Wake Up Eager Workforce 
Episode 140 Transcript

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In this episode of the Wake Up Eager Workforce podcast, host Suzie Price shares her personal journey of overcoming burnout and reclaiming her energy and focus with powerful tools to help you get out of a funk. Drawing from her expertise and years of coaching leaders, Suzie introduces a fresh, science-backed approach to realign your life with clarity and purpose.

Through the lens of TriMetrix and Axiology, Suzie breaks down simple, practical tools that have helped her and countless others transform from stress and overwhelm to energy and alignment. She explains the 1% Solution (Tune In Time) as an easy-to-implement method that resets your mind in just 15 minutes a day, and how consistency can lead to 91 hours of mental calm over the course of the year.

Whether you’re feeling burnt out, stuck, or simply need a mental reset, this episode provides a clear roadmap to help you overcome those moments and wake up eager every day.

Read the transcript for Episode 140 below and discover how these tools can transform your mindset, boost your energy, and put you back in control of your life.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Suzie Price : do you ever wake up and wish you could just pull the covers back over your head we all have those days when motivation and energy are missing and focus feels far far away but what if the difference between dragging through your day and waking up eager and feeling great throughout your day was just 15 minutes 1% of your day it has a cumulative effect and it's true that's all it takes to realign your focus reduce stress and get your energy and joy back on track with everything moving so fast and so many demands on your time it's easier than ever to wake up exhausted overwhelmed or out of alignment and what I'm gonna share with you today the tools that we're gonna talk about we're gonna help you change that today I can't wait to share it with you Michael hit it

[00:00:53] Intro : welcome to the wake up Eager Workforce podcast a show designed for leaders trainers and consultants who are responsible for employee selection and professional development each episode is packed full with insider tips best practices expert interviews and inspiration please welcome the host who is helping leaders trainers and consultants everywhere Suzie Price

[00:01:20] Suzie Price : welcome to the wake up Eager Workforce podcast where we help leaders build a high commitment low drama wake up eager workforce and a life you cannot wait to wake up to I'm your host Suzie Price and this episode is sponsored by my company Priceless Professional Development clients hire us for four main reasons 1 to help them make better hiring decisions 2 2 to help them make better decisions with their employees through the Trimetrix assessment through hiring and coaching and onboarding so we train people on the Trimetrix assessment with our our deeper dive training and our certifications the third thing we do is help leaders lead more effectively through some of our coaching and through our teamwork work that's the fourth thing we do is we help teams work better together so if you find value in today this is work we love to do and I love creating this podcast and sharing ideas and putting things together inspires me to help inspire you and we're all in this together be sure to follow the podcast and like the podcast on Apple Podcast or anywhere where you get your podcast and then share this episode with anyone you know who could benefit from it maybe your team maybe share it on social media if you get something from it all of that is very helpful and lets me know that this work is having some meaning and helps us spread the word today's episode is episode 1 40 stop hiding under the covers tools to get out of a funk and wake up eager so we're all about getting out of a funk today so our show notes I'm going to have quite a bit of tools and resources and a handout to share with you that you can get a recap of everything

[00:03:02] Suzie Price : and we also have a transcript of all of our episodes at Priceless professional.comslash get out of a funk Priceless professional.com slash get out of a funk all one word lowercase that's where you'll find the show notes and the handout that we have today let's look at what we're gonna talk about today the top three takeaways we're gonna look at tune in time the number one the 1% solution to stress I mentioned that as I opened up and one of my favorite books is the essentialism book The Discipline Pursuit of less and the author Greg Mckeown reminds us if we don't prioritize our time and our life somebody else is going to do that for us so this tune in time tool helps us design space to escape in small increments that 1% so that we can make better decisions we can stay calm under pressure and bring our best energy focus and alignment to everything that we do so first thing takeaway is we're gonna dive into what tune in time is and how you can use it to support your life and how you can use it to wake up eager the second thing we're gonna talk about is the intentional focus method and this is changing your relationship with the task so one of my favorite teachers Abraham Hicks says and reminds us and it helps me all the time to be reminded of this so hopefully it will help you is we have the ability to focus and therefore we have the ability to choose the way we feel we cover simple and effective tools here today to help you realize where and how you are focused by noticing how you feel and then how you can change your focus which will change your thoughts and help you gain leverage and control and focus and ease in your life and then the third top takeaway is talking about and helping us re remember how self mastery is the true power that the path out of a funk Lao Tzu said mastering others is strength mastering ourselves is true power so we're gonna talk about that what are some tools that can help us master ourselves simple practices that and that you may already be doing or maybe not being aware of how helpful they could be I can help you manage yourself and take control of your mood mind and action

