The Resilience Key: Channel Your Grit Into Growth

Are you someone who frequently zeroes in on negative things surrounding you, such as in your workplace or in the news?  Are you someone who feels like - no matter where you go - that you attract negative situations?  Do you have the belief that everything in our world is corrupt? You're not alone.  It's a very human tendency to focus on what's going WRONG around us. In this episode,...

When it comes to personal growth, there is ONE thing that is absolutely essential.  Without this ONE thing, you're going to stay stuck - stuck in bad relationships, stuck in a job you hate, stuck in life circumstances that you feel you can't overcome, and stuck in cycles or patterns that simply aren't good for your best and highest self. This one thing?  It's having a REAL sense of self...

Do you ever catch yourself saying: "I'm so tired of being taken advantage of." Or... "I do all these things for others, and what do I get in return?" You're not alone.  Most of us are guilty of being (what we think of as) too nice.  In this episode, we'll look at the very human quality of overcommitting, over yes-ing, and over-giving to our collective detriment.  We'll also go into...

Self care...one of the biggest, buzziest terms in the world of personal growth!  Also, one of the most important things to develop... However, I truly believe we go about thinking of self care in all the wrong ways.  Frequently, we equate self care with things like bubble baths, indulgent food, taking time off to watch a streaming series, or going on vacation and running away from the wo...

Inertia is a VERY real phenomenon - not just in physics but in every aspect of our personal lives. Once you get settled, once things kind of start rolling on auto-pilot in your life, it can be a HUGE challenge to start striving toward new goals, or to continue to grow and evolve.  As humans, we crave the feeling of being settled - that feeling of "comfort." But comfort often equals complacenc...

We live in an increasingly digital world - obviously.  I mean, hey, you're listening to this podcast digitally!  And while the digital arena has great power to connect us (we saw this illustrated to the "nth" degree during the lockdowns of the pandemic in 2020), it isn't necessarily "enough" for all of us. A basic human need is face to face connection and interaction.  We need to le...

What does it mean to be a confident person? There are a lot of misconceptions about confidence.  For example, confidence is not bragging, and it's certainly not bravado.  Confidence, rather, is a quiet quality - confidence doesn't shout.  It's the simple self-assuredness that you can handle any situation, that if you need help you'll ask for it, and if there's something you don't kn...

Do you ever get caught up in comparing your journey to someone else's and wonder why you haven't been able to reach your goals like they have?  Do you get frustrated wondering why other people don't follow your path, or have the same reactions as you? This is common thing that most of us experience - this getting caught up in the "comparison game." On any journey - be that of general personal...

If you're a listener of this podcast, obviously you're someone interested in personal growth, and likely someone with big goals!   One topic I've rarely seen addressed in the self-help arena is this - so often we focus on our goals, thinking that if we accomplish something BIG, it'll turn us into a new person.  And that, unfortunately, is not the case.  Before or after you reach a g...

Have you ever had a big goal in mind, but then heard yourself say - either to yourself or to someone else, "oh, I'd LOVE to, but I just don't have the time." In this episode, we're going to dive into what we're REALLY saying when we tell folks, "I just don't have the time."  Translation? "I'm just not making this a priority." (Ouch, right?) We're all guilty of this on occasion, and in this ep...

While I may not know YOU personally, I can likely guess that you're someone on a personal growth journey, otherwise you wouldn't be listening to this podcast.  And in the self-help arena, one thing I hear from folks frequently is this: "I need to work on getting motivated." That's actually not the case, and in this episode, we explore why motivation is simply just a fleeting emotion or burst...

You are not an island. What does that mean?  It's virtually impossible to not be affected by your surroundings.  Whether that's the emotional state of the people in your closest relationships to the general vibe at your job, it's going to eventually impact YOU and your mental attitude...as well as your future. If you've got goals or big changes in your life that YOU want to make, it's im...

