Back To Basics

Time to read: Short and immediately actionable

Eat your vegetables!

One of my coaching groups was talking about stress this morning. As the group outlined the strategies they use to manage stress and regulate mood, our 90-minute call sent us right back to the basics.

It's so easy to forget that managing stress is fundamentally a physical exercise. Meaning, it's about your body and soothing your nervous system. The list of strategies we created was so good, I wanted to share them with you.

You won't be surprised. You will be reminded of what's actually effective to manage stress:

• Exercise (move your body!)
• A healthy diet (eat your veggies!)
• Sleep (rest and recover!)
• Meditation (so soothing for the nervous system!)
• Focus on process over outcome (become unattached!)
• Know what is yours to own and what is not (discern and let things go!)

It's that simple. Move your body and eat vegetables. Oh, and sleep. Doesn't it seem like these are the answers to everything?

Have a great time playing with these this weekend!

Invite your friends to join for the fun weekly challenge that will run this summer (aka: this newsletter in challenge form). They can join the summer challenge by signing up for this newsletter here.

Searching For An Answer?

Time to read: 1.48 minutes

Where is that darn answer, anyway?

Last week I talked about the depletion of your "surge capacity." The sourdough bread, gardening, and Zoom happy hours aren't cutting it anymore. You need a new set of strategies to face the next few months of the pandemic and the ugly election.

Your brain is full so I'm keeping things simple. One step at a time. One idea/thought/recommendation at a time. This way, you only have to think about or do one new thing each week. Easy peasy. I have the attention span of a gnat these days. I need things to be easy and think you might need that, too.

Where to start?

How about here... I (and everyone I know) have been reading a lot of news. Last week I realized I was looking for THE ANSWER. I was looking for the person who is smart enough, who has a big enough vision, who knows what will happen next. If I could just find it, then I would feel less anxious and more in control.

Unfortunately, the answer is not out there. No analyst or commentator or friend knows where we are headed or what to do next. No one person has the solution or the power to fix the mess that we see on the news everyday.

The good news is that the answer is in you. You know what's best for you, your career and your family. You know how to take care of yourself. You have the power to change the world with your choices and behavior every day. You can trust yourself to handle whatever happens and that you have everything you need to manage the future just like you have always managed the past.

So, this week, look around your life to see where you are looking for the answers "out there" and start to bring your awareness to the answers that are "in here." This new awareness will help you feel more powerful and in control in a situation that feels very much out of control. From there, you can take action.

Awkward transition

I'm excited to announce that The Corporate Rebel signature group coaching experience, Clarity U, will start again in mid-October. This program opens once a year and the plan was to launch in early 2021. Your emails tell me that stress is high. You've told me you have a lot to figure out. A community of personal and professional growth is just the place to learn how to live through this moment in history with power, possibility and courage so I moved the start date forward.

Intrigued? Let's talk.

Sign up here for a 30-minute chat.

We'll talk about what's going on for you, what you need, and whether Clarity U is a good next step for where you are headed. (See the PS for a few more details about Clarity U.) For any of you who have worked with me, you know this initial conversation is casual, fun and productive whether you decide to join or not.

One of last year's Clarity U participants said, "Doing this work has been more valuable than a lifetime of therapy. (And a lot more fun.)"

I can't wait to connect!

Christina

P.S. Want to talk about Clarity U? Choose a time here for us to talk about how the current moment is affecting your life and work and how Clarity U will help you use the next few months to build your capacity for what's next.

Want to know more?

Do you relate to any of these statements?

• Life feels chaotic and uncertain, and you feel overwhelmed and depleted.
• You make decisions from a place of fear instead of empowered choice, constantly second guessing yourself.
• You’re simultaneously unproductive and working more than you ever have.
• The ineffective patterns that have held you back for years have intensified, showing up in work dynamics and personal relationships.
• You’re reaching for ways to get your life and work back in control and not sure how or what to do.

What's in it for you? Starting in October you will learn to...

• Shake off negative patterns of thinking and behaving so you can stop holding yourself back. Your life will be easier and work more fulfilling during this stressful time and into the future.
• Gracefully navigate uncertainty so you are confident in your ability to handle change and instability.
• Ground yourself physically and spiritually to allow radical transformation so you can stand steady in the midst of chaos.
• Wield your new, portable Toolbox of Skills so you're ready to take action, make choices, and be in control of your career and life.
• Get clear about who you are and what you want, and bravely take action to make your goals real.

