I've been posting an A to Z of Luck, and today J is for Juggling.
When I first started juggling training at the Circus Space in London with Jebb the Juggler I was told that there were three rules:
1 - Don't stop till you drop
2 - When you do drop in a passing routine never say sorry. Mistakes are part of the process, every mistake is getting you closer to success. Just pick things up and keep going.
3 - Don't wait till you've perfected a trick to move on - always try something a bit more complex. When you come back to the initial trick you'll find it you can do it with ease.
The benefits of juggling are many. The constant failure forces you to get comfortable with mistakes. It's great for overcoming the crippling perfectionism which stops us taking risks and trying new things. I found juggling helped me to be more relaxed, more resilient, and more creative. And, in one scientific study at the University of Regensburg in Germany, brain scans showed that those who had learned to juggle had increased their brain matter after practising juggling for 3 months.
It's a general principle: the more you try, the luckier you'll get. Juggling is a great way to help you keep trying new things, and to persist. Throwing balls or clubs around can help you toss ideas around too. I love juggling with other people - and it can be a great social pastime, whether or not you're doing it for sport or as a performance.
I decided to use J for juggling today , as we've been planning the timetable for a conference "Speaking Professionally" run by the NSA Christchurch Chapter. I have a 5 minute break-out energiser juggling exercise which I learned in a workshop from the wonderful Denis Paumier. I cannot do 1/100th of the things Denis can do, but this exercise, which involves 1 ball per person to start with, is a lot of fun, and good for the brain and mood.
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
26 November 2008
10 November 2008
A to Z of Luck : A is for Artist Date
Do we make our own luck?
Today I am working on a short oration, for the NSANZ Christchurch Chapter Orator's contest. The topic: "Luck: you make your own". It's got me thinking:
Is there some invisible force called "luck" passing back and forth across the countryside, alighting here and there on fortunate people, skirting the unfortunate and pouring down like waterfall on a blessed few?
It is reported that Napoleon Bonaparte, in selecting his Generals, required that they be lucky men.Whether he thought this was an innate quality, or something they earned, or made themselves I don't know.
Some people chase luck like they seek the magic bullet – hoping against hope, waiting for the day that their luck will turn. In the meantime, they anaethetise their pains, avoid feeling by filling their time with celebrity gossip, drink, drug, food, or TV.
Others seem to be effortlessly lucky - with opportunities abounding all around.
My instinct is that we all are surrounded by a myriad of opportunities, every day, and that the genius of luck is first, being able to see them, and second, able to take advantage of them. And that there are a number of things we can do to make luck more likely.
As I played around with speech structures, I thought about the factors that influence luck. Three things stood out: being Early, having Faith that you will find what you need and behaving accordingly, and the freedom from guilt that comes with knowing you are up to date and have done your best.
Having come up with and E (Early), F(Faith) and G(Guilt-free) I kept going, and along with my Flat White coffee, realised I could go all the way from A to Z, on the subject of luck, and how to find it.
Much has been made of the recession, with gloom and doom about the economy in newspapers and on tv. As an antidote to the pessimism, I offer you the beginning of my A to Z of luck. There will be 26 instalments (one for each letter of the alphabet), and of course, that begins with the letter A.
A is for Artist's Date, and for Action:
The concept of the Artist Date, comes from the work of Julia Cameron, and her program The Artist’s Way. (It is also called a Time Out in The Artist's Way at Work, written by Julia, and Mark Bryan). It's a weekly, planned time-out where you take time to do something that feeds your inner artist or explorer.
It may be taking time to visit antique shops, to walk along the beach and collect shells for a collage, it could be a trip to a movie. Or maybe time spent baking and icing a cake.
Especially in these times, we need to make time to explore our passions, to connect with and feed our creative spirit. Paul Hawken advises
“Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor”
A is also for Action – taking action on worries, making small changes, however imperfect, is more likely to lead to rewards. When we take action we get the feeling we have power over our circumstances.
So: to make luck for yourself: take time to take Action, and plan some Artist Date time to nurture your inspiration and creativity.
