Accountability: Personal Speech 2

Hello!

As the sprint rolls on into the final stages we're getting close to the end and I'm speeding up to see how much I can accomplish.

Recently I've had to plan many speeches for an upcoming life event. From my Toastmasters experiences thus far and general research into how to give a good speech I am happy with the first draft of my speech.

The way I'm approaching it is to go off 5-6 cue cards with an additional 2, one to open and one to close. Each will have basic bullet points for me to bounce off and build my speech when delivering it.

From my feedback at Toastmaster sessions I have a very conversational delivery and talkative style which I will attempt to harness and play up to when delivering my speech.

I have a basic narrative hook which I plan to use to integrate stories and anecdotes in my speech. This will give it good structure and narrative with a solid core theme.

In the past I've overwritten speeches wanting to deliver large monologues, overlong, overwrought and impossible to deliver well. So what I want to do is play to my conversational strengths and incorporate each of the points I want to get across in the simple narrative. Each will have a bulletpoint on the cue cards which I can decide to talk about or omit depending on what I want to say in the moment.

Am I happy with the first draft? Yes.

Will I need to redraft this speech, yes, I will need to refine it, but I'm happy with my progress so far.


Cheers for reading!
AT

Accountability: SPECIAL BONUS BOOK! Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

Hello!

As we're focusing on happiness and looking at what can improve happiness in daily life I've added an extra book to this sprint.

Entitled 'Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill', I can safely say that this book is one of the best I've read in a long time. Recommended to me by a colleague at work, this book acts as a handbook to improve happiness whilst at the same time deconstructing the concept with exercises.

 

Ricard is a Buddhist monk with a critical but positive outlook on the world. Using data and philosophy Ricard takes the reader through a journey slowly deconstructing concepts and attempting to understand what makes them good or bad.

Ricard has a positive outlook on the human condition and illustrates each point with Buddhist teachings. The stories are engaging and thought provoking, and although some may seem unlikely when you think about the altruistic sacrifices made by some monks, the points come across very well.

Deconstructing Ricard's deconstruction it seems one of the core secrets to happiness is critical discourse analysis on the self. One of the meditation tasks is to imagine that your current stresses and troubles are like an ocean sweeping you away. To beat this feeling of submergence and defeat you lift yourself up and take yourself above the sea, into a plane, watching the mosaic of waves crash below you. Repositioning yourself and distancing yourself to the big picture allows you to think clearly.

Whilst this is not wholly ground breaking, Ricard's writing style is wholly engaging, keeping you positive and putting you in a positive mindset whilst deeply enchanted.

I opted for the audio book read by Humphry Bower. The narration is a suitable choice as it's calming, well spoken and carries a certain weight to it. I highly recommend both the book and the audio. In fairness, anything that mentions Hobbes' state of nature is a win in my estimation!

Cheers for reading!
The zen AT

Accountability: Meditation

Hello!

As you may have seen there has been one story I've had difficulty with throughout this entire process.

Spiritual
Stories	Tasks
As an agile Timelord I want to feel calm and confident through meditation so that I am less stressed	I will download the Headspace meditation app and work through the 10 day programme

So why has this been such a difficult story to complete?

Finding time to complete mediation has been difficult, I have also had issues by falling asleep to each session of the Headspace app. I have turned to my team to ask what they think I should do about it.

A coworker has suggested that I read a book on meditation and pursue meditation in a different form, not using the app. One of her main gripes with it has been the apparent hypocrisy in later stages of Headspace. It's difficult to believe in a voice telling you to give up all your worldly possessions when they're asking you to subscribe to a service.

With this in mind I believe I'm going to call this task dead, but not the story. I need to find a better method of daily meditation I can actively engage in.

Why is meditation so important?

Physical Benefits of Meditation

With meditation, the physiology undergoes a change and every cell in the body is filled with more prana (energy). This results in joy, peace, enthusiasm as the level of prana in the body increases.

