Your Happiness Factor

Today we have a special guest post.  To make it really useful to you, it includes some very personal experience so on this occasion I'm not going to publish the name of the writer.  But she has my very grateful thanks. Public Speaking, Personal Confidence, and the ‘Shy Extrovert’ Forget chicken soup for the soul, one of the best cures for lack of confidence and some forms of depression could in fact be public speaking. Usually the benefits of becoming a competent public speaker are seen as advancing your career prospects or building your reputation, if you are in business! In fact it is seen as being good for any cause you want to promote. Public speaking is a ‘skill’ but I would like to propose that it can also be a great ‘medicine.’ Just as exercise is recommended for increasing serotonin levels in the brain, getting your mind and body to perform under pressure can also give you a high! As for me, well, I found that beating one of my worst nightmares was actually

Image via Wikipedia As my grandfather once said, "The secret of life is learning to make a fool of yourself gracefully."  James Redfield  " The Celestine Vision" Shyness is sometimes known as social phobia or social anxiety disorder.  But whatever the name, lots of us know the feeling. Shy people may only fear one specific kind of situation - say speaking in public.  But others may be troubled by a whole range of different situations.  For example; Having to perform  stage Dealing with authority figures like doctors or headmasters Eating and drinking in public Writing an important and formal letter Meeting up with the opposite sex and dating Going to parties and other social events Shy people feel sure that other people are going to judge them and find them lacking in some way.  They think they will feel embarrassed or humiliated and that others expect them to behave perfectly.  Shy people expect and look for negat