In this episode, Coach Elix shares the story of his experience with caregiver burnout. He shares the story of his mom’s stroke for the first time publicly and how that experience has affected his mental health. Throughout the episode, Elix discusses the vital work of caring for the critically ill, how to spot caregiver burnout, how you can support loved ones experiencing caregiver burnout, and what you can do to prevent caregiver burnout. 

Timestamps: 

[03:46] Episode overview and life updates: caregiver burnout

[13:37] Sharing a very personal, heart-wrenching story for the first time publicly 

[26:46] Being overwhelmed by the fear of the unknown

[32:14] Romanticizing caregiving and how it erases the harsh reality of caregiving 

[33:31] Why many people are caregivers these days

[36:32] What is caregiver burnout?

[41:35] Signs of caregiver burnout

[44:11] Things you can do to prevent caregiver burnout?

5 Key Takeaways: 

When unexpected negative events happen, they give you a reality check and put things in perspective for you. They remind you of what really matters.

It’s difficult to find support from doctors in a very complicated healthcare system. Sometimes doctors forget that for them, trauma is business as usual but for us, it is not. Nurses bear the brunt of caregiving in our healthcare system.

Romanticizing caregiving erases the harsh reality caregivers find themselves going through. Caregivers have to deal with a complex health system and a plethora of heavy emotions including loneliness and stress.

As the baby boomer generation continues to age, the number of caregivers will grow. Currently, one out of 5 people in the U.S. is a caregiver. The healthcare system in the U.S. relies on that army of caregivers.

Caregiver burnout is the feeling of emotional depletion. It is a depletion of hope and the ability to be positive. Once you burn out, there is not much you can do for anyone. Caregiver burnout often happens because of a false narrative that you have to do things alone. You need to be able to ask for help. 

If you found value in this episode, please leave a 5-star review so we can continue inspiring you!

Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix airs live on WARA 1320AM out of Attleboro, MA every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern. To listen live or be a caller, stream the show from anywhere in the world by visiting www.wararadio.com.

Handling Life with Grief, Grace, and Grit with guest, Kathy Gaalaas

On this episode of Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix, Elix's longtime friend and colleague, Kathy Gaalaas, is back to co-host the show!⁠ ⁠ Kathy is an entrepreneur, digital marketing guru, coach, mom, yogi, and tap dancer (just to name a few!).⁠ ⁠ She last joined Elix on the show in July to talk about the power of GRACE — accepting what is so (challenging circumstances) and forgiving ourselves or others.⁠ ⁠ We'll be continuing this conversation through the lens of the recent loss of her mom, and the power that giving yourself grace through that type of life-changing experience can have.⁠

Learning to Dance with Your Shadow with guest, The Shadow Coach, Donna Karlin

On this episode of Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix, Elix will have his good friend and colleague, Donna Karlin, The Shadow Coach®, back on the show!⁠ ⁠ Donna is a true stand-out in the field of coaching and her programs are in demand across the globe. Witty, wise, bold, and brilliant, Donna's no-nonsense style is 100% contagious!⁠ ⁠ We'll be talking all about our shadows: our fears, insecurities, and hidden talents — all personality traits that we choose to reject and repress. Plus, we'll learn how to break through the limitations of the shadow.

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” –Coach Elix

Your thoughts create stories, which lead to overarching personal narratives, ultimately creating limiting scripts about what you can and cannot do. On this episode, learn what scripts may be limiting you, how your mind may be using scripts to latch onto comfort zones, and how to shift your scripts and replace them with a positive and empowering personal narrative.

Timestamps: 

[02:01] Life updates

[09:08] Your doubting inner voice when you are making life changes

[14:30] Why you need to fact-check your inner voice

[17:37] Call-in from Miss K: being aware of your scripts

[24:38] How you might sometimes wear your negative thoughts as a badge of honor 

[28:43] How scripts give you an “out”

[32:10] Between breakdowns and breakthroughs 

[38:55] How and why scripts become automatic (and how to shift your script)  

4 Key Takeaways: 

As you evolve, you need to fact-check what the voice inside your head tells you about yourself. You have to ask yourself: "is this story in my head serving me or limiting you?"

