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ered and the second half of the concert be- control, you need to be able to take a step
gan. The concert itself was well worth seeing, back, breathe, and consider your options as
particularly in a much more mindful state. best you can. This is one of the best lessons
from Table Topics as it teaches us to be more
I’m well aware that in Toastmasters, we don’t flexible in our thinking while learning not
normally teach mindfulness, at least not di- to surrender to fear. Better yet, by acknowl-
rectly. The entire focus of our organization has edging those seemingly negative emotions
been about cultivating public speaking and of fear and anger, you can use them to your
leadership skills. But believe it or not, many of advantage by knowing what your options are.
those skills involve being able to put our-
selves in a space that allows us to be mindful, And when you’re on that stage struggling
even if the situation itself is frightening. It’s with a fluttering stomach, just remember to
not for nothing that people consider public breathe. Mindfulness is a great tool, and so
speaking to be one of the scariest things to too is nervousness. By being anxious, you
practice. We often encourage people to give acknowledge the moment you are in while
their Icebreaker speeches, but even with a moving forward through it to give a better
solid mentor behind the new member, it’s speech. When the speech is over, allow your-
not easy to teach mindfulness. Sometimes self to breathe again, and remember: Even
you simply need to accept the fear and move when you’ve had the day to end all days, you
through it. And no person ever does it the get to choose how you react to it.
same way as another. Similarly, when you’re
dealing with circumstances beyond your
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