Feeling All August-y?

Time to read: 45 seconds. It's August.

A client asked this week, "what's the deal with August?" She is having difficulty finding solid ground and if she's honest, she wants to sit on a porch and read a book. I'm hearing similar things from many clients this week.

So, what's the deal with August?

After 10 years of working with clients, here are my observations about August:

1. You're in-between which is disconcerting. It's no longer summer, and it's not yet fall. It's hard to know how to be. (If you're curious, check out the concept of liminal space.)
2. The engine is revving and you're not ready to drive off yet. You feel like you'll be ready to go soon. But not yet.
3. The air is filled with anticipation. Back to school. Back to the office? (who knows about that one anymore)
4. Fall is around the corner and there's a lot of uncertainty. Will your 3rd grader like her teacher? Will projects at the office increase? Will your family's schedule take off like a rocket? Will your senior get into college?
5. Add the Delta variant, international and national politics, and ugliness in the news and you have a recipe for stalling.

The good news is that the solution is simple.

Wait.

August will turn into September which becomes October. I don't get to guarantee much in my line of work, and I can guarantee this. When September rolls around, you'll be ready to go.

Happens every year.

Happy August.

Answering Your Curiosity

Time to read: Less than one minute

You were curious

Hello rebels!

In your responses, a couple of you asked if I would answer the same questions that I asked you. Great idea! If you're interested to know what I'm thinking about and struggling with, keep reading.

If not, go back to your waaaay more interesting email.

I don't mind.

Really, I don't.

Here it goes:

What are you thinking about?

I think a lot about the state of our world and the future of American democracy. I have read more news in the past few months than ever before in my life, and it's simultaneously fascinating and distressing. Most days, I'm hopeful and optimistic. Some days, I feel despair. I can't get enough of The Atlantic.

I think about racial justice and all kinds of justice.

I also think about my children more than they want me to and paint colors for the outside of our house and my garden.

Oh, and I think about food. What's for dinner is frequently the first thought I have in the morning.

What are your current struggles?

I don't struggle as much as I used to which is a good thing since I used to be a master struggler.

That said, I am struggling mightily with school in the fall. No solutions are good solutions and reopening fully (which is what I want) seems impossible. I would give up everything and isolate alone in my room if that meant school could open in the fall.

With everything else, I hold a lot of complexity and a lot of unresolved questions and contradictions. Like:

• How to maintain the march to independence for my teenagers while simultaneously keeping them safe.
• What activities are safe and which ones are not?
• What is my place in the movement toward racial justice? What is the role of my business?
• What's eating my butterfly bushes?
• Is it indulgent to buy a water lily?

Are you working too much? Not enough?

I'm working the perfect amount. The awesome thing about my business is that I LOVE IT and because I'm independent, I can respond to your needs and my own at different times and in different seasons.

What are the unique challenges you're facing in these times?

See the answer to "current struggles." School. I'm having a very hard time letting school go. With all my preaching about "acceptance" and "surrender..." Nope. Not there yet when it comes to giving up school.

And it's hard to know what to say when there are no answers and no one has been down this path before.

How do I make sure my parents are being safe?

What would be helpful?

When I say I love to hear from you, I really mean it. I love to hear what you're thinking, what your world is like, and what's happening in different industries and parts of the globe. So, reach out anytime.

With love,

Christina

P.S. The Rebels at Home Challenge is a fun time. Eight easy challenges over 8 days. It's worth a little slice of your time this summer. Sign up here.

5 Ways to Be an Awesome Newbie!

Time to read: Just under one little minute. You have errands to run!

Now this is new: S'mores ice-cream cone with GLITTER!

OMG. Has summer already ended? If you have kids starting school and even if you don't, can you feel that fall, back-to-school energy? Things feel more serious. Like we're all settling in and getting back to a routine.

My kids started a new school on Monday. They know no one and believe me, this Corporate Rebel Mama's heart has been very tender this week. We have lots of rebels starting new ventures like new jobs (hey Rick!) or living in new locations (shout out to you, Audrey!) or experimenting with new ways to do old jobs (Dean!).

There is newness in the air!

New possibilities.

A new start. (Even if you're in the same job, in the same company.)

A new year.

