Less Stress, More Fun

Uncertainty is at the base of a lot of peoples’ stress. The human brain tries to solve the puzzle of uncertainty, and it can sometimes generate a lot of creative thinking to enroll us to find certainty. Let’s have a playful conversation about the brain’s quest…for certainty, huzzah!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The benefits and challenges of a “certainty seeking” brain
• How to find sneaky ways your brain’s quest for certainty are distracting you from your goals
• How to use this cognitive feature to your benefit!

Resources mentioned: 

• “To Be Energy-Efficient, Brains Predict Their Perceptions” (Quanta Magazine, Nov 2021)
• “The brain is a prediction machine: It knows how well we are doing something before we even try” (Experimental Psychology, May 2021)
• “Your Brain Predicts (Almost) Everything You Do” (Mindful, April 2021)
• “Robert Burton on Being Certain” (EconTalk podcast, May 2019)
• “Certainty in Our Choices Often a Matter of Time, Researchers Find” (NYU/New York University research news release, Dec 2014)
• “A Hunger for Certainty” (Psychology Today, Oct 2009)
• “The Certainty Bias: A Potentially Dangerous Mental Flaw” (Scientific American, Oct 2008)
• And…the YouTube video containing the snippet about the holy hand grenade from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perhaps you have a corporate job or run a business with employees. How does the “performance review” factor into your year? The annual work performance review process can be considered the source of stress for both employees and the managers who serve them…but there is a less stressful, more fun alternative!

Whether you have influence over the process or not, this episode will make the performance review something you may actually look forward to with enthusiasm!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How mental beliefs and thinking can increase stress around performance reviews
• Suggestions for preparing your mind to reduce the experience of stress of writing a performance review
• How to prepare for a wonderful performance review conversation

Resources mentioned: 

• “6 Predictions for the Future of Performance Management” (Gartner, Oct 2021)
• “13 Employee Performance Review Tips That Actually Improve Performance” (Quantum Workplace, Jan 2021)
• “Annual Performance Review Bows Out” (SHRM, Jan 2021)
• “More Harm Than Good: The Truth About Performance Reviews” (Gallup, May 2019)

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is “busy” a status symbol in your social circles? Today, Coach Lisa talks about how “busy” is not actually a real thing. In fact, “busy” is in the eye of the beholder. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What modern writers have to say about “busy culture”
• Ways to think about “being busy”
• Tips for making decisions about how you want to think about “busy” as you are living your very limited, one-time only human life

Resources mentioned: 

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• “​​Is ‘Busy Culture’ Making A Comeback?” (Forbes, Oct 2021)
• “How to Defeat Busy Culture” (Harvard Business Review, Sept 2020)
• “‘Ugh, I’m So Busy’: A Status Symbol for Our Time” (The Atlantic, Mar 2017)
• “This is what you really mean when you say ‘I’m busy’ (BBC, Feb 2017)
• “When People Ask How You Are, Stop Saying 'Busy'” (Inc.)

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a wide range of feeling labels to describe the human experience, but most of us dabble with a limited emotional palette. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to observe your top feelings, the ones you “go to” regularly
• The benefits of expanding your emotional range
• What do do if you’re not really a feelings person

Resources mentioned: 

• Feeling Wheel printable, The Gottman Institute
• “The Feeling Brain: The Biology and Psychology of Emotions” book by Elizabeth Johnston and Leah Olson 
• “Feeling Our Emotions” interview with neurologist Antonio R. Damasio, ScientificAmerican.com
• “The Biology Behind Our Emotions” by Eric Kandel, author of “The Disordered Mind” on ScienceFriday.com
• “Is Free Will an Illusion?” by Shaun Nicols on ScientificAmerican.com

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fake it ‘til you make it? There might be something to this. A key aspect of having more fun while managing stress is to connect with your body.

