How to Find Your Passion

If someone asked you, "what is your passion?" do you have a ready answer? Or would you be stumped by such a question and excuse yourself while you figure that one out?

It's not easy to find your passion. You might be enthusiastic about a lot of things, or conversely, you might not even like anything at all! People are always talking about things like personal calling and following what your heart tells you, but how exactly can you glean those answers from within? Below are five things to ponder and try that could help you pinpoint your true passion in life.

1. What do you love the most? There are no right and wrong answers here. To find your passion, you need to be honest with yourself, even if you think that the true answer sounds downright silly or shallow. For instance, if you say you love comic books and could spend hours reading and archiving them, then maybe your personal calling has something to do with the comic book industry! Who knows, you might have a talent for illustrating or story-telling. Look into your biggest, most passionate interests for clues on what you really want to do in your life.

2. Ask friends to tell you what they think is your strongest point. Harness the power of social networking to find your passion. If you're active on Facebook or Twitter, contact your closest friends - and don't even bother including the several hundred so-called friends you have never met face to face! - and ask them to Tweet or post on your wall what they think is your forte. Remind them that it is a serious request. You would be amazed by the insights one can actually gain from this social networking activity, and you might even realize that you had a personal calling you yourself did not recognize!

3. Take online quizzes. There are countless websites featuring online quizzes to help you find your passion. They ran the gamut from career assessment tests to personality tests. Don't just settle for one. Have fun taking a myriad of tests and gather the results. Look for the common denominators in them; they are indicative of not just your talents but also of what you really want to accomplish. If you end up with two or three strong points, then reflect on each interest until you realize which among them appeals to you the most.

4. Look back at your childhood. There are people who found their personal calling as early as their elementary days. There are many famous people who recall already indulging in their respective passions - acting, business, sports, et cetera - when they were old enough to go to school. Perhaps as a child you were already quite the entrepreneur with your lemonade or brownie stand. Or you probably participated in every school play either as an actor or director. The things you enjoyed so much as a child are valuable hints to what you want to do as an adult.

5. What excites you to give it a try even at the risk of failing repeatedly? You may find your passion in the things you dare to try, regardless of the sacrifices involved. So think hard about what you would be willing to go out on a limb for. It could be putting up a business even in this shaky economic climate. Or it could involve you to finally show up at auditions and keep trying for every single role until you make it in Hollywood. If you're willing to give one hundred of percent of yourself into an endeavor, then you've found your personal calling.
It takes effort to find your passion, but once you have determined it, working towards your interests and goals will be the most fulfilling experience of your life. Good luck and may you find success in your endeavors.

Find your passion and give one hundred percent of yourself into your endeavors. You have only one life to live so make it count by doing what you love best!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristen_D_Howe

The hunchbacks of computer alley

Being one of the people who help course creators has its advantages – I get to preview the material that goes into a course. Bonus! One of our recent additions to the eBrainz clutch of courses has been Jane’s course on pain-free computing. You might think that’s not for you because you don’t sit at a computer long enough to risk a problem. Think again. Jane actually challenges you to keep a diary of how long you are actually at the computer researching topics of interest, answering email, chatting on Skype, updating your Facebook page or browsing YouTube. Just try it for a week, and I think you’ll be amazed at how much time you and the screen come face-to-face.

Jane’s course material actually prompted me to go looking for a reminder program that will demand I take a break. I get so engrossed, often with my shoulders tense as I work towards a deadline, that hours can go past. At the end of the day I’m tired and sore.

Well I found two options. I’m currently using one from Scirocco called Take a Break. If you want to try this free program go here. The program can be set to vary the time you work between breaks and the time you are encouraged to move away from the computer. You can reset it or turn it off whenever you want (though that’s cheating). There is also another free one to try called Eyes Relax.

So those wee programs take of getting you to stop working – now you have to do something to ease the muscle tension.  That’s when you try out the exercises Jane recommends to stop those sore shoulders or aching backs ... or simply shortcut the whole process and take her course in keeping you computing healthy!

