The importance of helping others

I have always loved performing. My family is tired of hearing me burst out into Bollywood songs for every scenario or saying the most filmy dialogues in random situations. It's just a part of who I am.

But anytime I get an audience that is more than my family and friends, I panic, stress and feel like my heart will come out of my chest because its beating so hard.

Recently, I went to New York City for a Sustainable goals related camp where at the end, I had to pitch with my entire team to a group of judges about our idea in the hope of getting some mentoring sessions to bring our idea to life.

When it came to prepping for our pitch, my team decided to put me forwards as the person who would be pitching to the judges. It's safe to say my nerves were out of control and I was stressed. I thought back to that little girl on stage who couldn't perform her national anthem because she was so nervous. This time there was added pressure, I was doing this for others and not just myself. If I didn't do this well then others would lose out because of me. That made this pitch the most difficult one.

That night, I tossed and turned because I was nervous about the pitch. The next day was pitch day. We were up bright and early and ready to get to the pitching location. The drive there I was calming my nerves and trying to relax.

But before I went into the pitch, I felt a wave of calm that I normally don't feel. Why did I feel this? It was because I had the most amazing people around me.

Francesca Reverdito was my source of calm. She would look at me and I would know that I was going to be okay in that pitch. She would smile and make a joke. She didn't ask me to constantly practice or prep because she truly believed in me. That was what I needed. Full belief that I could do it from someone other than myself.

Sarah Al-Harbi was my source of confidence. She gave me a pep talk like a coach would and then that was it. She knew she didn't need to do anything else. She just smiled and gave me that look of confidence and I knew I had to go in there and smash it for her.

Stefani Terblanche was my source of energy. She was just happy and energized and she wasn't worried at all. That energy was infectious and I knew that's all I needed in that room to give the best pitch.

There were many others who inspired me and motivated me and believed in me that day to go and smash that pitch. I was pretty happy with the way that went.

So why am I telling you this long story?

I am telling you this story because you will come across many people in your life who might be nervous or anxious about certain things. It maybe public speaking, or creating presentations, applying for a job. doing an interview amongst many other things.

You can either let them struggle with their anxiety or you can be their source of calm, confidence, and energy. I work with a lot of mentees and coachees who struggle with different issues and we work on them together to get them through to the other side. They always thank me for my belief in them and supporting them through it.

We all have weaknesses and by helping others we end up helping ourselves in some ways. You don't have to be a mentor or a coach to help someone else with their professional and personal development.

I am going to leave you with this quote:

"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”