Time to read: still grooving - 5 seconds
Consider: There is no problem here.
What if this idea applied to everything?
Love to you,
Christina
6 Questions to Ask When You Feel Stuck
Time to read: Today is commitment to stamina. 15 seconds
You get six sentences today!
What am I trying to get away with?
What do I not want to be responsible for?
What am I seeking to control?
What am I trying to prove?
What does my soul want me to see?
Where is the possibility?
What Should You Do In the Face of the Unknown?
Time to read: 1.15 minutes
This is my pantry. When things are out of control, I do food.
It's been a weird week.
That is the understatement of the century.
You're glued to the news. You wake up to new information each day. Guidelines and recommendations change minute to minute. Kids are home from school. You're working from home. It's confusing and stressful.
I've found it hard to know what to do or how to be.
Daily life has been stripped of all activity which brings us back to basics.
Here are four bedrock basics that provide a firm foundation when the world has gone haywire. I return to them again and again. I hope they give you comfort as this pandemic unfolds.
- Connect. Most of you are working from home which can be isolating and lonely. Starting Thursday March 19, I'm hosting a daily call at 9:00 CT for 30 minutes so you have a place to touch base, ground, set intentions and connect with others. Sign up once and come whenever you can M-F through at least March 27. It's free. Sign up here.
Please share this opportunity to connect with your friends and colleagues, especially people who live alone. - Be compassionate. There is and will be suffering and hardship. Your compassion and friendship matter when others are in pain. Be there for your friends and those you don't even know because that's who you are, and it's the right thing to do.
- Be of service: In the face of interruption like a worldwide pandemic, gaps become visible. YOU can fill these gaps and find ways to be of service. Look for opportunities to step in.
- Find ways to leverage your super powers. Find new ways to use your expertise. Offer your social media skills to help colleagues stay connected. Use your project management experience to help your department streamline processes when you're all at a distance. Think about skills that might not seem obvious.
Connection is what I do. So, please come connect with me and others every morning at 9:00 CT. Join here.
In the midst of crisis, interruption and change, you matter! You have the power to make a big difference. Find your spot to serve.
With rebel love,
Christina
P.S. Love the Corporate Rebel? Invite your friends to join. They can sign up for this newsletter here.
Holy Chaos, Batman! 3 Things You Can Do Now
Time to read: One minute. You can still join the CR Roundtable here. (It's free!)
Bottom line: This Friday on the Corporate Rebel Roundtable we are talking about surviving and thriving in chaos.
I had plans. You had plans. My family was supposed to be on a plane to Europe for spring break. Airports are in chaos. Conferences are cancelled. Work from home? Stockpile toilet paper? Are you confused about where to be or what to do?
In these unprecedented and chaotic times, here are four things you can do to help yourself feel calm and centered so you can proceed forward.
- Know yourself. I am comfortable with a high level of risk. If I'm going to be exposed to this virus, let it be at a waffle stand in Amsterdam instead of the Mall of America. I will always trade risk for experience. Others cancelled vacations to California a week ago. Make choices based on your comfort level and be ok that you know what you need better than anyone else.
- Keep your knees soft just like you would on a topsy turvy boat or the train at the airport. (Hello, subway surfing!) The situation is changing minute-to-minute. You have to be ready to flex and pivot at a moment's notice. Don't get attached to any particular plan.
- Stay present. Focus on the things right in front of you. Your kids still have tests (if they're still in school). You still have to eat. I have dentist appointments and hockey. You're trying to understand your options and make decisions. Worrying about next week or even tomorrow is pointless as you don't know what will be true tomorrow.
- Connect. With your friends, your family, yourself. Stay connected to your human family. We're all in this boat together. It's time to come together, not to point fingers, blame, and stir fear. One way to connect is at the Corporate Rebel Roundtable on Friday.
As a coach, you come to me when you feel uncertain: when rumors of layoffs start to swirl or you get a less-than-awesome performance appraisal or you want to change directions in your career or get back into the world of work after a break. The virus is just one of many possible disruptions to your plans. The lessons you learn from this charged time have the potential to be far-reaching and life changing (in good ways).
