Speaking in public can inspire fear and overpowering nerves in many of us. However, as with most things, it depends how you think about it.
In March 2021, Kurt had the experience of speaking at Anarchapulco, an event for peaceful anarchists in Acapulco, Guerrero. He analyzed his own thought patterns and tried out advice from trusted friends to see what helped reduce the nerves and feel confident.
Firstly, there is this formula “Thoughts plus feelings equal emotions”. Our internal experiences aren’t fully formed until we start to interpret them. “Nerves” are almost identical to “excitement” - perhaps a little shaking, sweaty palms, increased heart rate, butterflies in the stomach. When we think “I am very excited right now,” we suddenly see our internal events very differently.
There is the idea of eustress or positive stress. We might feel nervous about an event, sending us a message about our lack of preparation. One key mistake is to not prepare, to avoid the subject, because we don’t even want to think about it… When we are more prepared, we are naturally calme.
Another idea is about faith - in oneself or one’s unconscious mind, in God, in the Universe, or whatever it is that helps you feel surrender, to acknowledge that some elements of the experience are out of your control and that might even be a good thing. If you look through your personal history you’ll probably notice that most or all of the time, you have gotten through things, either by facing them alone, or with friends, or whatever other resources come up. So, you probably will again.
We might try imagining speaking to a large audience of thousands of people, or perhaps speaking to a bunch of empty seats, to confront the fear “What if nobody shows up?” Either way we find that these concerns aren’t much of a problem. Speaking to a large crowd, we notice that the experience is less intimate and therefore less intimidating. Speaking to an empty room, there’s nobody there to worry about, so we can simply enjoy ourselves.
Finally, we might consider, what is the alternative here? If we’ve already agreed to speak or perform, are we going to run and hide, disappoint our friends and colleagues and leave them with a blank spot where we should be speaking? Of course we don’t want to do that to our friends. So we make the decision to face the crowd, first with boldness, and then with confidence.
We might have the will to change our lives, to get into shape or to purify our minds and spirit through meditation. Yet when we think about going to the gym and looking awkward on a Smith machine, we get uncomfortable. Looking at the meditation cushion or yoga mat, suddenly taking that first step seems so daunting.
Also important is the concept of self. If we don't see ourselves as fit, healthy people, as relaxed, focused individuals, we may prefer inaction.
Perhaps we don't have to do it all at once. In Atomic Habits, James Clear recommends starting small, even with the absolute smallest action we can take. One single pushup, one line in the journal, one minute or even one second of seated meditation could begin us on a journey, starting to see ourselves and the world differently. Piece by piece, transforming our identity, by starting small.
There are many games we can play in life - some that elements of society have dictated to us, and some we might come up with for ourselves.
For example, we might believe that other people’s opinions are the source of our value. That results in a very difficult game to win. Even if we look cool in others’ eyes, our sense of self-worth is still tied to their whims. It can be taken away as quickly as it was given.
But then, maybe we don’t need to play a game in order to win. If we choose the right beliefs, it’s possible that we can win in almost every moment. For example, if we decide that we are inherently valuable, and so are all the people we interact with, we find success every time we express that through our thoughts or actions.
In a personal letter to his friend Pearl, Bruce Lee describes in detail the pure motivations, and selfish motivations of his desire to teach gung fu on a national scale.
It is a letter written by a 21 year old man, but it’s clear that he has some wisdom beyond his years, having deeply understood the principles behind his art, extending into Taoist and Zen philosophy, and to integrating those perspectives with the entrepreneurial attitude of the United States of America.
Lee describes a “great force, this untapped power, this dynamic something within me”. Perhaps there is such a power within all of us.
Memories surge in our minds and we cringe, wondering why we had to do that thing which caused us so much shame. On one level, we identify strongly with the past version of ourselves who did it, and on another level, we strongly resist it - not wanting to believe that we ever had the capacity to do such a thing.
In On Becoming A Person, Carl Rogers describes in many ways how his patients would almost always reach a certain point in therapy, where they let go of many ideas and ideals about who they believed they were. They realized that their identities were more complex and fluid than any paragraph or summary. They were complete people, ongoing processes that were free of definition.
In that scenario where we are plagued by some cringey memory, we can make a choice to let go. We can let go of the resistance, embracing our past self as an aspect of us. We can let go of the identity, accepting that we are more than could ever be defined by one event.
