Design Yourself

To gather - to come together with others - is a deliciously human act. But the experiences are varied. And many of us are out of practice or still adjusting to how it feels to be together. As we step into the season of gatherings, we invite you to consider what makes a gathering good for you.

Sharon reflects on some of the wildly different gatherings that she has been a part of recently - from her annual-ish Entrepreneur's Getaway to a Catskills Sister Moon Circle, from a Vision at Work Retreat to a family routine of playing Dragonwood before bed. She shares what each of these gatherings is, what she appreciates about the experience, what surprises her and more. Through cozying up to these experiences, she draws out 5 lessons that she knows will serve her in the intense season of coming together that lies ahead. And she prompts you to set your own intentions for the gatherings in your life.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/gather-good/

The end of the year is coming. It's that season where we are stretching to the finish line professionally - while simultaneously laying the ground work for what comes next. And our personal lives tend to get fuller too. Holiday celebrations and gatherings. Traveling and hosting. It is a time when we are naturally drawn to sprinting, adding on more responsibilities and generally pushing harder.

But today's podcast challenges that way of being. It invites you to get clear on what matters most and then align your actions with these priorities. Particularly as we think about the short timeframe between now and the end of the year. We aren't talking about a laundry list of priorities either. We are talking about what 1 or 2 or maybe 3 things that matter most. That's it. And that's enough.

Together, we examine why the time is right to be asking ourselves what matters most, we highlight what tends to get in our way and we offer questions to prompt your own best thinking on how to return to and honor your priorities. You are the only person who can answer what matters most to you. And when you do, you can rally the whole dang world to support you.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/what-matters-most/

We have enormous aptitude for thinking. But not all of our thought habits serve us. Frequently a thought that served us for one season of life gets in our way in the next. "I am a hard worker" may have given you the focus and discipline to rise into your current station in life...but it is also contributing heavily to your sense of burn out.

Being able to break from your current thought habits is an incredible life and leadership skill. It requires both that you can see your current thoughts, discern if they are working for you and then shift them if they are not.

In today's episode, we explore the Thinking Path model as a tool to help you do just that. Learn from real life examples and consider for yourself what thoughts you are ready to challenge and reimagine.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/breaking-thought-habits/

The things we carry can get heavy, fast. And we have a choice. Keep holding the weight. Or set it down. To move through the world with levity, unburdened by the weight of our mental loads, requires us to both see what we are holding onto and then decide consciously what to do with it.

As our work and lives take on a new shape, we are once again revamping the rhythms and routines of how we give shape to our days. And this means we are taking on new mental loads.

In today's episode we create space to take perspective on why many of us are experiencing a sudden uptick in our mental loads. We then explore what mental loads we are holding so that we might see with fresh eyes the things we carry. We close the episode with 4 moves you can make to get relief.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/mental-loads-getting-relief/

Your attention is a precious resource. But one that is all too often wasted or ignored. Annie Dillard speaks to this beautifully: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing."

You can choose to focus your attention and the minutes of your life on what matters to you. Or not. The act of focus may seem small in the moment, but its ripple effects are wildly consequential.

In today's episode we draw inspiration from David Foster Wallace's commencement speech and emphasize the importance of choice when it comes to where we gift our attention. We then invite you to reflect on 4 questions to spark your own best thinking on how to put the ideas shared into practice in your own life.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/gifting-your-attention/

You are in charge of your reactions to the circumstances around you. As for the circumstances and people around you, not so much. Yes, you can motivate, negotiate, influence and inspire those things. But you can't control them.

But your reaction? Absolutely yours to decide. Yet we know it doesn't always feel like it's our choice. We get so triggered in the moment or so habitual in our response that we forget that we do actually have a choice.

In today's episode, we help you remember that the choice is always there. We begin by looking at why centering matters and then share tools for three ways of centering: Tactics to come back to center when you are triggered; practices to build up your centering stamina so that you are less likely to be triggered in the moment and practices for how to center with your team - whether with your colleagues around the board room table or on a zoom call or at home with your family. Enjoy!

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/finding-center/

We've been 2020ed and there is no turning back. That has a lot of us feeling adrift. Untethered. Unmotivated, even. We can't unsee or unexperience these last few of years. This new consciousness has sparked lots of change in the workplace.

For some of us, this new awareness has spurred us into action. Perhaps seeking a new job (hello, great resignation) or reimagining the one we already had. For others of us, we have scaled way back - perhaps exiting the workforce or re-evaluating how much we are willing to give (#quietquitting). And our employers are following suit. Return to office plans are rolling out, flexible work plans are being established (or not) and generally speaking, the next normal is coming into focus.

In today's episode we cozy up to how we are feeling in the face of multi-years of near-constant, collective change. At a time when so many of us feel like things are beyond our control, we explore the choices we do have that might help bring us back to center. Sneak peek: All paths forward begin with the need to paying attention to how we are feeling and cultivating an ability to be mindful of the actions we take.

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/feeling-adrift/

Get pumped! Starting October 5, the Design Yourself podcast is coming back to spark inspiration and share practical resources for how to imagine what you really want and figure out how to lead with your vision each and every day.

In this sneak peek episode, learn about the fun personal project that led Sharon to put the podcast on hold (hint: you can read about it in the NYT and Dwell!) and why she is recommitting to the Design Yourself podcast now (hint: it has a lot to do with offering support amidst the unprecedented demands and choices facing professionals today).

A is for Actualize. B is for Brainstorm. C is for create. Okay, just kidding, that's not quite the structure of today's podcast. In this week's episode, Sharon does share some key terms for breaking apart the big idea of vision. She says a more linear set of distinctions that can move us along that path by exploring terms like strategy, goals, milestones and tactics. And also shares a magical pathway to vision through the lens of words like surrender, release, be, listen and move. The idea is not that there is a single or better pathway to realizing and stepping into what you really want. Instead these are distinct ways to break down something that can feel big into simple concepts and structures. This episode closes with some questions for you to consider as you wend your way down your own visionary path.

The podcast is back! Listen to Sharon read Frank Bidart poems, share what she's been up to over the last 4 months and talk about the power of not forcing things. She discusses how being still can be uncomfortable and yet why that's important. She shares how to drop in and listen to the voice within you (and not just the mental chatter) and lead and act from that space of wisdom. And finally, when you are just itching to sprint to action even if it doesn't feel right, she reminds you to just breathe. And see if you can't tilt into a deeper sense of presence over action.