News & Views by Kim Davis
 I hope everyone is enjoying the heat! We're doing the equivalent of hibernating here in Texas as the temperatures max out. It isn't hard to understand how people used to be a lot thinner when they worked out doors and had no air conditioning. We're a sad lazy bunch by comparison to our ancestors!
I want to draw your attention to this week's press release. It tells about a Travel Photography Contest that is open to all. The entry fees are very reasonable, and the prizes are excellent, but don't wait. The deadline for entry is September 17.
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Thank you for reading my "stuff"!
- Kim ;-)
Feature:
Do Something That Scares You Everyday
by Marta Kagan
Career Coach, Business Coach, & Motivational Speaker
There is something innately terrifying about stepping outside of your Comfort Zone. Sometimes even the thought of trying something new or different can cause your heart to race. At the threshold of every new experience looms the possibility of failure, rejection, or injury, leaving you wrestling with (or simply giving in to) a healthy dose of fear.
The simple truth, however, is that fear is one of life's greatest saboteurs. It robs us of our happiness. It causes us to settle for far less than we're capable of. It introduces a melee of negative emotions and conflicts that unravel our relationships and lead us to even greater levels of fear. Fear influences us on such a pervasive level, that we often don't even recognize it for what it is. Fear is the reason why so many of us stop believing in ourselves, stop pursuing our dreams, stop being true to ourselves. And none of us are immune to it.
Behavioral scientists insist that this fear response is a healthy manifestation of our survival instinct. We are programmed to move away from things that make us physically or emotionally uncomfortable; to the subconscious mind, this discomfort equals potential danger. By avoiding the source of the discomfort, we minimize the chance of injury, and therefore, increase the chance of survival.
Of course much of what lies outside the Comfort Zone is far from life-threatening. Nevertheless, our innate programming causes us to experience discomfort, fear, even panic as we approach the edge. By all intents and purposes, we are hard-wired to avoid anything new and challenging. Instead, we stay safely within the Comfort Zone for most of our lives. We develop what some have called a "homeostatic impulse" – an unconscious tendency to be drawn irresistibly toward doing what we've always done.
Homeostasis itself is not a bad thing. Our bodies have developed an innate ability to maintain homeostasis that is critical to daily survival. This is what keeps your body temperature at 98.6 degree Fahrenheit; it's what maintains the delicate chemical balance that allows your heart to beat and your muscles to contract.
The danger of homeostasis is that it often leads to complacency, the great enemy of creativity, growth, and success. Our fears of rejection and failure, our need to move away from discomfort, our unconscious homeostatic impulse keeps us doing the same things we've been doing, even when those things are no longer serving us. Have you ever wondered why some people stay in unhealthy or even abusive relationships? Why some people spend years in a job they hate, complaining endlessly but never leaving? Change is certainly hard, but it's not the difficulty that holds so many of us captive – it's the FEAR. The homeostatic impulse can be so powerful (and so
unconscious) that even if forced out of a bad situation, most people will recreate a new one – similar to the one they just left – as soon as they possibly can. This is the phenomenon where someone loses the job they absolutely hated and then actively seeks the very same job someplace else; or someone who leaves their unhealthy relationship for another one just like it.
It all comes down to the Comfort Zone. It all comes down to Fear.
In order to cause any true change in our lives, we must start by becoming aware of our own homeostatic impulses; we must come to terms with our fear. We must get used to the feeling of awkwardness and discomfort that results when we first step out of our comfort zones, recognizing that great success and happiness are only possible when we're willing to take a little risk. This is a conscious activity that calls for a great deal of courage and vigilance. And sometimes, the only way we can find that strength of will is by taking smaller, bite size steps.
So In invite you to try this little exercise:
Grab a piece of pen and paper and write down the last time you remember resisting, avoiding, or delaying an activity that made you feel uneasy or uncomfortable. Below that, jot down the specific fears you can connect to the discomfort – was it fear of failure?
Rejection? Injury? List them all in any order they come to mind.
Notice when you start making excuses, using the phrase "I can't" or transferring your personal fears onto someone or something else.
Now that you've identified your fear and your homeostatic impulse, spend some time visualizing yourself actually DOING whatever it is that you resisted/avoided/delayed. Don't allow yourself to dwell on the fear or discomfort; acknowledge these feelings, then bring your attention back to the image of success. Create a vivid picture of yourself being fearless throughout the activity. You've done this 100 times before. It's completely comfortable. Your confidence and ease are clearly expressed in your body language, facial expression, and level of skill.
Keep this image close to you for the next few hours or days, until calling it up becomes almost effortless, as if it were a real memory. Notice how you feel when you think about the activity now.
Has the discomfort lessened? Is the fear subsiding as you prepare yourself to stretch and grow?
Fear is a healthy, functionally necessary part of human existence.
Without it, we would not survive for very long. But it is also a great saboteur, holding many of us back from leading truly meaningful, fulfilling lives.
So beware the siren song of your old habits. Be conscious and deliberate about moving out of your Comfort Zone as often as possible. Live your life on purpose. Do something that scares you EVERY SINGLE DAY.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Career transition specialist Marta Kagan has helped countless professionals achieve more success, freedom, and balance in their work lives.
