What if your values weren’t just something you thought about once during a journaling workshop, but a real-time compass for how you show up—especially when things get complicated? In this episode, we’re going to talk about how to turn your values into a functional operating system.

Key Takeaways:

- A personal mission statement isn’t a slogan—it’s an operating system. When used well, it helps guide daily actions, not just big decisions.
- Misalignment between values and actions is a valuable signal that it might be time to recommit to your goals…or to revise them entirely.
- “Would this be on-brand for me?” is a useful question to test alignment between choices and core identity.
- When you're stuck, your values can help you move from indecision to clarity.
- Mission statements don’t have to be perfect; they just have to feel true. The goal is not to impress others, but to steer you toward decisions you can stand behind, especially when things get tough.

Mentioned

Ep 33: Aligned Actions

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Sometimes, the system isn’t broken—it’s just bottlenecked.

In this episode, we’re continuing our series on translating business strategies into personal growth tools by looking at bottlenecks: those hidden chokepoints where progress stalls and good intentions quietly fall apart.

You’ll learn how to spot these sneaky sources of friction, and explore simple ways to loosen them—so your habits feel easier, not harder, to follow through on.

Key Takeaways

• Bottlenecks aren’t failures—they’re leverage points. Identifying them gives you a clearer sense of where to focus your attention for the biggest impact.
• Look for where things consistently stall—not where you 'fail.'  Troubleshooting your routines can be more productive than judging them.
• Delegate when you can—share the load.  You don’t have to be the sole operator of your entire life.
• Automate where possible—to reduce friction and decision fatigue.  If it can be made simpler or more predictable, that’s often the difference between doing it and skipping it.
• Simplify or eliminate what's no longer serving you.  A habit doesn't have to be perfect to be worth doing. The more repeatable it is, the more reliable it becomes.

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When the economy gets rocky, smart businesses don’t panic—they prepare. They focus on what really matters, streamline what they can, and make sure they’re flexible enough to weather the storm. 

In this episode, we’re borrowing that same mindset and translating it into the way we think about our own self-care routines and health habits. Because whether it’s travel, stress, a challenging diagnosis, or just a really busy season, life will test your systems.

We’ll explore six ways businesses recession-proof themselves—and translate them into strategies you can use to build more resilience into your own routines. Not to control every variable, but to stay steady when things get wobbly.

Key Takeaways

1. Identify your non-negotiables--the routines, supports, and boundaries that keep you grounded and functional.
2. Once your essentials are clear, you can consciously pause or scale back the “nice-to-haves” without guilt. This prevents burnout and preserves energy for what really matters.
3. Don't rely on just one strategy. Have multiple ways to meet your needs so you’re not derailed by a single point of failure.
4. Build your reserves--whether it’s food in the freezer, margin in your calendar, or emotional stamina. 
5. In a pinch, shift from growth to resilience mode. Maintenance is a win when your capacity is limited.
6. Strengthen your relationships with the people, tools, and systems that support your follow-through. Don’t wait until things get rocky to realize how much you depend on those connections.

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Will you succeed in reaching your next big goal? Only time will tell. Because success (or failure) generally comes at the end of the process. 

Except that every success or failure is actually made up of countless smaller successes or failures that happened along the way. And paying more attention to those can save us a lot of frustration and disappointment. 

In this episode, I’m borrowing a powerful concept from the world of business that can help you notch more wins, build confidence, and feel more in control of your progress—whatever you’re working toward.

Key Takeaways

1. Lagging indicators reflect the results of your actions—but only after the fact.
2. Leading indicators are the consistent, controllable actions that move you toward your goal. They help you stay engaged with the process, even when the payoff is weeks or months away.
3. When you define progress by your actions, you create more opportunities for wins—even before the results show up.
4. Clarifying what your outcome is meant to make possible helps sustain motivation—and shapes smarter action plans.
5. If progress is elusive, look upstream. Ask: "What behaviors am I consistently tracking—and are they the right ones?"

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If you feel like your progress (or your motivation) has stalled, you have options. You can redouble your efforts. You can take an entirely different approach. Or, you might even decide to walk away. In this episode, we’ll talk about figuring out which route serves you best.

Key Takeaways

1. Taking a break can help protect the quality of our work, create space for creative insights, and ensure that we’re using our time and energy in the most meaningful way.
2. The urge to step away can sometimes be a form of avoidance. When something feels hard or tedious, pushing through may be the key to progress. The challenge is knowing when persistence serves us and when it doesn’t.
3. Just because something was valuable or necessary in the past doesn’t mean it still is. We can get stuck in commitments out of habit, sunk costs, or fear of change. It’s important to ask: Would I choose this again today?
4. Unplanned breaks can still serve us. When life forces us to pause, we can reframe it as an opportunity for reflection, skill-building, or re-evaluating our direction. 
5. Clarity comes from asking the right questions. 

