Gulp

Irfan Kundi

I&C ENGINEER

By Gabriella Goddard

Introduction
The Book named Gulp is a book that inspires you to face your fear. Sometimes in
life you face a challenge; a challenge that will bring yourself out of your comfort
zone. You feel the fear that you will fall apart or you will fail. On the other hand you
also feel excited. You want to do something to make a change. You can either face it
or leave it. If you dont face it now it will again come at a different time and a
different place. The choice is yours. When you choose to face your Gulp, you take an
important step forward in your personal growth and development. You let go of the
things that hold you back.
Question arises here Why Gulp. According to dictionary the word Gulp means
to swallow with difficulty in response to a complicated situation. Gulp is for those
people who are ready to face their challenges; Challenges that teach us to trust
ourselves and to grow us as a human being. They open us to new ideas and
opportunities.
Gulp comes in many forms. Sometimes youre building it up for a while and then
suddenly a time comes when you have to do something about your situation. On
the other hand sometimes we are in the flow of normal routine life and suddenly
something comes and hit us. We are not ready for it but we have to deal with it. Like
if someone is diagnosed with a disease that is not curable. Also sometimes we want
to challenge our self. Life becomes boring and we want a change. We want to give
our self a new identity.
The important thing to talk about here is When to Gulp. Sometimes we are so
busy in our lives that we dont notice the signs of change. These signs tell us that
change is needed. Some of the common symptoms that signal change is required
are:

Youre feeling frustrated

Youre not feeling happy
You feel tired.
The people around you start to tease you
Youre not concentrating on your job
You feel jealous of people around you

Sometimes people are noticing these signals but they fear to face the new
challenge. The fear of unknown is holding them back. When they continue to ignore
these symptoms they got sick and their performance goes down.
When you want to take a challenge then dont ignore these signals. Step out of the
box which you have created for yourself. Leave behind all the barriers and welcome
new opportunities and possibilities. Approach your challenge calmly and confidently
and move through it swiftly.
This book is about a seven Day program that will help you to face your challenge.
We will discuss each day in detail.

Day 1: Dare & Defy

The first day of the Gulp teaches us about the challenges. As we all know life is full
of challenges and we have to deal with them. Some times in our life when we have
a challenge, we either face it or pass it over. If we continue to deny the challenges it
suffers us in form of stuckness and sickness.
When we are stuck in a certain situation it is the worst feeling in the world. You want
to move forward but we also fear that we will lose what we have right now. After
some time we get frustrated and blame our self for not being stronger and smarter.
Important thing at this point is to evaluate what you want and what you dont want.
Similarly when we are stuck at a certain point in our life, we stress our self so much
that we started to get sick.
Sometimes pain of the current situation becomes so great that we have to do
something. We have to look for the root of our pain. There are mainly five things
contributing to your pain.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Your
Your
Your
Your
Your

needs
identity
attachment
values
impact

1. Your needs: Dr. Abraham Maslow published in his theory that we have
basically five needs i.e. Physiological, safety, social, Esteem and selfActualization. Pleasure in life comes when your needs are properly fulfilled as
per your satisfaction. As per above mentioned theory these five needs form a
pyramid. When our psychological needs are fulfilled then we can move
towards safety & so on. If threat of one need becomes greater by the
pleasure gained by meeting another need, then phenomenon of the fear
comes in. Our Gulp can only become easy and painless when all of our needs
are fulfilled as per our expectation.
2. Your Identity: The other important thing regarding your pain is your identity
label. We limit our self by an identity label and we dont want to come out of
it. We have to eliminate this label.
3. Your attachment: Sometime we get attached to the people or attached to
the places. These attachments tie us so much that we deny the new
challenges.

4. Your Value: Every person has some core values like honesty, respect and
sincerity. If we force our self to do a certain job which is against our nature
then it will increase our pain and make us sick. Real happiness can only be
attained when we choose to work as per our nature.
5. Your Impact: When we step up to our Gulp it has an impact on us. This
impact will change our life and also the environment around us. Important
thing here is that before step up for a Gulp its better to understand its
impact on you, others and environment.

