Building Psychological Strength

The last 18 months have challenged some of the most basic assumptions we had about what is necessary for a productive work environment. Gone are the days when we believed we absolutely HAD TO BE IN PERSON to be productive. Among others, one of the big lessons COVID has taught us is that the future of work is flexible.

Today, I'm speaking with Alex Morrall, founder of the Twin Cities Wellness Collective and the host of the podcast of the same name. We're talking about major insights we've all learned from our hybrid work during COVID as well as some very practical ways we can support our own wellbeing and leaders can support their teams in a hybrid work model.

Additional Resources:

1. Learn more about Alex Morrall and his work and subscribe to his podcast at: https://www.tcwellnesscollective.com/
2. Martin Seligman's book "Flourish": https://amzn.to/39QbBMD [affiliate link]
3. Episode 251 "Preparing for the Post COVID Life Change": https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/blog/0251

There's no avoiding it - we're 18 months into a very challenging time, and the end isn't really in sight. I'm hearing from more and more corporations and organizations who tell me that their employees are struggling to move through the challenge and uncertainty that we've all experienced, which is why I was so excited to welcome Will Moore of Moore Momentum back to the podcast for a second time.

Will is an expert in habit change. Specifically, in this episode, we talk about the importance of cultivating what he calls "success habits" to support you through times that are uncertain or challenging. He's honest about how tough it can be and how "front loaded" the process is. But, his personal story shows the value in cultivating habits that help you thrive and succeed.

Additional Resources:

1. Learn more about Will by visiting Moore Momentum
2. Will's first interview on the podcast - episode 0189
3. Carol Dweck's book Mindset (affiliate link)
4. Episode 0288 - How Structure Creates Flexibility

Ashley and I have been doing quite a few workshops centered around what psychological strength is and what the components are that make it up. And, there's one component that consistently generates more confusion and questions than any other. That topic is mindfulness.

The skill of mindfulness sits at the center of our wheel of psychological strength, and it's the core of psych strength for a reason. You need strong mindfulness skills to develop skills in all of the other areas. Your relationship with your thoughts relies on mindfulness. Mindfulness is the foundation of emotional intelligence. It impacts your relationships, your sense of self, it interacts with your habits and behavior and is an important component in life design. It really is the core of psych strength. However, it frequently gets confused with other similar skills and techniques. Specifically, visualization.

In today's episode, I want to dig into these two concepts: Mindfulness and visualization to give you a solid understanding of what each of them is. How they're similar, how they're different, and more importantly, when to use each one of them because they're both useful for different things.

Supplemental information:

1. Podcast episode 0239 - "How to not hate meditation"

2. Cheryl B. Engelhardt's episode

3. Use of mental imagery for sports performance

One of the 7 main skillsets that make up psychological strength has to do with the self. One of the core ways we think about the self is in terms of identity. Who am I? What am I like? What do I value? What am I good at...or not so good at? All of that is important, but today, I want to cover a slightly more obscure facet to the self. Specifically, we're talking about the relationship we cultivate with our self.

Today we'll be talking about how to use some core aspects of meaningful relationships to cultivate the relationship you have with yourself. Aspects such as communication, compassion and empathy, and appreciation. The impact of the practices we talk about at the end of this episode can be life-changing, and you won't want to miss them.

Supplemental information:

1. Listen to my interview with Shannon Schottler: https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/blog/0136

2. Learn more about our mini-course Self-Care [by design]: https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/selfcare

3. Dig into Dr. Kristin Neff's work on self-compassion: https://self-compassion.org/

We've all felt the squeeze of having too much on our plate and too little time, energy, and capacity. We feel pulled to accomplish, achieve, and deliver based on other people's requests and demands. Our calendars turn to time confetti as we attempt to juggle multiple things at a time, and at the end of the day, we collapse into bed exhausted, wishing we could have squeezed in a workout or another personally meaningful activity. Sound at all like you? It definitely sounds like me on my most difficult days. Here's the tough truth: We know the answer. We know we're supposed to prioritize, yet we don't do it, or we don't feel like we can do it.

In this episode, I'll go over 3 of the main reasons why we don't prioritize, and for each, I'll offer what I hope is a helpful reframe to help you think about how you might begin to intentionally craft your life experience into one that aligns with you, your values, and your needs.

Supplemental Resources:

1. Check out Gail Golden's book Curating Your Life: https://www.amazon.com/Curating-Your-Life-Struggle-Work-Life/dp/1538132877

2. Listen to my conversation with Gail Golden: https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/blog/0242

3. If you'd like to read Bronnie Ware's viral blog post Regrets of the Dying, click here: https://bronnieware.com/blog/regrets-of-the-dying/

As human beings, one thing we simply have to learn to contend with is our emotions. They can get the best of us at times. The thing to remember is that an emotion typically arises when we're interpreting the facts of a situation or applying a judgement to something that is happening, has happened, or will happen. What happens when you remove the judgement?

Join us for our FREE live webinar Foundations of Psychological Strength by registering at: www.peakmindpsychology.com/webinar 

Have you ever taken a necessary break from work with the goal of recharging, resting, and relaxing...yet you end up feeling ANXIOUS?! Stepping away from work should feel relaxing, right? Yet, so many times, we end up feeling anxiety, and it can feel surprising and unexplainable.

In today's episode, we're diving into 4 things that cause us to feel anxious when we step away, and 4 ways to help yourself navigate through that anxiety so you can truly enjoy the time away that you so deserve.

Join us for the FREE live webinar Foundations of Psychological Strength by signing up at this link: www.peakmindpsychology.com/webinar

Picture this - it's Thanksgiving, and in walks THAT family member. The one who has differing political views and ALWAYS wants to talk about them. You want it to go well, but you're afraid it just won't. What do you do?

Like it or not, the divisiveness in politics is something that has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives. Things feel so divided right now, and that's what we're diving into this week.

This week's guest is Peter Montoya, and we're talking about his new book The Second Civil War: A Citizen's Guide to Healing our Fractured Nation. In this episode we talk about the ways in which identity and tribalism play into the divisiveness we are experiencing. We talk about ways to approach political conversations and tips for effectively having the conversation. And finally, we talk about grey rocking, a strategy for handling truly morally reprehensible conversations.

Peter Montoya is a thought leader, skilled orator, tech entrepreneur, and successful business strategist, Peter’s expertise comes from decades of being deep in the trenches – guiding sales, marketing, service, and development teams to achieve seemingly unreachable goals by working together cohesively.

Find Peter's book: https://amzn.to/37pnibL

Learn more about Peter Montoya: https://petermontoya.com/

What if you are one conversation away from peace of mind? Hear me out. Many times, we spend our precious mental energy making assumptions and predictions about what another person is thinking or how they might react.

Sign up for our FREE live webinar "Foundations of Psychological Strength" by visiting www.peakmindpsychology.com/webinar 

Becoming a better leader of others requires that we become a better leader of ourselves. In today's professional edition of the podcast, we're focused on self-leadership. What it is, why it's important, and how to cultivate it.

Research cited in this episode: https://www.ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_9_No_2_February_2018/2.pdf and https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joop.12365