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Tried &
Tested, Landmark Forum (excerpt)
Finding the
answer to
‘I found it hard to control my own time’
Psychologies Magazine
Michelle Lamb, November 2007
OVER THE PAST few years, I’ve turned into
the world’s worst procrastinator. I‘d
chastise myself for being lazy, vowing to
start chores tomorrow, but struggled to find
the motivation. As a freelancer needing to
fill my work schedule, this was not a good
way to live my life. So when my brother in
law mentioned a course he’d taken to help
him progress in his career, I decided to try
it, and signed up to The Landmark Forum.
The three-day course ran from 9am to 10pm,
with an additional evening two days later,
broken down into three-to-four-hour sessions
with homework during the breaks….
The content and methods used were
unexpected. I was there to improve my
productivity, not be challenged about
personal experiences, relationships and my
past. Initially I felt resistant, but
gradually I began to understand the theory
that past experiences shape our behavior,
and [that] to be free from the resulting
habits we need to break down and work
through these experiences.
Seemingly small things, such as timekeeping,
were essential, and importance was placed
upon having integrity and doing ‘what you
say you are going to do by when you say you
are going to do it,’ demonstrating that
attention to the small details is the
foundation for taking care of larger
concerns. We were encouraged to take
responsibility and clear up problems in
relationships, no matter how trivial. I
realized how hard I‘d been finding it to
control my own time.
Landmark taught us the distinction between
what actually happens, and how we view it.
Once we recognize that our views of events
are subjective, we deal with them more
effectively. The course draws upon a variety
of philosophies, theories and motivational
psychology. The sessions involved
‘conversations,’ during which Sophie coached
volunteers in front of the group….
I have now gone on to complete the Advanced
Course that focuses primarily on teamwork,
and I will definitely be signing up for the
third and final stage — taking on a project
and putting everything I’ve learned into
practice.
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