Reframe Your Life

March 8th is International Women's Day and we couldn't let this week go by without celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Started by the Suffragettes in the early 1900's, the first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911. International Women's Day belongs to all communities everywhere. It marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. This year the theme is: #pressforprogress.

On our episode this week we talk about some of the ways we can support women and some of our own challenges.

We also suggest you continue your learning and reflect on how you can press for progress in your circle of influence.

Here are three episodes that we have recorded that we recommend you listen to and share this week with the women in your life!

Episode 36: Are You a Feminist?

Episode 47: Six Unique Challenges Women in Leadership Face

Episode 58: Why Women Need Other Women

Don't forget to tag us on Instagram on your International Women's Day posts using #lifereframers!

Stories are powerful. We've witnessed an entire movement begin to shift the way women feel about their personal histories because a few women had the courage to come forward and share their stories of abuse by some of the most powerful men in the entertainment world. The #metoo movement was born and more and more women have found the courage to tell their stories. And we've found our collective strength in those stories.

But not all stories are of abuse. There are stories of resilience and overcoming difficult challenges. Some of our most popular guests shared powerful personal stories. Here are a few to revisit:

Maureen Towns shared about the struggle she faced as a mom with the addiction and mental health issues of three of her children.

Steph Jagger  shared her story about realizing that she was living a good life but that she wanted to lift the restraining device and go for more.

Courtney Carver told the story about how receiving a life changing medical diagnosis prompted her to make some radical changes in how she was living. Project 333 was born.

Each one of these woman wrote books and actively share their stories. We believe that storytelling is important in reframing your life. It's been said, "The most important story you will ever tell about yourself is the story you tell to yourself." Stories are that powerful.

Reframe Your Life has partnered with Patti M Hall to offer you a 3 part podcast workshop on memoir writing. You can listen to our interview with Patti and hear her story on this episode.

Part 1 addresses the barriers we face before we even put pen to paper (or fingers to keypad). It's available now on iTunes.

Part 2 will get into the initial steps of memoir writing including how to write a memoir timeline and where to start in your story.

Part 3 in the series will be about how we organize the material in our lives to start writing and how we mine for memories.

Introducing our guest:

Deborah Senior is a dynamic talent whose background spans Canada’s leading oil & gas, retail, and marketing sectors including Suncor, Hudson’s Bay, and Nielsen. While her focus is on brand strategy, loyalty programs and consumer research, Deborah’s creativity and expertise lie in her ability to harness the power of effective branding.

Her career, however, started in the non-profit sector. She headed an international youth NGO, Policy Advisor at the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS) and is a former Trustee at the Laidlaw Foundation. Throughout all of her roles, her key contribution continues to be incorporating marginalized voices into civic and social structures.

Topics discussed:

Should you blend your personal brand and your professional brand?

What your logo says when you aren't in the room?

What do people say about your business when you aren't in the room?

Social Media:

Your social media posts reflect your values.

Social media doesn't need to be instant. Schedule your posts. Review them before posting. 

Ask: Why am I posting this? What is my intention behind it?

Websites:

What do you need your website to do? What is the purpose of your website? 

Answer those questions and then do it the best, cleanest, shortest way possible.

Personal Style - Every aspect of your physical identity is branded.

Links mentioned:

Brand Ambition

Coolors 

Collabosaurus

January can be a very bleak month for many people. The days are shorter physically and emotionally we feel the effects of the lack of sunshine. Christmas is over. And those New Year’s resolutions you made? Well, we hope you’ve been making progress on them!

Last week we talked about self-care. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to it you can find it here.

This week our focus is on mental health. Our guest, Maureen Towns, shares her painful story of the journey she found herself on when three of her children, began to exhibit mental health issues in their teens. Maureen dealt with a mother’s worst fears for her children. She dealt with issues like a child living on the street, addictions, self-harm, culminating with one son having a psychotic break. It took several years to get her children diagnosed and to start getting the help they all needed.

And of course, she was processing her own feelings as a parent. Maureen had to face her own sense of failure and inadequacy during this time. Did she do something wrong? Was she to blame in some way? Every mother knows that feeling!

Maureen helps others by sharing her experience as a health care provider, a patient, and parent who experienced the challenges of ‘the system’. She now works as a Bounce Back expert. Maureen studies and teaches parents how to integrate resiliency principles into their own lives and their parenting. As a lifelong student of resilience, Maureen integrates resiliency principles into her work with overwhelmed parents to help them and their kids.

Our favourite quote from this episode:

Self-care is about doing what brings you joy. It’s not about nails.

Here are some suggestions for you based on this episode:

1. If you are struggling with mental health challenges in your family, visit Maureen’s website and reach out to her.

2. If someone in your network is facing difficulties and are parenting kids who are facing mental health issues please forward this newsletter to them so they can find some hope through Maureen’s story

3. When you see a young person on the street, remember the connection between serious mental illness and homelessness. Support organizations that support at risk youth.

4. Don’t put more effort into someone else’s sobriety than they are. Get support if you need it. Check out Al-Anon.

Take care of yourself!

Did you know one of the most used words in 2017 was 'hustle'? We live in a world that values the hustle. Taking time for ourselves feels like slacking off.

On this episode we want to Reframe Self-Care. Here are some reasons that self-care is important:

We’ve all been there - you push yourself to the point that you can’t take anymore so you just give up. Self care helps you avoid getting to that point. Self care reduces the negative effects of stress: A small amount of stress can serve a purpose, but after a while, it just breaks down your mind and body. Taking care of yourself means keeping your stress from taking over so you can function at full capacity.

