Why do we need to choose to challenge?
Over the weekend, I tried a flotation experience. Water, heated to body temperature, loaded with Epsom salts and matching the ambient air. Suspension in complete silence and darkness. No sensory information just the thoughts in my own head.
What did I discover?
Clearly thoughts relating to weightlessness. In outer space- as a child I was obsessed with astronomy, waking up in the middle of the night to stare at the stars. And in utero, how we must experience that same sensation before being born. But most of all, I condensed to just the thoughts in my head. My body ceased to exist.
I am the kind of person who makes pros and cons lists, to do lists, loves trying something new and yet feels uncomfortable in situations I cannot rationalise and physically control. According to my research, flotation causes the brain to produce Theta waves.
In these times, we’re presented with unpredictable, dreamlike (yet still vivid) images. Theta waves offer access to unconscious material, sudden insight, and creative material. It is a mysterious, elusive state that’s quite difficult to study because as soon as someone produces theta waves, they start to fall asleep.
In the flotation tank, my thoughts vividly informed me that I love writing my blog and the bare bones subject of this post and the ideas I wanted to present became crystal clear.
I realised that in these times of the pandemic, nothing is panning out the way we planned it. Our lives are drastically altered: we are now working from home or losing our jobs altogether, living a continual lottery over whether our children’s school remain open, the holidays we planned have all but disappeared, along with the after school activities carefully chosen. The families we love and miss terribly and still cannot go to visit…
Challenge yourself and the status quo- particularly during a pandemic
A new situation requires a new response. We need to choose to challenge ourselves and the status quo, particularly during a pandemic. We can no longer afford to stay within the confines of our comfort zones. The time is now to extend our horizons and everyday I hear of people doing just that.
I recently came across an interesting statistic for jobseekers: Men feel comfortable applying for roles with a 60% match rate, whereas women often wait for a 100% match.
With a higher rate of women losing their jobs, clearly this is something that women need to choose to challenge.
Women are choosing to challenge in all walks of society. Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s female prime minister in the late 1980- mid 1990’s. America has just elected its first female Vice President, who also happens to be Black/Asian. Professor Sarah Gilbert, co-developed the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID 19 vaccine. Dr Swati Mohan, was the Guidance and Controls Lead for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission to name a few female industry leaders…
Have You Read? STEM Powered The importance of being educated
The greatest gift to oneself
In post flotation reflection, I am happy to report that I too have moved towards doing things differently, I am learning that challenging my internal status quo is the greatest gift I can give to myself.
My latest personal challenge was courtesy of my voluntary involvement with Rezalliance, a non-profit aiming to promote healthier workplaces. Its mission is to ensure the practitioners operating under the Rezalliance umbrella are aligned with its core values and are sensitive to the needs of employees or employers seeking their services.
All this is the brainchild of the founder, Joëlle Payom who offered me the unique opportunity to host the very first talk to be launched. I said “YES” to being a part of Listen Up! before I could talk myself out of it and say “NO”! This was about pushing my personal boundaries, strengthening my public speaking skills and also learning more about the logistics that go into speaking in front of a remote audience. Joëlle agreed to be the 1st speaker and we embarked on this project of firsts together.
Not only does Joëlle discuss breaking free of a traumatic experience by speaking out but, she didn’t stop there. Her experience is being turned on its head and is the impetus for a new beginning for her and potentially others too.
If not now, then when?
Choosing to challenge is beneficial to women and men at all levels on the economic ladder. I leave you with this recent video posted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency featuring Niyukuri Pelagie, a female motorbike taxi rider, a refugee from Burundi and a glimpse of a woman challenging those gender stereotypes and taking her share of gainful employment. I loved her chutzpah!