Want to know something crazy? I’ve become an emotional ninja. It’s true! Do you know what an emotional ninja is? I don’t really know either, but it seems like the best way to describe what I’ve been practicing the past few months. Let me elaborate.
To set the stage, I recently went through a coach training program on delivering the Power Tools for Living workshop (which is awesome, BTW). Part of the program included flying to California for an in-person testing day where we were graded and assessed on our ability to facilitate the workshop and our knowledge of the tools.
Now, flashback to any type of presentation or assessment I’ve ever done. I was nervous and anxious and thought of all the ways that it would go wrong. I practiced what I would say as much as I could and basically hated the whole thing.
So, as I was in California talking to my own coach the day before the in-person assessment, she asked me if I was nervous. I said ,”Well, a little, but I’m sure I’ll be really nervous tomorrow.” Because up until now, that’s how it’s always gone.
“Actually, you don’t have to be nervous. You get to choose. If being nervous doesn’t help you, then you don’t have to be,” said the wise one I call my coach.
SAY WHAAAAT. This blew my mind. I completely forgot that I am responsible for how I feel and that I can actually choose to do something differently. Which is silly because that’s basically all that I focus on as a coach. Because it was such a natural thing for me to do, I forgot to ever challenge it.
In that moment I decided that being nervous wouldn’t help me – it rarely has.
The next day – test day, I noticed my body reacting in it’s usual ways, a little heart racing here, nervous jitters there, but I chose to not mentally follow it down the rabbit hole. I said “Ah, yes, my body is feeling a little nervous. That’s to be expected. I’m going to focus on having fun though.” And here’s the crazy part, I did. I had a lot of fun that day! Emotional ninja POW!
Since then I’ve been practicing it – the workshops I’m doing are a perfect place to remember this. It’s also neat because when I’m not nervous, it’s so much easier and more fun. I can be really present in front of the room and engage with attendees in a different way. But did I mention fun, because that’s the important part here.
Why am I sharing this (other than I’m a bit proud of doing the work to get here)? Because if I can do it, so can you.
This is a friendly reminder that you get to say what happens in your head. And you get to change it if it’s not working for you anymore. You do!
If your ninja skills are a bit rusty, I’d love to talk to you about it. If you’re a stealthy emotional ninja already, how does it help you?
All of us can take a look at the things we think are so natural. If you tell yourself, “That’s just the way it is,” and ask ourselves if that’s true or if it’s just something we haven’t thought of in a while.
NINJA!