Earlier in the week, I spent a few hours with Diane O'Dell of BodyPuzzle in Issaquah, Washington to experience Gyrotonics, a system of fluid movement that creates increased strength and flexibility in the body.

Diane is an excellent teacher.  She demonstrated movements using a Pulley Tower and bench system fitted with weights and pulleys then allowed me to experience them myself.  Diane carefully adjusted my body position and discussed the proper placement and, more importantly, the feel of the movement.

I went through a series of fluid spiral movements with my upper limbs, lower limbs and torso.  Each movement had accompanying breath and eye focus to help with balance and energy.  The movements reminded me of tai chi and yoga.  Diane commented on my "body awareness" because I moved my arms without my shoulders rising to my ears.

Some of the conditions that I could see benefiting from Gyrotonics are:

• joint injuries
• arthritis
• fibromyalgia
• sports injuries
• strengthening
• flexibililty

If you're interested in a gentle, fluid expercise system with personal instruction, contact  Diane@bodypuzzle.com.

I love this. I loved the movie, What the Bleep Do We Know. It excites me to think that I can create my own reality, my life and that I am responsible. It takes me off the victim seat and puts me in the driver's seat of my own life.

Walking a resume into a Starbucks sounds like a simple task but eight months ago it was enough to send me into a full blown panic attack.  My self-esteem was in the shitter.  I didn't drive almost 3,000 miles across country because I felt loved and wanted at home.   In Seattle though, the only thing running me down were the voices in my head.  My only obstacle was me.


I drove across county with the running thoughts of, "My husband doesn't love  My husband doesn't want me."  Even though I was the one who left, my belief was that I was bad.  There is something terribly wrong with me.  No one wants me.


The first day I meant to introduce myself at the local Starbucks, I dressed, grabbed 10 resumes, and got into my car to drive to town.  As I walked out the door, anxiety began silently gnawing at my stomach.  It chewed its way up into my chest until I was so distracted, I ran a red light and almost hit a pedestrian.  Thankfully, I was driving very, very slowly.  The woman in the crosswalk glared at me and hurried across the street.

By the time I parked the car, a full blown panic attack loomed.  I sat in my car for a moment taking deep breaths and reassuring myself that I could go home if I gave out just one resume.


The manager wasn't available at the Starbucks I visited.  I only had to shake hands and chat with a barrista.  The actual meeting was easy.  No one told me to go away.  No one rejected me.  I didn't die.  I was okay but the thought of doing it again overwhelmed me.  I congratulated  myself on having courage in the face of my fear and went home.  My goal for the next day was to do the same thing.

Have you suffered anxiety at the thought of an interview, a face-to-face meeting while job hunting?  How has that fear blocked your success?

• What are you afraid of?  
  
• Can you resize your objectives or goals?
  
• What can you do today?
• What method can you use to ease the physical feeling of fear?
• Where can you find support?
• What thoughts activate the fear?
• What are opposite thoughts?
• Are you applying for a job that you really want?
• Will you love it?
• Do you love or at least respect the products or services?

Photo by Dimitri N on Flickr.com.

In the past 5 years, I submitted dozens and dozens of resumes in an attempt to return to the legal world as a legal assistant.  My motivation was money.  In the three months before I left Ohio, that number increased.  Out of all the applications and resumes, only one call came.  It was a call, not a job offer.


It took me a month or so to settle down emotionally to even begin looking for work after I arrived on the west coast.  The prime motivator was fear.  In a flurry of activity, I spent hours scouring he job sites for the Seattle area, looking for work in an office environment.  I didn't want to return to the legal world, so I applied for any place that was looking for an administrative assistant.  Each ad I answered contained words like - self starter, fast paced, career, motivated, multi-tasking, team player . . . all the lingo associated with finding just the right employee for the position. 

I received some very nice thank you for submitting your application emails but no job offers; not even an invitation to interview.  My anxiety mounted.

And then I stopped.


The truth was that I didn't want to return to an office environment, sitting at a desk all day.  I didn't want a career in an energy corporation; all I wanted was a part-time job to cover my expenses while I was waiting for my Washington state massage therapy license.  I was willing to wait tables, sell coffee, be a cashier, whatever it took on a temporary basis and I  wanted to work with products or services that I loved.  The companies that I loved that would offer part-time jobs was a short list:

• Starbucks
• Whole Foods
• Panera Bread
• White House|Black Market

I immediately applied to those places on-line.  A few days later (at the advice of my son), I printed out some resumes with the intention of showing up in person and introducing myself.   Little did I know how difficult that would be.


If you're job hunting, I invite you to search for your truth about that process by asking yourself a few questions:

• Am I applying for jobs that I want?
• Is my career really what I want to do?
• Is fear my motivating factor?
• Do I believe that jobs are scarce?