[00:05:20] Suzie Price : so let's start personal and I wanna ask you now how you'd answer this question what does wake up eager really mean for you how do you feel and think and act any day that you wake up eager so think about that think about a day that you felt really good when you got up what would what did you feel what were you thinking how did your day go so the way we would describe it over here because it's something we think about and talk about a lot and try to design our lives around is that it could be described as the feeling of jumping out of bed with clarity and purpose and it happens when you know you are aligned with what matters most and so I want to emphasize this we find the greatest alignment when we have an intention something we care about and we're moving toward that I believe that's when we feel our best wanting something having goals having objectives having focus and then moving towards it and that's when you feel strong purposeful joy filled and authentic those are our wake up eager days at least that's what I noticed for myself and so today we're talking about what to do when you're not feeling that way that wake up eager I've got something I'm focusing on and I am moving towards it because it matters to me we're talking about those days when we rather just hide under the covers and let the day go by cause hey we've all been there so I want you to take a moment and think about your last pull the covers over your head day was it recent was a while back hold that in mind as we walk through the different tools that I'm gonna share with you today

[00:07:02] Suzie Price : and use those tools the ones that are helpful to you and leave the rest okay so we're going to start with a little bit of a talking about the problem of overwhelm if you've been feeling frazzled distracted or drained you are far from alone you know you can look around and see it and we see it in our coaching work and in all the assessments we use 84% of professionals score that they are frustrated or overwhelmed in their work that comes from the Trimetrix assessment the practical thinking dimension which is the extrinsic the doing part of our thinking doesn't matter if you don't know the assessment but it is something that measures whether we're engaged and happy with all that we've got going on or whether we're frustrated and overwhelmed 84% of people who take the assessment have some level of frustration and overwhelmment about what they need to do during the day and in their life and so what we wanna do is

[00:08:01] Suzie Price : if you aren't feeling that way the way we would describe it in the assessment is the ability to calmly anticipate opportunities and problems to stay alert and eager about the things you need to get done so you're excited oh I get to do this I'm eager I'm moving towards this I want to do all the things that are in my life so what we see is that overwhelm often happens one of the big pieces are is when we say yes to too much we say yes I'll do that so many people are asking us to do things and we just say yes and and sometimes we're saying yes to things that have us ignoring our inner guidance our inner wantings so that we can please everyone else first so I remember learning this lesson in a way we can probably all relate to and it's a simple one you know but these the little things that add up right so I said yes to joining a committee that I knew I wasn't a good fit for the moment I agreed my internal person if I was being you know I was saying yes but I was thinking hell no I don't wanna do that haha hell no meaning it was a strong no I don't wanna do it hell no don't go don't say yes to this but I ignored it thinking oh it's only a few minutes and I can help them and you know I have things that they can use and I should help out

[00:09:20] Suzie Price : so I shooted myself so fast forward 3 months and I'm sitting in a 2 hour meeting about fonts for an internal newsletter fonts okay everything that I don't like I don't like meetings there's so much about being on that committee that is not my job and not my thing to do so every time a calendar reminder popped up my energy sank and I wasn't serving anyone least of all myself because I was operating from obligation not alignment it should have been a oh yeah I'd love to do that and mean it from not my words but from my inner self so the truth is every time we ignore that inner nudge to please others we trade energy for approval we trade energy for approval so I've taken my energy and now I'm I'm saying yes because oh they like me or they want me or they need me and I tell you what and making that exchange is never a good deal that committee experience is one of many in my life and you probably have your own hell no don't go wake up eager moments that kind of a call to when you weren't waking up eager cause you said yes to things you didn't really wanna do those things have taught me something big most of the time overwhelm doesn't sneak up on us because of the work itself it happens because we override our inner knowing it doesn't come out of the blue it comes out of the oblivious we just are bumbling along and not thinking about what is it though I want what is it that I wanna do do I really want to do this when it happens it means we didn't pay attention to our interest and we said yes when we meant no and here's the thing the way we override that guidance isn't random it's often connected to a lot of different things but we're gonna share one thing related to the disc assessment it can be related to our natural disc style tendencies which is a measurement of our behaviors there are four behavior styles that we talk about that are above the energy line descriptors for each letter the disc d

