Sound Insight

How can you build lasting self-confidence? For many of us, self-confidence is like a bad friend – one minute it's by your side and ready to take on the world; the next, when you need it most, it's "outta here!"

In this episode, Cathy explores:

• The difference between lasting and fleeting self-confidence.
• Why so many successful, accomplished, and brilliant people still struggle with self-confidence.
• The simple question that holds the key to lasting self-confidence.
• Steps you can take to make your sense of self-confidence stronger and more durable.

You will find an adapted transcript of this podcast here.

Want to go deeper? Find links to related articles here.

What would a Slow Season look like? In this short episode, Cathy shares three simple things you can do to slow down and bring a little comfort and joy back into a stressful season.

How my inner critic stole Christmas

If you're beating yourself up because you think you should be able to sail through the holiday season with more grace, less stress and less frenzy, this podcast should make you feel better. With a little humor and not that much exaggeration, Cathy reveals her "Lovely Girl", the inner tyrant who lives in her head and shows up every year to suck the joy out of Christmas. You might recognize her.

Think of this podcast as "at least I'm not that bad" therapy.

What does it take to become an outstanding leader? In this episode, Cathy shares 10 discoveries on what it takes to grow your leadership from two decades of working with leaders from all walks of life. She explores:

• What happens when you think beyond the narrow view of leadership as a role or set of particular qualities;
• The difference between training and development that many leadership programs don't take into account;
• The role of intrinsic motivation in outstanding leadership;
• The role of emotional intelligence in leadership effectiveness;
• The myth of the ideal leadership personality; and
• Why developing your leadership may be the most urgent challenge you face.

How many of us have tried to improve our lives and reduce our stress by managing time? And yet, with every time saving strategy and device we've employed, we've become more time starved and miserable. The problem is, we're focused on building the wrong skill.

In this episode, Cathy explores how developing your attention skills unlocks your true superpower.

• How attention, not time, is the currency of greater value.
• How companies have created an economy around capturing and monetizing your attention.
• How your devices may be eroding your cognition and your ability to focus.
• How the ability to observe, direct and sustain your attention is a superpower and how to develop it.
• Three critical skills attention training develops and how they will improve the quality of your life.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, Cathy reflects on how so much of our experience is beyond our control. At times like this, our greatest opportunity for influence is not in focusing on how to change our circumstances but in focusing on what we bring to those circumstances. The first step in becoming calmer and more grounded in situations like this is in becoming aware of where you are. Cathy shares a technique for heightened awareness she calls "the systems check" to support you to bring your most resourceful self to challenging situations.

The life-changing practice of embracing your inner slug.

In this episode, Cathy mounts a vigorous and 'tongue-in-cheek' defense of Sloth as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Sloth has a bad rap, particularly given its addition to the list of the Seven Deadly Sins, alongside gluttony and lust. But it has experienced a recent resurgence in popularity during COVID-19. Research now suggests that sloth (aka rest) in moderation could improve your health, performance, and longevity, not to mention the health, performance, and longevity of Netflix.

Cathy shares helpful tips for how to embrace Sloth as part of your health regimen including:

• How to discern what does and does not count as sloth from an array of leisure pursuits.
• How to create 'sloth optimal' conditions.
• How to build a sloth wardrobe.
• And how to avoid the dangerous side-effects of too much sloth.

When you own a business, taking the summer off can be risky. In this episode, Cathy shares how despite lots of advice and evidence to the contrary, she has been taking summers off for 20 years.

She reveals how this annual ritual has changed the way she thinks about the relationship between work and leisure. She will also share 5 surprising insights that you can apply to any situation to make more space for rest and leisure.

Beware of the road marked easy: Two secrets self-disciplined people know.

The road marked easy can sometimes be the fast track to somewhere much harder. In this episode, Cathy explores how avoidance and procrastination can look like the easy road but lead to a whole lot more pain and suffering. She takes a closer look at self-discipline and two simple secrets that can get you on the real path to greater ease.

What's the worst "life advice" you've ever received? It seems whenever we have to make a big life decision – what to study, what career path to follow, what goals to pursue – there is no shortage of platitudes on offer. A lot of them have been around so long, we never question whether they really help. In this episode, Cathy talks about why some of this advice, when taken to heart, can do more harm than good. She explores two common pieces of advice we all received at one time or another in our careers and how they can point you in the wrong direction.