Season 1, Episode 32

Summary:

Hey, Type A, high achievers! Get ready to learn new coping tools for enduring stress in today’s episode. Tara Haelle is the author of the article “Your Surge Capacity is Depleted - It’s Why You Feel Awful”. She is a science and health journalist who sought out to understand why she coped with COVID, remote learning, social unrest, and isolation for the first several months…and then crashed. Turns out there many reasons why so many of us have yo-yo’d between fine and down the last six months…and there are ways to revamp, rebound, and feel revitalized once again.

Links:

www.michaelwkithcart.com/podcast

“Your Surge Capacity is Depleted - It’s Why You Feel Awful”

Tara Haelle on Twitter @tarahaelle

Transcript:

Michael Kithcart: 0:07

Have you ever read or listened to someone and thought, wow, they are speaking to me, they get me? That's how I felt after reading an...

Season 1, Episode 20

Summary:

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” I love this quote by George Addair and we address this and more with today’s guest Jaime Taets, CEO of Keystone Group International. What we do in the moments when we are risking everything with the hope that we are on to something bigger and greater than ourselves are character-defining moments. Jaime shares one of her fear-breaking moments, ways to get unstuck, and lots of other wisdom in this episode of Champions of RISK.

Links:

Jaime Taets

Keystone Group International

Transcript:

Season 1, Episode 8

Summary:

There’s been a lot of emphasis during the pandemic about how humans are resilient and while it’s true, what does that really mean? And if I’m not feeling resilient, is there a “muscle” I can build to become more adaptable to stress and uncertainty? On today’s episode of Champions of RISK, our guest is Jenny Evans, award-winning author of “The Resiliency rEvolution”, speaker, coach, and on-air expert on physiology and chemistry as it relates to resiliency, confidence, and performance. Jenny shares what’s going on in our bodies under stress and ways we can become more resilient to ongoing changes. She also shares her own recent self-induced state of stress to transform her business in the midst of the pandemic. Whether you’re looking for coping tools or inspiration to follow that pesky nudge now, today’s podcast has something for everyone.

Links:

Jenny Evans

“The...

A lot of time has been spent in the past week talking with business owners, leaders, and friends about how to best navigate the daily changes and growing uncertainty with the coronavirus pandemic. It is clearly impacting how we connect, communicate, conduct business, and keep our families, teams and communities safe. Even as people and businesses are making sacrifices, there is genuine concern for others, and large spread help and support offered. We are rising to the occasion on many levels. At the same time, it can take a toll on even the most hearty, positive, optimistic among us. I wanted to share tips that myself and others have found useful in hopes there’s a nugget or two you can add to what you’re already doing to stay resilient and strong.

Things that might be helpful right now:

1. Show and acknowledge gratitude. There is positive all around us if we choose to see it. At least once daily, preferably morning and night, stop down and identify what’s going...

Season 1, Episode 2

Summary:

* Special Programming note:
This episode was recorded before the outbreak of Coronavirus.

Champions of Risk shares conversations to explore the many facets of risk so we can all face our own uncertainties with more resilience and confidence. A frequent dream I hear shared is a desire to be able to take off and travel the world. The dream is also usually followed up with how risky it would be for the person on several levels. So today we're talking with Andrew Mahowald, global nomad, and adventure seeker. Nearly two years ago Andrew quit his corporate job in digital marketing to set out and see the world. We talk about how he made the decisions, the risks he's taken along the way, and a couple of opportunities he's passed on.

Links:

You can follow Andrew's journey on Instagram @Andrew.adventuring

Want to build your risk resiliency? Consider a coach to help you get unstuck, out of your head, and take action. See ...

I am a big fan of recapping time to see patterns; remembering how much happened, and to reflect on the phases we go through and evolve from.  We’re often reminded of amazing things that happened and that so much more was accomplished, happened, overcome, lost or created than we originally thought.

What can happen in a decade? For me, my professional roles have been varied - business owner, consultant, in non-profit, small company, big corporation, start-up. Goals have been exceeded and some goals missed. Throughout, I’ve been leading, coaching, growing, and discovering.

We have all done more than we think we have in the last year and decade. The benefit of reflecting is slowing down to see how far we’ve come, what we want to keep doing and what needs to stop to get to where we want to go.

As I think back on the decade, there are some lessons that emerge:

• Stop pushing, let it go – the right answer will be revealed

• Time is finite, use it wisely

• There...

"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now."
– Alan Lakein

I am an unabashed strategy geek who loves budgeting and planning season.

Carving out the time to refine or recall the bigger vision, identifying key objectives to get there, and working with teams and team members on how they'll contribute to those goals is a wise investment. It's precious time that helps to lift heads up from the day-to-day, challenge what's possible, examine what's needed, and identify the steps needed to accomplish those goals.  

Companies and people often want the results that strategic planning provides but are reluctant to commit to the process, because it's not the "sexy" side of business. It can easily get overlooked or not fully completed. 

Planning doesn't need to be reinvented or overly complicated. In its purest form, planning takes what seems big, even impossible, and breaks it down to specific, measurable action steps.

In...

We have an identity crisis. I see it all around me. An abundance of friends, clients, peers, have been sucked into believing that their job title — what they do — is who they are.

I'm here to tell you it's not true. What you do, the job title you have whether it's CEO, VP, entrepreneur, stay-at-home spouse, educator, or freelancer has absolutely nothing to do with who you are as a human being. And who you are as a human is not only what matters, it's what makes your good at the titles you hold, and it's what attracts people to you, it's how you show up in the world.

How can we change the conversation?

We all question our identity at some point in our lives. It is usually triggered by a significant life moment — selling a business, losing a job, going through a breakup or divorce, losing a parent, or becoming a parent. I see people struggle most when asked who they are (or even genuinely sharing how they are doing) rather than what they do. This response is a...

Maybe it's because graduation just came and went, or because people try to remember being a kid in the throes of summer. It feels like there's been an over-abundance of statements made around how it's the job of a young adult to discover and define themselves.

Several times a week, this phrase has popped up in conversation, news stories, podcasts. I'm throwing down the BS flag!

While it's true that fostering and exploring interests is needed in youth, it's also true that figuring out who you want to be and what you want to do with your life is rarely figured out during this time. The human brain isn't fully developed until the age of 25 in young men, 23 for young women. The pressure that society puts on us to have it all figured out is both unnecessary and limiting. It's a significant contributor to the stress and anxiety so much of the population is experiencing, so it's no wonder the anxiety rate of teens has also escalated.

Add to this the "passion" pressure. Some really do...

How much of your day are you spending on "shoulds" "need tos" and "have tos"?

A friend recently heard me say I needed to do more of something, and she busted me. She pointed out that "need to" is a sign of someone else's agenda. 

Since then, I've been listening more closely to the way executive leaders describe what's urgent or getting in their way. There are a lot of “shoulds”, “need tos” and “have tos” in their vocabulary, too. Sometimes they're directed at others, but in large part, they are referring to what they need to accomplish.

These are phrases filled with resistance (resistance meaning a refusal to comply with or accept.) We all resist. Our brains are hardwired to keep old habits and to seek instant gratification instead of delayed gratification. Beyond the shoulds and have-tos, there's a desire to do something different, to have control over our time. The have-tos are a clue to things you'd rather not be doing.

If this seems...