https://difficulthappens.com/

Have you ever heard the adage if you want to know who you are, look at your 5 closest friends, or show me who your friends are and I will show you who you are?

I have learned that there are certain types of friendships we all need in our lives, friendships that are essential to help us be better, and do better, and help us along our life’s journey.

Friendships are like Concentric circles, some friends are in your inner circle, your squad, your posse, your ride or dies, these are the friends you think of first, then there are some who aren't quite as close to you but they are still an important part of your circle. There are layers to Friendships. have many layers.

These friendships help you become who you are meant to be. They get you through tough times., and you benefit not just by being on the receiving end, but on being the friend yourself. 

In today’s episode, the 5 types of friends you should surround yourself with, and what type of toxic friendships you should avoid.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• The 5 friendships you need
• What ‘Shine’ theory is
• Types of toxic friendships
• How to feed and water your relationships
• Some friends come & some friends go
• How to be a better friend
• Why ‘big friendships’ are important

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

 Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/ 

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

Series on Conflict Personality-Types

©Lara Currie 2020

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

“Oh what a tangled web we weave; When first we practice to deceive!” -- Sir Walter Scott

Have you ever wondered how people fall for cult leaders? Or why people fall time and time again under the bad influences in their lives?

Most people are trusting. You don’t go around expecting people to lie, but when you put your trust into someone who has only their best interests in mind,  you may find yourself making excuses for them.It’s easy to bog yourself down even further and fall victim to their manipulation tactics.

There are several ways to identify manipulative behavior in order to cut that toxic behavior out of your life, and unmask the lies for what they are.

Most people believe that they know themselves and their biases, that they are not easily persuadable by manipulation tactics, or manipulators but the facts are out there in the stories of toxic workplaces and manipulative bosses and leaders.

Why do people fall for lies? It’s not as simple as you may think.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• The seven types of lies
• Identifying good vs bad influence
• How people fall for bogus manipulation tactics
• Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory
• Confirmation Bias and the spread of misinformation
• Micro boundary breaches
• How bad influences can turn us against our own morals
• People we trust have influence over us
• Steven Hassan’s BITE model (Behavior, information, thought and emotional control)
• How to be aware of and question manipulative behavior

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

The Good Good Good Co.

Monica’s closet

No more Ignorance

No More Ignorance on LinkedIn

The Dream - Season 2

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

Garbage in, garbage out.

Have you noticed that there is a lot of negative fear-based messaging out there right now?

If we were to believe every story, post, or article that is published you may think our civilization is on the verge of collapse.

The truth is, its WAYYY better than you may think.

On today’s episode, I dive into 5 reasons it’s not all doom and gloom and how you can ‘turn your mind’ from the black & white, all or nothing, thinking

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• How the negative messaging seeps in
• How our animal brain reacts
• If it bleeds it leads, how messaging sticks with us
• How growth can be messy but necessary
• Why we are getting better
• The benefit of Introspection
• How gratitude (real gratitude not fake MLM type gratitude) impacts us
• How to turn the mind
• Accepting what is
• Finding the good

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

The Good Good Good Co.

Monica’s closet

No more Ignorance

No More Ignorance on LinkedIn

The Dream - Season 2

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Photo by Jordan Donaldson | @jordi.d on Unsplash

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

What are Micro-aggressions?

Aggression is aggression. Like most things, there is a scale involved, a range. To one extreme the aggression is war, violence, while the other end of the spectrum presents as snide comments and passive-aggressive behavior.

Micro-aggressions are so insidious because they hide in plain sight. They are hard to call out and often dismissed by the person using them.

These techniques are used by those who have power when they are, or feel, threatened, insecure individuals in particular. It becomes a defense mechanism, it’s purpose is to keep you down, to ‘put you in your place’, thus restoring the persons feeling of power and feeding their fragile ego.

Here’s how you combat it, in today’s episode.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• How minimizing is a micro-aggression
• How Trivializing is a micro-aggression
• How Grouping is used as a micro-aggression
• Social constructs
• The idea of ‘Normal’
• The difference between a micro-aggression, a macro-aggression and a micro-insult
• Why people in power don’t get it
• Marginalized groups bear the brunt of these forms of aggression

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Photo by Jordan Donaldson | @jordi.d on Unsplash

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

Is seems almost cliche to say that we are living in unprecedented times. Or maybe it seems trite. Either way, one thing is certain, bad behavior is on the rise, and so is defensiveness leading to a lot of people acting like Jerks.

With emotions at an all-time high how do you be or become a better person when you are surrounded by jerks??

