Is It "Real" Or Is
It Sabotage?
Joani Yingling, PP, PLS, CLAS, CNSA,
Certification Director
"If you play it safe in life you've decided
that you don't want to grow any more."
—Shirley Hufstedler
Do you remember the old commercials for Memorex® audio
tapes? Here's the scene: You hear Ella Fitzgerald singing
and a glass shatters. The question asked was: "Is
it real, or is it Memorex®"? Of course, it was an
audio recording on Memorex®.
So what does that commercial have to do with certification?
Maybe nothing; maybe everything!
What is this year's excuse—er, reason—for not certifying
yet again. What mechanism are you unconsciously wielding
to protect you in your comfort zone. What sabotage are
you plotting to shield yourself from the scary unknown!
Well STOP IT! NOW! I know you want to grow,
because the alternative to growth is stagnation, atrophy,
waste, decay—all very unpleasant adjectives. All right,
I'll give you points for at least thinking about certification,
but you'll have to lose points when you allow your thinking
and emotions to sabotage your efforts. And just as a recording
on a Memorex® tape is shown to shatter a glass the same
way Ella Fitzgerald's "real" voice would, SABOTAGE
will shatter your goals.
"But wait," you now protest, "I really
DO want to certify; it's just that...."
All right, now comes the litany of excuses—er, reasons—that
manifest themselves through anxiety, fear, anger, frustration,
lack of motivation, dismissal. Watch for these; they're
sneaky. Recognize them to be signs of fear, fear, and more
fear that will hold you back.
"So what's a person to do?" you ask. The
answer is very simple and yet extremely difficult: Take
a deep breath and courageously move forward. Recognize
the signs of sabotage, which can appear all too "real," and
whittle them down to a manageable size. Perhaps you need
a buddy or buddies to help with all that "whittling." In
NALS-land, we call that a study buddy or study group. Maybe
you need to "contract" with your family to support
YOU in reaching this (or any) goal, and you can lay out
a plan of attack to wipe out the sabotage.
Make this the year for attaining that certification goal.
Don't sabotage yourself with yet another excuse. We are
all here for you. Remember, SABOTAGE is NOT real, but your
success will be!
