overcoming fear

Dear Friends,

Considering the difficult time many people have been experiencing when it comes to finding stable employment, keeping food on the table , it is no surprise that many of us are experiencing fear over our circumstances and our future. Fear can be an internal message alerting us to an actual or probable threat. Fear can also be an anxiety about things or situations that haven't happened yet and may be unlikely to happen at all. In this news-driven world we live in, we are constantly bombarded with news and images of violence and disaster occurring around the globe. It is no wonder that fear has become a frequent experience for many of us. The unfortunate thing is that our wrestling with fear may prevent us from living in the present and experiencing life's day-to-day joys.

When friends complain of feeling overwhelmed with fear(s), I introduce them to a simple process to help them release any fear(s) so they can focus on living in the moment. To begin, I tell them to go to a calm spot where they can sit quietly, breathe deeply and think about what is making them feel fearful. I ask them to examine their fear(s). Is it the fear of losing a job, not being able to pay bills, not able to complete targets, being thrown out of their home or of someone harming them? Then I ask them to name their fear(s) out loud. By identifying your fears, you can actually begin to face them.

The next step involves classifying your fear(s) and this is really quite simple. Ask yourself if the thing you fear has actually happened or if you are projecting something you are afraid could happen. Next ask yourself how realistic that fear is. The purpose of this exercise is to remind yourself of the many times your fears haven't come to be, but have simply resided in your psyche, haunting you like the monsters that were under your bed or in your closet when you were a child.

It is noticing what we have right now, in this very moment that is the primary focus of this process. Take a look at the room around you, the chair you are sitting in. Think about the people who are present in your life. Take time to count your blessings and express your gratitude for this very moment. Know that the fearful things that may loom in some hypothetical future are just that, fearful things that haven't happened yet and may never happen at all.

Friends, a big part of this exercise is to learn to stay in the present and be grateful for the things we are enjoying right now. This is actually a very good remedy to stave off fear of hypothetical future situations. The next time you have one of those moments when fear overtakes you, I hope you'll follow my suggestions to look at what is making your fearful, consider it and then let it go so that you can focus on what is really important -- making the most of your day

The spiritual seminar on Jan 22nd

Dear Friends,

Greetings.

Today's seminar on "Spiritual solutions for material problems and work life balance" by Bala Gaura Krishna Das and Krishnaraj in Hotel Savera was a grand success.

Both the facilitators excelled in their role and the participants were thrilled by their presentations.

More than 20 people participated in the seminar. The arrangement in Hotel Savera including the

Sathvik food was superb. The feedback received from the participants was excellent.

Both the facilitators added value to Vision Unlimited.

The next program will be in Feb 2011 meant for Placement Officers of the colleges.

I am already excited about it.

Looking forward to your support.

with regards.

Bala

Fear of failure

Dear Friends, I recently had a consultation with a young man who was struggling with a fear of failure. His wife was frustrated with him as he was always starting new projects and ventures but never seeing them through, because once he started, he became paralyzed with fear that he would fail. I could sympathize with this anxiety about failure. In my experience, it is quite common to be worried about failure and the idea of disappointing others, so it helps to address it. I have another friend named Rabi, who has developed a great secret of mastering failure. Rabi thinks it is impossible to fail. "You can't even call it bad decision-making. You make a decision, evaluate it based on what happens, and then make another decision based on the results. If something doesn't work out, you learn as much as you can from it and either find a better way to do it or do something else. That is all you can do." In Rabi's theory, there are two ways to proceed in the face of failure. Either allow the negative results of your decisions (your "failures") to knock you down and keep you from trying anything new, or you begin to count your failures as successes. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense to look at the plans that don't work as a positive, because they usually direct us off in another direction. And there is always the possibility that the new direction will provide the results we are seeking. When I shared Rabi’s wisdom with my young client and his wife, he was skeptical but agreed to try sticking to a path long enough to find out if it would work for him or not. I heard from his wife later that he had taken the advice to heart and followed through on his next business venture. That one failed, but the circumstances around that initial failure led to his meeting a person who had the answer he needed to help him to succeed. She reported that he was now in a new business venture and he was excited, focused and happy that he had stuck with advice. Behind every failure is the potential for success, and if we give up too soon, we may never know what wonderful thing we could have accomplished. Friends, there is a story involving Edison, which illustrates this point perfectly. At one point Thomas Edison was supposedly asked by a reporter how it felt to have experienced 1,000 failures in inventing his light bulb, and the inventor allegedly replied, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb." Can you imagine what life might be like if Edison had given up on the first try?

Training and development today

Corporate training is seldom focused on the motivational alone. While that was true 20-30 years ago, most corporate training and development now focuses on performance improvement. The key to improving performance is a systematic approach to identifying and solving the (performance) problem. Of course, training is ONE of the soutions. However, the breadth of skills needed including not only stand-up training but instructional design, student mateials development (including elearning development) learning project management, change management, change project management, working with subject experts and working with sponsors. This is a great platform of experience to the larger corporate T&D demand (the one that's a million times larger than motivational speaking). Now, I'm not saying that motivational speaking on topics like interpersonal communications, time management and leadership are unimportant. They are not. They are very important. However, they have a limited perspective in the larger organizational needs which include constant change, adaptation to technology, identifying process issues and reworking the work process, merger, acquisitions, downsizing, etc, etc. Corporate Learning and Development (L&D) is more about the corporate learning process than individual needs (though the individual needs are a factor).

next announcement

Vision unlimited's one day seminar on Spiritual solution to material problems and work life balance on Jan 22nd in Hotel Savera by two international repute spiritual scholars is getting a good response. How about your nomination? Call 9840027810

Sleep pattern

Dear Friends,

Many of us suffer from sleep deprivation. Shifting work schedules, stress, having had extra guests in the house over the recent holidays can all affect your sleep patterns and leave you feeling tired and out of sorts. Of course, these problems can happen at any time of the year, but there are things you can do to help improve your sleep even when circumstances aren't optimal.

Your own personal sleep patterns will affect your ability to respond to disruptions or make changes; some people are night owls, while others may be early risers. Some can get by on six hours of sleep and others may need nine hours. If your work schedule doesn't fit your sleep pattern, your health and temperament can suffer. If you need to make an adjustment, do so gradually. You just need to reset you body's inner sleep clock by adjusting your bedtime in 30-minute increments every few days until you are fully on a new schedule.

If you have trouble falling sleep, regardless of any schedule changes, there are steps you can take to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Avoiding alcohol or stimulants like caffeine or chocolate for at least several hours before bedtime is an important first step in getting to sleep. The same goes for exercising around your bedtime, which also energizes the body and mind, which is the last thing you need if you are trying to drop off into peaceful slumber.

Did you ever wonder why so many people love to sleep in motel rooms where they feel free to lower the temperature and pile on the blankets? There's a very good reason for this. Sleeping in a hot room or using electric blankets can cause disrupted sleep because the body requires a cooler core temperature as you fall asleep in order to promote deep sleep. If you've ever struggled to fall asleep on a hot summer night without air conditioning you will know what I am talking about.

Power naps are another solution for boosting energy levels, especially on those days when you didn't get enough sleep. A 20-minute catnap during your lunch hour (provided you have a quite place to close your eyes) or before late afternoon can make all the difference and provide you more energy and alertness than a cup of coffee or tea. And don't miss out on the opportunity to sleep in on your days off or on weekends so that you can catch up on rest. It is fun to be able to ignore the alarm clock and have a bit of a lounge every now and then.

I hope these sleep tips will help you get sound sleep no matter what your day brings. Rest is so important to your state of mind and the better rested you are, the better you can cope with things that come your way.