While you’re there on the net on the respected Cnet site look up some of the free software on this software programs page – like free anti-virus software for Avast and AVG. They are two programs I have used and both are tops for ease of use and reliability. TIP: Don’t try installing anti-virus software if you already have one installed. Uninstall the first version before installing the second. At best you’ll slow up your computer majorly, at worst they will both not work properly.

Happy course creation

From the Team at eBrainz

www.ebrainz.net.nz

learning@ebrainz.net.nz

Thoughts on failure

I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work. - Thomas Edison

Imagine that - 10,000 attempts that did not meet his expectations and yet he managed to create one of the most world-changing inventions!

How many of us are able against all odds to keep on trying to break through into success without giving up. Too few people have the Edison attitude. Barriers and challenges are excuses to stop because it is too hard, not for me, I don't have the talent (like talent is the only factor), I should have done it years ago - it's too late now. Oh the excuses that roll off the tongue! 

It is great to be in the company of people like our eBrainz tutors who are really stretching the possibilities of what they can do. Spreading the word about their talents is a bit like finding 10,000 ways that don't work, but we're into the 11,000 lane now and still going strong. The grass is just about to break through - watch us grow!  

A vision from on high

Sometimes we are open (mentally) to a change of perspective. Such a moment occurred for me as I was flying home to Nelson airport from Wellington on a beautiful clear August evening. I could see across to the ranges around Golden Bay as the sun cast an orange glow behind them. Below us bush covered the hills in tight curls broken only by the occasional building that erupted like a pimple from the skin below.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the earth's crust as thin skin over the heaving, boiling body of our plant. I have been trying to get into perspective how we fit in the realm of the universe. Being that high up gave me that perspective. I realised that below me (unseen) were tiny people going about their business like tiny lice between the feathes of a chicken.

It gave me a jolt because I also realised we indeed are like lice on the skin of the earth. We itch at and burrow at the surface, and leave our excrement and rubbish strewn around. And what is more we are as unnecessary to the future of the earth as the lice on a chicken. It was like I was looking through the wrong end of a telescope and seeing myself in context within the universe.

The plane landed and I was absorbed into the crowd of people picking up luggage and being irritated with one another. I chatted with my partner about what the dog did and where to stop for tea, and I was back in the 'Me' who is the centre of my universe, making things happen and causing others to do the things I want them to do. I was back as controller of the universe.

Then, as we drove back over the hill to the place many call Paradise, I experienced a moment of rage when I saw MacDonalds packaging discarded without thought on the roadside. We are indeed lice on the crust of the earth.

Leaps of Faith

When I live by the beliefs in this video then I can fly. Actually I am making big leaps of faith and that's the first step to flight.
Will Smith on Success in Life

Join us on eBrainz in making those first leaps of faith.The only thing that will stop you is 'being realistic'.

When I first thought about the possibilities of eBrainz I was blown away by the possibilities. Then I was overwhelmed by fear and hesitated. I had to work hard to get back to that first flush of possibility. Yet if I had trusted my initial instincts we would be 18 months down the track with hundreds of courses and participants.

Part of the process of following a dream or a passion is believing so hard in something that the possibility of failure just doesn't come into the picture. Once you have let fear in, you face this constant process of bandaiding over the fear, stitching the idea back together, healing it. Even at this stage of progress, knowing what has to be done to reach raging success, I still feel the scar of fear.

How easily fear of failure, of being disapproved of, can slow forward motion. When movies like these come along I can again shout "YES!" Thanks Will for a timely reminder. I hope this reminder will also speed you forward in your endeavours. - Heather

A shared experience

It never stops to surprise me how we think that what happens to us is the single scariest, most traumatic experience ever.

Take earthquakes for instance. When we saw the tumbled Christchurch Cathedral and the frantic race to rescue people trapped in slumped buildings, we thought nothing could ever be this bad. Then along came Japan's Magnitude 8 followed by a Tsunami. Then came Auckland's 2.9.

