Building Psychological Strength

This week on the podcast, we’re diving into the topics of obesity and bariatric surgery. These topics are important ones to cover in their own right, but even beyond that, they’re topics that touch on many of the psychological hurdles that all of us face when we have to make a change in our life. 

This week’s guest is Kayla Landaeta. Growing up, Kayla was overweight and obese. In college, Kayla weighed 343 pounds, and eventually, she realized that she wanted to make a change in her life. She discovered bariatric surgery and navigated her way through the hoops she had to jump through, the self-limiting beliefs that arose, and the new identity she had to take on after she lost over 160 pounds.  

In this episode Kayla not only shares her own journey, but she shares so much wisdom from her work as a bariatric life coach. In this episode, we talk about the notion of radical responsibility and how you can make the decision to change your life. We talk about self-identity and how it can cause us to stay in situations that don’t really serve us. And we talk about the shift that happens when we make a big change in life. 

If you relate to Kayla’s story, I know you’re going to get a lot out of this episode. And, if you don’t, if you’ve never struggled with your weight to the degree that Kayla describes, you’re still going to get so much from this conversation. The aspects of psychological strength that we cover are foundational to an active, thriving life for absolutely everyone. 

You can learn more about Kayla by following her on Instagram or on her website: https://www.timetodeflate.com/.

Everyone has been given 1 life to live, but sadly, not everyone is an active participant in their own life.  

One of the key reasons for this is that they are not willing to accept responsibility for that active role. They are not willing to take radical responsibility for their life. 

This is the focus of today’s podcast episode. 

Today, we’re talking about the topic of radical responsibility, which means taking 100% responsibility for 100% of the situations you find yourself in.  

In this episode, I talk about what radical responsibility is, and what it’s not. I talk about why it’s so absolutely critical that you cultivate it. How to spot areas of your life where you aren’t taking responsibility, and then I take you through a 3-step life design process for beginning to regain control.  

Taking radical responsibility for my life was one of the most transformative and powerful things I’ve ever done. And, I want the same for you. I want YOU to be the active creator of your own life that you deserve to be. I want you to have the most aligned life experience possible, and taking radical responsibility for your life is the first step.  

Think back to the last time you had to have a really tough conversation. Maybe it was a difficult conversation with your spouse, a friend, or someone at work. Maybe it was a family member or an employee. No matter what, there’s no denying how terrifying these conversations can be. 

This week, we’re talking to AmyK Hutchens. She is an internationally-renowned speaker, and an expert who teaches people how to confidently & competently navigate their toughest conversations without saying something they regret, giving their power away, or damaging their relationships. 

In this interview, AmyK gives us so many actionable ways to approach our toughest conversations from the mindset that we need to cultivate before we even begin the conversation, down to specific phrases we can use to quickly build connection and empathy with the person we’re talking to. 

AmyK is truly masterful, and we’re so thrilled to have her on the podcast this week. Please visit her at www.amyk.com to take advantage of so many resources that she gives away for free, and be on the lookout for her new book coming in February, 2020. 

This episode will change your life.  

We all have habits that we want to change. Maybe we want to eat healthier, drink less, or exercise more. You’ve likely set a goal to change a particularly difficult habit....and then failed. Likely multiple times. 

We set New Years’ resolutions, and they fall through.  

Habit change is hard. 

Today, we’re featuring Dr. Glenn Livingston, author of the book “Never Binge Again” on the podcast. Not only is he a Ph.D. trained psychologist, but he himself lost 80 pounds by using the pillars of psychological strength to change his own behavior. 

During his interview we dive deep into the areas of your brain that control habitual behavior and how they can trick you into giving up on your goals to change your own habits. We talk about the role of intentionally cultivating self-awareness and psychological strength to begin pushing back against the urges and impulses of our “reptilian brain.”  

And at the end, Dr. Livingston gives actionable tips about how to get started in changing a difficult habit TODAY, and a heap of free resources to help support you in your journey. 

We’re thrilled to partner with Dr. Glenn Livingston on this episode of Building Psychological Strength. 

For a limited time, join the Peak Mind membership for only $1 for your first month! https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/membership Use the code 'THRIVE' at checkout!

So many of us operate from the perspective that life is supposed to follow a linear path. So much so that, when we find ourselves at a crossroads or we feel compelled to go in a new direction, it can be incredibly difficult for us!

This is why I am so excited for you to meet this week’s guest, Shannon Schottler. Shannon is a certified life/career transitions & leadership coach. Her mission is to empower more individuals to find, know and honor their truth personally and professionally. She believes now more than ever that our world needs more self-aware leaders who know not only how to lead a mission, a team or a business…but also lead themselves extraordinarily well. Self-aware leaders will change the world and that starts with you.