[00:11:24] Suzie Price : I s C each person can score a zero to 100 on each one of the letters d I s C and each letter represents behavioral styles how we interact how we talk to people when they call us up and ask us to do things to be on a committee that we don't want to be in those things and we all have different we're not just one letter but we have different things that are our strongest and I'm gonna share about the four styles and what the tendency might be and some wake up eager growth moods that can help us not do this so think about your style when I'm mentioning these which might describe you and then think about what happens so it's kind of just trying to explain why we overcommit or say yes when we really mean no okay so if you're above the energy line d that means your score the d is a dominance and it's pretty high on the Z on the 50 to 100 range you can be known for and people would describe you as someone who's urgent and direct and assertive and in the vehicles that we apply to this style their activity is a bulldozer so you think about a bulldozer the great benefits of a bulldozer they just get stuff done so if that's above your style above the energy line you might say yes too quickly because you're focused on action and results you're like heck yeah I'll get there I'll get it done so what happens your instinct said no because you had other things you needed to do but you have such an action bias that that said go and so now you're firefighting and frustrated I have a lot of d in my style so I know that applied to me the wake up eager growth move here that's hard to say wake up eager growth move so that's something you could do that could help you is to slow down and that's something you know a lot of times I'm moving fast and being like a bulldozer you know so slow down create daily tune in time which we're gonna talk about before deciding that's where we pause

[00:13:12] Suzie Price : and we contemplate whether it's really a fit pausing is not weakness it's wisdom so high dominance pausing hear it and I'm saying it to myself too pausing and reflecting as to whether you're going to do something or not isn't weakness it's wisdom okay so that's for the d style dominance if you're above the energy line I for influence you are known for being fun talkative quick and expressing optimism so very friendly it's the it's the light in the room often times the vehicle in the car analogy that describes this style is an all terrain vehicle make quick changes probably have 10 people on a on a fun all terrain vehicle zipping around the the woods and laughing and giggling so if you have a high eye as your one of your top styles and it's higher for me too this might be true for me you say yes because you don't want to disappoint or miss out on connections so you like people and it's like oh it might be fun but what happens if you're this style and you say yes to things that really aren't a match for you you end up over committed scattered and drained all to please people you wanted to impress the high highs like to impress and help and you know be all optimistic you know and you like to spend time with people so you you said yes because of that not because the actual time and the mission and whatever they're asking you to do is a match so the wake up eager growth move here on this style is to practice saying yes only when your inner energy says yes because you're so optimistic you're yes yes sure protect your enthusiasm by using discernment so you don't end up over committed and scattered to please and shine for others so I like that what we came up with there about protect your enthusiasm by using discernment so if you have a eye above the energy line that's speaking to you and it is is helping me I've gotten a little bit better about that over time alright so we're going to the third style above the energy line is s and that's steadiness and these are people who are known for being calm easy going helpful and a thoughtful teammate and the vehicle in that car analogy that describes this style is a gondola so the gondola driver you know they're very easy and flow they're not zooming down the canal

[00:15:31] Suzie Price : very helpful and friendly my husband has steadiness in his style so if if that's the case you say yes to keep the peace you like helping others and frankly you don't really want to deal with the conflict at that time so what happens for this style the s above the energy line you quietly take on too much then resentment builds and you end up losing your personal peace and I can think of a good friend of mine who has a lot of steadiness in her style and um she's so helpful and then I can see that when it's building taking on too much resentment builds and you end up losing your personal peace the wake up your growth move here for this style is to remember saying no with Grace is a form of support so saying no is actually being supportive to yourself it keeps your energy strong and your contributions sustainable right so you're taking care of yourself