And it WAS scary for people who had never felt one before. Packed on top of their experience was all the news of the recent catastrophes and the fear: could this be one too?

Perhaps we could reframe the earthquake experience and realise it is not individual earthquakes we are feeling but the outward, unpredictable shaking of the earth's crust stretching and tearing as the plates move. We are not having separate experiences but different shades of the same out-of-control event. The most disturbing thing is nobody is safe, ever, from these kind of events - all the insurance in the world won't fix it.

Predictions of gloom

Have you thought about what would happen if the predictions of gloom eventuated for 2012?

The environmental events that have occurred worldwide have been really disturbing. How much have we contributed to those events?

• Devastating floods causing landslides and turning land masses into lakes
• Catastrophic weather events such as tornados and torrential rainfall leaving land super-saturated
• Monumental earth shifts such as earthquakes and volcanoes

 

It makes you wonder if we have tipped the balance and have engineered our own death of the dinosaurs. What can we possibly do if Mother Earth has decided to shake us off her back? Nothing really.

 

A different kind of threat

There is, however, one ‘event’ that we are equally vulnerable to, and very few ever mention – an economic meltdown. There are obvious indications of global wavering in the financial world.  Greece is about to be bailed out of its debt to the tune of billions of dollars. Its public spending cuts will only save an infinitesimal amount annually compared to the interest accumulated on the new loan. And Greece’s predicament is only representative of many countries facing the pay up now demands from previous borrowings to keep the country afloat.

 

Increasing your savings

Back home, while politicians suggest the band aid of ‘living within our means’ and increasing our savings, it is merely tinkering with an economic system that has outlived its usefulness.

 

Our current economic system:

• Doesn’t meet the needs of third world countries
• Doesn’t encourage careful husbandry of earth’s resources
• Relies on gambles and betting on future harvests
• Relies on people coming up with new ways to artificially inflate the value of real commodities
• Rests on majority confidence in individual economies and continual growth or inflation

 

Sounds grim but the money system is ‘the money system’ handed down on tablets of stone, isn’t it?

 

NO!

 

Money has no real value

Don’t believe that? Well, consider this.

The money system is simply a system of accounting for the value of goods. It evolved from the original barter system. It uses ‘tokens’ to represent the real value of the things we grow and process.

 

Unfortunately the ‘tokens’ (money) has become a commodity in itself and is traded even before it comes into existence on the back of a new product. As we produce more or add extra value to commodities or use the product to make bigger things or improve life we add to the total value of what exists in the world. Money should expand to keep pace with that value. Unfortunately money itself has become a traded commodity.

 

Confidence is the key

 Just like the property market crashed because it became over-inflated, and someone somewhere started to lose confidence and affected the confidence of the person next to them, so too can the money market.

 

The effect could be devastating:

• Banks could crash and close (no money/loans to keep businesses or farms afloat)
• Mortgages could be called up to pay creditors (people could lose their homes)
• People would lose their jobs as demand for products diminished or businesses closed
• Home owners would not have enough income to pay their mortgages and rents could become unsustainable
• Private companies controlling our major services, like gas and electricity, might find it impossible to trade
• People would not be able to get the health care and food they needed

 

It’s a grim picture but not much different from the consequences of tornadoes, earthquakes and floods.

 

Future proofing

How can we future-proof ourselves against catastrophes?  Well individually we can’t do much to stop them – people in power hold the reigns there. We can, however, change our own lifestyles to become more inventive to meet our needs.

 

Christchurch people have learned a little of what it is like to be without what we have come to see as essential services. They’ve had to go back to old methods of handling sewerage, collecting water, supplying heat, lighting and cooking. Being prepared with plans on how we would manage in such circumstances makes sense. You never know when you’re going to need Boy Scout skills.

 

But there other things we can do. We can nurture our creativity and take up skills such as organic gardening; start learning to knit and sew; begin recycling old things into new items rather than throw them out; join community exchange systems where the true value of items are established between producers and buyers. These skills are the kind of knowledge we exchange in the eBrainz community.

