Jeff Shoop

I have long heard an old English saying, "Whatever thou art, act well thy part."

Why subscribe to this idea? We each might come up with our own answers. Part of my view is that it is a matter of service and personal progression.

For me it is a matter of service in that sometimes the work we do will often benefit others. If we are going to coach our child's basketball team then let's be the best coaches we can be. Let's show up as our best selves.

If we are the CEO of a corporation we have the opportunity to benefit the lives of those who work with us and for us, our customers and certainly our families. The same would be true for everyone in every role in the company.

Us at our best will lead to the best outcomes.

For me it is also matter of personal progression in that if we are striving to be the best that we can be in whatever roles we assume, we grow as we work. Every day we can be, in some way, better than the day before.

"Whatever thou art, act well thy part."

Yes, I FELT THE FEAR!

As a leadership team we had decided to do a "football jamboree." A fundraiser for our community youth program. It was set up for teams to play a short exhibition game. We had two teams for each school grade. So, for example, one sixth grade team would play the other sixth grade team and so on with the other grades. There would be nine games and so the event lasted ALL DAY LONG!

Along with the games we had snack shacks, sponsors, cheerleaders, celebrities that I would interview. The event was a big deal. It was a vitally important event and fundraiser.

One rather critical job was the MC and game announcer. Who do would I get to do something like that? Well, being the one that gave birth to the vision for the event it, had to be me. With so much riding on it, I was terrified.

I remember the very moment that I took to the microphone up in the announcer's booth in the stadium. That voice in my head was shouting "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" "YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE A FOOL OUT OF YOURSELF!"

Do you have an inner critic? A negative-self talker in your mind?

My chest was tight. My entire body had that frightening tingling feeling as if I were defusing a bomb and I could explode at any second. Part of me wanted to run.

Those thoughts I was having and the fearful feeling that followed were all so wrong. The words of the author Dr. Susan Jeffers, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" kept ringing in my ear too. Oh yes, I felt it and then I challenged the voice.

Yes, announcing football games was a new experience, a new comfort zone challenge. But I had spoken in front of people in churches, board rooms and in corporate training rooms for decades. The fear lacks logic. I CAN DO THIS! That inner critic tends to forget successful experiences like that.

Those thoughts gave me some confidence. The voice kept on shouting though, "Yes BUT……!" ………. And I breathed.

Everyone was depending on me to pull it off, the coaches, the kids, the parents. This was all for them.

I shouted to myself, "GAME ON" while flipping the switch to the microphone and I let it fly! My voice rang out.

Everything was so much easier from that very moment on. I got in the groove!

The louder I got, the more the crowd cheered, the quieter the critic grew.

Does your inner critic get in the way? When you have to get on the phone in customer service, tech support or sales? When you have to do a presentation to a client, prospect or fellow team members?

Challenge the critic and remember, Dr. Susan Jeffers had something there. The fear won't disappear but when it's game on, it's GAME ON!