Don’t let fear block goals

She was invited to speak at her rst women’s conference. Although Carolyn was excited about the opportunity to nally be invited to share her story, she was petri ed of speaking in public. Without a real opportunity to speak that was immediately in front of her, she would dream about one day becoming a speaker. She could see herself on stage wowing the audi-

But now, it suddenly became very real for her, and with each passing day, her panic levels increased. She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t sleep, and she couldn’t focus on her fulltime job. And sadly, a week before she was scheduled to speak, she backed out of the event.

Allen is in sales. Allen is having a very di cult beginning to his year as his numbers are way o . He has heard the word “no” so often already this year that he has developed a fear of asking the prospect for the business. Before each call he began thinking to himself, “ is prospect will just say no too.” He decided he would rather just not ask for the business, hoping they would ask him for an agreement, because he feared the word, “no.” is became so bad for Allen that he actually stopped making prospecting calls as he was fearful that no one would take his calls. His email and social media reach out campaigns became informational without any calls to action as he was afraid no one would reply or he would be blocked. So now he shared that his biggest fear is losing his job for non-performance. Unfortunately, Allen is right, he is in danger and has been placed on a performance improvement plan.

Fear impacts us all in di erent ways. For some the grip of fear becomes paralyzing. For others, they have learned to work through their fears, developing strategies and coping mechanisms to help overcome their fears in certain situations. And some of us face our fears head on. It’s not that the fear isn’t there, it’s just that they acknowledge their fear and summon the courage to deal with it in that moment. Still there are others who say they have no fear, that they aren’t afraid of anything, and these are the folks who lie about other things too.

We all have fears, and that’s normal and okay. What we should strive to work towards is not letting our fears stop us from achieving our goals. We can never let our fears get in the way of who we want to be and what we want to do. When fear wins, we lose, and when we allow fear to cheat us from

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com achieving our goals it’s a double loss.

Here are a few things that I have learned to lean into when I have felt fearful. First is this that hope and fear are the same thing, a belief that something is going to happen in the future. So why not live with hope instead of fear, hoping that something good will happen and not anything bad. Second is turning fear into an acronym, F.E.A.R. stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. And lastly, the famous quote said by so many, but I will choose this version, “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the realization that there is something more important than fear.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Here’s the good news, Carolyn overcame her fear of public speaking by learning how to be overprepared with her content. She learned other helpful speaking tips from Toastmasters, and she is doing awesome. Allen not only survived his 90-day performance improvement plan, he is also back to focusing on doing his sales behaviors, following a sales process, and winning business. Fear for both is a thing of the past.

Are you holding on to any fears that are keeping you from achieving your goals? I would love to hear your hope and fear story at gotonorton@gmail.com and when we

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com question of “what next” by the power grabbing Democrats?

Let’s clear up some misconceptions ere is nothing in either bill which requires builders to build the affordable duplexes (paired homes), tri-plexes and apartments which are stated and promoted in the second bill. It is wide open on the price range and the AMI which could simply allow builders to produce dwelling units at whatever level of size, building materials and upgraded nishes they choose.

Contrary to what Governor Polis is hyping, the bills do not assure creating more a ordable housing.

Polis’ campaign of “a house for everyone” is totally misleading with what the bills would mandate and accomplish. is legislation is more a “builder’s delight.” While lower

SEE CHRISTOPHER, P11

Letter To The Editor

Smart meters not so smart

What a nice postcard I received from Xcel Energy, advising me that they would soon be favoring me with a `smart’ electric meter “to improve reliability, e ciency and security”. It’s only in the last paragraph that they suggest one visit their website for more details. And when one does, what treasures unfold.

Firstly, it appears that smart electric meters emit between 10,000 and 190,000 bursts of carcinogenic RF microwave radiation into homes daily. at should warm us up this frigid spring!

