Opera Singing

Contrary to the title, this entry is not about #OOMCZ… in the A Cappella sense. I was reading the latest Eric Barker entry and stumbled upon his section titled “Don’t Be An Opera Singer” in reference to how your (socially anxious) brain sounds like an Opera Singer warming up: Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Inwardly focused. I chuckled.

For the past three months I have been struggling with a medical conundrum… an annoyance… a temporary snafoo in my day-to-day operations. It has been a stressful experience and has caused me to think way too much about my life, my habits, and my routines. I haven’t felt great and have definitely been focused internally. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.

Bum ba bummm buuummm // Ba bu bu bum bum bummm

Social anxiety isn’t really my cup of anxious tea. I don’t struggle talking to people, being in new situations, or doing much of anything as it relates to people… aside from speaking to a group of them from a stage with prepared content. (It’s weird. I know.) My anxiety is of another flavor, but the advice on social anxiety still applies to my generalized anxieties.

Eric Barker brought in Robin Dreeke, FBI’s Behavior Expert, to give advice on how to connect with people. He suggests putting your ego (wants, needs, and desires) aside to focus on someone else. That works. Jerry Colonna, Executive Coach, as heard on the podcast Startup, talks about making the unconscious conscious so that you can stand on your parents shoulders and grow past them. Taken slightly out of context, that advice applies more to being aware of what’s going on so that you can do/be better. And then I read an article in Real Simple that was about shedding your expectations on charitable giving. The message more broadly spoke to changing your perspective and looking at the idea of charitable giving through the eyes of those in receipt. 

Bum ba bummm bummmm // Ba bu bu bum bummmmm

I immediately tore the article out of the magazine and shared it with the closest warm body to help me disseminate it into the world.

My medical conundrum certainly has me focused on myself day-after-day, week-after-week, but to get through this I need to follow the advice of the above mentioned: put my ego aside to connect with those around me, be aware of how I’m responding to my condition in the context of others so that I can be/act  better / more appropriately, and look at my behavior through the eyes of others to shift my expectations and be more grateful for their understanding, assistance, and care.

Ba bum bahhh bum bum // bo bu buduhduh

As for the odd-sounding italicized text throughout this entry… it’s a Pitch Perfect 2 thing. There’s some symbolism in the voices… but it all starts with Me. To conclude, they’ll now sing together.

bada bum bum buummmm // uhhhhhhh