Keys to Event Planning: Thoughtful Preparation & Being Present

You’ve heard me talk a lot about mentally preparing before an event: sports, music or professional. If you don’t prepare, you go into an event with whatever mindset and frame of reference happens to ‘be there’ and usually it’s not positive or productive. You can take control of those moments before an event and train yourself to be in the right space. For example, this morning before I went to my partner CrossFit training session I spent some conscious time thinking about what I need to do to be in the most productive workout space so that I could make the most of my training session. I made sure to drink 32 ounces of water, ate breakfast, walked there so I’d be warmed up and listened to some motivating music on my way there. When I got there I checked in and realized that I needed to eat a little more so I did and I was ready to go. I put myself in a place to have the right amount of energy and the right head space. I didn’t leave it to chance. This then allowed me to have control over how I went into my workout.

Besides preparation, being present is another very important aspect to any event. For example, during my workout today I had to be present enough to learn new skills but was also present enough to check in with myself about how I was feeling and rather than wait for ‘OMG I am tired. I can’t do anymore.’ I checked in, felt my legs were getting tired, took the focus off my legs, started focusing on my breath and pushed through the movements I was doing.

I also remember that during my last talk being present was key to not panicking. The room I was speaking in was so hot that people were falling asleep. I asked a question. I didn’t get a response. I was present enough to realize that my brain started to question why people weren’t responding but because I was present  I was able to take a  deep breath, refocus and keep moving through my talk. This is not an easy task. Think about that sequence of things: I was talking to a large group of people, I was asking questions while at the same time my brain wondered why people weren’t responding and I was able to refocus and keep moving forward all within a matter of seconds. 🙂 It’s an important skill to be able to master. If you make a mistake in the middle of a game, audition or presentation and got so hung up thinking about that mistake that it pulls you out of the game, audition or presentation you’ve then lost your effectiveness to participate.

Mentally preparing before an event makes sense but it also makes sense to learn to take control of your brain (versus allowing it to have control over you) during your event so that you don’t get stuck and are able to move through things that might get in your way! I know that you’ve probably left it to chance in the past but how many times has that not worked out for you?

You can learn to take control of how effective you are!

Dr. Michelle

Photo cred: commons.wikimedia.org