[00:16:28] Suzie Price : right so above the energy line c is the compliance and they are known for accuracy they might have a reserved demeanor cause they're thinking and they're very accurate they're a good critical thinker and they have a focus on quality the vehicle in the car analogy that we align with the C is a train your paint the train always goes stays on track and always goes from point a to point B right see above the energy line says yes out of duty because it feels like the right thing to do so what happens you commit out of duty or perfectionism you know if I'm not there they won't get it right so I better be there even when it doesn't align with your purpose or your priorities so you say yes because you have a duty and you should help you feel like you should so we all have our own reason why we think we should do something in this case it's about they just might not get it right without me so the wake up and growth move here if you're a C above the energy line is trust that clarity comes from intuition not just data clarity comes from intuition not just data if it feels off it probably is give yourself permission to decline

[00:17:43] Suzie Price : alright in every case we ignore that inner signal that said hell no I don't wanna do that but for different reasons but the result is the same our energy drops our clarity fades and soon we're wondering why we feel overwhelmed or out of alignment that's one of the many reasons why understanding your distyle matters it helps you notice how you override your intuition so you can catch yourself sooner that's building more self awareness and you want to stay above the energy line be your style be your best self without the extra frustration and um so so a quick reflection which of these styles sounded most like you and where do you most often say yes when your energy says no think about that and then go back and revisit those wake up eager growth tips this brings us to our next piece is how to get intentional about protecting your energy and rewiring overwhelm alright now we're gonna get into some of our solutions and this is the 1% solution that I mentioned earlier tune in time our short for it is TNT tune in Time TNT

[00:19:04] Suzie Price : the first most essential antidote to overwhelm is something I call tune in Time TNT it's just 15 minutes a day 1% of your day and what you're doing down during this 1% of your day These 15 minutes is stopping breathing and realigning without distractions no scrolling doom scrolling you might have your phone if you're if you're typing on it I always have my iPad with me um try not to answer your phone give yourself a minimum of 15 minutes and you're just taking time you're making space to think you might pray you might write you might be quiet and I'm gonna give you a lot of tips on what you can do during those 15 minutes but let me just describe or share why 15 minutes because over a year those 15 minutes turns into 91 hours of stress management and mental clarity it's like mental compound interest small daily deposits big long term returns so I'll tell you a little bit about my TNT time most of the time what I do and it's changed over the years I've been doing this for many many many years and now I do much more than 15 minutes I do it anytime I get out of out of step or out of alignment or feel unclear but it's taking me time to wanna do that so just start with 15 minutes and you'll see a lot of benefit of it around it but what I do is I make list of appreciation I have an app on my iPad it's called day 1 day dot 1 app and I will either type on that or use the audio I might write in a notebook I also have the Audio Pin app if I'm in my car sometimes I will speak appreciation

[00:20:46] Suzie Price : and the app times out at 15 minutes so it's not just a few items that I'm thankful for I'm not I'm it includes everything that I value and appreciate everything that I feel good about small things big things everything in between I'm not writing to make sense I'm not writing to create a poem I'm not writing to sound impressive I don't share these lists with anyone else I do though write and write and write until my mood shifts it's an amazing tool because here's what happens if I I get more sensitive and aware of my mood my energy my focus and that's why it's tune in time I'm getting tuned in to myself and my mood and what I care about and how I want to focus and every time my mood shifts if if I'm you know not feeling clear about something or I'm aggravated about something if I make turn just take my attention off of that for a little bit every time new ideas flow into my mind my mood shifts things I've been previously thinking about come forward to me I get answers on next steps ideas um and always feelings of flow and well being

[00:21:58] Suzie Price : so we have more control over that than we believe and I know that doing this 1% a day 15 minutes if you start doing that whatever your tune in time is and I'm gonna like I said give you some more examples but it has become my top TNT time activity and it's where I'm at today that could change I have different meditations that I like to do at times too I have some mantras that I'll do I'll do some breathing but my biggest one is making lists of appreciation the key is finding private time to tune in to feel and think and let ideas and ease and flow come to you you're not chasing it it is there for every one of us but we have to be in a state of letting it in and allowing and you might call it a prayerful state you might call it a calm state you might call it an eager state a happiness state a positive state a relaxed state and there's lots of things you could call it but it is about letting ease ideas and flow come to you one of my clients Chief People Officer Rebecca Waits she was on a podcast a while back and she talked about that she starts each morning with a 10 minute meditation

