![]() ![]() Lizzy celebrating her black belt and brought it to the pub. My adrenaline was pumping and I was immediately immersed in a strange new world full of unwritten rules: when to bow, when to speak, what to wear, what to do, what not to do… It was straight-up terrifying, and that was before I got anywhere near the actual fighting! But five years on and now you’ll find me at the front of the class wearing my black belt and welcoming newbies. The first time I stepped into a dojo was a whirlwind, and daunting as hell. My inner voice was stuck on a constant loop of “I’m too old, too unfit, too uncoordinated, they’ll laugh at me, they’ll hurt me… Who do I think I am? I can’t do this.” It took me weeks to build up the courage to go from flirting with the idea to stepping into the dojo. So I did a bit of quality YouTube research and decided I was going to take up kickboxing. As a 37 year old desk jockey with a love for cake getting beaten up in combat sports certainly ticked those boxes. So, first I had to pick something that would truly make me feel fear, anxiety and like a fish out of water. I wanted to see if stepping into discomfort would help me learn to deal with adversity when the theories couldn’t. Once I realised I couldn’t rationalise my way to bravery and confidence, I decided to start an experiment. ![]() ![]() But I’ve found that knowledge and logic alone can’t assuage debilitating feelings like fear, anxiety and imposter syndrome. In my career as a change agent, I’ve used a number of models and methods to help me understand change rationally. ![]()
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