The Resilience Key: Channel Your Grit Into Growth

How we spend our time reflects how we feel about ourselves. Boom - truth bomb! Our actions often can betray ourselves, meaning self-sabotaging actions can really get in our way.  How do we do this?  In all kinds of manners - through not starting and general avoidance to making ourselves so busy we can't even seem to prioritize what's really important. In this episode, the third of three...

Today's episode is a SPECIAL episode I felt especially inspired to share with you - I'll be back next week with the third installment in my series on self-sabotage. I just finished up a major life goal yesterday, and that's what compelled me to do this episode instead. Have you ever had a goal in mind - be it relationship, financial or career - and then when you didn't meet it by a certain date, y...

In the last episode, we looked at how our internal thoughts can lead to self-sabotaging behaviors.  In this week's episode, we turn to our outer world, and specifically, to the WORDS we use to describe ourselves.  How do our words specifically lead to self-sabotage?  We'll examine three common ways we tend to subtly and subconsciously put ourselves down or judge ourselves.  We...

In the very FIRST episode of this podcast, well over a year and a half ago, I discussed the subtle art of self-sabotage, meaning the tiny little ways we "get in our own way."  And almost all of us do this from time to time - it's simply human nature. I decided to revisit that episode, and go into more depth!  In this three episode series, I tackle the different ways we sabotage ourselves...

"The source of all suffering is desire." True - I agree with this, but only when desire is misplaced on something that frankly isn't possible.   Yes, I know this is a self-help podcast, but let's be honest - sometimes no matter how hard you try, how much you attempt to prove yourself or to do "all the things", some things simply aren't possibilities.  And those things typically involve o...

Life is a one-way street.  There's one way in - birth - and one way out - death. So why do we spend valuable minutes on things that really don't matter, given that our time here is finite? Fear is one explanation.  Breaking taboos or societal expectations is another. This episode is your wake up to stop wasting your time on things that don't ultimately matter, and will (hopefully) help y...

A truth: Perfectionism isn't really about being perfect. If it's not, then what is it? Perfectionism is an excuse.  It's a cover for feeling grossly insecure, or being worried what other people may think of you.  It's a security blanket.  It's a trauma response.  It's a way we "wait for the right moment" instead of using our most valuable resource - TIME - to live our lives. If...

Why do we spend so much of our limited, valuable time focused on how other people are acting and what other people are doing...and judging them for it? It's so easy to get consumed by being judgmental in daily life.  Yet, this action really doesn't serve us. If we are truly secure in ourselves, and focused on our own growth journeys, then why does it matter what other people do around us? &nb...

Living in a state of uncertainty can truly be uncomfortable for most of us.  It's a human thing to want reassurance - to know that we're going to be OK, that a prospect will succeed, or that we won't end up alone.  Often, we simply want someone to say: you'll be fine. Here's the thing, though - no one can promise you that everything WILL be OK.   It's an uncomfortable truth in life...

What do you do when the unexpected happens?  Do you jump right into action?  Do you run away?  Or do you simply freeze? All of these reactions are perfectly normal - and human. Here's the thing - while we feel like we can PLAN for anything, that's simply an illusion of control.  In general, no matter how much we plan, there will always be things that happen to us that can feel...

One thing traveling for a month or more at a time, using a single backpack for all of my necessary items, is that we don't really need all that much.  It's so easy in our day to day environments - at home, at work, with friends - to think that we NEED certain items in our lives.  We see other people's consumption, and feel like we NEED to keep up. But there's a difference between needing...

How often are you truly silent? Are you someone who constantly fills up idle time with mindless scrolling on your phone?  Do you always have the TV - or music - on in the background when you're at home? Are you someone who interjects your opinion - unsolicited - in conversations with your loved ones because "you care" and "they need your advice?" Here's a key to personal growth.  Learnin...

