Pimp My Ride

Dhalia has her own SMART thanks Matt, Rachel, Sam and Ida. She's giving me the I Love You eyes.

Personal Practice Week 7 of 10: Social Anxiety

This week I realized that I get social anxiety in anticipation of being in a large group of people who want to know about my personal and professional life. In other words, family.

Self-Awareness

There were many social events packed into this past weekend and I recognized that I was starting to get anxiety about being "on" for all of them. Anxiety is the advance-concern of what could happen as opposed to being in the moment and experiencing what is really happening.

Self-Regulation

Recognizing that I was developing anxiety, I used some NLP techniques to identify the mental and physical reaction I was having to my concerns. As a result I was able to release the anxiety and prepare myself for components of the experience instead of feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of it all. It came down to me thinking that I have to be "on" for every interaction. In reality, I could be receptive and not reactive.
 

Motivation

My motivation was that I wanted to get past this feeling that I get before socializing with people who I think are expecting me to engage in details about my life that are difficult to summarize in a 10-minute social interaction. I end up shutting down and running away into a quiet corner. This is an old behavior I want to change. 

Empathy 

I think that part of the anxiety is that in these social interactions I have a tremendous amount of empathy for people and I become too sensitive to all the emotions in the scene. So, this time I tried to relax and not worry about what everyone was thinking and feeling. 

Social Skill

Ultimately, I did a better job of releasing the anxiety than I have in the past. However, I also did take a numerous naps each day to unwind and perhaps hide. I feel very conflicted that I missed the final party of the weekend because I preferred to stay with just one person and not join in the social scene. I think it hurt people's feelings and that gets me into the anxiety-empathy loop. Instead I want to have compassion for myself and that I need lots of alone time.

Personal Practice Week 6 of 10

This week I attended the San Francisco Make a Wish Foundation's Batkid wish come true event. 

Self-Awareness

Although I attended this event with my Public Relations and Promotions "hat on" I was still moved by the beauty of the gesture. 

Self-Regulation

Actually, my regulation was too high in that I felt like crying but would not let myself cry.
 

Motivation

I was motivated to see this as a spectacle for pure PR purposes but actually it was motivating to come together as a community.

Empathy 

There was a very drunk guy in the crowd making fun of the entire event. But then he said to his friends, "my brother died from Lukemia" and then I understood that he was working through emotions and not just being a heckler. 

Social Skill

Actually, I demonstrated no social skill in attending this event. I was alone and silent. I suppose in a huge crowd I just wanted to be safe and quiet.