 Press Release:
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Contact Name: Karen Coe
Company: Travel Photographer of the Year
Telephone: +44 (0)1628 773445
E-Mail: press@tpoty.com
The Travel Photographer of the Year competition (TPOTY) is going from strength to strength. Following a very successful first year in 2003, in which photographers from 34 countries submitted just under 10,000 images, this annual competition for amateur and professional photographers now features: four portfolio categories covering every aspect of travel photography; a Single Image category; a special Young Travel Photographer category; Student Awards - and a remarkable $95,000 prize package.
Category winners in the 2003 competition included American photographers Kurt Stier and Mike Matlach. See www.tpoty.com for the 2003 winning and commended images.
Hasselblad, Hewlett Packard, Land Rover, Star Alliance and Tribes Travel have joined the founding sponsor line-up of Adobe, Avery, Calumet, Discover the World, Fujifilm, G.A.P Adventures, Guerba, Islands of the Bahamas, Light & Land, Plastic Sandwich, Resolutions and Wacom. The result is a line-up of prizes that any photographer would be delighted to win, including some superb travel and the very latest photographic equipment and software.
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2004 The photographer who demonstrates the greatest skill, diversity and creativity in two different portfolio categories will follow in the footsteps of 2003 winner, the British photographer Peter Adams, and earn the prestigious title of Travel Photographer of the Year and the satisfaction of being judged the very best travel photographer in 2004.
The winner and a companion will be able to take the photographic trip of a lifetime with their choice of a pair of round the world air tickets or two Business Class tickets to any one destination served by the Star Alliance network, the global network that brings together 14 of the world’s finest airlines. Added to this is an enviable $3,000 spending spree in a Calumet photographic store, plus Adobe CS Collection Premium and Video Collection software, to optimise the images they shoot on their travels.
‘MY WORLD, MY VIEW’ - YOUNG TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Photographers aged 16 and under can submit four images on the theme ‘My World, My View’ which show what travel means to them. It’s free to enter and the prizes are fantastic. The winner receives a top of the range HP Pavilion Photosmart PC with integrated camera docking station and 6-1 memory card reader, plus a top-spec HP Photosmart digital camera, photo centric scanner and photo printer, a unique photography masterclass with renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite, courtesy of Light & Land, and Adobe CS Collection Premium software.
The new 2004 competition categories are:
Peoples and Cultures Portfolio: This portfolio celebrates humanity in all its many guises, and the diversity that different cultures bring to the travel experience. Prize: the brand new, state-of-the-art Fujifilm S3 Pro digital camera and lens, a superb 22-day overland adventure for two through Kenya and Tanzania with Guerba, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software.
Essence of Travel Portolio: This encompasses places, festivals, leisure, architecture, food, transport, tourism and history. Prize: the highly desirable new Hasselblad XPan II Pro panoramic camera; a 12-day fly/drive adventure for two people to explore Sweden with Discover the World, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software.
Spirit of Adventure Portfolio: This category allows entrants to capture the thrill of adventure – however large or small - that challenges the traveller. Prize: a once in a lifetime expedition for two people with Land Rover’s global conservation partner Biosphere Expeditions to the Tatra mountains in Slovakia; a custom-built website from web wizards Resolutions, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software. To prepare them for their expedition, the winner will also spend a day at one of Land Rover’s off-road driving centres.
Living Planet Portfolio: This encompasses landscape, the environment, and wildlife. Prize: the top-of-the-range Wacom Cintiq 18SX Interactive Pen Display with TFT monitor; a tour for two people around the stunning Galapagos Islands on board a motor yacht with G.A.P Adventures, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software.
‘Celebration’ - The Single Image Category Entrants can submit one beautiful, uplifting image that captures the theme of ‘Celebration’ within the context of travel. Prize: a 10-day holiday for two to the photogenic Islands of the Bahamas, plus Adobe CS Collection Standard software.
Runners-up and Highly Commended entrants will receive tripods or Tenba camera bags from Calumet. Runners-up in the four portfolio categories will also receive off-road driving training from Land Rover, to help them travel to those difficult-to-get-to, but eminently photogenic, places.
Special Awards Awards will be presented for the best three portfolio entries by students in full-time education, with the winners receiving beautiful leather print books from Plastic Sandwich, made in their choice of size and format and personalised with their names.
In addition, a number of special awards from Avery and Tribes Travel will be given for individual images nominated by the TPOTY panel of expert judges and the general public visiting the 2005 TPOTY exhibitions. Details will be announced later this year.
A chance to give something back: Another new element for TPOTY 2004 is the option to make a $1.50 charitable donation with the entry fee. The funds raised will be split between Tourism Concern and The Tribes Foundation. Tourism Concern is dedicated to campaigning for change in the world’s biggest industry - working to ensure holidays are as good for the people living in our holiday destinations as they are for us. The Tribes Foundation helps indigenous communities, preserves cultural heritage and ecological biodiversity in areas impacted by tourism outside the UK and encourages education in global cultural diversity within the UK.
Entry fees and closing dates: Photographers can enter as many categories as they like, as many times as they like. To compete for the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2004 they must enter at least two different portfolio categories. The fee structure has been revised for 2004, making it more cost-effective to enter. Entry costs from just $7.50 for one portfolio category or up to four entries in the Single Image category, is completely free for under-17s and there is a discounted flat rate fee of $7.50 for students.
Entries are now open, and close on September 17, 2004. Full information and entry forms are available from www.tpoty.com or by sending a stamped addressed envelope to PO Box 2716, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7ZN, England.
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