30th Edition: Thinking big, Simulation exercises & Overcoming psychological barriers

Thanks for being here

Hey everyone, hope you’re having a wonder-full week

“Practice like a champion.”—Serena Williams

Those words have been top of mind since I heard them in Miami a couple of weeks ago. We tend to attribute success to glorious wins, when really there’s no such thing as “overnight success”.

Source: google images

Big wins are compound combustions of killer consistency.

That’s a good enough reason to practice your craft like a champion. Even when there’s no one around to cheer you on.

🔥 Keep showing up.

Now, here are 3 gems I want to share with you:

An experience to inspire: Thinking big

For the past four weeks, I’ve been helping my friend and entrepreneur-turned-teacher, Cam Houser, run an entrepreneurial mindset bootcamp for university students across the US.

Here’s a glimpse of our first session (showing screen 1 of 4)

What I love about working with (university) students is how palpable their dreams are. These are interesting, talented young people with huge aspirations to make a difference in the world. I always feel reenergized and inspired after each session.

🔥 Challenge: How can you channel that same energy to think bigger or aim higher with your next goal?

A resource to consider: Simulation exercises

The first step in anything is often the hardest. Usually due to a psychological barrier—whether it’s fear, doubt—you name it.

The questions is, how can you help students bust through these barriers?

Here are a couple of simulation exercises to get you thinking about this:

Alexandra Allen @AlexandraAllen_

This is a great learning activity. Start in the shallow end of the pool to build up confidence to swim to the deep end. @cahouser runs a similar exercise. Students order coffee & ask for 50% off to get comfortable making bold requests & getting rejected in low-stakes situations.

Shivani Berry @shivanisberry

Fear of speaking up in meetings? Try this: Practice pushing back in low-stakes situations, like asking a waiter for a better table. You’ll likely experience the same emotions that a high-stakes situation would bring. But nothing bad will happen if the waiter says no!

😅 Challenge: how can you create low-stakes simulation exercises to help your students build up the confidence they need to overcome a psychological barrier?

A question to ponder: Overcoming barriers

As teachers, we face psychological barriers too.

I can’t do it. I’m not good enough. I’m not ready. I never will be.

The worst kind of lies are the ones we tell ourselves.

Source: lexicon

💭 Question: What’s a self-limiting belief that’s holding you back from reaching your potential? How can you work on releasing it?

A gesture to consider: Donating to Ukrainians

Here are some causes you can support (though I recommend doing your own research): 🏥 Ukrainian Red Cross​,🪖 Come Back Alive​, 🚸 Voices of Children​

May we continue to support Ukrainians until they’re peacefully home. 💙💛

Thanks for reading my 30th newsletter

We’re now 130 people within this vibrant community. And my goal is to nurture the art of reflection amongst us.

I’d love your feedback on how I can make future editions beneficial. So if you have an idea or burning question I could address, hit reply and we’re off.

Have a wonder-full week,

Alexandra

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