Hello and welcome to the Peak Experience podcast, I’m one of the co-hosts, Michele Forto, and I’d like to say thank you for tuning into Wellness Wednesday. Each week we will drop an episode of Wellness Wednesday to offer you insights, information, challenges, and help you stay on track to incorporating wellness into your daily life both personally and professionally, but, before we dive into this week’s episode, I would like to thank those of you who make this podcast possible week after week. This podcast is free to download and will remain that way due in large part because of the support we get from you. For those top supporters we will give a shout out right here at the top of the show. If you want to pledge your support all you must do is visit patreon.com/firstpawmedia but there are other ways to support our show as well. Wellness Wednesday is part of Peak Experience. Peak Experience is a company that strives to bring out the best in you and your teams as well as your organization. This podcast has been created to spark your interest and to get you thinking outside the box. Let us help you Reach your Peak!
What if you could listen to a quick podcast and it gave you a tip each week to help you create more wellness and balance in your life personally and professionally. I am not talking about wishy-washy essential oils crap, but real, actionable steps that you can take. Would you do it? Let’s find out, shall we…
Hello and welcome to Wellness Wednesday on Peak Experience. I am your host, Michele Forto. Every Wednesday I will bring you information, trending topics in wellness, and something for you to work on every week to assist you in reaching your optimal wellness.
This week we are on List 2 of 52 for our theme; courage, resilence, and inner strength which are all a part of bravery. We are learning how to apply bravery to developing our routines, opening our minds and creating new ways of seeing ourselves and others around us.
This podcast series has been inspired by Moorea Seal. Thank you for the inspiration, encouragement and opportunity to help others spread their wings.
Everyone has a starting point, a challenge that must be faced to wake up the warrior within. What is your challenge? What is it that you want to be brave for? Whether there is an external force outside of you that requires bravery or not, there are things you’ve known you need to change but haven’t had the guts to tackle…yet.
All of us face challenges in our daily lives, some are small and some are bigger than we could have ever imagined and seem heavy and impossible to carry. Know this, you are not alone, every person has had these feelings at one point in their lives or will feel this way at some point. Give yourself permission to feel every part of the challenge, take the opportunity to allow yourself to dream about it, take it apart, think of different outcomes. Then give yourself an opportunity to plan, take action steps, even fail because for every fail we learn and getting back up is part of the process. Let go of what’s holding you back, expand those boundaries and recognize that letting go of unhealthy toxic thinking can sometimes mean letting go of certain relationships but it can also mean recognizing that the one in the mirror may be putting up roadblocks and barriers based on fear of the unknown. You are strong enough, and your source of bravery already lives within you. Let’s uncover it by dreaming big.
This is week 2/List 2
List the issues, struggles, and challenges within yourself that you want to build bravery to tackle or face?
This process should only take you about 15 to 30 minutes. The exercise is not meant to tie you up or distract you. It is meant to become part of your everyday routine, a reflection if done at the end of the day, or an inspiration on what to work on if it’s at the beginning of the day. I encourage you to try both and see what transpires. I completed this exercise myself as I will be on this journey with you, WWand I will be sharing my answers with you. I am open and available for discussion, you can DM on my socials.
The issues, struggles, and challenges that I am personally facing at this moment in time are:
- Ageing
- Career change
- Business change
- Preparing for semi-retirement
- Wanting to move to a warmer climate
At 50 – I may be experiencing the great divide of my life, my kids have moved onto their own lives, my parents have both passed away, and at this crossroads, I feel invigorated and very much alive. While my energy doesn’t always match my enthusiasm, I still have much to learn, more to offer, and plenty of life to live.
Using bravery to tackle the issues in our lists is how we will grow and move beyond the things that are holding us back, like doubt, insecurity, the unknown, and a big one risk.
Go back to List 1 for a moment. Press pause if you need to. What words on your list can you see that could help you in creating some action steps for list 2?
Switching careers at this point in my life, brings of up feelings of doubt, unsurety, and fear. To put this challenge to task, the action steps that will assist me are to make a list of what needs to be done to make the switch in my career. How can I use my talents from my current career in the next one? Make a list of those talents. Make a list of things I will need to learn in the new career. Little by little the lists will get shorter as I see correlations between the two lists, making the decision clearer and easier. Taking action is within you control. These are the things that, if you are willing to accept or change them, they will become your tools for facing the challenges in your list. Allow your list to evolve and change, nothing is written in stone and should be looked at with fresh eyes from time to time so that you can see your own growth.
In a recent article in Forbes magazine they interviewed a panel from their leadership panel and asked them how they use bravery to balance courage and consideration when they are tackling issues in their lives. Here is some of the advice they gave.
Reframe your fear.
Neuroscience says the more we think about something, the bigger it gets. Acknowledge your fears and sense of feeling overwhelmed and ask yourself, “What’s another perspective? Are my assumptions really true? Could the challenges be reframed as opportunities?” Break things down into bite-sized pieces. Focus on one thing you can control, then the next. It’s normal to feel afraid at times—go easy on yourself. – Susan Sadler, Sadler Communications LLC
Engage in self-talk.
