As I checked in for my flight this morning, I couldn’t help thinking the following:
We check in for travel, we check in with our significant others, we check in at work, but how often do we check in with ourselves?
So, all I encourage you to do — starting today — is to ask yourself the following three questions:
What right now in my life do I need to STOP doing?
In a recent workshop on Leadership Presence, one of the participants shared that her manager often asked her if something was upsetting her.
She was mystified, because as far as she was concerned she had been fully engaged and positive in the meetings. When she asked why he thought that, he said she often looked upset. That was when she realized that her look of concentration and thoughtfulness was in fact being interpreted as consternation.
I was thinking about my internal world, my internal dialogue, and my relationship with myself, and I came up with a great name for all of that: my INNERVERSE!
To me, that term encapsulates all the elements of one’s inner state of being, including our headspace and the way we feel about ourselves.
So, how would you rate the current state of your INNERVERSE?
Are you in a good place?
Isn’t it fascinating that while so much goes right, our minds will still focus on the one thing that doesn’t? If you are anything like me, you chastise yourself endlessly when things don’t go perfectly.
That’s what happened to me recently, when a guest I had booked left the CNN set just just before his second interview. It turned out his phone was off, and he hadn’t seen my texts giving him his updated schedule.
It’s easy to understand why so many of us feel self-conscious at times. We’re concerned about making a good impression, and we want others to see us in a positive light, so we experience a heightened awareness of how we look, what we say, and what our body language is expressing. While it’s important to be mindful of the way you present yourself and the message it sends, being overly self-conscious can actually sabotage your efforts to make a strong impression,
Many of us labor mightily to be perfect — or at least to appear perfect to the outside world. I was recently interviewed on this very topic, and I thought it would be helpful to share my views on the quest for perfection. I would love your thoughts and feedback.
Is there such a thing as perfection?
I think the notion that “perfection” exists is a total myth.
One of my most memorable professors at the University of Cape Town’s drama school was the formidable Mavis Taylor. Like a character out of a Dickens novel, Professor Taylor seemed ancient to me at the time, with limp, long, blonde hair and an equally long face which showed little or no sign of emotion, ever.
Mavis spoke sparingly, and with a direct gaze that seemed to look right through you.
