Sydney recap – Becoming fearless
Jennifer Crawford provides a recap of the recent Sydney event, Becoming Fearless in Practice, presented by Michael Lewarne.
It was a muggy Sydney evening where a group of approximately 30 architects met at the new Cosentino showroom on Elizabeth Street in the city, grabbed some yummy nibbles and a drink to hear Michael Lewarne talk us through some innovative ways of Becoming Fearless in Practice.
Michael introduced us to new ideas about how to address fear and unpredictability, starting off with the stories that we tell ourselves… stories that allow us all to hide and excuse us from taking the actions that must be taken.
Michael shared new ways of thinking about such stories and fears. Rather than giving reasons why something can’t happen, he explained the “can if….” strategy. This is possible and we can if…(insert new idea). Repeating this sentence with new ideas each time allows problems to be broken down into smaller and smaller pieces, defining a plan of action.
Then we moved on to the idea of the Reflected Best Self, where one can ask friends, family, clients and colleagues to describe 3–5 of your skills or attributes. This can help give fresh perspectives on how we see ourselves and how we can focus on our strengths, developing them further.
The final part of the session related to Fear setting. We learned how to set up a matrix to address fears and potential problems with suggested methods for either preventing those problems or repairing things if those problems come to pass. Simply getting these things out of the brain and on to paper can diffuse and reduce their impact.
It was Michael’s relaxed and informative presentation style telling stories from his own experience and creating strong visual and visceral imagery that helped the audience get ready to dance with the fear and get comfortable with their own puke zone, which is where the growth and magic really happens.