In her interview, we talked about so many actionable concepts. We talked about something she calls the “Cycle of Renewal.” During this discussion, Shannon gives labels to the stages we go through during our lives that can range from highly motivated, action-packed stages, to slower, more self-reflective stages. All of them have their role, and Shannon highlights ways to make the most out of them. She also spoke about the importance of mindfulness and self-awareness as a way to more intentionally move through each of those stages.

Last, we spoke about the interplay between our own behaviors, our feelings, the beliefs or stories we have about ourselves and the facts that might be supporting or refuting those stories. This discussion about the “Paths to Action” will give you a roadmap for moving past self-limitation into a much more intentional, empowered state.

We’re so thrilled to partner with Shannon on this episode! For more information, follow her on Instagram or visit her website: http://www.shannonschottler.com/

We all want the best for our kids; that goes without saying. But, sometimes, our best intentions actually get in the way of our kids making the mistakes they need to make to grow and develop into educated, high-functioning adults. 

In today’s episode, we’re talking with Teru Clavel, the author of the brand new book “World Class.” In her book, Teru compares the educational system we have in the United States with the system she encountered as her family moved from country to country in Asia.  

Most notably, she saw that the growth mindset was extremely prevalent in Asia. Effort and practice were valued above simple achievement. The concept of failure was seemingly nonexistent. Rather, the Asian approach to education focused on viewing failure as an opportunity to learn more. And the intentional role that parents, teachers, and broader society plays in children’s education is very different than what we know in the United States.  

I hope you’ll tune into this episode to gain a broader view of what education means throughout the world and how we might approach it from less of a fixed mindset and more of a mindset of continuous growth and progress. 

Gratitude is something we hear about a lot in the mainstream personal development literature…and it’s also a topic that gets simplified and manipulated in mainstream media. We’ve all seen the pretty social media posts that urge us to think positively, but those simplistic posts ignore the complexity and nuance that occurs within our emotional response.  

So, in this special episode of the Building Psychological Strength podcast, Ashley and I talk about the complexity surrounding gratitude and the ways that it can be misconstrued. 

In particular, we talk about the role of gratitude:

1. In the good times 
2. When we, ourselves, are going through something traumatic. 
3. When others are going through something traumatic 

We hit on the importance of precisely labeling our emotions to help tease them apart and understand them. And, most importantly, we talk about ways to use gratitude and our emotional response to catalyze action in a direction that aligns to our goals.  

You won’t want to miss this episode if you’ve ever felt like the emotions you’re feeling are confusing or complex. You’re not alone. We’re here to help. Listen to the end for some practical tips for sorting through complex, competing emotions.  

The notion of being “fearless” is one that is so highly celebrated in our culture. 

But here’s the thing…there’s no such thing as being fearless. Fear, as a response, is primal and adaptive. It is natural and ingrained in us to fear the unknown, and there’s nothing we can do about the fact that we’ll experience fear anytime we step outside of our comfort zones.  

However, what we can do something about is how we respond to fear. 

Today, you’re going to hear from Kate Swoboda, the author of the book “The Courage Habit.” Kate has spent the last 13 years of her career as a practitioner of the field of life coaching, and it shows.  

In this interview, she shares incredibly valuable wisdom with us about the 4 responses we typically have when faced with fear, and the 4 things you can do instead to develop your own courage habit.

In this interview, you’ll learn how incredibly powerful your subconscious mind is. At Peak Mind, we say that your mind can be your most valuable asset or your biggest liability, and this episode illustrates that.  

This week you’ll meet Tiffany Toombs. Tiffany runs Blue Lotus Mind, and she works with her clients to help them understand how their subconscious minds are operating, where their self-limiting beliefs might have come from, and how to move forward to achieve exactly what you want to have in your life.  

Tiffany has a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology from Calgary, Canada. She is a Master Practitioner and Trainer in Neurolinguistic Programming and a Master Practitioner and Trainer in Matrix Therapies. She has a wealth of knowledge and expertise about the way the subconscious mind impacts us in our daily lives, and she shares all of that with us in this interview.  

What do you stand for? What are you willing to show up for in the world?

And…

What are you NOT willing to show up for?

This week’s guest on the podcast had to ask herself that important question as she went through one of the most challenging parts of her life - a health battle with her brand new baby.

At the most challenging part of her life, Danielle Jokinen had to decide what she stood for, and more importantly, what she DIDN’T stand for, and that’s an exercise we ALL should go through.

Danielle is a certified yoga teacher and the owner of Minnesota Power Yoga, a babtiste yoga affiliate. She is also the creator of the yoga method called YOD, which combines traditional yoga with HIIT to create an unforgettable and effective workout.

In her episode we hit on some very powerful lessons:

• The importance of mindfulness (through breath and body work) as you move through adversity.

• Moving through adversity with intention.

• Choosing LOVE when everything else around you might be falling apart.

This episode is so powerful, and I encourage you to listen and ask yourself:

What do I stand for?