Design Yourself

It is easy to get caught up chasing dreams. Yes, I am an advocate for daring to imagine what you really want and going after it; however, it is equally important to remember that the end goals and outcomes achieved aren't the only point.

The experience that we have on our way to a particular destination gives us a strong indication of how we will feel when we arrive. Life is not about rushing and pushing ahead to the goal; it is about the practice of setting a vision, leading with intention and acting on purpose. Practice over achievement.

In this week's podcast, we draw upon the wisdom of Ann Patchett and her 2021 New Yorker piece on How to Practice, discuss the mindset freedoms available to us when we practice, and reflect together on a few questions to bolster a practice of our own.

For show notes: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/practice-over-achievement/

We create our paths through every step we take. Yes plans and visions can bolster - even accelerate - our paths forward. But the actual road taken can only be seen in the review mirror. Because we forge our paths as we go. In each decision we make, each choice we own, each step we take. This podcast lays out 5 habits to nurture as you take the next step.

Spring is here and with it an invitation. We have made it through the cold, dark, fallow period. And it's time now to wake up. To move and stretch and create focus. What do we wish to cultivate this season? What do we hope to grow? And how do we do so with intention? That's what we discuss in today's episode on Planting Seeds.

"My seeds are afraid to grow?" asked Toad.

"Of course," said Frog. "Leave them alone for a few days. Let the sun shine on them, let the rain fall on them. Soon your seeds will start to grow."

-Arnold Lobell, "The Garden" from Frog and Toad Together

Being able to move with your vision is pure magic. To do it, requires not just that we are able to take aligned and vision-forward actions; it also requires that we can see and delineate the connection between what we want and what we are doing. It's easy to feel stuck on a hamster wheel if we are missing the big picture. And it's just as easy to feel ungrounded and stuck if we know what we want, but don't know how to take action towards that thing. In today's podcast we share a framework that helps us break down the movement from vision to action. Along the way we offer techniques and mindsets on how to move with ease as you lift your attention up to the big picture and drop down to tactics that bring your vision to life.

Is raising the bar a familiar activity to you? Always pushing and expanding to do more, bigger, better, faster? Me too. While there is a time and a place for this direct growth strategy, this podcast episode shares an alternative: Lowering the stakes. The approach is not about apathy. When we clear the clutter of our expectations, we can see our way through to smaller, more manageable approaches like developing our technique, building emotional range and resilience and tapping into artistic flow.

Growth lies in the edges: Those places where we push past discomfort to metamorphosis. Our learning edges clarify the path to our potential - whether through skills, knowledge, or perspective. In this episode of Design Yourself, Sharon holds space for listeners to name and explore their learning edge. She then guides listeners through reflections about her learning edge - "let go and go fast" - and the beliefs that inspire her to continue to seek transformation. The gift of being human is that we can evolve every day into the fullest expression of our dynamic selves. We close the episode with the same question we started. What is my learning edge?

Anguish shows up when we don't know how to move. Many things can cause this stuckness. Maybe it's a limiting belief that we aren't worthy of having what we want. (Not true.) Maybe it's a lack of clarity on the direction we want to head. (Time to create a vision.) Maybe it's that we don't know how to get there. (Pause, look back, ask for help.)

In this week's episode Sharon highlights two stories of getting past stuckness and into aligned and inspired action. The first story celebrates a nonprofit leader focused on growing their leadership at work while exploring making a physical move for their family. Learn about how they developed an action plan that honored both of these visions - and what limiting belief they released along the way. The second story highlights a personal struggle that Sharon's been facing in her garden and what she's doing to get past it. We close with a bonus memory that underscores how patterns tend to repeat themselves.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/getting-unstuck/

Wild growth is possible when we abandon our addiction to knowing and surrender to wonder and awe. A beginner mindset acknowledges that we always have more to learn and accepts that failure is just a natural part of the process. But it's tempting to sit back in old habits. And really who will know if we are accelerating toward growth or relying on what we already know to be true? So often the difference is unseen because it happens on the inside. It's a mindset and not a physical experience.

In today's episode, we talk about the power of a beginner's mindset and the power of living this mindset in your body. Sharon shares her recent adventures in skiing and past attempts at ballet as examples of both being a beginner and being a beginner in your body - where all mistakes will be visible on the outside. Finally, she challenges you to consider what new body practice you might attempt to accelerate your learning. Tap into your inner 8-year-old and just have fun - mistakes and all.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/embodying-a-beginners-mindset/

Listening is an incredibly powerful leadership and life skill. But that doesn't make it easy. There are habits and culturally accepted practices that hold us back from really listening to understand. But the good news is that you can create simple shifts to improve the quality of your listening and inspire others to do the same. This change requires radical self-awareness.

This episode highlights 12 different habits that prevent us from listening - including rehearsing, daydreaming, and placating. We invite you to see with a fresh perspective where your listening gets derailed and to make simple shifts to bring your attention back to listening to understand.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/listening-blocks/

A powerful question will stop us in our tracks. It will demonstrate that the asker is listening deeply to us. It will deepen our own best thinking and invite us to see our situation with a fresh perspective. In a world where talking the loudest and unfailingly asserting our viewpoint is modeled in the highest levels of leadership, asking questions offers an antidote.

The quality of the conversations we have comes from the quality of the questions we ask. This is true of how we connect and speak with ourselves and how we connect and speak with others. In today's podcast, we offer practical tips for how to hone the craft of question-asking. Learn key distinctions in the types of questions you can ask and how you can put your question-asking skills to use in personal reflection, in 1-on-1 conversations, and in group facilitation.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/asking-powerful-questions/