This Friday on the Corporate Rebel Roundtable we are going to talk about not just surviving but thriving in times of uncertainty. Let's gather together during this time of chaos.
I'd love to see you there!
Please sign up to join me live on Friday March 13 at 11:00am CT for a rich and meaningful conversation about work. Join here.
Please share this link with your friends, colleagues, and business partners. Everyone is welcome!
I can't wait to talk with you live.
Wash your hands.
Christina
Are You Hijacked By BS?
Time to read: 1.5 minutes. 2.5 minutes if you read all the way to the signature.
Hey Rebels!
It’s Anne!
I'm doing a dance of joy to be here with you today. Hooray!
When Christina and I held our Quiet the Noise Challenge this summer, YOU gave us feedback and WE listened.
You said, gee, I want to work on this Fact vs. Fiction thing. To help you with that, we're hosting another 60-minute webinar! The Corporate Rebel Truthfully U: Fact vs Fiction. If you already know you want to join us, sign up here.
If you want to dig deeper into what we mean by Fact vs Fiction, step into my life for a moment. You'll quickly see how the fiction hoodwinks your mind and sucks your energy.
On a quiet Saturday, I sat at my desk preparing for the Rethinking U Webinar. Computer straightened. Papers arranged logically. Pens, pencils perfectly lined up. Then the phone rang.
We have a landline (yes, an antique contraption with wires connected to other wires) and no caller ID so every call is a mystery guessing game. I can generally fake it, “Oh hey! How’s it going?” until I have enough voice recognition data to figure out the caller.
As I said, the phone rang...
Me: “Hello?”
Friend (let’s call her Gina): “Why are you still at home?”
Me: “Uh…” (brain churning…It’s Gina. Why am I not supposed to be at home? I like being at home.)
Gina: “You were supposed to pick me up ten minutes ago!”
Me: “Oh horsefeathers!” (She was right.)
Me again: “I can be there in twelve minutes.”
Gina: “No, I’ll just go.”
Me: “Oh. Okay.”
Gina: “Bye.”
I flew into action, changed into public-appropriate attire, and shot out of the garage. My brain went crazy. Gina will never forgive me. She’ll think I’m not reliable. I made us late. I let her down. She’ll hold a grudge and tell our friends that you cannot count on Anne for anything. Nope. Unreliable Anne.
I then devised an elaborate, heartfelt apology that basically held me personally responsible for all badness everywhere.
I arrived (late) to the gathering and, lo and behold, there was no steam coming out of Gina’s ears. When a side moment presented itself, I delivered my (truncated) apology and Gina said, “That’s okay. It happens to all of us.” Or something like that. The end. Do you do this to yourself?
Get out your dissecting tools. Dig around in the first couple paragraphs and look for the FACTS of what happened.
FACT #1: I forgot I had planned to pick up Gina.
FACT #2: I didn’t pick up Gina because of Fact #1.
FACT #3: Gina forgave me and still trusts me.
After that, it's all FICTION. Gina will never trust me again. She’ll turn all our mutual friends against me. Blah. Blah. Blah. You get the point. I created a friendship catastrophe that was all in my head and a waste of time.
Notice the energy I squandered. Do you do make stuff up and create catastrophe's in your head? Are you tired of wasting energy generating all kinds of negative gobbledeemuck? And for nothing?
Join us! (Small trumpet fanfare.) We’re doing another webinar: The Corporate Rebel Truthfully U on Monday October 7 at noon Central Time. Join us here.
It's worth the 60 minutes if you...
- Can’t keep negative thoughts out of your brain, even when you want to think positively.
- Compare yourself with others and come up short.
- Search for hidden meaning behind interactions.
- Spin and lie awake at night analyzing situations leaving you muddled and tired. Your friends are seriously tired of talking about it.
In 60 minutes you will...
- Distinguish the Facts of a situation from the Fiction
- Clear the clutter in your brain so you feel calm, energetic, and confident
- Dive under the emotion and confusion so you can make clearer and faster decisions
- Take action based on what’s actually true, rather than what you think is true, which will lead to better results
Join us. We can't wait to see you there!
