The Resilience Key: Channel Your Grit Into Growth

Help should never be a four letter word. No one can be an expert on all things, at all times.  There will be points in your life, that, in order to grow, you're going to need to learn how to ask for help.  And more importantly, to learn how to accept that help graciously.  I know in my own personal growth journey, this has been one of the hardest lessons to learn - to not equate hel...

Have you ever been in pursuit of a big goal - like a new career, or working on a degree, or some other challenge - and along the way, you get a little... Hurt? Normally, this hurt wouldn't be that bad, but the pursuit of this goal is hard.  And you're tired of the challenging road ahead of you.  So - instead of pushing through, you focus on that "hurt" and make it worse than it is in you...

Yes, the title of this episode is blunt and to the point - but the fact that "you're going to get hurt at some point in life" is an uncomfortable truth that most of us never want to accept, let alone admit out loud.  We spend most of our lives obsessed with safety, but when it comes to growth, we have to push through walls in our collective comfort zones...and there's always a risk for hurt o...

Have you ever been through a really rough time, and thought...if only I could go back to "X" time or "X" place or "X" relationship, I can start over and make things come out better? We all have. Truth be told, going back to a previous time - to what you think of the "glory days" - it's not a viable option. Things change, people move on, and situations evolve.  In this episode, we look at ways...

When it comes to goals or relationships or big changes in your life, do you feel like there's some kind of deadline you have to meet, otherwise it'll "never happen for you?"  This is such a common pitfall of thinking that many of us lapse into from time to time - the feeling that life is a race, that we have to get "there" sooner rather than later. In this episode, we explore where this "race...

I'm guessing, simply by being a listener of this podcast, that you're someone who's interested in personal growth.  And, so many topics in personal growth podcasts, books, lectures and seminars are all about how to set and achieve goals. I'm not against HAVING goals.  But I'm here to tell you that setting goals doesn't always work. Why?  Too frequently, we set goals with an idealize...

Have you ever had a huge goal, and you've gotten SUPER close to achieving it, but when the finish line is in sight, obstacles always seem to get in your way and you "abandon ship?"  This episode is about the phenomenon I've noticed in pursuing goals, in athletics, in working on degrees, in journeys in general - it's that "I'm 80 percent of the way there, and I just can't take it anymore" feel...

Does it drive you crazy when a loved one won't let go of something you did in the past - either something embarrassing, or maybe something you're not proud of?  No one wants to be seen as who they WERE; we all want to be seen as who we ARE. So why do we continue to do this to others - to judge them only based on who they were in the past, rather than looking at their present actions?  An...

When it comes to stressful moments in our lives, we tend to have two reactions - one is to try and micromanage everyone around us, and another is to focus outward on big injustices, venting frequently.  However, really - what is under your control?  And why do we try to control our environment and people around us as much as possible when we're not feeling grounded? In this episode, we e...

Are you someone who dreams big?  Do you follow up on those dreams, or do you rather get caught up in the research, in the planning, or in the what ifs and never really "do the thing?"  If so, you're not alone. In this episode, I'll give you the secret for overcoming "analysis paralysis" - to stop talking, and to start doing!  I'll share with you the story of my own successful busine...

In this third episode in a series on relationships, we explore one of the most challenging arenas for building positive relationships and interactions - online relationships.  Too often, there is a huge lack of accountability for how we interact with others online - by hiding behind a username or avatar, we don't have to look someone else in the eye when we say something negative or even comb...

So often, especially in self-help or personal growth endeavors, we focus on improving our relationships with others.  In this episode, the second in a series of three, we take a look at what I believe is the MOST important relationship you can ever develop.  Using some illustrations from my real-life adventures on the road, we'll go into depth with strategies for developing this relation...

Following up on last week's "purge" challenge - getting rid of patterns and behaviors that no longer serve you - this week we'll be examining our friendships in depth.  How do we know when we're experiencing a true connection with a friend?  How do we know when we're merely commiserating with someone over a shared experience?  And most importantly, when is it time to move on from a...

I'm sure we've all heard the saying: "garbage in, garbage out." Have we ever really thought about what this means applied to our daily lives?  From the food we consume, to the sleep that we get, to the media we read or watch...everything has the potential to impact our mental state.  And, our mental state ultimately impacts our physical state. In this episode, we look at our consumption...

I hold the relatively unpopular opinion that most of contemporary society normalizes comfort to its detriment. Learning to push past discomfort - to sit with, lean into, and learn from uncomfortable feelings or situations - is integral to personal growth and success. There's nothing wrong with your mental health if you feel uncomfortable from time to time - feelings of anxiety or trepidation or fe...

We make hundreds - maybe thousands - of tiny little decisions every single day. But how often do we think about the gravity or impact of these choices? The truth is - the effects of our small decisions have massive impact on our health, our relationships, and our finances. If you've ever been in a situation where you wondered, "how did I get here?" or "how did it get this bad?", what you were obse...

Do you often go to the "worst case scenario" when faced with any sort of challenge?  No matter what you do, do you see a disaster looming on the horizon?  In this episode we explore the phenomenon of "disasterizing" - we'll see how it's fed to us on a societal level, and take a look at how we disasterize in our personal lives.  And as always, we'll explore some strategies to avoid s...

We all want to feel safe and secure - that’s simply a given. At the same time, safety has become a buzzword in our culture. From the outside looking in, it seems like we’re all obsessed with creating a sense of safety in all that we do. But is that truly possible? The answer, if we think analytically, is no. In this episode, we’ll explore the definition of safety, the illusion of safety masqueradi...

Does it feel like the same bad things keep happening to you over and over? Are you tired of repeating these negative patterns in your life? In this episode, we explore the one common denominator in the patterns of your problems. Hint - you'll need to start by taking a good look in the mirror. Yes, random bad things that are definitely NOT one's fault CAN happen to us, but when there's a pattern -...

Are you the type of person who feels constantly overwhelmed? Anytime someone asks you, “How are you?,” do you always answer with something like “I’m so busy,” or “I’m so stressed out”?  If so, this episode is for you. Listen to hear why we seem to hold onto stress, anxiety, and the constant state of busy-ness as a badge of honor (even when we don’t need to); I’ll also give you some strategies...

Do you feel like you never can get ahead? That something comes up at the last second every time you're about to accomplish something? If so, this episode is for you. I discuss how we typically get what we look for, and the scientific reasons WHY this is. Then we'll go into some methods to help you use this science to your benefit - to change what you notice on a daily basis to assist you in reachi...

Above all else, developing endurance - the ability to focus on long term goals and take small steps toward those goals - is the key to sustainable growth! In this episode, I explore the idea of endurance and give some real life examples from my background as an ultrarunner, along with share some strategies I've learned over the years to stay focused on the long road ahead.

How often do we say truly awful stuff about ourselves in the form of a joke?  How does this negatively impact us on a personal level? In this episode, I break down three practical strategies to battle self sabotaging talk in order to help you break this bad habit!  And, yes, it IS a habit.