Tomorrow: the letter “B”
Today I am working on a short oration, for the NSANZ Christchurch Chapter Orator's contest. The topic: "Luck: you make your own". It's got me thinking:
Is there some invisible force called "luck" passing back and forth across the countryside, alighting here and there on fortunate people, skirting the unfortunate and pouring down like waterfall on a blessed few?
It is reported that Napoleon Bonaparte, in selecting his Generals, required that they be lucky men.Whether he thought this was an innate quality, or something they earned, or made themselves I don't know.
Some people chase luck like they seek the magic bullet – hoping against hope, waiting for the day that their luck will turn. In the meantime, they anaethetise their pains, avoid feeling by filling their time with celebrity gossip, drink, drug, food, or TV.
Others seem to be effortlessly lucky - with opportunities abounding all around.
My instinct is that we all are surrounded by a myriad of opportunities, every day, and that the genius of luck is first, being able to see them, and second, able to take advantage of them. And that there are a number of things we can do to make luck more likely.
As I played around with speech structures, I thought about the factors that influence luck. Three things stood out: being Early, having Faith that you will find what you need and behaving accordingly, and the freedom from guilt that comes with knowing you are up to date and have done your best.
Having come up with and E (Early), F(Faith) and G(Guilt-free) I kept going, and along with my Flat White coffee, realised I could go all the way from A to Z, on the subject of luck, and how to find it.
Much has been made of the recession, with gloom and doom about the economy in newspapers and on tv. As an antidote to the pessimism, I offer you the beginning of my A to Z of luck. There will be 26 instalments (one for each letter of the alphabet), and of course, that begins with the letter A.
A is for Artist's Date, and for Action:
The concept of the Artist Date, comes from the work of Julia Cameron, and her program The Artist’s Way. (It is also called a Time Out in The Artist's Way at Work, written by Julia, and Mark Bryan). It's a weekly, planned time-out where you take time to do something that feeds your inner artist or explorer.
It may be taking time to visit antique shops, to walk along the beach and collect shells for a collage, it could be a trip to a movie. Or maybe time spent baking and icing a cake.
Especially in these times, we need to make time to explore our passions, to connect with and feed our creative spirit. Paul Hawken advises
“Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor”
A is also for Action – taking action on worries, making small changes, however imperfect, is more likely to lead to rewards. When we take action we get the feeling we have power over our circumstances.
So: to make luck for yourself: take time to take Action, and plan some Artist Date time to nurture your inspiration and creativity.
Tomorrow: the letter “B”
12 February 2008
Good stress is an oxymoron
At this month's Christchurch NSA* meeting our keynote speaker Dr Derek Roger told us that there is no such thing as a helpful level of stress. We may perform better under a little pressure, but pressure, and stress are different things.
It's a fine distinction
The distinction between stress and pressure makes me think about the novel, No Highway, written by a favourite author of mine, Neville Shute.
The plot revolved around stress fractures in airlines due to engine vibration, and anticipated scientific understanding of the problem. Someone who understands airplanes better than me can probably create an analogy about airplanes needing pressure to fly (or at least cabin pressure for the crews' and passengers' comfort) but how over time unnecessary stresses can build up.
* NSA is the National Speakers Association, not to be confused with the NRA, which is something else entirely. There are few parallels between the two - maybe both organisations are aware of the benefits of focussing on your goals? Of knowing what you're aiming for...
It's a fine distinction
The distinction between stress and pressure makes me think about the novel, No Highway, written by a favourite author of mine, Neville Shute.
The plot revolved around stress fractures in airlines due to engine vibration, and anticipated scientific understanding of the problem. Someone who understands airplanes better than me can probably create an analogy about airplanes needing pressure to fly (or at least cabin pressure for the crews' and passengers' comfort) but how over time unnecessary stresses can build up.
* NSA is the National Speakers Association, not to be confused with the NRA, which is something else entirely. There are few parallels between the two - maybe both organisations are aware of the benefits of focussing on your goals? Of knowing what you're aiming for...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)