A few weeks ago, my daughter had a difficult time when getting ready to go to the doctor. No amount of assuring her helped. Until the doctor told her she would not be poked with a needle. Immediately she calmed down and became herself again. That got me thinking… what was the issue?

Her imagination ran wild with all the negative possibilities ahead of her!

But don’t’ we do the same? I know I do!

• I put off writing that paper for school because I might receive negative feedback
• I work myself up with anxiety thinking I might have to have a difficult conversation
• I ignore opportunities to put in proposals at work because I ‘might’ not be accepted.

What about you? How does your imagination run wild sometimes? How can we stop that?

Well, I could write you a whole dissertation on how to use your imagination for moving forward, OR, you could join us in the Self-Image Mastery course starting on 7/20 and I’ll teach you all my tricks! 

Sometimes we just have bad days! What do YOU do when you have a bad day? Maybe a self-care routine: bath, wine, workout, chat with a friend….

Most people who practice good self-care know that taking care of their body and reducing the stress on their nervous system allows them some relief. But if you’re only caring for your body and not your mind and soul, you might be leaking energy and power.

"No one can hurt me by myself, for no one else can make me forsake the good and embrace the bad." Marcus Aurelius

I LOVE this quote! It reminds me that I have the power to make a bad day into a good day. It’s all about perspective. Here are a few examples:

• When you are evacuated from your home due to a 500-year flood and 3 dams breaking- that’s a bad day! AND it’s an opportunity to see what your three kids might deem as ‘important’ in their life when they are limited to 2 bags of stuff each.
• When you lose a loved one- that’s a bad day. When...

Pessimism is a dangerous mindset and thought pattern to cultivate. It’s like growing weeds in your mind! It has several devastating effects and can actually cause you to physically heal slower! If it has that sort of effect on YOUR physical body, think about what your pessimistic attitude does for your TEAM….

Pessimism is contagious!

How can you prevent it?

• Acknowledge that you have a problem and seek help from a trusted advisor or friend
• Play around with different perspectives when faced with a problem
• Seek out optimistic people on your team and ask for their help
• Focus on your team goals and celebrate every small win you can

If you struggle with this and are real and honest with yourself and your team, things WILL get better! Your people will thank you!

What is a crisis in the workplace? Obviously, with the Pandemic, there are many answers to that question!

But, what about in a ‘normal’ time? A crisis might look like a problem, challenge, a sales opportunity, running a staff meeting for the first time, a looming deadline, or speaking in public.

How do we prepare ourselves, and our people, to perform under pressure? Maxwell Maltz lists out 3 things that help people perform in a 'crisis'.

• Practice Without Pressure: learning while under stress creates ‘muscle memory’ for only one option. Learning without stress creates muscle memory for multiple options. The stressed brain cannot be creative or solve problems. How can you help your people perform without pressure in your workplace?

• Cultivating A Positive (Offensive) Mindset: Offense vs. Defense; those that focus on moving forward, even in tiny steps, during a challenge perform better both during a challenge and when not in a challenge. Those who focus...