As we get to know the new community and routine at our new school, I'm noticing a few things that are helping me through these tender days. I share them with you as you embark on your new fall. Here are 5 ways to be new:

1. Have a sense of adventure. Rather than focusing on all the things you don't have or can't do, lean into the adventure of a new job, project or school with all the fascination, wonder, and curiosity you would bring to an international vacation.
2. Be humble. In our new school, I know very little about how things work. It's a steep learning curve and for a woman who is used to knowing everything that's going on, it's humbling to be at the beginning again. Stopping in humility every so often in your life is a very good thing. It's a great reset button to remind you to keep learning.
3. Be open. Be open to new relationships and experiences. You have no idea where an opportunity or new friend is going to come from.
4. Ask for help. Many times, you won't even have to ask. Help will just be available to you. In either case, be humble and take advantage of it.
5. Stay in your discomfort zone. It's ok to be uncomfortable. In fact, it's marvelous to be uncomfortable. In the discomfort, you stretch. You learn new things about yourself. You discover new opportunities. And it will pass. Believe me, I'm uncomfortable a lot these days.

So, welcome to fall, beautiful rebels. Feels like it's going to be a smashing year!

With rebel love,

Christina

P.S. As part of doing lots of new things this fall, I am going to be interviewed on the What's NEXT webcast with Jason Lauritsen. He's interviewing leaders who bring innovation and positive disruption to the workplace - like me! The webcast is September 5 at 1:00 ET. It will be recorded if you can't make the event live. Join here and invite your friends. They are welcome to join, too!

Summer is NOT Over Yet. What You Do With These Days Matters.

If you're in the USA, this weekend is Labor Day and Labor Day is the official end of summer and the return to well….labor.

And, it is still summer. You have 4 and a half glorious days of summer left. You have a long weekend. The pool is still open. The sun is shining.

Here's why this matters for you and your work:

1. Be present. Fall will come on its own whether you enjoy a trip to the lake or you worry about the rocket ship that launches in a few days. You may as well enjoy yourself. The practice of being present will serve you at work as well as in your leisure time by offering you less stress and more attention to opportunities.

2. Joy. Relish the joy of your time off. Laugh. Hang out with your family and friends. Eat. Play. A little joy will let your creativity soar over the weekend and will spill over to work on Tuesday.

3. Rest. Giving yourself time to rest and rejuvenate ensures that your best self will show up at the office on Tuesday (and incidentally, every day). You'll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed next week.

And, next week is a short week for those in the USA! That's pretty great, too.

Enjoy your last gasp of summer. I'll be at the state fair with my family and hosting BBQs in the backyard.

Hit reply to this email and tell me your plans. Or pop into the Corporate Rebel HQ Facebook Community and tell us all about it.

With rebel love,
Christina

P.S. Even better than enjoying all this rebelicious insight yourself is to share it with your friends and colleagues. Forward this email  and they can sign up to receive all the juicy content right here.

What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks Is Going On with August?

It’s August. Tomatoes. Sweet corn. Last trips to the lake. State Fairs. School supplies.
 
My clients are counting down the days until school starts.
 
Other clients are taking breaks to give themselves much needed time to marinate before the speed train of fall leaves the station.  August can feel like mush.
 
What the hell is happening? Why is August so weird?
 
In a word (actually, four words), August is liminal space.
 
Limerick what?
 
Liminal space. 
 
It’s a threshold. A place in-between two identifiable states of being. The middle. A waiting place.
 
In many cultures, liminal space is the disorienting place in the middle of a ritual (e.g. a wedding ceremony) when the participants have left their original identity (e.g. single people) and have not yet been initiated to their new identity (e.g. married people). Liminal space is disorienting, ambiguous, and uncertain like being in-between jobs, waiting for a medical diagnosis, the time between evening and night, and hanging at the airport.
 
So if you’re feeling disoriented, uncertain and mushy, welcome to the liminal space of August.  The plans you had for summer are behind you. The routines of fall have not yet begun. And here you are, wondering what to do.
 
These three strategies will help:

1. Stay: Stay in the in-between place. Be present. Be aware. Take the pressure off yourself to be anywhere other than here.
    
2. Prepare: Use the time to get ready, to set the ground for what’s next. Do things behind the scenes, work on your website, clean out your files, go through your email, and return calls.
    
3. Innovate: Do something creative. Work in a park, bring ice-cream to a meeting, conduct a brainstorming session, ride your bike to the office. Stimulate new ideas by trying something different.

 
Then as the weather cools off and we leave liminal space for routine, your foundation will be set and you will be ready to go.
 
I hope this helps.
 
Christina
 
P.S. If you feel like you’d like some support or know someone who could use support as they navigate a liminal space, schedule a free 30-minute session with me. Sign up here. I can help.