Do you feel butterflies in your stomach when you speak in public? It is a normal reaction of your body to have butterflies in your stomach when you are nervous or anxious. However, with practice, you will be able to control the butterflies and let them fly the way you want them to. As Toastmasters, we are trained to do exactly that- to control the butterflies. By controlling the butterflies, we can then focus on our speeches and deliver the speeches with confidence and conviction.
On 21 August 2010, a bunch of us from Mid Valley Toastmasters Club had a different set of butterflies to control. We challenged ourselves to the extreme by embarking on a scary journey at SkyTrex Adventure Park, Shah Alam. We climbed up trees, swung ourselves from one tree to another, walked on ropes high up in the sky, and tried flying fox. This was an experience of a different kind that we have not been trained to do, but we took up the challenge nevertheless, and successfully completed the challenge with smiles. The girls did it well, looking like Lara Croft in training. The guys did it well too, with some looking like Tarzans.
As a reward for all of us, our Club treated us to good food in Klang.
We learnt one important lesson from the SkyTrex Adventure challenge:
“If you are faced with challenges in life, stop concentrating on how daunting the challenges are, and how impossible it is to overcome them. Instead, focus your energy and mind on the immediate challenge facing you, and walk through the challenges one by one. Before long, you will realize that you have reached the finishing line.”
P.S.- Special thanks to Loo Cheaw Lee for organizing the event. For more photos, join our Facebook group (search for "Mid Valley Toastmasters Club").
