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Author Archives: Kimberley Gunning

23 Jan

Are you Daring Greatly?! Time to check in.

So we are now a few weeks into our challenge of daring greatly.  So, how are you doing, are you daring greatly?

After our last blog I committed to signing up for the Brene Brown Courageworks, Living Brave semester.  Week one I found myself completing my readings and homework at the very last minute.  I gave some thought to the first assignment and gave myself the permission of time.  Imagine sticky notes for yourself that give you permission to do what you need to do!  I gave myself permission to take the time I needed to read, reflect and enjoy the teachings.

Our challenge was to do something different no matter how small, to dare greatly with the risk of possibly being vulnerable.  Time is tight in my life so my risk was to take the morning off and do something that wasn’t on the “to do” list.  I bundled up for the -6 degree morning and headed off into nature with my new camera. In the moment I learn one of The Top 10 Insights from the “Science of a Meaningful Life.” Yes experiencing awe does indeed make us awesome!

Experiencing awe

Yes, experiencing awe does make us awesome! Dare greatly and you might be surprised at what you see.

Those few hours of joy and awe translated into a feeling of happiness and gratitude or as the researchers say “high levels of positive emotion.”  This carried on throughout my weekend and I felt highly motivated and content.

How did you dare greatly this month?  If you are having trouble getting started then start small, try a new food, say no to something you don’t want to do or even better yet, say yes to something new that seems a bit scary but exciting. Whatever the dare, large or small, just have the courage to show up and be seen and you will find that you indeed are daring greatly!

The courage to show up

Alone in a group of mallards, these beauties show the courage to show up!

Experience beauty in nature

Put yourself on that “to do” list and you never know what you might experience!

04 Jan

Dare Greatly: The 30 Day Challenge Rebooted

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Keep Calm and Dare Greatly

Last year I wrote a blog about trying something you’ve never done before for 30 days in Lidkea Stob’s 30 days of Change Challenge.  How did you do?

I really wanted to take on 30 days of decluttering or maybe reading a novel each night. I am certain that it would have been very good for my own mental health, but it seemed like a lot of work.  I came to realize that yes it is true that you can create a habit in 30 days but maybe that’s not what I wanted.

So for 2016 I want to try something different quite literally.  Let’s keep it simple this year.

I want to try something new at least once a month.  So 12 times this year I will dare to do  something I have thought about doing but never have.  Are you with me on this?  Once a month you will dare.  It doesn’t have to be complicated it can be a new food or you can dare greatly.

Why Dare?

We live in a time where we worry too much.  The media tells us what might happen and we buy in to the idea that the world is a scary place.  Daring means being vulnerable but it also means that we get to see our authentic self.  What happens when we stop worrying about what others think and put ourselves out there?

There are so many people that I find inspiring but one that keeps coming up and it surprises as he is not traditional for me,  that is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.  Cadillac has a marketing campaign that celebrates the daring and there he was with his great story.  I love that he has experienced failure and success and still is humble enough to stand in line for the next new Apple product.

I also enjoyed this short article Let’s All Take a Deep Breath and Dare Greatly by Alivia Hall a young psychology student who experienced anxiety in childhood.

Daring brings hope and that means finding out we can be more.  It can transform us and frees us from the belief that we are not enough.

Where to start

I plan to start this month with reading social scientist, Brene Brown’s book Daring Greatly.  This morning I started with watching two wonderful pieces with Brene Brown and Oprah Winfrey.  The first was Living Brave where Brene interviews Oprah and the second is Brene Brown’s Greatest Truth where the tables are turned and Oprah talks to Brene.

I am motivated and ready to be just a little bit vulnerable because you have to start somewhere.  Choose something simple for your first dare and just get started. Here is an article by Huffington Post, Dare Yourself: 10 New Things to Try This Month.  So whether to decide to play tourist or go to your first meditation class just dare yourself and see what happens. We have started a Pinterest board Dare Greatly for 2016 to help get you started.

Go Ahead Dare Greatly

What will be your dares for 2016? I thought about this myself, how can I do something that will dare me but that I will actually follow through on?  I think I might take a social media class. I have so much to learn and admit that although I am ahead of many peers my age I am indeed a dinosaur. I also plan to enrol in the Living Brave Semester from Courage Works.  So yes, I will dare greatly and learn something new.

Ideas:

BE-AWESOME-AND-DARE-GREATLY-PIC

Be Awesome Dare Greatly

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