Your Thoughts at Work: Finding Wisdom Within

This episode features mindset coach and former pro hockey player Sandy Cohan, whose experience overcoming self doubt now allows him to help others find their own self confidence. He works with CEO's and top athletes, helping them navigate obstacles and sharpen their abilities to focus in high pressure settings.   On the Your Thoughts at Work podcast, host Sarah Climenhaga uses a process called...

My guest today is Russell Van Brocklen. He's a dyslexia researcher and professor, and he takes us through the journey from impossible to possible by exploring the stressful thought, "it's an impossible task". He shares a transformation from the pit of despair to the light of a epiphany that allows him to succeed in new paradigms. On "Your Thoughts at Work" we explore the beliefs that shape our exp...

 In today's world, it can feel like life is one long to-do list and there's no real place to rest. I recently started reading a book called Making Time by Maria Bowler, which explores this constant pressure as more than just a personal problem. She points to it as a kind of inherited belief, something shaped by culture, religion, and industry that many of us never stopped a question. That...

Lisa Johnson is a high conflict divorce strategist with a fascinating back story that knows how far hard work can take you. Along with her client advocacy, Lisa and her partner have co-authored two books designed to help people navigate toxic divorce and custody battles. With so much on the go, it can be hard to give herself a rest, so in this episode, Lisa and I question her thought "I need...

Texas attorney Matthew Meredith reminds us that no matter how much experience or success we have, old fears can still show up that create havoc in our minds. He explores the stressful thought, “I’m going to look bad.” It’s a familiar fear that dates back to high school and shows up whenever he’s on the verge of something new. Through self-inquiry, Matthew discovers that the harsh standards he appl...

If you've ever felt limited by the demands of someone else, this episode, featuring actor Christopher Dattoli, will resonate. When auditioning for an on camera role, Chris is sometimes given technically challenging requirements that can feel extremely difficult. He faces this frustration head on and together we question his thought "They are being too restrictive". The resilience and...

How do you create for other people when they only see a fraction of what you do? On this episode, my guest Prince George, from Warzone Comics, discusses the challenges of producing for an audience and shares how he values his own work.  My conversation with Prince George didn’t follow the normal format I use here on Your Thoughts at Work, and I found myself experiencing my own stress as a result....

Today's guest was alarmed by what she saw on the horizon - mass layoffs at her workplace. She’d been doing well, trying to live in the present instead of predicting the future. But then the moment came where her partner voiced his fear about the layoffs to her. And her hard fought calm disappeared. In this episode, we question her thought: “I want him to stay calm”. Listen to the transformatio...

Life coach Jaishree Sellamuthu felt deep disappointment when only one person came to her online coaching class. In this episode, we take a close look at what she believed happened to the rest of her class. “they didn’t show up”. At first glance, it seems true, after all, they weren’t there. But what Jaishree saw when she looked at who she would be without that stressful thought, her feelings of di...

Jordan Cromwell is a kirtan musician who, like many performers, has struggled with fear when he’s about to go on stage. In this episode, I guide him through the stressful thought that shows up just before he plays: “They’re going to find out I’m not that good.” To be a guest on the podcast, or find out how I can support you or your team with work related stress, email ⁠⁠sarah@selfinquiry.ca ⁠⁠ or...

My guest this week is Troy Thompson, a writer who experienced self doubt that will be familiar to anyone who has ever taken their work, creative or otherwise, to someone else for approval or acceptance. Troy recently  finished a memoir about his childhood. His inner critic, who he calls the sculptor , has a starring role both in the book and in this conversation. You’ll hear us trace that voice as...

How do you feel when you’re in the middle of a casual conversation, and a client or boss asks you to do a task for them? When it almost seems like they’re trying to make your life difficult on purpose? That’s how my guest David, the owner of a landscaping company, felt when his client asked him to do a seemingly minor tasks. It didn't look like a big deal - but it elicited a strong internal re...

