Do You Dare To Be Real?

“Are you going to be FRIGHTENED or are you going to be BRAVE?” — Gareth Malone

Surprise!

Once a year, at Christmas, we traditionally get together and sing in community with one another. Even people who believe that they cannot sing seem to enjoy this annual ritual. But what happens when you spring a SURPRISE on a group of people who work together and ask them to learn and perform a song together?

This year I have enjoyed working alongside Mark De Lisser a vocal coach who appears on programmes such as The Voice and The Naked Choir

We have linked up to work with senior executives and corporations to give them an experience of The Power of Participation and The Value of Voice by rehearsing and singing together live on stage

As a mediator, I help people to manage situations where they are experiencing CHANGE, CHALLENGE and CRISIS. When you surprise a group of people and tell them that they are not only going to learn to sing but to perform together many of them experience feelings of CONFLICT. Some even experience dread and fear because they BELIEVE that they cannot sing or are somehow going to embarrass themselves.

Love v Fear

Robert Fulgham who wrote “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” apparently asked two groups of people the same question

“How many of you can sing and dance?”

The first group he asked was a class in kindergarten. They ALL said, “Yes!” “Me!” and jumped up and down in excitement

The second group who were adults had a totally different response. They ALL said “Not me!” “I can’t sing!”

The difference is BELIEF and ATTITUDE and that’s the same with any challenge that you face.

If you CHOOSE FEAR then your attitude will be “I’m up against some big, bad monster that I probably won’t be able to beat”

If you CHOOSE LOVE then your attitude will be “This could be fun. I’ll have a go! What’s the worst that can happen?”

Say “Yes”

In her book “Year of Yes” Shonda Rhimes tells how despite being Hollywood’s most successful woman TV executive, she always said “No” to invitations that threatened to pull her out of her comfort zone. But challenged by her sister’s words “You never say yes to anything”, she committed, for one year, to say YES

For Shonda saying “Yes” to things that really scared her transformed her from someone who was literally sleep walking through life to being truly ALIVE and a totally different person “ More honest, both with myself and everyone else in my life. More adventurous. More open. Braver. Kinder – to others and to myself”

Shine

Sometimes your conflict is YOU. In fact, a lot of times your conflict is you – your own resistance and lack of faith in yourself.

Saying, “Yes” to things that challenge you could be your opportunity to stand up and refuse to let negative forces outweigh the positive -To have faith in yourself. To be what you’ve always been and SHINE as bright as you can.

It is more important than ever that each of us accepts responsibility for the world we live in, by individually manifesting the BEST we possibly can in every decision and action we take, and with every thought we hold in our minds.

Dare To Be Real

My challenge to you as this year draws to a close is to be BRAVE!

Accept the challenges that life throws at you with gratitude and come ALIVE

Dare to be REAL

Be your BEST SELF whatever you have to deal with

And above all let your SOUL SING

Like those kindergarten children who were asked if they could sing and dance, find your lost child and be VULNERABLE TO JOY. Let that laughter bubble out, thumb your nose at the fear, and shine with all your heart.

You can do it!

“I know what I really want for Christmas. I want my childhood back. I know it doesn’t make sense, but since when is Christmas about sense, anyway? It is about a child, of long ago and far away, and it is about the child of now. In you and me. Waiting behind the door of our hearts for something wonderful to happen. A child who is impractical, unrealistic, simpleminded and terribly vulnerable to joy.” — Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Wishing you a Happy and Peaceful holiday.

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