 

There are some things, however, that would really grind an economy to a halt. What could we do if there was no electricity – no computers, no electronic banking or payments? Doesn’t bear thinking about.

 

-          Heather

Working from Home

If you are an online course tutor, the chances are that you will be working from home, at least for part of your week. As an at-home worker I have had to learn to adapt myself to the relatively unstructured environment of a distance worker. Although I am one of two directors of a New Zealand business, a lot of what I do helps to create the product that earns the company income. I therefore need to be available and working at least 40 hours a week.

Moving from a regular eight-hour  a day job to working at a distance has proved to have some challenges. I have now spent four years working from a distance.  I’ve always been consistent when recording my time on different projects, so nothing changed when I reached Golden Bay – only the scenery. That was a problem …. From working in a small office in Christchurch I moved to a house on a hill overlooking Pohara, and Golden Bay. It was distraction city.

I’d forgotten how waves can shift and shimmer, grey out and race across the bay in front of a westerly. I became a bay watcher, unconsciously recording the tides and wind changes, the visiting birds and the cruising campers who came to see how the other-half lived. I would sometimes clock out just to sit on the deck and watch the marvellous changes in the bay.

The ability to clock on and off has had pluses and minuses. I found, everyone else thought I could ‘do other things’ during the day. An hour here-and-there, ‘doing other things’, soon eats into the time available to complete projects and meet deadlines. After the first month or so I became more disciplined and moved my office into a space where there was no direct view of the sea. Breaks became more structured.

A contractor we are currently working with says discipline is the key when working from home. “You have to make sure that you stick to your time schedules and deadlines. Not just work, but you have to make sure you take those breaks so you keep your mind fresh and creative,” says Shaun Meredith (Better Informed Ltd).

Our spaniel Tilly plays her part in keeping me sane, bringing me toys to play with or trying to climb onto my knee when I’ve been too long at the computer. Yet there are times when even Tilly’s company is not enough and I succumb to cabin fever. Working alone can feel isolating if you’re a social character. When your partner comes home ‘peopled-out’, you’re ready to party!

Sarah, the other director, and I have frequent phone ‘meetings’, occasionally use the phone to brainstorm with others using three-way phone calls. We’ve had limited success with Skype, but that’s more to do with our personalities - when we want to create we want to do it now, so we stay within our comfort zone and use the phone.  We’ve also used Team Viewer with each other and clients.

Shaun agrees: “For my business verbal communication is very important. Having that verbal contact keeps you in the loop and you can better judge the situation with your client. Some clients’ expectations can get lost or misunderstood if you maintain textual communication.”

When working on a project together, Shaun and I both use the process of phone calls and follow-up clarifying emails between us and with other clients.
Shaun says: “One tool I have found very useful is Dropbox. The ease of this tool and not having to deal with blocked email or size restrictions makes you feel like you’re working on the client’s intranet.”

I’m lucky to live in an area of Golden Bay where Broadband is available. Over the three years I’ve worked here connectivity has improved. On the occasions it goes down, it’s Murphy’s Law and there is always, always a deadline approaching. Mail and the courier leaves mid-afternoon. There’s no possibility of dashing out to the airport with a CD for the courier’s next-day delivery – the airport’s almost a two hour drive away.  

And that’s a downside. There are times when visiting a client is essential. For a period of about five months I was travelling to and from Rotorua once or twice a month. I had to leave home at 4.30am in the morning to make air connections to Wellington and then to Rotorua. If you’ve travelled the Takaka Hill you’ll understand how, at that time of the morning, it’s a bit of a challenge.  I kept setting personal records like driving seven times over the Hill in 10 days.

For me, working at a distance has had far more benefits than I ever expected. As long as I stay focused during the day and I’m prepared to extend my hours when a deadline is looming, it’s fine. But then, that’s like any job, isn’t it?

Heather Sylvawood

www.edutechkm.com

heather@edutechkm.com

www.ebrainz.net.nz

Who's the centre of the universe?

