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Life’s Lookout Points

So often in life, we look back, then at where we are and then we gaze into a rather ephemeral future. We wish for a crystal ball. But Aiko Bethea, a dynamic life coach changes the order of things. Look to the future, then revisit the past and lastly — look around at the present.…

A False Sense of Urgency

Aiko Bethea’s book explores the pervasive issue of false urgency in modern life. She highlights how individuals often rush to act without fully understanding situations, driven by learned responses and distractions. By recognizing and retraining our reactions, we can practice curiosity and assess urgency more accurately before taking action.

Change Is Constant, So We Need to be Consistent

Jim Collins tells us that building our self-knowledge is an imperative for the fast-paced world we live in. Seth Godin makes the clear distinction that real authenticity is being consistent in all areas of our life. We can use our self knowledge to be our anchor and our compass.

Contemplate This

If you were to spend just 5-10 minutes a day contemplating what you felt, learned or discovered by something that happened today, you’d be amazed at the positive benefits you’d harvest. Contemplate more, scroll less.

Your Brain on Disagreement

Did you know that your brain is under a lot of unconscious influence when it is on disagreement? Prepare to be amazed to discover that it is hard to find common ground when our brain is not helping us.

Ouch! That Hurt!

Why do we not reflexively respond to an emotional or psychological injury we caused the same way we do an accidental physical injury. Shift the awareness and accountability fast with your word choice!

Pause – And Then Pivot

“Every pause is a field of transformation”. This single sentence offered by author Richard Rudd instantenously shifts us into the many choices we can make in a split second. Put a Pivot Practice to work for you.

Seismic NATALIE Moments (Part 3)

Seismic NATALIE Moments often require us to reinvent ourselves and create a new normal. These can be transformational pivot points – and they often take time, unfolding slowly and steadily, one step at a time.

Making the Most of NATALIE Moments (Part 1)

You’ve experienced them but didn’t have a name for them. NATALIE Moments – those disruptions to the normal flow of life that can take you off course and require you to tap into your capacity reserves. Jim Collins coined the phrase NATALIE Moments – and today we start with the small ones.

The Sweet Spot

There is a healthy balance between co-dependency and counter-dependency. Like any health paradox, we can find a happy medium – time alone and time together.

Supercommunicators Facilitate Self Discovery

Maya Angelou taught us that while we might not remember what someone said to us, we would most assuredly remember how they made us feel. If you feel better about yourself after a deep conversation with someone, you may have been in the presence of a supercommunicator. Learn more about yourself from this special kind…

Kitchen Sinking

Kitchen sinking is a communication pattern during arguments where one person throws “everything but the kitchen sink” into the discussion. Instead of focusing on one specific issue, they bring up the past. Kitchen sinking can sink the relationship. Find out how to avoid this overload.

Compassionate Curiosity

Consider your bedside manner when it comes to self-examination Socrates offered timeless wisdom:  The unexamined life is not worth living. Perhaps he would modify it today to reflect that an unexamined life will be lived regardless; it will just be a lot harder than it has to be.  Dr. Paul Conti, author of What’s Going Right, has…

Agency and Autonomy

We confuse agency and autonomy. We even use the words interchangeably. The reality is that we always have agency even when our personal autonomy is in fact constrained in some way. Discover the distinction.

Unplugged and Reconnected

Ever wonder why you feel less creative and curious these days? it’s because we forget to engage often with the right side of our brain. To ask deep questions and ponder possibilities. We need a digital detox.

Integration is the Next Big Step

Dr. Becky Kennedy reminds us that we don’t need one more parenting tool. What we do need is start using the stockpile we already have. Integrating relationship tools and skills is the next big step for all of us.

Cultivate a Mattering Practice

We do matter to each other. We just need to be reminded. This post is inspired by the book Mattering. Honestly I am deeply curious why we need a book to state the obvious. We need to let each other know — we matter.

Let’s Create Flourishing Family EcoSystems

So much of self help points us to dysfunctional family dynamics that predisposed us to run for cover, hide our gifts and stunt our growth. The only dynamic component was generational hand me downs of poor coping skills and protective armor. There’s a better way – creating a flourishing family ecosystem where everyone thrives.

The Three Buckets of Our Human Capacity

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, I just don’t have the capacity to deal with everything right now, this post is for you. Inspired by RaQuel Hopkins, the capacity expert, who tells us to build our mental, emotional and relational capacity

Personal Growth is Not Linear

Even Maslow amended his theory about human needs and personal growth. It is a lifetime process not levels we complete and move on to the next. Rethink and rediscover how personal growth really happens throughout our lifetime.

Kevin Love’s Game-Changing BreakThrough

All-Star Basketball player, Kevin Love had a court-side breakdown in 2017. It became a Pivot Point and new Trailhead for him. His public panic attack led him to become a leader in emotional and mental healthy activism. Read his inspirational story.

A Perch and Small p Purpose

Harvard’s 84 year old study on Human Happiness reveals so many nuggets of wisdom we can put into practice today. A perch is our station or stage in life; the one we are in right now. Our small p purpose is the one that aligns with our present stage of life. This perspective changes everything!

Self Awareness Leads to More “Other” Awareness

Once we truly know ourselves fairly well, we can find it a lot easier to be generous in our assumptions about others. We know that we have off days and moments when we are overwhelmed. We loosen the reins on judgment and become much more compassionate about others.

What Is Your Emotional Mindset?

Did you know that if you use a growth mindset when it comes to working “with” your emotions, you will be amazed at how creative you can get. You can lighten emotions, shape and contour, deepen them even.

Eggshells and Landmines

Most of us are quite familiar with walking on eggshells or trying to avoid landmines when we are around some people with emotional volatility. Discover how some mental imagery can shift you psychologically to handle these situations more skillfully.

Harnessing Self-Discovery Through Journaling

I offer a little peek into my own journaling practice. When I need to work things out, I write it out. The writing prompts that Ryan Holiday offers in the Daily Stoic Journal help me dive a little deeper in my self discovery process.

Note to Self

When you make a mental note, stop to consider if the receiver is your future self or younger self. Who is the author of those insights? Your present self or your future self? Did you discover an old journal note from your younger self? Mental otes to self are our personal cliff notes!

Don’t Tap Out Too Soon

If we tap out too soon, when things are getting hard and may be thinking we aren’t really making progress, we just might miss the growth spurt. Brene Brown inspired this post about staying with it – the discomfort and uncertainty – longer than you might usually do. See what you’re made of and don’t…

Build Your Personal Coaching Staff

There are science-backed benefits to coaching. We get very clear on our goals, have someone who helps us create actionable steps and holds us accountable. And we can circle back in real time to get honest feedback and do a little self reflection. Step up your game when it comes to managing life with better…

When Things Fall Apart

When things fall apart, we often use some form of the word broken: Heartbreak, broken dreams, breakdowns. However, when things fall apart they actually open us up to new discoveries and revelations.

Dancing With Our Human Nature

It’s human nature to dance around the patterns of behavior that aren’t serving us well. It’s also human nature to develop dance patterns with those we love – and often we step on each other’s toes. Learn how to nurture your nature from Robert Greene’s insights.