Hold a Rehearsal

Are you feeling overwhelmed, stuck, and unable to move forward?  Does the next step you need to take seem too daunting? How do you get past those feelings so you can move forward?

Why are you stuck?

First some introspection is required to determine why you are stuck.  You will see that introspection is required to solve a lot of the problems discussed in this blog, so you’ll eventually get good at it.

Do you have too much to do, and don’t know how to start?  You’ll need to prioritize.  A blog post will be coming soon on that.

Are you afraid of failure?  Or Success? See the previous posts.

Do you lack the skills to do the task?  You’ll need to do some research, and maybe take a course.

Are you intimidated by the task?  This is similar to lacking the skills, but in this case you only think you lack the skills because you haven’t done the task enough to feel comfortable.  This is what we are going to discuss in this post.

An Example and a Solution

For me I used to get stuck whenever I needed to call a business or someone I didn’t know for help with something. It wasn’t because I lacked communication skills but more a fear of how the other person would respond to my request.

Here’s how to deal with the problem:

1) Research the person or business you need to call.  Learn as much as you can so they are no longer an unknown entity to you.  Maybe you can find someone you know who has done business with them before, talk to them and see how the interaction went.

2) Rehearse the conversation mentally – visualize yourself having a successful interaction.

3) Rehearse the conversation with a friend who will role play the other person.

4) As a warm-up call anyone you don’t know and ask for something.  Call a business and ask what hours they are open or if they have a particular item in stock.  Call a library reference desk and ask a question.  For a real challenge call a radio ask the expert show and ask a question on the air.

5) Now that you have completely prepared yourself by research and rehearsal, get a glass of water in case your mouth gets dry, sit down with the phone, DON’T  THINK  ABOUT  IT AND  MAKE  THE  CALL.  I don’t mean to shout, but really if you think about it now you have a good chance of talking yourself out of it.

Today’s Action Item: Research, Rehearse then Just Do It.