Hitting a Wall? What Is Going On?

Time to read: short. You're tired and don't need more things to do.

Like this one

About a week ago, I hit a wall... unmotivated, exhausted, crabby, unproductive, discouraged, and frustrated wall.

My family ate leftovers and take out. Emails went unanswered. Sleep was elusive. I could handle about one decision a day and if your need for my attention was the second or third decision that day, sorry, you'd have to wait till tomorrow.

Can you relate?

In the first few months of this pandemic, I was on fire. New programs for all of you. Cooking. Gardening. Reading. A new fish tank. Zoom calls. A few weeks ago, I published a list for the Corporate Rebel Masters (an ongoing community of people who have graduated from coaching) of the things I do to fill my energy bucket. It was an impressive and true list. If there is such a thing as winning in this pandemic, I was doing it. (Ha. My life's work to learn that my value isn't my accomplishments was apparent even in how I handle a pandemic. Can't a girl get a break?)

A few days ago, I couldn't imagine doing any of those things. Friends started calling in tears. Clients talked about low motivation and exhaustion. I was barely keeping up with the basics.

I'm eternally optimistic. I can see the silver lining in just about any cloud. A friend commented that it was disconcerting to see me be so dark when she counts on me for light.

What the heck is going on? I feared something was truly wrong with me that I wasn't coping better.

Then my friend sent this article. The term is "surge capacity." As you'll see from the psychological research the author cites, we humans are programmed to handle crises. We have resilience that enables us to handle acute stress and to surge our energy to meet it. However, that capacity is meant to be short term. We are not mentally programmed to manage a crisis that continues for months or even years.

We "surged," and now we're depleted.

Having a name for what happened to me was a great relief. I slept well last night and today, I can handle two decisions.

We're tired, folks. It's been a long road with no end in sight.

For the next few weeks, I am going to talk about how to recover and create resilience in new ways. Less accomplishment. More energy. You can get through this. You just need a different toolbox.

I'll be recovering right along with you. Please hit reply to this email and tell me how you're doing. If you're still riding high with energy, awesome. I'd love to hear what's working.

And stay tuned. I'm excited for something I have in store for you. I'll be ready to share next week.

With love,

Christina

P.S. A cool opportunity is coming next week. Keep your eyes open!

Motivation Low?

Time to read: 1.07 minutes

Hey Rebels,

Last week, we talked about over-performance as a response to stress.

Today is "help, I can't get motivated" day.

We've established that we're living in stressful times. People have different responses to stress. That may even be true for the individuals who live under your roof. (Hello potential for conflict and more stress.) Or you may over-perform in some situations and under-perform in others. No judgment.

Uncertainty breeds stress, and stress breeds under-performance. (It also breeds over-performance which was the subject last week.)

Do these symptoms of under-performing feel familiar?

• Hiding
• Avoiding
• Becoming overwhelmed and freezing
• Numbing with substances, video games, Netflix
• Worried you'll make a mistake or say the wrong thing so you don't say or do anything at all
• Avoiding risks
• Not taking time for fun and joy

You can take simple steps to bust out of under-performing. Here are a few:

• Recognize when you have crossed the line from healthy rest and recuperation to hiding and avoiding. (Hint: Resting starts to become all night Netflix marathons.)
• Choose to rest and recharge. Sometimes a Netflix marathon is just what the doctor ordered. Make sure it's a choice, not a chance to hide.
• Take risks. Start small. Start with something that feels relatively easy and work up to bigger risks over time.
• Elevate the meaning and importance of your work. Focus on the big picture rather than the day-to-day details. When you are hooked into the importance of your work, it's easier to find motivation. (Remember: don't get seduced that "meaning" at work has to be grand like solving world hunger. Meaning can be as simple as creating something beautiful, the satisfaction of being part of a team, completing something, or helping your colleagues.)
• Get into action. Action breeds more action so take one small step. Do something that helps you move forward.

Under-performing holds you back from doing the work you are meant to do. We need you to show up and bring your gifts. It's going to take every single one of us to create the world we want.

I hope this helps.

With love,

Christina

P.S. Invite your friends and colleagues to join the fun by subscribing to the Corporate Rebel newsletter. Simply forward this blog and they can join here.