Examples of limiting scripts you may be using to define yourself are: "I have to be perfect," "I’m too young/old," "my life is harder than anyone else’s," and "I’m just not that type of person."

Scripts can provide you with an "out" of opportunities that you actually want to pursue. You can feel your fears, you just have to make sure not to feed your fears. Having an insight into what you’re going through gives you a choice to hold on to what is limiting you or letting it go.

To shift your script, you have to complete your old scripts. One way to do that is to write a letter to yourself saying everything you need to say to put an end to the old script. After writing the letter, you can burn it—it can be quite cathartic to do so.

If you found value in this episode, please leave a 5-star review so we can continue inspiring you!

Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix airs live on WARA 1320AM out of Attleboro, MA every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern. To listen live or be a caller, stream the show from anywhere in the world by visiting www.wararadio.com.

Are you aware of the masks you put on?⁠ ⁠ Not the disposable face masks we've been wearing for over a year now. I'm talking about emotional masks.⁠ ⁠ These are the masks we hide behind because of fear.⁠ ⁠ 🎭 If we feel insecure, we might hide behind the mask of name-dropping.⁠ ⁠ 🎭 If we are unsure of our power, we can hide behind the mask of being a bully.⁠ ⁠ 🎭 If we don’t think the world loves us, we can hide behind a mask of anger.⁠ ⁠ 🎭 We mask the debt we’ve incurred to pay for lifestyles we can’t afford.⁠ ⁠ One of the most common reasons we wear these masks is imposter syndrome — the fear that the world is going to find us out.⁠ ⁠ We weren’t born with masks.⁠ We put them on, so we can take them off.⁠ ⁠ On this episode of Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix, Steven and Elix talk all about the masks we wear as humans, how to recognize them, and why it's so important to commit to taking them off.⁠

If you’re hooked on being right, this episode is for you. Throughout the show, Coach Elix explains the neuroscience behind the human desire to be right and where this need originates from. He shares 6 signs that you may be addicted to being right, and provides coaching on how to manage that addiction.

Timestamps: 

[01:50] Why Halloween is so exciting for Steven, Elix’s mom’s 96th birthday, and more life updates

[12:23] Episode overview: are you addicted to being right? 

[20:19] Why you should want to manage your addiction to rightness

[23:43] Why do we feel good when we are right?

[31:29] The next time you find yourself wanting to be right, ask yourself THIS question

[39:20] Why you want your body to produce less dopamine and more oxytocin 

[46:14] 6 signs that you have an addiction to being right

[49:22] Managing the addiction of being right

5 Key Takeaways: 

Being right is not wrong. Being right is perfectly ok. What is wrong is being addicted to being right, regardless of the context. When you feel powerfully right, you lack the perspective to connect with others and be open to their point of view. 

The most damaging response is oftentimes the most common response because of our primitive brain’s fight, flee, protect, defend, response. This prevents honest and productive sharing of information. Our brain responds to wanting to be right. 

When you have that urge to be right, ask yourself: what is this costing you? Is it costing you happiness, fulfillment, or joy? Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?

Your desire to be right originates from something in your past. It is a learned trait and it can be unlearned.

Some signs that you have an addiction to being right are: getting amped up about an opinion or point of view, telling someone how to do something, and interpreting or diagnosing other people’s thoughts or behaviors. 

Book recommendations: 

The Three Laws of Performance: Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life

https://www.amazon.com/Three-Laws-Performance-Rewriting-Organization/dp/111804312X 

Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results 

https://www.amazon.ca/Conversational-Intelligence-Leaders-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1937134679

Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix airs live on WARA 1320AM out of Attleboro, MA every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern. To listen live or be a caller, stream the show from anywhere in the world by visiting www.wararadio.com.