[00:23:10] Suzie Price : and ends each day by writing three things she's grateful for so small rituals create big shifts it's the you know build up compound interest over time one of my best friends that I've known since third grade spends 15 minutes every day reading reflecting and writing about the scripture of the day she has one of those books and she often will send a text and share what she what she came to during her meditation here's a few other top leaders people you might know that Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos of chick fil a takes a library day each month just to think read and plan so every month he takes a day off to do his own tune in time Mark Benioff of the sales of Salesforce credits his beginner's mind to daily meditation so CEOs and executives do this ha ha the most popular podcaster in the world Joe Rogan calls meditation the key to a clear cool headed approach and then we have Beyonce's mom she says her 15 minutes of prayer and quiet sets up for a smooth week so all ages all kinds of careers can find 15 minutes to do something right prayer meditation right you know I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on tune in time and what you do that helps you realign that's the objective what's gonna make me feel better what's gonna have me calm what's gonna help me think and feel and feel better so you know if you can find 15 minutes to doom scroll you can find 15 minutes to tune in and tune up and once you start doing it you do it long enough you won't want to not do it so think about tomorrow when could your 15 minutes be could it be morning lunch or evening pick a time now so that your 1% solution doesn't get lost in the shuffle

[00:25:11] Suzie Price : all right so 1% 15 minutes pick a time put it on your calendar make it an intention to do it alright so now let's go to tool No. 2 we're gonna talk about transforming inner conflict with the intentional focus method

[00:25:34] Suzie Price : you know sometimes you just can't say no and maybe a lot of times we can't say no we have to show up for that meeting that family event that tough conversation that hard client the family situation so how do you stop resenting it because you can't often change that you have to go do this thing and back to our previous subject I'll say it in another way about this subject is we can choose how we show up by changing our relationship with the task and that is how we look at it and we change how we look at it by changing how we feel and it is easier to change that to change our relationship with what we're going to do next you know changing how we feel and think about that situation if we are prayed up appreciated up tapped in turned on through daily tune in time it's like you build you build this reservoir of energy and acceptance and you're not stressed out and in a bad place so you can you can handle and change how you focus about situations inner conflict happens when two parts of us are out of alignment what we're doing doesn't match what we value or believe and that's where intentional focus method comes in we're doing something we don't wanna do we wanna notice that and then we wanna do something about it and I'm gonna pull in axiology this is the the science in the Tri metrix assessment that we use here it's the science of values and it measures how we think feel and make decisions and um they these decisions and how we feel can be traced back to how we perceive and prioritize what's most valuable so it can allow us to make better decisions when we understand axiology

[00:27:21] Suzie Price : it helps us help others help ourselves and help work within the environments that are around us so there's three focus areas that are measured in this science and in Trimetrix one is a systemic focus you can think about systems how clearly do you see the structure the ideals the big picture the second area of focus is extrinsic how clearly do you see an act within the real world of tasks and results getting things done and intrinsic how clearly can you see your own and others worth feelings and preferences so every time we're looking at something there's a systemic the idea or structure of it there's the extrinsic that has to do with the doing and the thinking and then there's the intrinsic which is how we feel about something and so every object has these three dimensions in it everything we do has these three dimensions in it so to learn more about axiology go back to the show notes at Priceless professional.comslash get out of a funk Priceless professional.com forward slash get out of a funk all lowercase and look at my interview with Doctor Art Ellis and we talk about axiology and he gives some great principles around it

[00:28:32] Suzie Price : but when we're in a funk or in inner conflict it's often because one or more of these dimensions is out of balance so for example if we're overusing the systemic which is the ideals the vision we might be stuck in ideals or should so we're we're used to OK I have to do this somehow we got the message that we have to do it so we try to make life a perfect vision I have to I have to do this thing so I'm gonna say yes to it because they asked I have to I have to keep my house perfect because if anything is wrong then there's something wrong with me and then we're stressed out we're overwhelmed we're stuck in that we're over applying the systemic if we're overusing or over applying the extrinsic we've said yes to tons of things and we've not organized our to do's we can't see meaning or purpose behind them things are out of control that's the overwhelm we've gotten too caught up in the doing and not put structures in place to help us not say yes to too many things and haven't prioritized ourselves and then the overuse of the intrinsic is we can get caught up in worrying about our you know whether we're gonna make a mistake or we could get you like so we're not valuing ourselves or trusting our ability to do something or we can become defensive or get lost in analysis paralysis so we've got systemic extrinsic and intrinsic and how we're thinking the intentional focus method can help us realign these dimensions so that our head are thinking and our hands are doing and our heart our feeling are moving in the same direction and when they're aligned we make better decisions and so here's how to apply the intentional focus method so you can bring yourself back into alignment when resistance shows up

