Should I? Should I not?

ShouldI?ShouldInot?ShouldI?ShouldInot?

These were the constant questions that were running in my head when the contest season commencedforthetoastmastertenor2022/2023.

Beingatoastmasterforalmost05years,contesting was something I never considered as one of my strengths nor was something I was remotely interestedinformyself.Myversionoftoastmasters wasaboutimprovingmyselfwhilehavingfun.

Early 2023, when the Table Topics and Humorous contests were announced at club level, I was planning on cheering for my fellow club members and helping them prepare for their contests. My perception was shifted to a totally different directionswhentwoofmyfriendsaskedmesowhy areyounotcompeting?Thisquestionwaskindofa wakeupcallformeandIrealizedthatIhadnoreal reason for not competing other than my own laziness.

Ithoughttomyself, ShouldI?ShouldInot?ShouldI?ShouldInot?

It occurred to me that the only thing that was stopping me from competing was my own self, my own lack of confidence, my own fear of losing and mostly my own laziness. Year 2023 was different; I wanted to make it different. I signed up for table topics contest simply because it was the easy option (at least that’s what I thought). On contrary my friends had other plans. They wanted me to sign up not just for one contest, but for two. Once againthesamequestionsraninmyhead: ShouldI?ShouldInot?

ThistimeIdecidedtochallengemyself.Isigned-up forbothcontests,TableTopicsandthemost challengingInternationalSpeechcontest.

Thi

ShaliniSamarasinhe

The real beauty of this toastmasters fraternity is thatyouwillbesurroundedbypeoplewhobelieve in you more than you do. These people see the potentialofyouwhichyouneverthoughtpossible. This contest season was an eye opener for me because this made me realize that as contestants we require a lot of self-discipline hard work and most importantly a load of practice. Each level of contest required a enhanced version of me. This forced me tochallengemyselfand improvemyself ondailybasisalsocontestbycontest.

Not only our own self-improvement, it also brings out instances to cheer for one another, celebrate wins together and lifts up the team spirit among theclubmembers.

The learnings a person get from competing in a toastmasters contest is not limited to simply winning the contest. Even if you lose, you can alwaysgetfeedbackfromyourfellowtoastmasters and make them points of improvements for your nextspeechorevennextcontest.

We all have our own stories that we cherish, but onlyaveryfewsetofclosepeoplewould knowit. Toastmasters stage can also become a perfect platformforyoutotellyourstorytolargernumber of people. It may inspire at least one person to embrace a new challenge in their lives with a positiveattitudeandalittlelessfear.

In the next contest season ifyoutooface the same questions; ShouldI?ShouldInot?

Take up that journey because the rewards are endless.