The Importance of Practise (WT756)

The Importance of Practise (WT756)

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by Shirley Dalton | 20 Dec, 2024 | Blog, Mindset, Uncategorized

WT 756 The importance of practise

This week I met with one of my business advisors.

We were discussing some potential new services I can offer.

I needed to get the wording right so that it flowed when I described what was included and how it works.

“Can we practise please?” I asked.

He sighed, thinking I was asking to book another time.

We had time left in our appointment, so he was relieved when I said, “Now, can we practise now please?”

We role played.

I made my offer.

He gave feedback.

I learned and was able to improve.

Practising is so important.

The reason is because when you practise you grow your muscle memory.

According to CSP Global:

“Muscle memory refers to the ability of our muscles to perform specific tasks more efficiently after repeated practise.

Contrary to what the term might suggest, muscle memory doesn’t reside in the muscles themselves but is rooted in the brain’s neural circuitry. When we practise a movement repeatedly, our brain encodes this information, creating neural pathways between the central nervous system and muscle cells that make the action easier to perform over time.

This process involves both neurological and physiological adaptations, allowing movements to become more automatic and require less conscious effort. Muscle memory is crucial for a wide range of activities, from everyday tasks like typing to complex athletic manoeuvres.”

If you practise, you can reduce the amount of anxiety you might have about your expected performance because your muscle memory will take over when your conscious mind goes to spaghetti.

In other words, your unconscious mind will show up and perform for you.

When I’m coaching clients I often encourage them to practise with me. They may feel uncomfortable at first, however practising having that difficult conversation or giving a presentation to me is far less risky than not practising and making a botch of it when it matters.

Remember last week’s thought – “We’re just practising” for the real show.

Think about some things on your To Do List that could benefit from practise.

Now that you know the importance of practising and thickening that myelin sheath on your neurons, are you more likely to practise?  I hope so.

As Les Brown says, “You don’t have to be great to get started but you do have to get started to be great”, well, part of getting started is to practise.

With the holidays coming up, you’ve got time.

What will you focus on?

And speaking of holidays, Ross and I wish you a fabulous festive season. Thank you for being part of our community. We appreciate you.

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

It Doesn’t Matter, We’re Just Practising (WT755)

It Doesn’t Matter, We’re Just Practising (WT755)

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by Shirley Dalton | 13 Dec, 2024 | Blog, Mindset

WT 755 It doesn't matter we are just practicing

Yesterday I commenced with a group of leaders to provide a series of inhouse leadership training for Community Therapy. Big shout out to Scott Lynch and Emily Steel for organising the training and for having such a “dream team”.

Because it was a new group to me and I hadn’t been to the venue before, I was feeling a bit nervous.

As I prepared, I remembered a mantra I’d learned from Benjamin J Harvey at Authentic Education.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re just practising.”

What this means is that sometimes we tie ourselves up in knots thinking that “we have to get it right”.

“This is it. If I make a mistake, it’s the worst thing ever”.

This type of thinking actually inhibits our performance. It puts us in the primal state of fight, flight or freeze.

When we’re in that state, we can’t think straight, let alone perform at our best.

So, this little mindset hack helps to take the pressure off.

As soon as you remind yourself that the next gig is the “real gig” and “this one is a practice for the next gig”, you’ll find you relax and of course, as a result perform better.

You can use this mantra for any situation where you are feeling the pressure.

Because you’re practising, you’re not concerned about getting it right. You’re practising. You’re improving.

By default, your performance or outcome will be achieved at a higher standard.

I’m curious, in what situations can you see yourself making use of the mantra?

Reply and let me know.

Keep in mind, (pardon the pun) that mindset is everything and you need to do whatever you can to ensure you manage your mindset.

Regards Shirley

P.S.  Early Bird Discount ends 31st December for the next public Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience. Held over 4 Tuesdays in February 2025.  Click on the link for more information:

https://shirleydalton.com/leading-yourself-leading-others-may2020/

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

When We’re Ready (WT754)

When We’re Ready (WT754)

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by Shirley Dalton | 6 Dec, 2024 | Blog, Business

WT 754 When we are ready

This week I was discussing strategy with Mark See, a client turned colleague/friend (as most of my clients do).

In the 10-15 years that Mark and I have known each other, Mark has been very fortunate to have experienced working for a visionary entrepreneur who sold his business to a big corporation which became even bigger.

Mark gets what it means to be strategic.

He’s also forthright with his opinion, so you can imagine the response he got when he told his new corporate leaders that he would take action on a project “When we’re ready”.

He wasn’t resisting.

He wasn’t being petulant or rebellious.

He was actually being strategic.

As Mark says, “When you’re about to execute on a strategy, you can’t go too early and you can’t go too late.”

It’s a bit like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  You have to wait until the time is “just right”, which in Mark’s words are “When we’re ready”.

Being ready means having done the research. It means having all the required resources. It means having the team trained and knowing what they have to do when.

There are so many moving parts to implement new business strategies that it absolutely makes sense to make sure you make your move when you’re ready.

I’m curious. What’s your take on this week’s discussion.

What’s your understanding of strategy and timing?

Are you confident enough to stand your ground and say, “We’ll take action, when we’re ready”.

