minor accomplishments

Just a few days ago I found myself blaming my other self for not being able to speak comfortably in front of a group of people when I had been in front of people for so long. The more I blamed myself, the more anxious I felt, and the more nervous I got. It took a good friend of mine to remind me that I had always been able to perform under pressure and nothing bad has ever happened. Rather than taking those accomplishments into consideration, I found myself making excuses on how that situation was easier and this situation is different. After my speech today I finally realized that this situation is not different and need to give myself more credit than I usually do. After a sigh of relief, a whole of bunch of weight was lifted off my shoulders and I realized that I was one step closer to getting over my fear of public speaking. Suddenly I came to see how all the stress I put myself under the last few days was unneccesary and gave myself more credit for the things I had been able to accomplish for now. 

A lot of people nowadays, myself included, tend to focus on major goals and often define failure based on not reaching those goals. We blame ourselves for not being able to do certain things in an unrealistic amount of time or under conditions we cannot control. Of course this is natural because we were always taught to "look at the bigger picture" and that you are not successful until you "make it big." And that's fine because we all want to be successful and make it big one day. But sometimes we may forget that we can't just take one big leap to reach our final destination. Success is a path that requires many strenous steps and each and every step is as important as the one before it. In order to make our dreams more realistic, we need to start making little goals and working towards achieving those goals in efforts to reach our final destination. Remember that every minor accomplishment is a credible accomplishment no matter how "minor" it seems. Value every effort that you put into achieving your current status and work even harder to get where you want to be.

My final goal is to become a health care educator. Although I have not mastered the art of public speaking, I will continue to practice and value every chance I get and not blame myself if I stumble and fall along the way. I will learn how to value every minor accomplishment that steers me along the right path to becoming an educator and this starts by me learning how to love myself...
 

battle with oneself

Although I appear to be calm and careless, there is a fear that I have not been able to let go of - public speaking. After being in front of people for so many years, I am still not able to let this fear go. I'm probably not the only one but it is a constant battle with oneself. In preparation for my speech tomorrow, I found some information that may be helpful for anyone going through the same unnecessary stress.

11 Hidden Causes Of Public Speaking Stress

1. Thinking that public speaking is inherently stressful (it's not).
2. Thinking you need to be brilliant or perfect to succeed (you don't).
3. Trying to impart too much information or cover too many points in a short presentation.
4. Having the wrong purpose in mind (to get rather than to give/contribute).
5. Trying to please everyone (this is unrealistic).
6. Trying to emulate other speakers (very difficult) rather than simply being yourself (very easy).
7. Failing to be personally revealing and humble.
8. Being fearful of potential negative outcomes (they almost never occur and even when they do, you can use them to your advantage).
9. Trying to control the wrong things (e.g., the behavior of your audience).
10. Spending too much time overpreparing (instead of developing confidence and trust in your natural ability to succeed).
11. Thinking your audience will be as critical of your performance as you might be.

10 Key Principles To Always Keep In Mind

#1---Speaking in Public is NOT Inherently Stressful

#2---You Don't Have to be Brilliant or Perfect to Succeed
#3---All You Need is Two or Three Main Points
#4---You also Need a Purpose That is Right for the Task
#5---The Best Way to Succeed is NOT to Consider Yourself a Public Speaker!
#6---Humility and Humor Can Go a Long Way
#7---When You Speak in Public, Nothing "Bad" Can Ever Happen!
#8---You Don't Have to Control the Behavior of Your Audience
#9---In General, the More You Prepare, the Worse You Will Do
#10--Your Audience Truly Wants You to Succeed

Love my Brownies!!!

Black Bean Brownies Recipe

Servings: 9  

Amount per serving:  
85 Calories 
1g fat 
16g carbohydrates 
4g protein (without optional sugar)

 

Ingredients:

• 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 whole bananas
• ⅓ cup agave nectar (can substitute honey)
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup raw sugar (optional)
• ¼ cup instant oats

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease an 8x8" pan and set aside.
Combine all ingredients, except oats, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scrapping sides as needed.
Stir in the oats and pour batter into the pan.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the brownies to cool before slicing. 

Chef's Note: if you find these brownies are too soft or too fudgey, add another 1/4 cup oats or flour.

____

From HappyNutritionist.com

Black Beans are a wonderful source of dietary fiber which is recommended to naturally lower cholesterol and maintain regularity of the gastrointestinal tract. The high fiber content also prevents blood sugar levels from skyrocketing after meals, making them a wise choice diabetics and hypoglycemics. When Black Beans are prepared with whole grains such as barley or wild rice, the Black Beans provide a virtually fat-free, high quality source of protein. Recent research also shows that Black Beans are rich in antioxidants as well. Antioxidants destroy free radicals, and when eaten regularly, have been shown to offer protection against heart disease, cancer and aging.

Researchers from Michigan State University tested the antioxidant activity of flavonoids found in the skin of 12 common varieties of dry beans. The research was published in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. Black Beans crossed the finish line in first place having more antioxidant activity, gram for gram, than other beans, followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans, in that order. In general, darker colored seed coats were associated with higher levels of flavonoids, and therefore higher antioxidant activity, says lead investigator Clifford W. Beninger, Ph.D., a research associate at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. 

 

"Black beans are really loaded with antioxidant compounds. We didn't know they were that potent until now," says Beninger, formerly a researcher with the USDA's Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit, located at Michigan State University in East Lansing, where he worked on the project under the leadership of co-author George L. Hosfield, Ph.D., a geneticist who recently retired from the USDA. The study found that one class of compounds in particular, anthocyanins, were the most active antioxidants in the beans. Based on a previously published study of the anthocyanin content of black beans, Beninger found that the levels of anthocyanins per 100 gm serving size of black beans was about 10 times the amount of overall antioxidants in an equivalent serving size of oranges and similar to the amount found in an equivalent serving size of grapes, apples and cranberries. 

 

Life is a puzzle

Stumbled across this page~

Learn to:
Love as you wish to be loved.
Listen as you would appreciate being heard.
Say what you yearn to hear.
Support as you would like to be supported.
Give to the world as you hope to receive.
Live as you want to be remembered.

-Jinxi Boo


Life is a puzzle - what does yours say?