Archive for December, 2008

Holiday Cheer

Author: rebecca

Dec 29

This holiday season was different than seasons past. It was fabulously different – challenging, inspirational, filled with love and cheer, thought-provoking. For the first holiday season of my life, I didn’t eat turkey and only missed it in the slightest. Granted, I certainly gorged on many of my (non-meat) favourites (although it resulted in something of a stomach ache for my relatively healthy state of being). I took a bit of a break from the tech world, turned off my brain, and enjoyed some earthy and enlightening activities. Now, I’m ready to get back into the swing of things – to eat an apple, write some code, and do a bit more yoga. I’ve had enough eggnog to last me until the next holiday season, and I’m looking forward to consuming a large amount of vegetables once again. Raw food, php, yoga, and inspiring books – this is the stuff that the next week of blissful holidays will contain!

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Inspirational Speaking

Author: rebecca

Dec 22

One of my dreams as of late (in the past year or two) has been to become some sort of inspirational speaker. Yet, I am besieged with a bit of confusion over what, exactly, makes me inspiring… and how would I go about inspiring other people to do… well, what exactly. The people who I find the most inspiring have “done something” – usually overcoming adversity and becoming a spokesperson for some great cause or are brilliantly amazing/spiritually aware individuals. When I think of those who inspire me, several names immediately comes to mind: Paramahansa Yogananda, Louise L. Hay, Dr. Brian Clement, The Boutenko Family, and Kris Carr (of Crazy Sexy Cancer – a fantasic documentary I saw over the weekend).

However, there is a plethora of lesser-known folks who are just as inspiring (if not more so) to me: Elizabethe Vicke, and my fantastic partner John Reel (although he’s certainly famous in some online spheres). Perhaps being an inspirational speaker is simply akin to being alive and living? A person can be inspiring in simple and thoughtful ways that may or may not make an international splash, but will certainly leave positive effects of their endeavors.

Perhaps I’m thinking about this too much… perhaps I simply need to get out there more, and start living my life more, rather than thinking of accomplishing x, y, z in the future? Rather than having the goal of becoming an inspirational speaker, I need to affirm to myself that I already am one! That which I desire is mine already, and as such, what am I really aspiring to be, other than a person living their life?

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Misusing Words

Author: rebecca

Dec 15

It’s been posted out to me that I often misuse the word “Open” – for example, I will asked if a store is “opened” rather than “open”, even though I consciously know that the latter is correct. It makes me wonder how we begin to butcher and misuse a word – where do these bad little habits begin?

I have never had an issue with the common misuses that I frequently notice in other people – affect vs. effect, their/they’re & your/you’re & its/it’s etc. and yet I cannot seem to conquer my “open” issue. Granted, my examples are usually only obvious in the written word – and stare out at me like a glaring red marker – but I believe they are still of the same beast.

I’m almost certain this is a social idiom – perhaps along the same lines as a person who will say “I seen” instead of “I saw” – which, incidentally, grates my nerves and makes me cringe! Yet, I also recognize this as having a social/familiar/dialect root.

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Ums and Ahs: Mindful Communication

Author: rebecca

Dec 8

The term mindfulness is usually tied to meditation as in the mindfulness of Buddhism, and yet it can be tied to every activity that human beings engage in. Being mindful is to be in the moment, being fully aware of the goings-on without rendering judgment – simply acknowledging and releasing without emotional involvement. I believe that the same principles of mindfulness can be applied to communication – being aware and in the moment of the words being spoken.

How many of us use those “Ums and Ahs” – and other “filler” words such as “but” and “and” as a reflex of communication without actually thinking about it? How would mindful communication improve the eloquence of our speech? This week, I’m going to work on expressing myself with mindfulness, as opposed to reflex.

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The Pressure of Planning

Author: rebecca

Dec 1

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the art of delivering instantaneous speeches. In retrospect, it was occurred to me that perhaps I have a certain amount of discomfort with being constrained by guidelines and having to stick to a “plan”. Granted, one of the first skills I acquired to accompany my instantaneous speeches was the art of instantaneous planning – hence the ability to develop a 5-7 minute speech with a mere 30 minutes (or less) of preparation time. Given the need to deliver on the spot, I will quickly formulate the following in my head:

  1. Quirky opening
  2. Related Topic 1
  3. Related Topic 2
  4. Related Topic 3
  5. Some sort of conclusion

The problem with my strategy is that I often start off with a bang and fizzle out at the end because I haven’t put enough thought into wrapping things out.

Despite the fact that I have somewhat of an aversion to planning, it occurs to me that I would be more successful if I did, somewhat – given the opportunity, of course. In other words, having more than a few minutes notice in delivering a presentation, I will try to lay out the above structure and actually jot down a few snappy lines to wrap things up with. Rather than fizzling out in my concluding paragraphs, perhaps I can at least pop like a balloon!

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