Tried & Tested, Landmark Forum (excerpt)
Psychologies MagazineMichelle 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.