Christina and Anne
P.S. Invite your friends! Their minds are full of fictions, too, and some of them may be about you. :-) They can join here.
How to Transform Terror Into Triumph!
Time to read: one minute, five seconds
When you google "triumph image," you get a thousand images of this motorcycle.
I have no idea what it is, and the googles clearly wanted you to see it.
When I posted my story about the Moth to Facebook, I was struck by something a high school friend said. She posted, "I’m envious of your courage, I do not have any."
That got me thinking. Is it true that some people have courage and some don't?
I don't believe that for one minute.
Everyone has fear, and everyone is courageous. Many of you have told me about being laid off and then finding a job. Or learning to live with a chronic illness. Or jumping out of an airplane. Or saying no to a project for the first time because it doesn't align with your personal goals. That is courage.
Although the Moth event is very much about the content and telling my story, the deeper narrative is the triumph of joy over fear. I thought I'd pull back the curtain so you can see how the process worked.
1. Terror: I spent years dreaming of telling a story on the radio. Then I spent two years actively not clicking the "Tell a story" link on the Moth website.
Triumph: Finally clicking the button.
The lesson? No step is too small and no step forward is insignificant. Just take one tiny step.
2. Terror: A week before the Moth event, I tripped over my own feet and fell on my a** on the sidewalk while walking my dog.
Triumph: Once I recovered from the embarrassment and frustration of falling, I could see the wake-up call. I was indulging my fear. I decided to approach this event with joy and excitement rather than fear and anxiety. That decision changed everything.
The lesson? You can choose to indulge your fear or you can choose to embrace joy, excitement and ease.
3. Terror: Before the Moth event, I worried about all the other awesome story tellers and what everyone would think of me, especially if I told my story badly.
Triumph: I let go of the need to prove something, and all the pressure was released.
The lesson? You have nothing to prove. When you let go of that fact, you take a huge monkey off your back. You become liberated to step into your gifts.
And finally, when you move through the fear, you open the door for amazing things to happen.
What is the fear to triumph you wish for yourself? Write to me and tell me all about it. I love hearing from you.
With rebel love,
Christina
I Can't Stop Talking About Decision Making!
Time to read: 1:12.56 min
Hi Rebels!
Friends and clients are making big decisions this spring. I can't stop talking about decision-making, because it's a place where you can make your life so much easier. I'm going to share with you another nuance for efficient and effective decision-making, because as I witness the various processes, I'm reminded of one thing.
Life wasn't meant to be this hard.
I wrote a few weeks ago about gathering information and feeling your feelings. (If you want the full set of hot tips about decision-making, you can get them here.)
Today, I want to show you how to tune your antenna to open versus closed energy.
Have you ever experienced something like this?
You walk into an interview and things feel off. You don't connect with the interviewers. You don't like the building. Do you take the job or not?
You visit a house in a great neighborhood. The price is right. The location is good. It's new and pretty, and a good investment. Something feels funny. Logic says you should buy it. Should you?
In each of these situations, you are probably tempted to decide using your smart brain and logic. You are strong and can make anything work by motoring through.
OMG. No!
Stop the madness.
The truth is, you have an astute antenna for picking up energy. When something feels hard and stagnant, it might be that it isn't meant to be or you're stepping over something important. If you look back over times when you pushed past your antenna, you will probably see intolerable jobs, costly mistakes, and time wasted.
Let's relook at the situations above through the lens of energy and ease:
If you are making a choice like a job or getting a dog, feel into whether the options feel open or closed. Is the energy moving forward or feeling like a closed door? If the energy feels constricted, stale or random, don't take that job or get that dog. Go where the energy feels open and flowing, even if logically it seems like you should take that job.
Logic isn't the only driver in a decision. With something like a house, visit it again and ask yourself, "Is this my house?" Give the decision time. Then, be honest with yourself, even if your choice sounds illogical to your brain.
Your decisions will become much easier when you are honest with yourself about the energy in your options. You've got sharp antenna. Use them. Pay attention.
I hope this helps.
Christina
P.S. Are your friends and colleagues struggling with decisions like mine are? Help them out by forwarding this email to them. They can join us here.