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Serving a community of private individuals and professionals
who have the desire to cultivate a life of clarity, compassion,
and creativity. We warmly welcome our new subscribers. Thanks
for joining! Your feedback is encouraged. Please feel free to
contact us.
We've gotten
quite a few inquiries asking about the starting dates for our
next teleclasses, from people who got closed out in the last
few classes that were full. We'll be setting dates and topics
soon for our upcoming classes, and if you'd like to be on an "early
warning" list, please write to teleclasses@seishindo.org.
We'll place you on our waiting list for the next round of classes.
Please remember, we purposefully keep our groups small (not
more than 6 persons per group) to insure full participation
and the formation of a cohesive learning community.
1. Stress and the fear of failure:
Lessons Learned in Somatic Coaching
Stress is more and more recognized as a causal factor in most
disease. I'm fairly certain every reader of this newsletter
suffers from stress at least occasionally, and through my coaching
practice I know many people suffer from stress on a daily basis.
Because the long term effects of stress can be so debilitating,
I've decided to focus more of my writing on helping you overcome
stress and achieving a greater sense of well-being. I'll be
sharing with you the lessons I've learned in my own life, as
well as the lessons I continue to learn from my coaching clients.
We create stress with our thinking mind, when we
expect something "bad" is likely to happen. Realizing that
stress is brought about by our thinking and our expectations,
and not by other people or situations, is a crucial
first step in learning how to live a more fulfilling life.
People tend to say things like "I have a stressful job." Or "I'm
in a stressful relationship." This kind of thinking leads us
to believe our "stress" can't be helped. It would be much
more accurate to say, "I create stress by worrying
about the possibility of failing."
Think about it - does Roger Federer get stressed out by making
it to another Wimbledon final because there's a possibility
of losing? I'm sure he doesn't. Instead, he gets energized
by the possibility of winning, and he uses that energy
to fuel his success. If you were expecting to do well in a
challenging situation, you would likely feel energized as well… instead
of stressing yourself out by worrying. Simple enough to understand,
yet not always so easy to do!
One of the keys to keeping stress at bay is cultivating the
ability to think about what you are wanting to achieve,
how you are wanting to perform, rather than focusing
on what the outcome might be if you fail. The more you're able
to focus on what you do want, and how you'll have
to perform to get what you want, the more likely you'll be
to achieve your goals. When you fully engage yourself in carefully
planning for success you'll have little time and energy left
over for worrying about failure. It really can be that straightforward!
There are no guarantees in life, except perhaps for the likelihood
of eventually dying. You might plan well, execute well, and
still not achieve your desired results. Then what? In my life
I've discovered when I truly do the best I'm capable of, and
still fall short of my mark, I learn a great deal in the process.
The more I learn today, the more likely I am to be successful
in the future. We learn more by losing, than we do by winning!
It's my understanding that the only way I can truly fail is
by giving up on myself, and believing I won't have other opportunities
to succeed.
Over time, I've discovered my short term failures have been
just what I've needed to achieve long term success. When I'm
able to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over
again with a positive frame of mind, I discover I truly do
have all the resources I need to achieve my dreams. The most
rewarding experiences I've had, came only after having first
failed numerous times. Each setback made me that much more
determined to achieve my goal. Each setback helped me develop
the positive outlook I have on life today. If failure really
isn't an option, the only choice you have is deciding just
how successful you will be!
Ambition, without a willingness to sacrifice,
Will lead nowhere.
A target not connected to one's spirit,
Will never be hit.
A dream not followed by careful planning and execution,
Is just that, a dream.
Strive to accomplish what's beyond your current reach,
And if you give 100%,
You'll never be truly disappointed,
Not matter what the results.
If you would like to:
- live your life with greater enthusiasm and a lot
less stress,
- feel healthier and more emotionally balanced,
- feel more at home in your body, and more at peace
with yourself and others,
- help those you live or work with, do the same,
you'll want to consider taking our upcoming Seishindo
Stress Reduction telecourse, or signing
up for some private stress reduction sessions with
me.
In either case, if you're looking to free yourself
from the ravages of stress, please write to me at Charlie@seishindo.org and
let me know how I can be of service.
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