This morning I was walking the dog on the beach before sunrise. On the eastern horizon I noticed a tiny ball appearing so I stopped to wait for the global show. As the minutes slid  by and the few clouds lit up around the edges, I reflected on the language we use to describe the sunrise. To start with: ‘sunrise’. The sun isn’t ‘rising’ – we and the globe we are on are turning towards its light. In the evening the sun ‘drops’ behind the hills. Yet we are merely turning away from the sun on that same easterly orbit that makes the sun appear to rise.

It’s almost as if we still believe in the flat earth theory!

I have once or twice managed to get a sense of turning away from the sun when watching the sun ‘set’ – feeling myself, feet riveted by gravity to the earth, moving away into darkness. However, trying to envisage our physical relationship with heavenly bodies, the sun and the world itself is very hard to do. It is so much easier to see ourselves as our own centre of the universe and act as if that is true.

When that flat earth perception is set as ‘truth’ the intention to act as a global force is harder to maintain. Our actions become simply a need to make ourselves feel good ... now. We won’t do ‘this’ because we will have to stretch outside our comfort zone; we won’t bother to recycle because we haven’t time; we’ll buy at the supermarket because we can’t be bothered to learn a different way, and so it goes on.

It is only when something forces us to look at our interconnectedness  and the impact we have on others that we might take a step out of the centre of our universe. I was lucky enough to attend a Landmark Forum where a corner of that understanding was revealed to me. It changed my way of seeing, even though old habits persist.

In many ways the internet has become an opportunity to connect. While many may be using it to merely expand their personal universe by grabbing fame or notoriety, others are using it to increase their connectedness and act as a force for change. In some small way eBrainz can add its voice to increased connectedness by linking those who know to those who want to learn. My grateful thanks go out to the course providers who are coming on this journey of discovery.

Best regards

Heather Sylvawood

Happy course creation

From the Team at eBrainz

www.ebrainz.net.nz

learning@ebrainz.net.nz

Taking action. The time is now!

Over the last four days I have participated in an event designed to move us from cautious “wouldn’t it be nice if ...” people into shrewd internet marketers. It has been mind-blowing and life-changing.

The World Internet Summit was lead by multi-millionaires who make their money from the internet, and naturally they were doing what they do best – promoting their own products to a receptive group (we wouldn’t have been there if we hadn’t been keen to find out their secrets). They shared how they made their incomes, even logging on to their bank accounts online to show the totals they had just received for online sales using their systems. Each millionaire, however, readily admitted that without a mindset change, even the most ‘foolproof’ system is not going to make money on the internet.

So we had our mindsets challenged:

Pat Mesiti – Emerged from a brutal background to become a keynote speaker and seminar leader challenging our comfortable beliefs that keep us feeling good but stuck in ‘just managing’.

Sean Roach – Emerged from dead broke, divorced and in debt to become America’s #1 success and investment coach who mentors some of the wealthy and powerful in the world. His personal achievements using his own mentors are mind-blowing.

Roy Carter – Emerged from a serious illness and turned his life around when his doctor told him to change his life or he would die. In a matter of weeks he had created a six figure income with half the stress.

The ONE thing these men all shared with us, along with 11 other internet gurus, was that we needed a mindset change and to take action immediately.

 

So that’s what I’m doing. Thinking outside the screen, my life, my fear of being on show, my fear of being judged. And I want to take you on my trip to become an internet marketer.

If you want to know if this stuff works follow what happens – follow me on the ebrainzonline.blogspot. I’ll be moving on from there so if you’re not a follower, you won’t get to find out what happens. And join us on eBrainz.

 

Just as I gave up smoking when I finally stubbed out my last cigarette and called myself a non-smoker, I am claiming the title Internet Marketer because words are POWERFUL. This is my moment of action where I come out of the closet as an internet marketer, no excuses, and no minimising what I plan to do. Follow me, even if you don’t want to do more than anticipate my downfall! Love you all.

