These are two of my personal affirmations:
– I am cool, calm, and collected.
– I radiate confidence and composure.
Needless to say, given the nature of affirmations, they are not always 100% true in the moment! Affirmations represent our aspirations, reminders to ourselves of our best selves. Confidence I’m generally pretty good at. I have a deep belief that in my area of expertise I’m as good as any and far better than most. Even when I’m winging it, I’ve got a a strong sense that I have the ability to achieve extraordinary outcomes.
It’s that cool, calm, and collected part that I’m focusing on, getting more in tune with my Zen side, being able to call up “cool, calm, and collected” quickly, not after counting to 10 (or sometimes a lot closer to triple digits than I would like). I tend to get a bit worked up and even mutter a few “expletives deleted” under my breath, say a sharp word to my good, patient wife who certainly deserves better. The good news is that I calm down quickly. I just want to get there faster! To heck with getting to calm faster, it’s that I want to START at calm.
I’ve decided to make Barack Obama my personal mentor and role model on this. Why? Because Obama is becoming famous for his “hard-to-ruffle demeanor… He’s laid-back, cool and collected.”
How does Obama “stay even-tempered and levelheaded while traveling such a grueling road? (He) embodies the Aloha Spirit, a peaceful state of mind and a friendly attitude of acceptance of a variety of ideas and cultures. More than simply a laid-back vibe, many Hawaiians believe in a divine and spiritual power that provides a sustaining life energy.” “He gives off a little oasis of calm…” “He is peaceful water in the maelstrom, which will serve him very well in these circumstances when there happens to be a crisis.” “…leaders need to take time away to think. Without downtime, Mr. Obama said, ‘You start making mistakes or you lose the big picture.’” (NYT. “Obama’s Zen State, Well, It’s Hawaiian,” 12/24/08)
Okay, Obama you are my man in the staying cool, calm, and collected department. I’m anchoring on you! If you can do it with the problems you face on our nation’s behalf, well then, I certainly can stay cool, calm, and collected on my level.
Here’s to Aloha Spirit! A peaceful state of mind and a friendly attitude of acceptance of a variety of ideas and cultures. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
Perhaps we can all make Aloha Spirit a national thing.