Thanks Mark for such a lively discussion and for the inspiration for this week’s thought.

It came at the exact right time and I was ready. Grin.

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Make It Into A Game (WT753)

Make It Into A Game (WT753)

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by Shirley Dalton | 29 Nov, 2024 | Blog, Business

WT 753 Make it into a game

When I first started my business, I used to have a game with myself, where I challenged myself to give out two business cards to people who didn’t know me or didn’t know what I did, each and every day.

That was in the days of physical business cards.

I realised I haven’t played a game for a long time, so I decided to make up a new game.

This game is called “Call To Action” or “CTA”.

The rules are, that I must complete at least two calls to action each day.

My game was inspired by Cham Tang, who encouraged us to get into some sort of action to propel our marketing and grow our businesses.

“Action. Action. Chop, Chop”, he would say.

A Call to Action doesn’t mean that you’re asking somebody to buy from you, although that could be a call to action.

Other calls to action could include:

  1. Inviting someone to join my Weekly Thoughts list
  2. Requesting a testimonial
  3. Inviting people to like my social posts.

It doesn’t matter what the CTA is, what matters is that every day I must ask.

To keep myself accountable I record the requests because the more calls to action you do, the more successful you’re going to be in whatever it is that you want.

Nothing happens without action.

So, my call to action today is to invite you to reply and tell me about the game you can play for yourself. If it will help, join in the CTA game.

Remember, it’s much more fun and easier to take action when you make it into a game.

P.S.  Mark your calendar.  Our next Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience will be held in February 2025.  Tuesdays 4, 11, 18, 25.  Early Bird Discount ends 31st December.

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Beware The Resting B-Face (WT752)

Beware The Resting B-Face (WT752)

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by Shirley Dalton | 22 Nov, 2024 | Blog, Communication Skills

WT 752 Beware the resting bitch face

Last week I attended a 6 day training course, “Present Like a Pro” with Authentic Education.

It was an amazing course, truly transforming and I can’t wait to put what I learned into action.

One of the interesting topics that came up was to beware the resting B-face.

I’m assuming you know what “B” stands for. Rhymes with “itch”.

The presenter, Benjamin J. Harvey, explained that over the years our facial muscles learn to rest in the same places over time and that there are only 7 universal facial expressions and only one of these is what we might deem “positive” in emotion.

This one is the “happy” one.

The others include:

  1. Angry
  2. Surprise
  3. Sad
  4. Fear
  5. Disgust
  6. Contempt

This was relevant to our training because we were practising presentations and it was a request for audience members to be aware of the resting face they may be giving.

As an example, over the years my facial muscles have learned to frown when I’m listening and processing important information from others.  My face screws up and can look quite menacing.

As a result, I always make a point of explaining this to new clients so they don’t take offence or react to my frown.

As a presenter, I’m always looking for clues of engagement or otherwise from the facial expressions of audience members.

Sometimes there can be what looks like a resting B-face or a face that appears to be sitting in judgement. 

I’ve had to learn not to project my insecurities onto someone’s facial expression.  Remember “automatic listening” by Loretta Malandro.

I’m sharing this with you because I thought it was relevant for you to know when you are either presenting to an audience or sitting in the audience.

If you’re in the audience, please spare a thought for the presenter and put a smile on your face. This will encourage your presenter to relax and give you their best presentation.

If you’re the presenter, do your best not to make up a story based on how someone is looking.

Over to you, are you aware of where your facial muscles tend to land?

If not, ask a colleague or family member. They’ll tell you.

Next time, you’re in the audience, remember to consciously choose your facial expression.

A smile goes a long way.

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

It’s Okay to Say “But” (WT751)

It’s Okay to Say “But” (WT751)

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by Shirley Dalton | 15 Nov, 2024 | Blog, Communication Skills

WT 751 It's okay to say but

If you’ve done any training with me, you’ll know that we teach you not to use the word “but” because it negates everything that goes before it.

For example, you wouldn’t say to your staff member, “I really like the work you’re doing, but I’d like you to improve here”. All they will hear is “I’d like you to improve”.

Instead of “but” use “and”.

“I really like the work you’re doing and I’d like you to improve here.”

Now, there is an exception.

The one time that it is okay and encouraged to say “but” is when you’ve just complained about something or you’ve been ungrateful about something.

In this instance, you can correct the complaint, with what Rhonda Byrne, author of “The Secret” and “The Magic” calls the Magic Lifeline.

As soon as you become aware you have been ungrateful or have complained, simply say, “But, I have to say, I’m truly grateful for <fill in the blank>”.

In this instance you are negating the thing that you’ve being complaining about, or that you’re being negative about.

Byrne explains in “The Magic” that gratitude is the magic and provides 28 days of activities to help us enjoy more magic in our lives. I highly recommend you get the book and go through the activities. It’s especially powerful if you do it with a group to keep you accountable.

So, to recap, the one and only time it’s okay to say “but” is when you use it to cancel out a negative comment or complaint.

Give it a go this week.  It’s a good opportunity to notice how much you might be complaining or not showing gratitude.

And with that, thank you for being part of my community and reading the thought each week. It inspires me to keep going.

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

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