Accepting your worth is the springboard for growth

Amid all the chaos and uncertainty, have you been able to show love for yourself lately? With all the adjustments you’ve had to make to working and family life, you might have been forced to put self-care on the back burner. However, moving forward and continuing to adjust to our ever-changing situation can take so much energy. Thus, you need to put yourself first.

This week, Carolyn Maloney teaches us to understand and say, ‘I am enough as I am.’ She shows us how we can adapt to changing circumstances, lean into uncertainty and find our way through a real commitment to continuous improvement and learning. Carolyn also shares how COVID has formed connections between people and brought out her resilience and sense of community. Finally, she tells us how being brave and sharing her vulnerabilities became her secret to success.

If you want to know how you can start having love for yourself, then tune in to this episode!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Find out how you can show love for yourself, especially in this new normal.

Resources

• The Mindset Mentor Meets… Podcast Episode 51: How to Embody Positivity with Andy Cope

• Visit Angela’s website to learn more about her coaching!

Episode Highlights

[02:27] Returning Work to the Office

• Carolyn’s team is working in a hybrid setup, spending two or three days at the office and the rest at home.

• When the hybrid setup was initially introduced in March, there was a lot of hesitation and anxiety since they work as an administration function.

• Some of the team chose to work from home while others decided to stay in the office.

• It is a lot easier when you give employees the choice and control over it.

• Their mantra is to ask two questions: ‘Are you okay? Am I okay?’

[04:56] Are You Okay? Am I Okay?

• As you go around asking this question, don’t be afraid to probe gently. 

[07:09] On Showing Love for Yourself

• Carolyn's first proudest moment is loving where she is now in her life, in her career. She feels fabulous.

• This is achieved through repetitive practice. Focus on the parts of you that you do not like and tell yourself they are amazing.

• Her issue has never been the lack of motivation but rather the discipline in maintaining it.

• Think about how your behaviour today in terms of achieving your goals will affect your future self. You are the only person in control of yourself.

[15:35] Carolyn’s Team During COVID

• Her second proudest moment is her team’s successes and achievements throughout COVID. They were able to get research up and running in a record time of six hours.

• Carolyn is self-admittedly a pragmatist and does a lot of checks and balances.

• The pandemic has forced different ways of working. Many of them are not sustainable for the long-term, but there are some aspects that can be used in the future.

• Carolyn learned a lot about the possibilities of research during COVID. Tune in to find out what they are!

[26:19] The Importance of Resilience and Community

• In the early days of COVID, Carolyn often was unsure where to get the resilience she needed to see her through.

• She was working ridiculous hours, but so was everyone else.

• She was fortunate to have a community and connections that helped each other out during this period.

[28:25] Applying for and Getting Accepted in a Master’s Degree 

• Carolyn’s third proudest moment is applying for and getting accepted in a level seven apprenticeship masters in leadership management.

• She left school because she hated it in the past, so all her administration skills were self-taught.

• Some sound advice she has gotten is not to assume knowledge. Do not assume that people know what you are talking about because most people do not.

[40:29] Carolyn’s Secrets to Success

• Recognise the opportunities that are presented to you and be brave enough to jump at them. Don’t be too worried about what will happen if it does not work out.

• If it does not work, then you have not lost anything. On the other hand, if you did not try at all, then you might have lost something.

• Carolyn used to find it hard to be honest with the people around her about how she felt because she didn’t trust them with her feelings.

• But she has learned that as a leader, by recognising that you have vulnerabilities, accepting them, and letting other people know about them, they will feel safer with you and vice versa.

5 Powerful Quotes

[8:05] ‘You might have reacted in this particular way in the past, but that doesn’t mean to say that you have to react in the same way again.’

[8:39] ‘When you believe it, you will become it. And you can lie to your subconscious, and it believes what you’re telling it.’

[11:49] ‘How will your behaviour today in terms of your goals and achieving what you want to achieve, affect your future self?’

[15:25] ‘Even when you don’t feel amazing, you tell yourself you feel amazing. And you will believe that you do.’

[41:22] ‘If you apply for the job and you get interviewed, then you give yourself the opportunity. If you don’t apply for the job, you won’t get an interview. So, therefore, you don’t have the opportunity in the first place. What have you got to lose?’

About Carolyn

Carolyn Maloney is the Head of Research Operations at the University Hospital Leicester NHS Trust. She is responsible for operational management and governance of all research activities in the hospital.

Carolyn entered the clinical research field when she moved to Essex in 2003, got a job as an administrator in the Research Ethics Committee, and was asked to apply for the role permanently. Before that, she was a florist and had her own business in Dorset. From the Essex Ethics Committee, she moved to manage RM&G for PCTs in Essex, then decided to apply to Leicester.

Carolyn is currently taking a Senior Leaders Master’s Degree Apprenticeship in Management from De Montfort University.

To learn more about Carolyn, you may visit her company website or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Enjoy the Podcast?

With the current situation, it may be too easy for you to forget to show love for yourself. But Carolyn is here to remind us why this should not be the case. If you enjoyed today’s episode of The Mindset Mentor Meets..., then hit subscribe and share it with your friends!

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To meeting inspiration,

Angela