Blind spots…⁠ Your brain on autopilot.⁠ ⁠ Experts tell us that our unconscious mind makes a majority of our decisions. It creates blind spots—unconscious biases that can narrow our vision and potentially influence our behaviors.⁠ ⁠ Are you letting blind spots steer your decision making? It’s time to take control.⁠

On today's episode, it’s the one year anniversary of Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix on WARA 1320AM! An entire year's worth of shows full of content about creating breakthroughs and transforming lives — YOUR lives.⁠ ⁠ Today, we'll be taking a look back, and celebrating with a few special guests and lots of surprises!

In this episode, Coach Elix and Steven discuss how to stop giving regret too much space in your life. Regret is inevitable. You will not stop experiencing it. But, you know what you can do? Recognize it when it creeps up and reframe the toxic narrative it tries to infect your life with. 

This episode will give you an introduction to the art of letting go of regret and help you take away power from the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" voice in your head. 

Timestamps: 

[02:00] Life updates!

[09:06] Why does regret feel so heavy? 

[15:26] Is regret necessarily a bad feeling? 

[16:33] Suffering is optional.

[20:01] The common regrets most people have. 

[25:17] Why do we feel regret? 

[28:37] Why is it so hard to let go of regret? 

[33:30] How do you stop thinking of "what ifs"? 

[40:12] Practical ways to let go of regrets.

4 Key Takeaways: 

We feel more intensely towards the things we didn’t do rather than the things we did do. However, holding on to the narratives behind our regrets is a choice. Suffering because of regrets is optional.

We have regrets because we compare our choices to an ideal: what we think we should be, what we think we should have done, etc. We have an idea in our minds of what could have been. It is an invented narrative. 

When we believe we’ve made a mistake, we feel like our identity has been attacked. However, it is impossible for your actions to always be aligned with your ideal self — simply because life happens!

Regret is disempowering. The past is done. Focus on what matters NOW. Hit the pause button when the regret narrative creeps up on you. Interrupt the narrative. Embrace the different parts of who you are. Recognize that you will always fall into the pattern of "disappointing" the ideal version of yourself. 

If you found value in this episode, please leave a 5-star review so we can continue inspiring you!

Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix airs live on WARA 1320AM out of Attleboro, MA every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern. To listen live or be a caller, stream the show from anywhere in the world by visiting www.wararadio.com

We all think we are great listeners. But, are we really? Listening is a forgotten skill. One we often take for granted. If you are committed to being an extraordinary partner or friend, listening is perhaps one of the greatest tools at your disposal.

Listen today to learn exactly what it means to listen to CONNECT rather than merely to understand. 

Timestamps: 

[02:00] Life updates!

[04:30] Today’s topic: what great listeners actually do.

[05:42] You cannot be listening well without doing this. 

[08:39] Listening from the lens of objection and judgment vs. listening from the lens of connecting (Simone Biles example).

[15:23] What does it take to truly be able to listen well to your partner? 

[17:47] What does it mean to listen to connect? 

[20:41] An example of bad listening skills from the TV show Golden Girls.

[25:50] We assume that we know how to listen, but do we? 

[30:44] 3 actionable ways to be a better listener ("double-clicking" and more). 

[39:00] Why are emotionally intelligent people better listeners? 

[47:08] Your assignment for next time you speak to ANYONE.

4 Key Takeaways: 

Emotional intelligence helps you become a better listener and more aware of your biases. It allows you to practice self-awareness and know how to regulate it.  Self-awareness allows you to be present and thus be an effective listener.

When you listen to someone, immerse yourself enough into what the other person’s world is like. Ask yourself: what is this person hoping I will get out of talking to them? 

Listening builds trust. When judgment creeps up when you are hearing someone speak, replace those thoughts with thinking “what is this person feeling?” “what are the real drivers behind this person’s emotions?” 

When interacting with someone, try to understand the purpose behind the conversation. This way, you prime yourself for connection. Listening is doing whatever you need to do to get into the other person’s world.

Book: Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results by Judith E. Glaser: https://www.amazon.com/Conversational-Intelligence-Leaders-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1937134679

If you found value in this episode, please leave a 5-star review so we can continue inspiring you!

Get a G.R.I.P. with Coach Elix airs live on WARA 1320AM out of Attleboro, MA every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern. To listen live or be a caller, stream the show from anywhere in the world by visiting www.wararadio.com.