I'm guessing, if you're listening to this podcast, you're someone invested in change for the better - maybe for yourself, maybe for the world at large! One of the things we can do to drive ourselves the CRAZIEST is to: ...try to change OTHER people's thoughts, minds, or behaviors. The louder we yell at people, the more we shout (either physically or metaphorically), the less people will listen to...

Have you ever really thought about what you ACTUALLY say about yourself? Do you joke about yourself in a subtly negative way?  Do you have a habit of making disparaging comments about your appearance, or your income, or your relationship status? You're not alone - most of us tend to write off our negative comments about ourselves as little jokes, or as poking fun at ourselves.  But if yo...

Have you ever had the experience when - going through a tough time - you just needed to talk to someone?  And the person you talked to about your situation either interrupted you with a story of when THEY had it worse, or interrupted with a way for you to fix your problem, rather than simply listening to what you had to say?  Chances are, you have.  Chances are, it was a frustrating...

How often, in today's contemporary culture, do we ever truly experience silence? Not often. We're bombarded with the constant news cycle, the demands of instant communication, incessant stimulation on social media.  It's increasingly difficult to "tune out and tune in," so to speak.  And yet, silence is one of the most powerful tools we can use for personal growth. This week's episode is...

Have you heard the phrase "trust your gut?"  (Of course you have.) This phrase, while well meaning, can be misleading.  How?  Many of us have yet to unpack our reactions - our "gut" reactions to situations or events.  Are our reactions merely based in stress, based perhaps on something that happened to us in the past?  Or are our reactions coming from a place of deep intui...

I hear it all the time: "I could never do that because of my genetics." In this episode, we'll explore this limiting belief - and believe me, this is the EPITOME of a limiting belief!  Of course, it's true that we can't control the circumstances of what we were born into, but it's equally true that we HAVE CONTROL over how we think, our habits, our environments, and our mindsets.  We'll...

Hysteria is never helpful. At the time of this recording, we're living in an uncertain time - news headlines, crazy political stuff, pandemic things - well, it's got a whole lot of people riled up for good reason.  However, living for an extended period of time in a state of heightened stress isn't good for anyone.  Stress hormones don't exactly help our brains to make logical decisions....

It's New Year's Eve, and I don't know about you, but I usually see a huge number of well-intentioned "new year's resolutions" being posted on this day.  But let's think about it - how many times do grand resolutions actually work? Too often, we're looking for a grand sign from the universe to tell us it's time to make a big change or a big shift in our lives, in everything from relationships...

Have you ever gone through a rough patch, and had a well meaning friend or relative tell you, "everything happens for a reason?" While with the best of intentions, this old adage provides little consolation, and it strips us of our agency.  It tells us that - unfair things happen, horrible things happen, and someone somewhere planned that JUST FOR YOU. Ouch, right? Rather than thinking of thi...

If you're someone who consumes a great deal of self-help books and podcasts, you'll be familiar with the whole ideal of "achieving balance" or "moderation" in your personal life.  In this episode, we explore the idea of moderation, and how pursuing it to the "nth" degree can actually be damaging to our growth. When it comes to personal growth or the pursuit of goals, there will be times - out...

In this podcast, I talk a great deal about "uncomfortable truths."  And one of them is the topic for this week's episode: you really don't HAVE to do anything.  Any action you take, any thought you think, and obligation you fulfill - well, that's your choice.  It may not FEEL like a choice at times, but ultimately, you are the one in control over all of your thoughts and actions. Sa...

This is a special SHORT episode just in time for Thanksgiving travel! Do you ever find yourself wishing things were different throughout the holidays?  Do you find yourself missing times gone by, wishing for a family that you didn't have, or feel left out because you may not have the perfect situation in which to spend a holiday?  This episode provides a change in perspective if you're e...

This episode, the second in a series on "help", focuses on our motivations to help other people, to give gifts, to "give back" to the community, and in general, to put ourselves out there for the benefit of others. But - in putting ourselves out there, I propose that we ask ourselves: are we doing this act of goodness, of selflessness, TRULY for the people on the receiving end, or is there another...