 

Best regards

Heather Sylvawood

 

Happy course creation

From the Team at eBrainz

www.ebrainz.net.nz

learning@ebrainz.net.nz

Phone 64-3-525-7073

Phone 64-3-337-0234

 

Kiwis are such shy birds

Are we victims of the symbols we live by? I rather think so. Language is a powerful tool to keep us entrenched in the position we find ourselves. Think about the Kiwi. We call our sports people kiwis, and then we use a by-line that says “Kiwis CAN fly”. That implies we have been told that we can’t but we will show them. Can you imagine a citizen of USA protesting: “Eagles can fly”. They wouldn’t ever think they had to prove it. Eagles fly and they fly above everything else, while kiwis shuffle around in the undergrowth. How deeply does that unspoken language take root in our souls?

I am attending the World Internet Summit in Auckland next week. I’m attending because I have a pressing need to learn the best methods of marketing eBrainz. Marketing it involves making sure that heaps of people learn about the amazing courses we are creating on eBrainz, and ensuring the course tutors benefit from a stream of participants.

As a result of registering, I have received a steady stream of videos and audios from the World Summit Team giving lots of hints and other benefits. I keep thinking: why haven’t I told the course tutors about this opportunity? It’s such value for money - $197NZ and you can bring a friend for free (sorry I am already bringing a friend). It’s four full days of training for creating and marketing an online business. FOUR DAYS! Of course you do have to stay in Auckland for the four days ... and you have to get there. But if you’re creating your eBrainz course with the intention of benefiting from online markets then it’s a no-brainer.

Why my reluctance to tell you all about it? I think it is related to my shade of Kiwi culture. I felt shy about telling you because if you spent your money and came away unsatisfied, how would I feel? Apologetic, of course. So my natural inclination is not to share this opportunity, just in case. I’ll just shuffle away in the undergrowth and hope no one sees me.

But imagine if you came along and benefited so much your small business took off! If I don’t tell you about the Summit, you might never uncover the opportunity. Well here I am getting over my shyness and telling you. If you want to know more, email or phone me. It’s on May 19^th to 22^nd – not far off so you need to make decisions fast.

And about the shy Kiwi? Is it only coincidence that we took as our national symbol a bird who only comes out under cover of darkness and hunts alone? Why didn’t our nation assume the melodic Tui who sings out his heart at the beginning of every day, or the elegant white heron, or the cheeky kea? Although, come to think of it, even the kea hides his colours under his wing. Did we assume the self-effacing kiwi symbol because it best represented who we saw ourselves as – hard-working, get-on-with our lot and don’t expect too much? Or has the symbol of our nation somehow limited our thinking? Think about the mighty eagle and the national self-belief of many Americans.

Happy course creation

From the Team at eBrainz

www.ebrainz.net.nz

learning@ebrainz.net.nz

Phone 64-3-525-7073

Phone 64-3-337-0234

It's someone else's responsibility

Those of you who have heard the story of eBrainz will recall that it was born out of the withdrawal of New Zealand government funding for community classes. Others may not know the story so I tell it again.

Now I have a profound belief that community classes help to weave the fabric of society. People who know how, guide people who want to know to a state of knowing. Along the way new relationships are formed, success is generated and community is created. Sharing and growing knowledge is part of the glue that binds us into a community and the process helps form the networks that keep people aware of their inclusion in the scheme of things.

Many sociologists have tried to define theories of societal inclusion or exclusion and predict how this will impact on personal behaviour. The one I remember most clearly was Durkheim’s definition of anomie. This is when there is a breakdown of social norms and where norms no longer control the activities of members of society. It happens when large numbers of people feel disassociated or disconnected from any sense of community. Basically Durkheim predicted that anomie would lead to the breakdown of society.

Now I’m not going to even suggest that such a state could come about in New Zealand or most countries in the Western world. What I do propose is that anything that starts to unravel the connections within a community will have an impact on the feelings of connectedness of people to their communities. So the news of the discontinuation of funding for community classes (mainly night classes) seemed to me as the start of another unravelling thread.