Secondly, using the new smart meter will generate an increase in per-kWh consumption costs of between 20% (assuming you never use electricity between 1pm and 7pm Monday-Friday all year) and 375% (for any usage time between 3pm and 7pm, Monday-Friday in summer). Yes, it’s a smart meter, especially smart if you are Xcel Energy.

Even if you opt out of the new cancer-delivering meters and use Xcel’s new at rate, your per-kWh consumption costs will increase by 55% and you will be paying between $13/month and $26/month extra (depending on how far you live from Xcel’s o ces) for your meter to be manually read. For the philomaths among you, you can gure it as I did:

Last year, my (and your) ‘winter’ per-kWh rate was a little over

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Email letters to staylor@coloradocommunitymedia.com income families have their hopes up to achieve a home which they can a ord, it is wishful thinking.

Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

I favor reasonable amounts of below market priced housing of all types. But there must be nancial osets to achieve this goal. It is a noble sounding idea, but the components of what the bills would accomplish fall way short of producing what Polis says the bills will accomplish. Enough said!!

April is child abuse prevention month

I normally do not pay much attention to many of the monthly designations for a wide variety of recognitions and causes. It can range from serious to silly to “good causes.”

For example, here is a very short list to make my point. e following are recognized national recognition months - bird feeding, poetry, Black history, bike, honey, zombie awareness, ice cream and heart.

However, a monthly recognition which is close to my heart is Child Abuse Prevention Month. My years on the CASA of Adams and Broomeld Counties Board of Directors and Chairmanship made me aware of the important reason to focus on April as this cause is so important. life.

Each year, more than 390,000 children in America are in the dependency court and foster care system. ey are there because each of them experienced child abuse or neglect. A child in foster care, on the average, will move into multiple homes and attend several schools before aging out. All of this chaos and inconsistency has long-term e ects.

As a consistent, caring adult in the child’s life, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA’s) volunteers help make informed recommendations to judges about the child’s best interests. This is done on an ongoing basis. CASA partners with county Health and Human Services (Children and Family Services) in April to raise awareness by planting purple pinwheels at various locations. They also attend Adams County Board of Commissioners session to recognize the important work of supporting children in the child welfare system.

Also, local governments pass proclamations designating April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Please learn more about the tragic stories of abused and neglected children in our community, in our county and in our state. Make a di erence by getting involved. With awareness, comes action!

FROM PAGE 10 can never allow our fears to cheat us out of our goals and dreams, it really will be a better than good

Letters

FROM PAGE 10

7 cents, the ‘summer’ rate a little over 8 cents. e promised `opt out’ rate will be 11 cents and 13 cents respectively. Per my calculations, if I opt out this means an annual increase from $374 to $581; assuming I also pay the minimum for meter reading, the annual cost becomes $737. E ectively, then, this doubles my costs even without the laundry list of add-ons that grace my electricity bill.

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Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

If, however, I rejoice in the installation of a new smart meter, my 7-cent/8-cent rate races upward to a gure of between 10 cents (7pm1pm Mon-Fri + weekends/hols) and 27 cents (3pm-7pm Mon-Fri in summer) per kWh. Since I have never been able to monitor my power usage by ‘time of use’ (the friendlysounding protocol Xcel is implementing) I cannot calculate the actual $ or % increase I will incur. But it matters not. I like to think I’m too smart for this smart o er from Xcel.

Christopher Stimpson, Westminster

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Families first federal legislation is federal legislation - passed in 2018 and implemented in Colorado in October 2022 - may not be all that well known to the public. Its focus has caused change within the child welfare paradigm which is for the better. Its main focus is prevention services with the goal of preventing children from having to enter the foster care system in the rst place. Key tools available are in-home family support and parent education on a variety of issues. is emphasis aligns with the overall goals of providing children with a safe, stable and permanent home with their natural families whenever possible. is framework promotes the well-being of children and families in the child welfare system and recognizes the important role which CASA volunteers play in advocating for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect.

