistakes his way,
Whilst meaner things, whom instinct
leads, Are rarely known to stray.
William Cowper

Some perspective...

We think that all these enormously successful personas have some mysterious tricks, secrets or tlucky chances which the rest of us ain't privy to...

Lets think again... could it really as simple as that extra bit effort that we could have put in, but decided not to?

Well, it just could be! Afterall, there's no substitute for plain old hardwork right?

Read this excerpt, its interesting and inspiring..


At 211 degrees, water is hot.
At 212 degrees, it boils.

And with boiling water, comes steam.
And with steam, you can power a train.

One degree. Applying one extra degree of temperature to water means the difference between something that's simply very hot and something that generates enough force to power a machine - a beautifully uncomplicated metaphor that ideally should feed everything we do.

Two-twelve serves as a forceful drill sergeant with its motivating and focused message while adhering to a scientific law - a natural law - reminding us how seemingly small things can sometimes make tremendous differences.

Two-twelve.

Download this PDF

Secrets to success don't exist. We instinctively know it. Success in anything has one fundamental aspect: effort. And in most cases, to achieve exponential results requires extra effort. That's the extra degree.

Thomas Edison said...

"Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

Vince Lombardi tightened it up with...

"Inches make the champion."

212 distills it even further..

Scribbles..

My manager came to me on Fri to request that I do relaxation techniques for everyone. Sounds like a good idea to me. Actually, I had thought to begin my practicum by conduction relaxation and ending it with relaxation techniques too.

I have an intro speech to make during my team lunch on Monday. So I would be sharing with my team what will be shared during these session as it has been made compulsory for my team-mates to participate in those. For the rest, its gonna be voluntary and they will be requested to form groups of 5. It feels good to get this kinda support from my colleagues. I have to say though, m mgr is in need to enhance her EQ.. she says the most demoralising stuff and ends up making one feel shitty!! She's very young, guess she has lots to learn. I personally feel that some interpersonal skills would do her good :-P

I would say that I have very high expectations of myself for the practicum . Since it has aided me alot in my work, I am expecting the same for others. One thing bothers me though, my own sales figures have not been that encouraging for this month of June. Well, there is time to play catch-up though. Of course, if you claim that you are gonna impart some knowledge... you need to be exemplary yourself right? All said and done I am learning too and certainly have lotsa room for improvement.

Anyway, I believe that if I am putting in my heart and soul and practising MST diligently and the results still don't match up, that's GOD's will. I take it as a test of my resilience, endurance and spirit. Hehe.. I admit that its easier said than done though.

If there is one major thing I would like to achieve through this practicum, it is to give hope to some of my easily-depressed colleagues that things can always can get better. Well, I personally think that hope is that tiny spark which refuses to be put out, and eventually it sets you on fire.

As a parting shot, here's a quote.. its touching..

If it were not for hopes,
the heart would break.
Thomas Fuller

Phew!!

Hi hope all is good..

Well I finally got the go-ahead from my fussy HOD, but with clauses intact. No client info to be divulged, no eating into working hours, etc... just like I expected but nevertheless, at least they are gonna do a proper introduction to the floor. Some of my colleagues I spoke to also seemed pretty psyched up... well looks like I have some lofty expectations to live up to.

Well, I can say that the topics which I am gonna cover in my practicum are gonna be pretty handy becos the negativity emanating from my colleagues these days is palpable. I am quite stressed about the work ahead of me... I wish the procrastinator in me will vacate soon... I have housed it long enough.. He he

As a parting shot, I agree with this take :-P

Stress is basically a disconnection from
the earth, a forgetting of the breath.
Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that
everything is an emergency. Nothing is
that important. Just lie down.
Natalie Goldberg

@ random

Tomorrow I am going to show my proposal to my boss. I know that she is not one to read much and with my brief proposal, I would have quite a bit to explain.. which I don't mind of course. Well I did tell another of my manager about it and I found her reaction odd and kinda unsupportive. I have to say I was kinda affected at first... but thank GOD I have many supportive colleagues around me to bolster me. This is just the beginning and I guess I have to learn to take such wet blankets in my stride... Luckily, she is not the ultimate decision-maker.

I'll keep in mind what was said about people being desperate to guard their turfs. Well, I'll guard mine too...

In any case, I see a need to apply some MST on myself as for the past few days I can hear my inner-voice, and alot of it is negative :-P Well, let me go do some cognitive restructuring of my own.

As we are on the topic of mental skills, here's one..

The mind is a dangerous weapon, even to
the possessor, if he knows
not discreetly how to use it.
Michel de Montaigne

First blog entry

Hello... this is my first blog entry...EVER! Kinda exciting. Guess I would consider creating another informal one for myself. Kinda easy.

Keep your eyes glued for my reflections on the practicum journey which I am kinda lookin' forward to.

Have a good week ahead.