1.  What would taking a break or stepping back make possible? Would you use that freed-up time and energy to do something else that is important and meaningful to you?
2. Are there clear benefits to continuing? Are you willing to give those up, or would you regret it?
3. Are you seeing the results you had hoped to see? If not, why not?
4. Might you be better off pursuing the same goal but in a different way?
5. Is this goal still meaningful to you?
6. Am I continuing in this effort because it still makes sense, or because I’m having trouble cutting bait on the time or effort I’ve already invested?
7. Has my objective changed? Is this goal still aligned with my current objective?
8. If I were starting from scratch today, would I still commit to this?

Mentioned

Ep 488 of the What Works podcast with Tara McMullin

The Change Academy will be on hiatus for the next several weeks. We plan to be back later in the Spring with some exciting new content. If you’re not already on our mailing list, sign up here, and we’ll send you a quick announcement when our next episodes are ready! 

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Are you guilty of holding yourself (or others) to impossibly high standards?

In this episode, we're exploring the concept of Ought implies can—the notion that we can only be obligated to do what we’re actually capable of. But how do we know where the limits of ability really are?

Are we being too hard on ourselves (or others)? Or are we making excuses?

Learning how to tell the difference can help you set fair, realistic, and empowering expectations—for yourself and everyone around you.

Key Takeaways

-  Capacity includes more than just your physical ability to do something—cognitive, emotional, and situational factors also shape what’s truly possible.
-  There's an important difference between "I can't" and "I can't yet."
-  Acknowledging barriers or limitations is not an excuse, it's an invitation. 
-  When setting expectations—of yourself or others—check your assumptions. Are you asking for something that’s actually within reach? Or are you expecting the impossible?

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Feeling stuck in the daily grind? Quitting isn’t the only way out. In this episode, Dr. Jessica Grossmeier shares how to find meaning, connection, and even transcendence in the job you have now.

We explore:
  - How small shifts in perspective can reignite purpose and satisfaction
  - The power of workplace connections and why they matter more than you think
  - Simple, science-backed practices to reset, refocus, and thrive at work
  - Why transcendence is a job skill—and how to cultivate it

Whether you love your job, feel stuck, or are considering a change, this episode will challenge you to think differently about work—and yourself.

Key Takeaways

-  Work can be so much more than just tasks and productivity when we bring our best selves and connect to a larger purpose.
-  Instead of leaving a job that feels misaligned, shifting how you approach your work can bring new fulfillment.
-  Meaningful relationships at work enhance well-being, performance, and job satisfaction 
-  Create intentional time for space for mindful movement, deep breathing, or intentional connection with colleagues.

 Mentioned

Reimagining Workplace Well-Being: Fostering a Culture of Purpose, Connection, and Transcendence, by Jessica Grossmeier

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn

Free resources

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Ever wondered why some changes seem impossible to sustain while others just click?

It’s not magic—it’s science. 

In this episode, we’re talking about a 3-part recipe for behavior change that was first developed 30 years ago and is still making waves today. If you’ve struggled with change or are trying to help others make positive changes, you need to leverage all three of these key factors–in the right proportions. 

Key Takeaways

1.  Information, motivation, and behavioral skills all play important and interlocking roles in fostering positive behavior change. 
2.  Strategies that address all three of these factors are likely to be the most effective. 
3.  By considering the complexity of the behavior, we can tailor our approaches for maximum impact.

Related Episodes

Ep 129: Why it’s so hard to convert good intentions into action

Ep 11: The Attention, Intention, Action Cycle

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Whenever we make plans or set goals, it's important anticipate the inevitable bumps in the road, and be ready to adapt and course-correct.
 

But sometimes, life doesn't just serve up a bump in the road. It delivers an earthquake that shakes us to the core and opens up a chasm into which our entire life--and all of our fancy plans--are thrown.  In an instant, the goals, projects and ambitions that have been driving our thoughts, activities, and even our identities become irrelevant.

Today, psychologist Bethy Campbell joins me to talk about how to handle it when life goes completely off the rails.

Key Takeaways

1. Many of us tend to define ourselves by the goals that we set and accomplish. Consider the possibility that how we deal with life’s catastrophes may be even more revealing of our character and identity. 
2. Even when you’re stuck with something you didn’t choose, you still have the power to choose how you respond to and learn from those experiences.
3. Before we go looking for those silver linings or opportunities, it’s important to allow ourselves to acknowledge our grief and disappointment over what we may have lost. 
4. Even if we are forced to radically recalibrate our goals or our definition of success, setting doable goals gives us something to work toward and celebrate.

Mentioned

Life Directions Consulting with Dr. Bethy Campbell

Wellness Works Here

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These final few days of the year are a great time to reflect on the year that’s past and think about what we’d like to focus on or accomplish in the New Year. And in this episode, I’m sharing a three-part process that might just become your new end-of-year ritual.  Instead of your New year’s Resolutions being a well-intentioned flash in the pan, we’re going to kindle a flame that will burn brightly all year. 

Key Takeaways

- Reflecting on our past successes, however modest, helps build the self-efficacy needed for future change
- Connecting our goals to our values helps us tap into the intrinsic motivations that fuels sustained effort. 
- Link each goal to an identity statement that reflects who you want to become, not just what you want to achieve
- Focus on no more than 2-3 goals at a time to avoid overwhelming yourself and diluting your efforts
- Create "if-then" commitments for how you will handle potential obstacles when they arise

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