Expelled Tennessee lawmakers attacks democracy

Two weeks ago an ugly attack on democracy played out in the Tennessee General Assembly. e Republican controlled legislature voted to expel two Democrat African American state legislators for speaking out on the need for more gun control legislation. eir pleas came on the heels of the horri c shooting at the private school in Nashville where three children and three adults were shot to death. Also, the Republicans failed by one vote of expelling a white female legislator for the same reasoning.

Was racism at play here? e Republican Speaker of the House called the action to expel the two members based on their actions which violated rules of decorum of the legislature. is action was a sad, low point in the history of Tennessee and shows how blatant some people are when it comes to addressing the need for more gun control or exing their racial biases. Decorum was not the true issue that day. It was raising the issue of gun control which had been thwarted. In the process, two legislators had their freedom of speech stolen from them and their legislative seats. In turn, their constituents lost their “voice” (representation) in the state legislature. is is unconstitutional, despicable and hateful. Fortunately, the tables turned when both expelled legislators, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, were elected to serve on an interim basis. I would say justice prevailed!

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.

James

August 17, 1932 - April 9, 2023

James Ray “Jim” Stitt passed away on April 9th in Grand Junction, Colorado. Jim was a wonderful son, husband, father, and grandfather who will be dearly missed. He is survived by his ve children, Colleen, Dan, Laura, Heidi, and Kathleen, and their families. Funeral Services will be held on April 22, 2023, at Horan & McConaty Funeral Home, 7577 W. 80th Ave., Arvada, CO 80003 at 11am. For full obituary please visit HoranCares.com.

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In a state that has over 400 breweries and almost 100 distilleries, approaching the topic of sobriety can be a hard conversation for many people to have.

But with low-key, no-fuss non-alcoholic options at many establishments across the metro, it doesn’t have to be a big deal if you don’t want to drink, whatever your reasons.

Mocktails that you wouldn’t even know were NA

Golden Moon Speakeasy in Golden uses all its own distilled spirits and creates unique craft cocktails at’s all the more reason that general manager Kayla Veatch sees to o er quality, non-alcoholic options.

“My overall philosophy when I changed the menu was to have the same options as the alcohol menu,” Veatch said.

So no, you won’t have to order a water if you’re the designated driver. e mocktails at Golden Moon use highly steeped teas to replace alcohol and utilize many of the same syrups and NA ingredients the cocktails use.

Mocktails are a great option for people ready to slow down on alcohol for the night, people taking certain medications, pregnant people and people exploring sobriety, Veatch said. e speakeasy even serves mocktails to children before 9 p.m.

Having an inclusive menu makes an establishment like this a gathering place for groups, Veatch explained.

“People can still come together….if I didn’t have mocktails, I wonder if they would still be excited to come,” she said about group members who don’t consume alcohol.

Some of the mocktails Veatch makes include the Cloud City, which features an earl grey tea base, ginger, lemon and elder ower, or the Cheshire Cat, which features a butter y pea ower tea base, passionfruit juice and lime. Veatch even makes a copycat smoked whiskey.

Golden Moon Speakeasy is located at 1111 Miner’s Alley in Golden.

An alcohol alternative

For those looking for another NA drink option, perhaps with health bene ts, kombucha has been a popular choice.

Kombucha has been added as an option at many breweries, bars and co ee shops around Colorado; but Marc Gaudreault owns one of only two kombucha tap rooms on the front range.

Before the pandemic, the Trubucha tap room in Lone Tree had space for people to sit inside and enjoy a glass of kombucha. According to Gaudreault, Trubucha actually grew during the pandemic, and the demand for his product is so great he needs most of his shop space for fermenting the kombucha in huge vats.

Still, Trubucha boasts 31 taps in the store and has a spacious patio for people to enjoy kombucha, lemonade, ginger beer or cold brew.

So, what is kombucha? Put simply, Gaudreault explained, it’s lightly fermented tea. But the health bene ts are much more lengthy, he said. Most notably, the drink has an abundance of natural probiotics,