“Good morning, Team! I am excited to share that our client has just dropped an email asking for us to deliver the final presentation on the project,” texted the manager excitedly.

It is 8:00 am when you have just received the text from your manager. Sipping the hot coffee, you are in a fix. “Oh! One more presentation, that too on a Monday!”

You are overwhelmed by the weight of your own expectations and fear of what could go wrong, as your last encounter with the project brought back all the reasons for you to procrastinate. Surely so; while you ensured that you finalised the “scope of work” document on time, a crucial detail about the project objectives got unintentionally overlooked. The last-minute error resulted in major pushback from the client. 

Scrolling through your Instagram handle as the anxiety-driven procrastination starts rushing down your body, you left your half-drunk cup of coffee on the table, got ready and drove to the office. 

Relatable, right? We all have been in a similar situation where we self-doubtand deliberately dim thelights so we don’t outshine! The fear of failure does not stem from our incapabilities but our outlook on situations. Good news! God has given you the ability to shift your perspective by making constant efforts to control your thoughts and actions.

Situations do not define us, but our Perspectives do!

Reframe: Grab a pair of specs and reconceptualize the situation. How would you categorise the situation? Is it a Threat (negative), Opportunity (positive) or Neutral (uncertain)?

1. Threat: "I might make the same mistakes; I should not do it!"
2. Opportunity: "So what if I had made mistakes earlier?I could alwayslearn from my mistakes!"
3. Neutral: "I have to finalise the project; let’s see how things unfold."

Reflect:

1. Give yourself another minute!! Contemplate the situation without directly jumping to the conclusions!
2. Encourage meaningful reflection.Take out time to find out how it will impact your thoughts and actions!
3. "How should I behave?”
4. "What is in it for me?”
5. "Is this worth my time and effort?”

Positive Inner Monologues:

1. Engage in conversation with yourself and listen to your inner voice!Of course, intuitions exist for a reason!
2. Develop positive optimism
3. Cultivate gratitude towards yourself
4. Focus on Strengths
5. Embrace Change
6. Practice journaling. 

Instead of: “I messed up again; I am so stupid.”
Try: “I can handle this challenge!"

Instead of: “I am not good at this.”
Try: “So what? I will learn; I am capable enough!"

“Good morning, Team! I am excited to share that our client has just dropped an email asking for us to deliver the final presentation on the project,” texted the manager excitedly.

Self-acceptance is exhilarating. Accept yourself for who you are! God has given you wings, but only if you give up on what weighs you down!