When fear arises, we are often too quick to react to it, but living it out or pushing it aside only feeds it further. Connect to the truth of the fear. What scares you is what you’re experiencing internally, not externally. Go within. Talk to that part of yourself that’s trying to tell you something, and go past the irrationality of it to find the wisdom behind the fear. Then, courage will emerge. – Lin Tan, Collective Change Institute Pte Ltd.
Let go of what you fear to lose.
Someone like Deepak Chopra would tell us to practice “detachment” from outcomes, but I think Yoda said it best when he urged that we must train ourselves “to let go of everything you fear to lose.” Fear of losing those things is usually strong enough to prevent us from accepting the loss. If we can imagine a life “without the thing” we can proceed with courage (and be “detached” from the outcome). – Jeff Klubeck, Get A Klu, Inc.
Break down the action steps.
Often when we feel fear our brain makes up worst-case scenarios, which can keep us stuck. Reality-check the obstacle by writing the facts down. Getting over or through the challenge is a series of steps, not a giant leap. Write down the steps of what it will take to get through this and do the first thing on the list and then the next thing. Before you know it, you have tackled the challenge head-on. – Frances McIntosh, Intentional Coaching LLC
Accept what you can’t control.
If you are looking for courage, you will not find it. However, if you focus on accepting what you can’t control and focus your energy on what you can control, you have made the important decision to not be a victim. Spend time on what you can influence. Maintain a determined attitude. It’s only then that the momentum of forward progress calms fears and allows courage to find you. – Jim Vaselopulos, Rafti Advisors, LLC
Tap into your inner value and unique capabilities.
Fear is normal. It is usually a response toward losing something or an unpleasant situation. But in reality, anything external remains external. It is the inner value—which we continue to retain and which remains unchanged—that matters. Remind yourself of your capabilities and uniqueness as an individual. Are those still present? If they are, there’s less to fear. – Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE
Draw on your past experience.
Think back to a moment when you felt strong and capable—remember it as clearly as you can. Start with the environment around you. Where were you? What was the atmosphere like? The clearer the picture becomes in your mind, the more the feelings will come back as well. Remember what it felt like, and draw strength from it for your current situation. You are that strong and capable person—even now! – Rajeev Shroff, Cupela Consulting
Visualize the outcome.
When I need courage and inspiration, I first visualize the end: “At the end of this journey, how will I or this cause or this group be better or different because I participated?” Visualization is motivating. Next, I map out the support system of people and groups that I can activate to help me toward the goal. Fear is squashed with others by your side. You don’t need to do everything alone. – Wendy Fraser, Fraser Consulting, LLC
Expect greatness even in times of fear.
Everything you project you get back. Your immediate world is a direct reflection of you. Everything you perceive outside of yourself is a mirror image, an internal reflection of something within you. If you fear, you’ll find something to fear. If you love, you’ll see love everywhere. What you experience outside of yourself is a projection of your expectations. Practice expecting greatness. – Pasha Carter, The VIP Network
Reach out to those you trust.
We are a social species. Even in a time of social distancing, the opportunities to reach out and connect remain. Fear and the unknown can be paralyzing. Paralysis will do nothing to help you handle your situation. Reach out to a colleague or other trusted person and speak through your fear or/of the unknown. Then take one step forward, then another. What was previously out of your control you now control. – David Yudis, Potential Selves
Pause and remember to breathe.
In times of panic and fear, we operate in survival mode, triggering our fight, flight or freeze response. Our breathing contracts, our heart races and our thinking can get foggy. By pausing for a moment and taking three to five deep breaths, we get more oxygen flowing into our brain and can begin to relax and think more clearly. We can move ourselves out of survival mode and into a productive, more effective state. – Daphna Horowitz, Daphna Horowitz Leadership
Put things in perspective.
One of the key things that I learned when I trained with the Navy Seals is that to overcome challenges, you need to create perspective. They have a mantra that says, “Things can always be worse.” This reminds them that it is not as bad as they may think. When life hits you hard you need to remember that someone in the world has it worse than you and they are overcoming the challenge. So why not you? – Raul Villacis, The Next Level Experience
BALANCE COURAGE AND CONSIDERATION
It is important to have balance in our lives. But we can get so wrapped up in the daily tasks that we sometimes don’t even recognize when we’ve gotten out of balance.
- Find a colleague whom you trust. Ask for specific examples of when they’ve seen you out of balance. Ask:
- When do you feel I’m being overly nice or too considerate?
- When have you seen me be too tough, abrasive, or “in your face” with others?
- Be mindful of triggers that may push you to overdo consideration or courage. These could be specific people, situations, or topics.
- Have the courage to ask and act.
TASK
Now I will ask you to do this week’s task. Get a journal, nothing fancy, use actual pen and paper. The act of writing physically is a cathartic process and will help you break down those barriers. For List 2, list the issues, struggles, and challenges within yourself that you want to build bravery to tackle or face? Then look back at List 1 and see how your brave words list can help you develop some action steps that will allow you to grow and learn how to tackle the challenges you may be facing in your life.
Uplift yourself by reminding yourself that you are brave.
Get started and work hard on your challenges this week. I believe in you.
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I am Michele Forto for the Peak Experience Podcast and First Paw Media. See you next time.