Another important thing to come out of the state of the denial is to name the
challenge. When we name it, it becomes real and we have to deal it. After naming
the challenge we reach at a pivot point. A point where we have to decide whether to
take it or not? At this point we can have four choices.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Give Up: One thing is to forget about Gulp and never think about it again
Give an Inch: You are not giving up and you are thinking about it.
Give a Mile: You are ready to say yes to the challenge.
Give it all: You are tired and sick of the things around you and you wanted to
change them now.

Day 2: Breakdown & Breakthrough

The second day of the Gulp teaches us about facing the fear. Fear is an unpleasant
often strong emotion caused by awareness of danger. Fear is an important part of
our life and hold us back when we step up to a certain challenge. When we step up
to our Gulp, we have to face our deepest fears. We can do that by naming them and
by developing strategies to minimize the risk of them.
In order to identify fear trigger points we can use The Challenge Cycle. It helps us
to handle our current situation. There are basically five stages of this cycle.
1. Reality: These are the facts about your situation including place, time,
location and any other valuable information
2. Perception: You have to see the situation from your perspective.
3. Imagining: Think about the future. Imagine what will happen
4. Feeling: How does this make you feel? How do you feel what might happen.
5. Reacting: Whatever you feeling will trigger a natural reaction. How do you
react to the final outcome?
Applying this cycle to your current situation changes your thinking and brings new
ideas. We can see the fuller picture which can lead us to different outcome and
feelings.

Day 3: Centre & Connect

The third day of the Gulp is about reconnecting to your inner core and to silence
your mind. Our inner core is a place where we can hear our inner wisdom which
guides us to make choices which are right for us. It is a place of no thoughts, no
judgments and no beliefs.
But the problem is how we can connect our self to the inner core. Our inner core is
surrounded by our thoughts, beliefs, feelings and attitudes. When we are stuck in a
problem we cant see all the possibilities and outcomes. Our vision is clouded by
nature of our thoughts and beliefs that we can see the situation from only one
perspective. These thoughts are also influenced by family and culture. The
important thing here is to connect with your true nature which is not influenced by
the culture and family. In other words we have to empty our mind. There are five
powerful ways which will help us to find the inner calm and to silence our minds.

1. Cultivating Stillness and Silence: Start your day with some meditation.
Silence your mind for some time which will accumulate inner power and
courage. Also try to have good quality thoughts. When our mind is pure &
clean we will feel light and focused.
2. Presencing Yourself: Life happens in the present. Your current thoughts
create your future reality. Past is over and future has yet to be created. So the
important thing is our present. We are so busy in thinking about the future
that we forget to think about the present. When we will be focus on our
current situation we will bring opportunities for creating what has to be yet
created.
3. Breathing for Life: Breathing is an important part of our life and we didnt
realize it until we have a panic attack or we run up the stairs. When we are
facing a Gulp, it causes stress and tension. This stress and tension leads to
fearful thoughts. Here the important thing is to focus on your breath. By
controlling your breath in stressful situation you can calm our mind and
connect yourself to the inner core.
4. Synchronizing with music: Music also helps you to reconnect yourself to
the inner core and silence the mind.
5. Connecting with the nature: Reconnecting with the nature help you to
balance your body, activate all your senses and clear your head so that you
think more clearly. Your Gulp is a part of nature and by connecting yourself
with the nature you can access your challenge from a different perspective.

Day 4: Imagine & Invent

The fourth day of the Gulp deals with imagination and new ideas. As now you feel
centered and connected, you become creative and start to think about new ideas
and possibilities. You feel positive and motivated. You see your Gulp from a fresh
perspective. There are eight creative sparks that can change your thinking.
1. See what can be: Often we only look at the issue and how to resolve it. We
dont see a potential underneath our challenge. We resolve the issue and

2.
3.

4.

5.
6.

7.

8.

