An Experiment in Writing – Part 1

Been talking to lots of people about ways to share my knowledge and experience.

The first problem is, lots of people are of the opinion I have lots of knowledge and experience.

I’m hoping this experiment – a series of videos about writing which I’ll post every Wednesday or so…if it even becomes a series and if I see another Wednesday – will help them change their opinion.

Originally I called these “Writing 101 SnEm” (SnEm == series and episode number) and decided that both ambitious and haugty.

Ambitious I’ll cop to. Haughty? You decide.

Here’s An Experiment in Writing – Part 1. Enjoy.

 
Pick up a copy of Empty Sky, one of the books I’ll be referencing in this series (should you not already have one (shame on you!)) and want to follow along.

Limiting Beliefs now on SubStack

What, you didn’t know I had a Substack?

Well neener neener on you, I do.

Phhtt!

Been doing it for a while, been keeping it quiet because I substack rarely.

Only when I have a thought I doubt fits in here.

Give it a look, let me know what you think.

And thanks.

LinkedIn asked me to answer “What do you do if your confidence in the workplace is lacking?”

I, of course, provided a detailed answer rather than something abrupt, glib (my opinion), and which left the reader with no explanations or solution paths.

Hence I’m posting this here. Hope it helps.

What do you do if your confidence in the workplace is lacking?

What do you do if your confidence in the workplace is lacking? Lacking confidence in something you want or are led to do can make you feel like a victim and that’s not a happy place to be.

First thing I’d suggest is getting away from the workplace; take a sick day, mental health day, PTO, vacation day, do some thing and/or go some place where work isn’t in your face. This can be in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, den, balcony, at the beach, in a field, your backyard, in your garden, your porch, the woods, he mountains, at the mall, wherever.

Second thing: Calm yourself. Lacking confidence in anything you wish to excel at can be a soul killer and the soul killing often manifests as anxiety, misplaced anger, irritation, making negatives where none exist, and so on.

Third thing: Decide if it’s a genuine lack of ability on your part or a lack of recognition on management’s and peers’ parts.

Third thing sub A: Do you lack confidence because you’re genuinely unsure of what you’re doing, how to do your work, or what’s required of you? Ask yourself if you have the proper training for your job or need some training. Definitely let management know, ask peers to help you do something, sign up for a course at a local tech school or college. Basically seek help and guidance. Should a genuine request for help and guidance go unanswered, mocked, derided, or ignored, GET A NEW JOB ASAP! You’re in an unhealthy work environment and one way or another your work will affect all other aspects of your life negatively. Save yourself and those people and things you care about by taking care of yourself and finding a new job or new place to work.

Third thing sub B: Do you lack confidence because you’re not being recognized by management? Are you getting regular reviews? Regular reviews are required for good management-employee relations. Mention needing a review to your supervisor. They ignore the request? Ask to be transferred or find another job.

Third thing sub C: Do you lack confidence because your peers are unkind or harassing you? That’s an HR problem. Speak to your HR team and/or your Union rep. Again, no satisfaction? Time to move on.

I’ve written more on soul killing at Beware of Soul Killers and more about emotionally, physical, spiritual, and mental health in That Th!nk You Do

Note this doesn’t touch on lacking confidence in personal relationships. Let me know it there’s interest and I’ll write something about that, as well.

Beware the Soul Killers now on BizCatalyst 360°

A while back a friend reached out to me so down, so bottomed out, and so unwilling to talk about it I simply sat with him while he worked things out in his own mind.

Being willing to sit with someone without talking while knowing they’re going a million miles a minute is a powerful tool and often a gift to them.

Sometimes people get wounded and need a place of quiet comfort to rest. Resting with someone who’ll offer patient love – the ability to let them know you’re there and available while simultaneously giving them space to do what they need to do – can be the greatest healing agent around.

Eventually, my friend opened up. Someone had been verbally cruel, abrupt, antagonistic, and completely without cause (note I only have my friend’s views on this). The result was a wounding, a lessening, a soul killing.

Provided my friend’s recounting was accurate, yes, the purpose of the other person’s words was to be antagonistic, even threatening. There was no attempt at discussion, at understanding, only a desire to invoke pain.

I have no idea why people feel a need to be that way. I know everyone has a lot going on in their lives, and there’s no need to dump your trauma on someone else.

So I penned Beware the Soul Killers for my friend. Perhaps you’ll also find it useful.

That Th!nk You Do is now an audiobook

That Th!nk You Do, my first title with Northern Lights Publishing and published Jan ’23, is now available as an audio book.

Northern Lights’s A-Team had many discussions about going the audio route, and several audio providers (of course) leapt forward explaining how they’d do the best job.

Already having one audio book failure with a previous publisher, I was skeptical.

In the end, Northern Lights went with Amazon’s native ACX system for several reasons (which they’ll explain). The chosen narrator, Nicholas Torres, did an excellent job.

I also have some promo codes available, and the next five people to become members of this blog will get one.

And as always, thanks for your support.