• On a physical level, meditation:
• Lowers high blood pressure
• Lowers the levels of blood lactate, reducing anxiety attacks
• Decreases any tension-related pain, such as, tension headaches, ulcers, insomnia, muscle and joint problems
• Increases serotonin production that improves mood and behavior
• Improves the immune system
• Increases the energy level, as you gain an inner source of energy
• Mental Benefits of Meditation

Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an Alpha state that promotes healing. The mind becomes fresh, delicate and beautiful. With regular practice of meditation:

• Anxiety decreases
• Emotional stability improves
• Creativity increases
• Happiness increases
• Intuition develops
• Gain clarity and peace of mind
• Problems become smaller
• Meditation sharpens the mind by gaining focus and expands through relaxation
• A sharp mind without expansion causes tension, anger and frustration
• An expanded consciousness without sharpness can lead to lack of action/progress
• The balance of a sharp mind and an expanded consciousness brings perfection

http://www.artofliving.org/meditation/meditation-for-you/benefits-of-meditation 

So with this information and the clear benefits of meditation outlined, what shall I do?

Hopefully I'll figure it out!

Thanks for reading!

AT

Accountability: The Wild Diet

Hello!

This sprint I've been reading 'The Wild Diet' by the Fat Burning Man, Abel James. I've listened to James' podcast; Fat Burning Man Show on and off for the past year or so. James is an engaging host with a friendly presentational style so it makes it an easy listen.

Sometimes his guests have made questionable remarks and he hasn't challenged them on their points, something he addressed recently and said he would be more proactive with in the future. It was following the show he had some anti-vaxxers on I gave the show a little rest and wasn't sure if I was to return to it, however Abel himself seems to be an intelligent guy who doesn't say anything crazy so I thought giving his book a go would be a good thing.

It has been.

Abel is an engaging writer, writing in a charismatic and simple way. He writes as if he's speaking to you having a few beers at a bar and not preaching. So what is Abel's plan?

 

Abel follows the paleo approach but instead of being hardcore in its execution Abel allows for real life to happen and encourages us to make smart choices when cooking and eating.

In the screen grab above you can see the typical plate make up of Abel's plan. Half of it should be vegetable based, quarter protein with the rest made up from natural sugars, starches and fats. Abel's main gripe is processed and 'unnatural' foods.

Most diets fail because they don't take into account real life. Of course you'll lose weight if you do the Beyonce thing of only drinking lemon water with cayenne pepper, but what happens when your friends invite you out for food? You'll put it all back on and then more. Abel's approach is much more simple.

His recipes all sound great and you can see why they would be healthy, because they're made from REAL food!

I'll likely refer back to this book in future posts, but so far I can endorse it and look forward to trying some of the recipes!

Thanks for reading!

AT

Accountability: Podcast Performance

Hello!

Continuing on my personal development journey I've ensured that I get quality audio content every day from a variety of competing sources. I've attempted to make sure that the podcasts I listen to vary in their approach and style.

I've done this to widen my knowledge but also to not get carried away by one kind of business guidance. For example, I do enjoy the Entreleadership podcast by Dave Ramsey's team, however the conservative Christian message clashes with my own personal views. That's not to say that I think Ramsey's team is wrong, but as I have no deep religious feeling I may gloss over slightly when the team or guests start quoting the bible. I do get the points and find the verse interpretations relevant, but I'm a heavy critic of the Christian right.

Entrepreneur on Fire's podcast is a refreshing change in tone to the Christian heavy message of Entreleadership, with a different guest on each day if one day doesn't click I can find another one quickly. What sometimes frustrates me about EOF is the type of guests presented. Some are fantastic entrepreneurs who have truly created something of value and interest, and then some are email and content marketers. I used to find the host grating sometimes but then it clicked, as he grew in his skill I didn't get so irritated.

QTD podcasts in comparison to the others podcasts last around 10 minutes each. Whilst other podcasts last around 30-40 minutes with interviews the QTD are quick and simple tips, expanding on doing one thing well. Like a TED talk each presents a simple concept and addresses them directly.

I'd recommend any of the above podcast series!

Thanks for reading!
AT

Accountability: Workweek Hustle

Hello!

The continuing adventures of my FitBit aren't particularly interesting, but are increasing in their output.

So far this sprint I have hit more badges in the gamified fitness sector!

This week I have earned the following badges!

What changes have I made to reach these goals?

Not too many, but enough to say that I don't just take the stairs when I'm at work.

I walk to and from work each weekday, approximately 2 miles each way and walk constantly through my one hour lunch break.

We hold a tournament each week at work on who can do the most steps during the work week, despite not having a standing desk or a treadmill desk to hold meetings I usually come within the top three of all those competing.


Thanks for reading!


AT