Design Yourself

So many things in today's world demand our attention: Targeted ads; technology programming; catchy headlines; our constantly refilling inboxes. Knowing how to eliminate distractions is a survival skill. We must learn to quiet the white noise and focus on the things that matter most.

To eliminate distractions, we must know what to pay attention to - and then relentlessly block out the disruptions that pull us away. In this episode, we explore three key questions to help us get clear on what matters most, clarify the perspective that will help move us toward growth and discover the tactics that will help keep us on our path.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/eliminating-distractions/

Being prepared isn't just an act of readying for the future. It is a present state that means we are ready to do or deal with whatever comes our way. What a marvelous aspiration! In this way, preparedness feels connected to resilience, which allows us to bounce back from whatever circumstances we may face. But it's tricky. Preparation is something that holds both light and shadow.

Preparation offers an antidote to anxiety. When we have put in the work and are ready, we can focus on our quality of presence. Think speaking from the heart on a topic you've researched and rehearsed versus reading off half-scribbled notecards shaking in your hands. And preparation can also trigger anxiety. We may feel like we can never know, do or be enough. There is more research to do. More visuals to create. More practice needed. Think toiling away on that creative endeavor that remains forever unfinished because there is no sense of what "done" looks like.

In this week's episode we explore 3 aspects of being prepared - 1) Deepening our awareness about our own preparation tendencies; 2) Understanding the connection between preparation and our presence; 3) Learning how to honor your integrity by doing what needs doing.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/being-prepared/

Great leadership demands that we look beyond our own point of view. Taking perspective allows us to build empathy in the face of conflict, to understand the wants of our customers, to deepen our connection to our colleagues. Perspective taking can also be applied inward. We can weigh our options, see new pathways forward, tap into our vision, breathe life into our personal narratives.

Today's podcast focuses on how we can expand our capacity to take perspective. We look at four ways to hone your ability and build up your perspective taking muscles - everything from learning how to look beneath the surface, to practicing fierce empathy (even in the face of conflict), to finding fun ways to get outside of your comfort zone, to seeking opportunities to expand your consciousness. Throughout the episode learn practical tips for how to develop and apply this skill.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/taking-perspective/

Ready or not, the new year is upon us. While there is no one right way to do anything, there is what's right for you. Answering this question requires our discernment. How will you choose to show up and move through 2023? What are you wishing to call in this year? What will support you on this path?

In today's episode we talk about finding your own right-fit approach to kicking off the new year and how you can use the flipping of the calendar year to bring fresh perspective to your daily rhythms and routines. We discuss what's different about a resolution and an intention. We talk about different themes you might play with like a word or color of the year. We invite you to consider what - if any - big picture annual thinking might be useful as you step into 2023.

Regardless of what you are moving towards, the rhythms and routines that you establish will steward you on this path. To that end we close today's episode with an audit of what's working for you and how you might reimagine both the fixed and flexible movements that make up your day-to-day. Whether you decide to put a new morning or evening routine in place or pay attention to what patterns shift from one season to the next, your commitment to aligning your daily actions to your annual priorities will pay dividends. Here's to starting 2023 off right - and on your own terms!

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/starting-2023-off-right/

The new year invites us to reimagine what's possible. This is not about trying to burden ourselves with unrealistic resolutions that we are doomed to abandon by February. Instead, it is about letting the rhythm of the calendar offer us a natural disruption in the momentum of our day to day. It is a chance to dream something new.

In this week's podcast, we begin by discussing the importance of cultivating a belief that what you want is possible. And we look to Maslow's hierarchy of needs to create distinctions on where to focus our visioning energy. Do we need to shore up our foundation (physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem)? Or are we in a moment where we can expand into self-actualization?

We then consider how to hold space to explore what you want. We embrace the mindset that whatever we are doing, it is enough. And we offer ways to go deeper. We then offer prompts to get you thinking about what you really want for this year - a linear process to get clear on your 2023 vision. We close with a short guided meditation that invites you to go beyond your current awareness for what's possible and to invite in new perspectives. Here's to seeing what emerges; happy visioning!

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/what-do-you-want-in-2023

Wintering is a season in the cold. It is both literal and figurative. It acknowledges those times where we move through a fallow period – cut off from the world. What is the power of wintering? How can we learn to call in the dark and the cold?

In today's episode on wintering we discuss what wintering is, borrowing from the brilliance of writer Katherine May; we speak to the power of wintering, specifically the power of the dark, the cold, letting go and resting; and we close with reflection questions to spark your own best thinking on how to integrate this practice.

"So that is my wish for you – that you may be unburdened by the cold and dark of wintering. And more than that. That you can embrace it. Call in the dark and the cold – don't run from it. It is through learning how to sit in this discomfort that we build our resilience for when the unexpected winters arrive."

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/wintering/

What have you learned this year? And how will those lessons inform your direction in the coming year? In this week's episode we explore the power of looking back and taking perspective. And then look at a few tools to help you do just that. We close with a how-to guide to writing a letter to yourself to reflect on the year. Here's to taking a few moments to look back and learn from what has unfolded for you in 2022.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/lessons-learned-this-year/

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Point Road Studios! Has anyone ever told you, "No, you can't do that!" - and then you went ahead and did it anyway? That's a glimpse into why we celebrate together in this week's podcast. Join Sharon for a personal reflection and celebration meditation. Learn about the thing that Sharon is most proud of and hear some of the stories of clients she has worked with over the years. Hear her reflections on what being in business for a decade has meant for her personal life.

And then reflect on what this means for you. Today's episode closes with a Celebration Meditation (starting at 15:47) inviting you to explore chapters of your own life. What are you celebrating? What are you noticing? What can you see? And at what perspective?

Celebrate what you are most proud of. And not just the big milestones. Celebrate those tiny moments that summed together create the magical moments of your life. Because only you can know and navigate how to call forth the whispers of your heart. Listening deeply is a catalyst. Celebrating and finding joy builds momentum. Onward!

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/celebrating-10-years/

Perfectionism is a shadow driver of so many high achievers. It helps us get the job done. But at what cost?

In today's episode, we cozy up to the realities of the perfectionism paradigm. We look at its different flavors and the ways we might experience it in our own lives. What standards do we hold ourselves to? What about the people around us? Our family? Colleagues? Friends? Community members? And what about the standards that we inherit from the cultures we live in and move through?

The alternative to chasing an impossible standard is simple. We have to set our own. Rather than aligning our actions with an unachievable ideal, we have to connect our focus to what actually matters most. As defined by - you guessed it - you! Which does require that we know what we value. For this reason, we close today's podcast with an invitation to reflect - a chance to be honest with ourselves about our own relationship with perfectionism and to consider what's actually important to us. From the strength of our own convictions emerges the possibility of a whole new way of leading in and living our lives.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/hello-there-perfectionism/

"No" is an incredibly powerful tool. It allows us to clear the clutter of our lives and to prevent unnecessary distractions. Behind every yes is a silent no - we just usually don't realize it at the time. It is through creating the negative space that we can dream up of biggest, brightest, happiest yeses. "No" really does create the space.

In today's episode we give gratitude to "no" and offer up 4 simple questions to spark your own personal reflection. Host Sharon cozies up to her own answers including how fear and control get very loud when she's saying no - and how it's worse when she is afraid of how her no will impact someone else. We also look at patterns that lead you to avoid saying no and supports to get over it and just do it anyway.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/gratitude-for-no/