Do This One Tiny Thing #1

Time to read: 32 seconds. Time to do the tiny thing: 0

Breakfast!

Hey!

Here at the Corporate Rebel, we prioritize ease. My clients's lives are full so their coaching efforts must deliver the biggest bang for their buck. For the next 5 weeks, I'm going to share 5 fundamental strategies to help you get big results from small changes.

I invite you to make one tiny change each week in each of five areas. When you do, your efforts will add up and lead to more calm, energy and clarity.

Here's the first area: Nutrition.

Food = fuel. You already know everything there is to know about nutrition. Now it's time to make one small change in your eating habits to support your energy-level, focus and productivity. (Think about how hard it is to get stuff done when you're hungry.)

Here are some suggestions:

• I used to "forget" to eat lunch. A couple of years ago, I committed to eating lunch every day.
• Drop one cup of coffee.
• If you're not a breakfast eater, try eating a little breakfast.
• Add a salad to your dinner menu.
• Add a piece of fruit to your afternoon snack.
• Think of the next five weeks as a little mini-challenge (with a break for Thanksgiving). Make one small change each week. Easy peasy.

You'll get a big bang for your buck.

If you have a minute, post your action to The Corporate Rebel HQ Facebook group. Comment (or join) here. The simple act of sharing your commitment with others ensures your accountability and success.

Have a great weekend!

Instant Clarity Coming Right Up!

Time to read: still going at 5 seconds

Learn to discern the energy of yes and the energy of no in your life. Make decisions accordingly.

Thoughts? Comments? Email me here.

Stop Wasting Your Time and Energy

Time to read: 56 seconds

Actual teen has been changed to protect privacy.

I was driving my 15-year-old to work in silence this morning. If you've lived with a teenager, you know that morning isn't their most vibrant time of day. After 15 minutes of silence, she got out of the car. I asked her a simple question which was met with the icy teen stare and something like, "Mom, you're always asking stuff like that. It's so annoying."

I pointed out to her that I had said, like, 3 words to her all morning. She responded, "Yeah, three annoying words."

Here's what's important to you about this interaction. Many times throughout your day, you are either on the giving or receiving end of your version of 3 annoying words. People say rude things to you. People respond in unpredictable ways to the things you say, and you have to clean it up.

In these moments, you have a choice.

You can get upset, make up stories about the deep implications of the interaction, and let the situation hijack your entire day (thereby killing your creativity, sucking your energy, and rendering you unproductive and crabby), or you can laugh, recognize that the interaction was nothing personal and move on to use your energy and creativity to move forward on the things you want.

The choice to ruminate or let go makes all the difference in the kind of day you'll have and how much you get done. Don't waste your time and energy creating unnecessary noise.

(Oh, and if you want some help to quiet the unnecessary noise, join the Corporate Rebel Quiet the Noise Challenge right here.)

I hope this helps!

Christina

P.S. If you find that it is hard to resist creating unnecessary noise in your work and life, join my BFF, Anne Lippin, and me for the Corporate Rebel Quiet the Noise 7-Day Challenge. Be done with wasted time and energy. Join us here.

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.

Want to Make Powerful Decisions? Follow These 3 Steps.

Time to read: Just a little over one delicious minute!

I was talking with a client last week who was trying to make a big career and life decision between two good but very different options. He came to our call unclear about what he wanted and muddled about conflicting priorities. He felt stuck and unable to move forward.

Have you ever been in this situation?

After listening to the list of pros and cons, his competing values around family and career advancement, and the decision points that had been keeping him up at night, I asked him to step away from the content of the decision. Meaning, for a little while, let go of the details of location, job particulars and possible futures for his family.

Instead, I asked him to look at the energy of each option. The key question was: Which option had the energy of expansion and which felt like selling out? Which felt exciting and enticing and which felt limited and constricting? What felt like an energetic BMW and what felt like a go-cart? What was important was the energy of each option as either one could be terrific.

When making a career decision (or any big decision), here are 3 tips:

1. Feel free to do the age-old model of listing your pros and cons. This info is useful. And it isn't the whole picture. For example, sometimes the job with the most money isn't the right choice.
2. Step out of the details. Tune into how you feel about each option. If you feel meh or sick to your stomach with any of the options, run! and choose something else, even if that means starting over.
3. Focus on the energy of each choice. Choose the one that feels expansive and optimistic, even if the details don't make complete sense. You can trust your gut to steer you in the right direction even if your head doesn't understand why.

By looking through the lens of the energy, my client quickly became clear about which choice he wanted and left our call to immediately put the pieces in place to make it happen.

If you have been lying awake at night over a decision in your life, I'm happy to help. Email me at christina@boydsmithcoaching.com and we can set up a time to chat.

With rebel love,

Christina

P.S. If you have friends and colleagues who are trying to make big decisions, please share this with them. And invite them to join our merry little band of rebels right here.