Also, remember to join the “Less Stress, More Fun” Facebook community group for more information about the techniques taught in this video.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Current science on the importance of body posture
• How to combine body movement with strategic mind management for excellent results, including movements to build confidence and reduce anxiety

Resources mentioned: 

• “Your body language may shape who you are”, Amy Cuddy TED Talk on YouTube
• “Do slumped and upright postures affect stress responses? A randomized trial” National Library of Medicine (Sep 2015)
• “How to Be Confident and Reduce Stress in 2 Minutes Per Day” JamesClear.com
• “She Blinded Me With Science” Thomas Dolby music video on YouTube
• “Bilateral Stimulation Exercise to Calm Anxiety Quickly” (YouTube video by Viki Thondley)
• “Body Language and Personality Disorders” (HealthyPlace.com)
• “Winter Solstice: Preparing for the Dark Times” Less Stress, More Fun episode 11
• Mrs. Maisel compilation on YouTube
• EFT with Brad Yates YouTube channel (Tap with Brad)

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know that saying about how you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with? Regardless of whether you agree with that thought, it is helpful to pay attention to the people you list as your friends and family. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to take an objective view of the people you spend the most time with
• What attracts people to each other
• Tips for cultivating a group of people who will support your goals and values

Resources mentioned: 

• Don’t choose poorly! from How I Met Your Mother’s Knight Vision episode

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a coach, I have worked with over 1,000 unique human minds. And most of us humans seem to have something in common: an inner critic. Rather than fight this mental process, I suggest we work with it.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How the inner critic is developed and why
• Strategies for managing your inner critic the “Less Stress, More Fun” way

Resources mentioned: 

• “How to stand up to your inner critic” (ideas.ted.com May 2018)

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good or bad. Positive or negative. Happy or sad. Safe or risky. Our brains are on a quest for certainty. However, “his or that” thinking can block creativity and increase stress. Let’s talk about what to do about it!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why the mind prefers “this or that” thinking
• Unexpected ways this can show up in your life
• How introducing “and” and “what if” can open up your creativity and reduce your stress

Resources mentioned: 

• “We finally know why the brain uses so much energy,” Livescience.com (Dec 2021)
• “The old man lost his horse…” parable (Wikipedia)

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We make decisions constantly. Sometimes these are large decisions, perhaps goals, projects or commitments. But the goal is not, well, to reach the goal. The “Less Stress, More Fun” approach to goal is to make the journey the very best part.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Evaluating how you typically travel to your goals (default mode)
• Consciously choosing to make the journey the best part
• The power of feelings

Resources mentioned: 

• “The Road Not Taken” poem by Robert Frost
• Descriptions of all 34 CliftonStrengths Themes
• “All About Feelings” episode # 4 of the Less Stress, More Fun podcast
• “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson on YouTube

This is episode 8 of 8 in the Less Stress, More Fun “Decision Making and Follow Through” series. #lessstressmorefundecisionsandfollowthrough

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her book “The Way of Integrity,” Martha Beck writes, “Integrity is the cure for unhappiness. Period.” When it comes to decision making and follow through, part of this means coming face to face with the truth of yourself. Are your choices in integrity with what you want and who you want to become?

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The value of self-honesty when it comes to making decisions for your life
• How to handle when your true “yes” or “no” answer upsets people around you

Resources mentioned: 

• “Truth = Happiness?”, Lisa Schwaller’s blog (Nov 2021)
• Marie Forleo interviews Martha Beck, author of “The Way of Integrity”
• Brene Brown’s book “Braving the Wilderness”
• Novel vs short story article on Coach Lisa’s blog (Jan 2022)

This is episode 7 of 8 in the Less Stress, More Fun “Decision Making and Follow Through” series. #lessstressmorefundecisionsandfollowthrough

Free & awesome mini-class! "3 Ways to Reduce Stress TODAY"

Visit the Lisa Schwaller Coaching Website to learn more, sign up for my email list, or get links to follow me around the internet.

© 2023 Lisa Schwaller

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.