You know that mix of frustration and righteousness when everyone else finally notices the problem you pointed out months ago? That’s where the conversation begins on this episode. My guest brings the belief “They didn’t listen to me.” She told her colleagues about an issue that was coming, and when the deadline got close, they came to her in a panic. It seemed so clear to her that they hadn’t list...

Have you ever tried to relax, only to be ambushed by that voice in your head whispering, “You should be working”? The tug-of-war between pressure and rest is where we begin in this episode of Your Thoughts at Work. I'm joined by Matt Goodman, an entrepreneur building a protein bar company who simply wants to watch an NBA game without guilt knocking at the door. We explored the belief that hits...

Have you ever had a dream that excites you… but the work to make it real feels like a mountain? Decisions pile up, each one more complicated than the last, and suddenly you put off your project—or give up on it entirely. That's the scenario Philip Simmons was facing. He's a Los Angeles artist with a considerable body of portraits. He’s interested in putting on an art  show, but as he flips...

Episode 12, dives into a struggle that many creatives, freelancers, and performers will recognize: how to put a price on your work and how to handle that moment when someone asks what your rate is. My guest is an aerial acrobat who's been performing for over a decade and yet still finds herself hooked by the emotions that come up in conversations about money, value, and self-worth . Together w...

Today on Your Thoughts at Work we meet a psychiatrist contemplating retirement who believes: “If I cut back, I will let clients down.” As he questions this thought, he uncovers the quiet fear of being responsible for others’ suffering - and even death - and the cultural story that says to stop working is to stop living. But something else emerges too: the possibility that stepping back might not o...

What happens when you feel like the work you do every da - work that truly helps people - is seen as secondary? When the people around you hold the power, the voice, and the authority… and you don’t feel heard? Today we meet an occupational therapist who believes: “He doesn’t value my point of view.” In a healthcare system where hierarchy is real and meetings are rushed, her sense of being dismiss...

How can business leaders balance the needs of their company, themselves, and their workers? When it comes to feelings, we often hear, and understand the side of the employee. But what many do not realize is that being an employer, especially one who cares about their staff, can carry its own burden of stress. In this episode, we meet “Alison”, a dedicated wellness practitioner struggling with a be...

What do you do when you’re trying to do work that matters but the world doesn’t seem ready for it? In this episode, we hear the frustration of Lorraine Smith, an environmental leader and disruptor who grapples with the belief that people are choosing comfort over change. Her initial helplessness becomes clarity as she travels through the questions, and ultimately connects her back to the truth beh...

How do you feel when you pour your heart into building something new… and don’t get the response that you were hoping for?   That’s what happened to Claire. She’s a successful CEO whose company is launching an app that she truly believes in. She uses it and loves it. But when she looks to her team for feedback on whether they’re using it … it’s crickets. What follows is an honest, emotional unrave...

This episode explores a conundrum common to our modern times - what to do when your employer wants you in the office, but you want to work from home. My guest "Britt" received a job offer that could require her not only to move to a new city, but to work in the office instead of the home based life she's been accustomed to for the past two years. She believes she wants them to allow her to work re...

Have you ever had that “ugh” feeling on a Monday morning? Jessica, my most recent guest, regularly experienced it, to an extreme degree. It really felt to her like work was torture. Together we investigated where this belief originated, noticed how it affected her mood and her body, and looked at how her experience would change if she couldn’t have the belief. Without the thought that work is tort...

Measuring yourself by your professional worth can be incredibly stressful, especially when you aren’t sure if you want to remain on your current career path. Who are you if you do not have a professional identity to hang on to? This is the question that Mabel was struggling with, as she contemplated change in her career as an industrial engineering professor.  Listen along as she moves from feelin...

Has anyone ever complained about you or your job performance? In today’s episode, our guest “Cassandra” shares the hurt and anger she felt being on the receiving end of a complaint at work. Listen along as she experiences the transformation from painful defense and fear, to an appreciation of herself, the complaint and even the person who lodged it. To learn about self inquiry and The Work of Byro...