“The government should do something about this,” was my first response, followed by: “I can’t make the government change its mind.”

Almost simultaneously I had another thought: “What can I do about it?”

It was some months before I received an out of the ether thought that I could do something. And that’s how eBrainz was born.

Now I am passing on the mantle, the torch, or whatever metaphor you can think of, to the skilled and knowledgeable in our society to start building on this network of learning and sharing. I want course creators to give substance to eBrainz and share their knowledge and share the story of eBrainz so that the site is able to recreate feelings of connectedness.
 

Heather

Happy course creation

From the Team at eBrainz

www.ebrainz.net.nz

learning@ebrainz.net.nz

Phone 64-3-525-7073

Phone 64-3-337-0234

Procrastination rulz and it's not OK

One of the ‘truths’ I have realised is that whenever I am afraid of doing something or trying something new I procrastinate. I’m quite sure I’m not unique in this.

I’ve struggled to overcome procrastination by berating myself: “Just get on and do it.” Or: “You are so stupid.” Or: “You know it’s better to get things done before the deadline.” But no mental berating or begging moves me past my inertia. However recently I have made the connection between procrastination and fear. When I am procrastinating I am feeling fear.

The fear can come from something as simple as learning how to master the process of linking my cell phone to my email. I’ve tried but it hasn’t worked. So what is there to fear? Actually I have to get around my fear of appearing stupid. Even admitting in public that I haven’t mastered the process gave me a twinge of fear. I imagined that I would have all these people chortling into their cereal and feeling superior.

So what stops me conquering something apparently so simple by asking for help? Well it’s more that I will feel an idiot, and I’m my worst critic. What I have tried to do, especially since the launch of eBrainz, is try and rationally uncover the real fear behind my procrastination.

First I have to recognise the  little thoughts that indicate Procrastination is standing between me and success:

• “You can do it tomorrow.”
• “I’m too busy today/this week/this month.”
• “I haven’t done enough research.”
• “I’ll have to learn to (fill in the blank) first.”

Then I look at the fear(s) behind Procrastination and uncover:

• “They’ll think you’re an idiot.”
• “You’ll make a mistake.”
• “People will get angry with you for saying that.”
• “Someone might criticise you.”

That last one is a BIGGIE. The fact is, I cannot write or publish anything that everyone will agree with. Period. The expectation that I could is pure ego-driven, the stuff of fantasy. But does my ego or inner voice believe that? Nah! Why should it? On occasions I have acted like an idiot, made mistakes, had people get angry with me, and have often been criticised. Ego tries to protect me from all those states of being because they cause me pain.

In New Zealand we have what we call: “The Tall Poppy Syndrome” – when clever people are denigrated for trying and plain worn down by the predictors of disaster. We have so many disparaging things that trip off the tongue. “Too big for his/her boots”, comes to mind from my childhood. “Everyone who has tried that has failed.” “Do you know how many businesses fail?”

The problem arises when ego uses that  personal experience to mount a fear campaign to stop me trying anything new. Recently I have started to recognise these fear campaigns and stop them in their tracks – at the first little murmur of my inner voice saying: “You don’t have to do it now” there is another thought following fast on its heels: “Do it now.”

Natural caution is healthy, but when fear holds you back from trying something you want to do it’s time to examine those fears and the beliefs from which they arise.

Best regards - Heather

Happy course creation

From the Team at eBrainz

www.ebrainz.net.nz

learning@ebrainz.net.nz

Phone 64-3-525-7073

Phone 64-3-337-0234

Our Community Intention

We hope you join our community and benefit from it. Our intention is to create a community where people skilled in a subject (the experts) create a course for people who want to learn. In the process we all benefit.
For more about our intentions visit the course website: www.ebrainz.net.nz
This blogsite will become a way of sharing ideas and observations on the emergence of the website and its wonderful members.

Email us at learning@ebrainz.net.nz for more information.

Be inspired to learn. - Heather