When Jo-Anne was stuck on a complicated math problem in school, her teacher would suggest walking away and coming back—taking a break, basically. Breaks are the epitome of self care, and studies show they’re great for helping you perform better.

It is a way of valuing yourself. Not just a way of getting more done. In other words, self care is not a reward. It’s part of the process. Sometimes we get so used to “rewarding ourselves” with lunch or even a trip to the bathroom, though, that we forget exactly what it means to take care of ourselves.

January can be a difficult month for many people. We need to lighten up the pressure we put on ourselves and show ourselves some love. And show other people some love as well. Tune in to our episode this week for some practical ways you can take care of yourself. And, when you hear someone talking about how unmotivated they feel direct them to our podcast!

Erin Power returns to Reframe Your Life to talk about the latest diet trend.

• Erin talks about the difference between keto/ketosis/ketogenic diets
• Ketogenic diet is a metabolic state
• Why you don't want to be in 'ketosis' or 'go keto'
• The goal is using ketones as a fuel source in your body
• The end goal is metabolic flexibility
• Our bodies will adapt to using different fuel sources
• Having a metabolism that works as intended will change the way you feel
• Why you don't need to buy urine strips or breath monitors 
• What your cravings are really telling you
• You can teach your body to use different fuel sources (metabolic flexibility)
• When you are following a ketogenic diet you are restricting carbohydrates, not following a high fat diet (you don't need to put butter in your coffee or eat spoonfuls of coconut oil)
• Reframe your thinking around 'treats' into 'choices or wants'
• Take time to reduce your carbs. This is a lifestyle change not a diet #ketoeventuallymaybe
• Carbohydrate intolerance takes a toll on your health (diabetes) lowering your carbohydrate intake is beneficial

1. Episode 28: Our first episode with Erin Power. On iTunes here.  On our website here. 

2. Eat Simple: Erin's website where you can contact her regarding her special offer for our listeners. If you initiate a health coaching package with Erin in January she is giving our listeners 20% off her packages. Use the 'book your free consult button' on her website and mention Reframe Your Life. You can also sign up for her monthly newsletter. Follow Erin on Facebook or Instagram at eatsimple.

3. The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson: Erin recommends this book for it's practical, sense making content. It goes beyond diet and addresses your entire lifestyle. 

If you're ready to take the leap, develop your leadership skill and be a creator at your work and in your life, and need a little help, email me for a complimentary coaching session.

I publish a weekly newsletter with a focus on living truthfully. If you would like to find out more about my work subscribe here. 

Highlights of our conversation:

Reflection is how you process what you are learning. Thinking about your thoughts and actions can help you discover what improvements you want to make.

Give yourself the gift of reflection time. We often move from one task, achievement, trend, interaction to another and miss the opportunity for growth and leading with intention.

We strongly encourage you to take some time to reflect and celebrate the gifts of the past year. Even the things that happened that challenged you can be reframed. Reflecting will help you start to realign what needs to change in 2018.

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”

Building celebration into your year plan by and be intentional about recognizing your hard work.

• Who do you need to celebrate with?
• How do you want to celebrate?

“For last year's words belong to last year's language, and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning”  ― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
 

Links mentioned in this episode:

Balance Wheel

Guide to Getting Shit Done
 

More from Sandy:

Check out Sandy's goal course

Follow Sandy on Instagram

More from Jo-Anne:

Get Jo-Anne's values handout and more at her website.

We'll be saying this on social media but just in case you don't see it - we want to wish you a very happy holiday season. Our next episode will be posted on January 3rd. And we hope that 2018 is a year full of continued growth in your life and leadership. We look forward to continuing to an ongoing conversation and bringing you some new guests and learning in 2018.

Before we launch into these show notes, it is important to address those of you who may be in difficult places in your life. There are seasons where life throws us a curve ball. You may be dealing with family issues, sickness, job loss, divorce, addictions or other issues that make getting out of bed each day a stretch goal. If you find yourself in that situation, go easy on yourself! We'll be talking to you in January when we tackle self-care. The best thing you can do is take the pressure off. One suggestion is to listen to Episode 39,  our interview with Courtney Carver where she tells her story and how she got her life back when life threw her a major challenge.

For the rest of our #lifereframers:

Do you resist plannng? Do you cringe when people talk about 'five year plans'? We get that - we don't like planning that far out either! We want you to condense your planning into six months to a year.

If you resist planning, you'll want to listen as we address these issues:

• *It’s too rigid / I don’t want to get boxed in
• It’s not fun
• I don’t think strategically
• I’m not creative
• I don’t have goals / vision / dreams
• I don’t have time
• I don’t have the skills to do what I want to do
• I don’t have the support I need to get to where I want to go

Now that we have overcome all your resistance to planning, we want to help you take the next step! We have two resources available for you to help you plan for the best year ever. You can download the Balance Wheel and guide to Getting Shit Done here.

And don't forget we have individual resources as well!

Check out Sandy's goal course here and Jo-Anne's values handout and more are available at her website here.

We are coming up to the Christmas break. We have one more episode next week to continue this conversation on how to have your best year ever. We look forward to enjoying a slower pace for a few weeks and we can't wait to share what we have planned for the new year! Keep reframing,