To all of my regular listeners - this one is a "very special episode!"  And if you're tuning in for the first time, this one's heavy... Today, "trauma" is a real buzzword in the self help community online.  In this episode, I address what it means to have a trauma response to new situations.  Often, when we've experienced trauma, we get stuck - stuck in our past, stuck in a fight or...

One of the great fallacies of the mainstream self-help industry is that it places us at the center of our own individual universes.  While I firmly believe we should have faith in ourselves to overcome obstacles and meet challenges, sometimes things...well, just don't work out. Is that our fault? Not always.  Sometimes we're just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Sometimes the...

Is there a goal or achievement that's always seemed to elude you?  Do you feel like you've tried and tried, but never been able to quite *get there*? If so, you're not alone. It's a common belief that if we just work harder and do more, we'll achieve more.  But that's not necessarily true.  As one of my first mentors told me, it's not practice that makes perfect, it's perfect practi...

Do you know someone like this? Someone who proudly proclaims "I don't care what anyone thinks!" Do you wish you could be a little bit more like that? Here's a secret - unless you're a narcissist or a sociopath, you're ALWAYS going to have some worry about what other people think of you, or how other people perceive you.  That's simply a natural human tendency, and you should never try to rid...

So much about personal development revolves around talk of the "self."  Self help, self esteem, self love, self development...you get it! I don't dispute that we all need to focus on ourselves.  However, one thing that tends to get overlooked in working on the "self" is simple self-awareness.  Getting out of our heads, seeing how we interact with others, being conscious of our thoug...

As a tattoo artist, I see and hear...a LOT. I love my clients and value their trust in me.  I hold their confidence close to my heart.   This past week, I've heard a lot of anger.  A lot of rage.  Frustration.  Fear. Look, I get it.  We all need to get our feelings out in the open - it's never good to keep strong emotions bottled up.  But is it a good idea to ven...

When someone asks your opinion on what to want to do, where you want to go out to eat, or what you want to watch, are you the person who says "whatever you want?"  Are you the type to "go with the flow," rather than face any sort of confrontation or disagreement? If so, you're not alone. In my 15+ year career as a tattoo artist, I see this all the time with clients when I ask for their opinio...

As humans, why is it that we often make things harder on ourselves than we need to? Maybe it's an evolutionary characteristic - this phenomenon humans have to focus on things that are awful or negative or terrible or tragic to the exclusion of GOOD things happening around us.  We keep an eye out for the bad things possibly so that we can avoid them, fair!  But, we also get caught up. &nb...

Are you someone who constantly worries about something bad lurking around the corner?  Even if things in your life are going well, do you anticipate a bad thing happening soon to throw you off course? If so, you're not alone.  It's a common human tendency to anticipate the negative, for sure! In this episode, we explore this tendency.  We'll look at the reasons WHY we do this, and w...

One of the great wonders of the human spirit is our adaptability in order to survive.  Humans can literally get used to anything - both good and bad.  Familiarity simply becomes our normal, and it can be difficult to visualize what life could be like in another context. In this episode, we explore the idea of "life inertia."  We'll take a look at HOW we get used to sub-optimal physi...

There is one thing in life we can't get more of, we can't change, we can't speed up, and we can't slow down.  It is the one FINITE resource in this world, and for that reason, it really is the most valuable resource we do have.  That resource is TIME. In this episode, we explore the concept of time as well as the idea of how we spend our time reflects our inner mindset.  We'll go in...

So much of many personal growth podcasts - including this one - involves advice on how to do MORE.  On how to achieve MORE.  On how to set MORE goals and move toward them. If you were looking for that in THIS episode, think again. It's a truth we have to accept - no one can do it all.  You're human.  There are a finite number of hours in the day. In this episode, we look at thi...

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking out The Resilience Key podcast!  Listen here to this trailer to get a description of how this podcast is different from your typical self-help podcast.  In short, it's all about channeling your inner grit into personal growth, and in every episode we explore sets of PRACTICAL real-world strategies to help us toward this goal.  New episodes come out e...