I am not abnormal it seems…

This week I am going to touch on a subject that goes to the very heart of who we are and our vulnerabilities.

After a few conversations, with people I trust, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I am normal after all!   The whole topic I am about to share was triggered by a person I heard talking on the radio.  She had just brought out a new book on self confidence and personal esteem.  Her advice was to jump out of bed every morning saying to yourself (out loud) “I am great! I can do anything!”  Now this technique is not new and for many leaders that do not suffer from a lack of confidence, this is probably the last piece of advice they need.  

However, I am not the world’s best sleeper.  If I get six hours in any one night I am happy.  And although I fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow, I often wake up in the very early hours with the kind of thoughts and memories going around my brain, that quite frankly, I would rather forget.  Things like the time I forgot my lines in a school play or very embarrassing personal moments, memories of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time or…, I think you’ve got the picture?  And so it is that some mornings I lie in my bed restlessly, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness until I fall asleep again.

I am sure a neuroscientist or even a psychiatrist might be able to tell me what the evolutionary advantage is for the human brain to remind its owner of the very moments in his or her life that they truly would prefer to forget forever.  

Luckily for me, I mostly do manage to get back to sleep, and when I do, I always wake up in a positive mood and ready to face the day.  But if the negative thoughts would ever come at the time for me to rise, then believe me, I would need to jump up shouting “I am great, I can do anything!” (Luckily, until now, I have not felt the need to do so).

Have a good week,

Harley