[Read the transcript and find important links on the site: A Beautiful Thought – Concept Of Yourself:Episode 467](https://beautifulpodcast.com/concept-of-yourself-episode-467/)
If someone wakes you up early in the morning, you might feel angry and be rude to them. The fact that you woke early is a justification for your anger, and your anger might justify your rudeness. Many people would forgive you in that situation, but it doesn’t have to be so.
We have the choice of assuming that circumstances determine our behaviour… Or we can choose something else.
If we know there is a situation arising that might be difficult - for example if we know the plumber is coming early in the morning - we can remind ourselves to expect an abnormal event, perhaps avoiding some ire.
Then we can choose to regulate our emotions regardless of the situation.
Then we can choose to treat people well regardless of what happens with our emotions.
Content warning: Drugs
Ramiro Romani is a software developer and advocate for personal liberty, Internet security and privacy. His current project is Take Back Our Tech, a site which shows people the practical steps for that security and privacy. Ramiro helps maintain the website for Freedom Cells, which is a site where people can get together and build survival skills, agricultural skills and communities. He also was working behind the scenes at the two Greater Reset events, which were full of presentations to help people find solutions to create more liberty in their own lives.
In this interview, Ramiro tells us the story of how, years ago, he faced a difficult challenge in software development and decided to walk away. Then he tells the story of facing a similarly difficult challenge working on The Greater Reset, with what seemed to be Chinese hackers infiltrating the site and changing it to show advertisements.
That time, Ramiro decided to take the challenge head-on, working well into the night in order to improve the security of the site to make sure the conference was broadcast around the world. We find out the factors in his mentality that made the difference - why Ramiro was so determined to live up to the hopes and expectations of his friends and colleagues, and the kind of grit it takes to make such a commitment.
To be afraid, there must be a part of us that wants to be afraid. As long as we are willing to be afraid, there will be people who play on our willingness. Our buttons are exposed to anyone who has studied the map to find them. There is a path to let go of that willingness.
Love is a verb
In the beginning chapters of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Covey tells a story where a man stands up at a seminar asking how he can continue his marriage when the loving feeling is gone. Covey's reply is simple: "Love your wife."
Covey explains, love is sold to us as a noun in Hollywood movies, but love is a verb. Even if we think we don't have control over our emotions, we do have control over our actions. We can listen, appreciate, show affection through touch.
Free to feel good
I was a little stressed in the uber on my way to Asunción airport. I didn't know if my flight 9 hours later would leave at all, and if I'd somehow be stuck in the airport due to the increased curfews. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, I took a moment to thank the driver and wish health to him and his family.
I finally boarded the flight, and arrived in Panama City. Waiting to disembark, I made conversation with a Canadian fellow, and again I wished him health and a safe journey. I was delighted when he took it to another level by saying calmly, without hesitation "have a good time."
I was amazed, because my limits were revealed. Here I was thinking about health, and this gentleman was wishing me so much more - enjoyment.
The relaxation system
When we think about threats, normally our sympathetic "fight or flight" system will engage. The body looks for ways to hide or run from predators, or to defend ourselves in the moment. The body pushes more resources to those ends, and so it has less to put towards our immune systems, making us open to viral threats.
When we relax, pray or meditate, we activate the parasympathetic system. We send a strong message to our bodies that there
If you get to thinking, you might realize you have a lot of concerns about the past and the future. Perhaps you’re not sure if you made the right decision in ending a relationship, or changing careers, or staying with a career.
Naturally, it can be quite stressful to think about all of the things that you might have done wrong, or still might do wrong. If you start to tabulate them, you’ll probably find that there’s no end to the list.
Now we bring our attention to the present moment, noticing the sensations in our bellies, in our hearts, in our minds. We can realize directly, and intellectually, that we are not complete, that our actions might not be perfect, that we are ongoing processes that need never be complete.
You don’t need to fear being; you are being. You are alright.
Content warning: shamanic substances
In Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Smoking, Carr and his students describe how quitting smoking can appear difficult - even being built up as a momentous task by anti-smoking campaigns. However, once one proceeds with correct understanding, the act and habit become as simple as remembering to park in a new parking space.
Many aspects of our lives are like this. We can struggle to give things up, laboring under false knowledge - and continuing to fight against it.
Or we can take up truth, and find simplicity.
[Read the transcript and find important links on the site: A Beautiful Thought – Take Up Truth:Episode 466](https://beautifulpodcast.com/take-up-truth-episode-466/)