At 16, I stood at a podium in front of my entire high school, hands shaking, voice cracking—my first experience with public speaking. I walked away convinced I had failed. At the time, I thought confidence was something you either had or didn’t—an innate trait I simply lacked.
Let's go back in time a little bit. As a human race, we are historically hardwired to focus on the negative and threatening aspects of our lives rather than the positive ones. The rationale behind it is dated to ancient times and is fairly simple: in order to survive, we had to always keep an eye out for danger and maintain our guard. It was literally a matter of life and death. People who were more aware of the danger and focused on the negative things around them had a higher chance of surviving. Based on that, we can deduce that in order to switch the mind to positive thinking one should make some efforts.
Nicole Adelman is an Intercultural Performance and Leadership Trainer, as well as a Femme Palette Mentor and Ambassador. Drawing from her 20+ years of experience in service and storytelling, Nicole shares her own journey and tips for becoming more self-aware and a conscious storyteller. Read more about the importance of storytelling, her personal journey, and her 10 best practices.
.png)