In today’s episode, how to be a better person, not be so negatively impacted by jerky behavior, and techniques to move past defensiveness and ‘just reacting’ to true discourse.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• What is meant by a heightened emotional state
• Low-grade depressions impact on how a person acts and reacts
• Jerks are often defensive out of habit, a desire to control, or out of fear
• Anger as a mask emotion
• Looking back to move forward
• How you are impacted
• Your sense of self
• Self-esteem and empowerment

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

How we show up online, now, is more important than in pre-COVID times. In-person meetings and large gatherings are a memory and it’s going to be a minute before they come back.

So many online platforms have devolved and actual discourse is difficult if not impossible, so how do you show-up and contribute to the conversation and how do you respond to “Trolls” & “Feed-hijackers”?

Today I have Deborrah Ashley with me to talk about showing up and engaging the right way online. Deborrah is a marketing strategist, consultant, and LinkedIn trainer with a  background in brand management, marketing & Business Development

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• What platform is best for your brand & your business
• What your profile says about you
• Everything you say, even on someone else’s post, is findable
• To engage or not engage a Troll
• Your voice is needed
• What is normal anyway

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

Dog whistles, tropes, Microaggressions. Women in male-dominated fields deal with these attempts to silence, or sideline, them every week.

Last week it came to light that some in presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign along with wealthy donors think that Kamal Harris is “Too Ambitious” to be a VP pick.

Strong women, women in male-dominated fields, and those who go against  ‘societal norms’ hear this trope as a way to minimize, box, and dismiss their authority.

In today’s episode, we dive into these microaggressions, how they show up, and what YOU can do to take your power back while showing these phrases for what they are, fearful attempts to minimize.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• The three types of Microaggressions
• Dogwhistles & tropes used to belittle marginalized groups
• How systemic misogyny gets in your way
• Why we are stronger together
• Standing up to microinsults
• Why things often get worse, after they get better
• Why women in male-dominated fields hear these the most
• What you can say to combat these microaggressions

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

Some Biden allies wage a shadow campaign to stop Kamala Harris from

becoming Vice President

In accusations of being too ambitious, some Black women see a double standard

Calling Kamala Harris ‘too ambitious is a lesson for young Black girls

If Kamala Harris is ‘Too Ambitious,’ Then so is every woman with ambition

Is Kamala Harris too ambitious to be Vice President

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

Jerky’esque behavior is rampant these days. Shocker (not).

Rude, jerky, manipulative behaviors are dysfunctional coping skills learned and practiced over their lifetime and were born from their family of origin.

It’s time to take your Happy back! Hold firm to your boundaries and be treated with respect.

Today, we dive into how the bad behavior interferes with you, show you the patterns & cycles the manipulator (&jerk) will go through when you stand firm, and what the most important thing you need to know is so that you can tame that jerk, and outwit that manipulator.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• Why boundaries are so hard to hold
• How you are impacted
• The games a Jerk may play
• The dance manipulators use
• What is an extinction
• What is a behavioral burst and what does it look like
• Free at last
• Hold yourself accountable, and hold yourself in Grace

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie                                                                    

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

“Get down off the cross honey, someone needs the wood” -- Dolly Parton

Drama Debbie is in the house, and her martyrdom is impacting everyone.

The victim conflict personality type can impact everyone within earshot,   they can be easy to dismiss and tough to deal with directly, don’t get caught chasing the shiny in their drama web. 

In today’s episode, we dive into what you can do to redirect drama Debbies’ impact on you and the workplace.

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• The victim conflict personality type
• How the martyr works
• Graceful detachment
• Redirecting behavior
• The power of what you can control
• The verbal processor
• What to say
• How we react
• The conflict triangle, triangulation

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/ 

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessments

© Lara Currie 2020

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone

Every workplace has the potential to become toxic. When you get different personalities together and stressful situations crop up, dysfunctional coping mechanisms kick in. With a strong leader, these situations can be successfully navigated and addressed.

When the boss is the Toxic component in your workplaces it leads to a sort of dysfunctional trickle down that impacts the way the employees interact with one another.

In this episode, we dive into these toxic traits and what to do about it. Knowledge is power. 

What you’ll hear on today’s episode:

• Why high-stress fields are uniquely susceptible
• Why high-stress fields are impacted by dysfunctional communication
• What are the four types of toxic bosses
• When these traits are functional and when they are not
• How emotional manipulation plays out
• Micromanaging
• The Martyr
• Everybody’s best friend
• The Avoider
• Conflict Personality Types
• Active and passive displays of toxicity
• How to navigate toxic bosses
• Why naming it is the first step

Join the Difficult Happens Facebook group  “Community Happens Group”

Work with Lara:

Apply for an On-air Coaching Call!

Free Breakthrough Assessment

Got a Question? Comment? Email [email protected]

Corporate Training

Difficult Happens by Lara Currie

Difficulthappens.com/workwithme/ 

Resources:

Series on Manipulation

Series on Assessment

© Lara Currie 2020

Show Intro music is Whispering Through by Asura

Listen for free on the go with any one of these players for both Android & iPhone