learn from it but its a slow process. When we look at the challenge as an
opportunity for a change it becomes exciting. We start to look at the things in
different ways. Often people dont take a challenge because they think they
are not ready. They underestimate themselves. But thats not true as we all
are capable of facing the new challenges.
Ignite your imagination: Open yourself to new ideas. Stimulate your
imagination so that you can open your mind to receive sparks of inspiration.
Challenge the status quo: The biggest problem we face when we step up
to our challenge is family and cultural norms. At this point you have to listen
to the inner heart and soul. This is the hardest decision to make. History is
full of such people who challenged the status quo and then achieved
extraordinary things.
Embrace the spirit of adventure: Adventure is an unusual, exciting and
daring experience. Often we remain busy in our routine life which is kind of
boring sometimes and also adventure less. When we start to take new
challenges as an adventure, they bring new energy and motivation.
See things differently: When we look at our Gulp, we get stuck because
we are viewing it from a certain fixed view point. When we start to look at the
things differently our paradigm shifts and bunch of new ideas emerge.
Rewrite your beliefs: We all had some beliefs which stop us from taking the
new challenge. For example
Im not good enough
Im not important
Im not clever/smart
Im not confident
If we think step upping to your Gulp is hard, it will become hard and vice
versa. When we will rewrite the above mentioned beliefs with positivity, we
will face our Gulp with ease.
Invent new possibilities: Einstein said necessity is the mother of
invention. The world greatest inventions came from those people who
thought differently and invented new possibilities. History is full of such
people e.g. J.K. Rowling who was unemployed and struggling for money. Later
he wrote the first magical story of Harry Potter and became famous.
Connect to a higher purpose: When we see our Gulp from a perspective of
something that is bigger than you, you get an incredible strength. You
become a contributor and your thinking becomes broader and wider.
Movements happen when people work together for a cause that is bigger
than any one of them.

Day 5: Plan & Prepare

The fifth day of the Gulp is about planning and preparation. Dr. Anthony grant
developed a model known as CIGAR model which help you to plan your Gulp. This
model is easy and simple to learn.

C stands for current reality

I stands for ideal outcome

G stands for Gaps between C & I.

A stands for Action Plan
R stands for Review.

1. Current Reality: Think about your current situation and then the reality of
your gulp. Think about details of your Gulp, fears associated with it and
impact of your Gulp on other people.
2. Ideal Outcome: Visualize your ideal outcome by creating a picture. Ask
yourself that this outcome is ideal for you. What are the impacts of this
outcome on my life and other people?
3. Gaps between C & I: Between reality and ideal outcome there lies a big gap
which is unknown. How we can fill this gap. Ask yourself which additional
information I need? What knowledge I require. What people are crucial for my
success?
4. Action Plan: After finding the Gap you can move towards preparation of
final action plan. Before that you must connect yourself to inner wisdom. For
each gap, prepare an action plan to plug that gap. Your action plan must
include the appropriate action, timeline and people involved in it.
5. Review: Review your progress and check whether you are on track or not. In
this way you can refocus on your efforts and move effectively.
Stepping up to your Gulp requires physical energy and presence of mind. Using five
simple ways you can increase your physical energy. 1. Drink Well 2. Breathe Well 3.
Eat Well 4. Sleep Well 5. Exercise Well.

Day 6: Focus & Flow

The Aim of sixth of the Gulp is to learn how to be in flow and use your intuition and
instinct to guide you. When you decided to embark your gulp life starts to flow. It
looks like everything is working in synchronization. Your inertia of flow simply
overcomes any resistance and blocks. But sometime we need more energy to
remove that block. When youre faced with a decision or choice, use your energy
calibrator to guide you; if your energy expands, move forward; if your energy
contracts, stop and question.
As you step up to your Gulp, you use your intuition& instinct to guide you. A famous
French poet said instinct is the nose of the mind. Just like sometimes your friend
smiles and looks happy but you sense that he is upset about something. Intuition
means ability to understand or know something immediately. Using your instinct
while facing Gulp, helps you to develop an incredible sense of inner confidence.
When you work with your flow and intuition, you start to notice signs of
synchronicity. These signs are like clues that help you move easily and swiftly
through your Gulp.
As you move in the flow, you will observe that some aspects of your life arent
flowing. They are making you uncomfortable. These aspects can be anything related
to your home or workplace. The truth is that we resist change and get attached to

old things. We call it our safety zone. But stepping up to your Gulp will mean letting
go of the old attachments. You have to let go of the things that hold you back.

Day 7: Gulp! & Go

Youve done everything to make your Gulp a success. Youve chosen a path that will
inspire you and encourage you. Youve calmed your mind, mastered your fear and
you see your challenge from a place of possibility. Youre moving forward in the flow
and youve organized yourself and practiced. Now you are ready. It is Gulp time.
So take the dive of faith. Know that it will be graceful and swift. Move swiftly and
gracefully. And know that when you land on the other side it will be with both feet
on the ground, balanced and poised. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a
trail.