[00:30:12] Suzie Price : and these are just very simple tools and tips that you can apply so listen to these and pick one or two that you can use and that really when you hear it you say yep I think that's interesting I'm gonna try that so first pause and name it when you feel dread resentment or anxiety pause you know ask yourself okay what am I feeling what value center am I overusing am I trying to meet an ideal have I just committed to too much stuff or am I being hard on myself or on other people um so that's that's a pause and just name it and then that'll allow you to stop and think and then reorganize so we do things sometimes about you know we do things unconsciously you know and it comes out of the oblivious when we say well how did I end up here well we made decisions all along the way here's something that I use all the time it's another little tool pre pave the event so when you do a lot of T&T time as I have over many many years now I'm definitely not an expert got a long way to go to to be considered anything but that but I have built up this sense of I know how it feels to feel good and so when I'm thinking about what I'm going to do next and my desire is to feel good about it and to be ready for it I always pre pave it and so that's it pre paving so what is that doing it before in your mind preparing for it before you actually go do it

[00:31:34] Suzie Price : so decide how you want to feel and what you want to experience before you go into it and so and depending how intense the thing is that you don't want to do it you know you might have to work on it a lot or just a little bit but you know an example would be making a statement I choose to show up with calm or curiosity or I intend to leave this conversation with more understanding you know we can have opinions about people but what is your intention about the situation so sometimes I'll people will say things and I might disagree with it so I get caught up in my opinion and I try to stop myself and I'll say okay wait a minute what is my intention right now with this person and often times it has nothing to do with my opinion to be like I care about them I want them to feel good I want them to get clarity about what they're looking for this is a pre paving is huge in a million different ways and I'll there's this will come up later on when we talk about some other tools but what you're doing is giving your systemic mind that perfectionist mind a new way you know I think it's this I'm right you're wrong because I have an opinion but what is your instead of your opinion what is your intention and it's a way that helps you refocus that serves you and serves other people and doesn't cause you stress already talked a little bit about this next little tool journaling positive aspects um so because of this situation or this person these are good things that have happened because of it you know every time there's something bad when we get further away from whatever the quote unquote bad thing is and there are bad things I don't mean quote unquote like it's not real but quote unquote our perspective can change over time when we get away from it a little bit we can say you know what I Learned from that on the other side of the hard thing the bad thing the thing I'm frustrated about there's some new insight there's some you know with contrast becomes new insight so for example I often have to visit a family member whom I find it difficult to be around

[00:33:33] Suzie Price : and so I'm always trying to feel better about going to do this thing and so what are the positive aspects and I will make a list and I will remind myself because of this situation this is what I've Learned about myself this is what it's helping me do it's you know and this is and it's you have to really think and feel and it's very personal and I'm telling you more personal than I normally would but it does it just is so helpful it can help you walk into a situation that used to drive you crazy and you go in and you're okay you know it's still not a great situation sometimes but you're still okay you're more patient you're more loving you have a fuller tank you remember what the big picture is you get rid of your opinions and you look for the intentions about what the long term intention is for this huge this retrains our intrinsic perception it shifts the focus from fear or anger or it's not denying that fear anger frustration you know a lot of old history stuff to appreciation or understanding

[00:34:35] Suzie Price : maybe you can't get to appreciation but it's understanding or less frustration so with contrast comes clarity and so focus on what you don't want at first so that you can go to what you do want and that's what this this um you know journal positive aspects you're trying to get to what you want and sometimes you have to list all the things you don't want you run out of steam and then you're like okay now I've said all of that now what do I want and then spend a lot of time there and and watch what changes it's pretty wonderful alright so we're gonna another little tip is relabel the task I mean simple languaging you know so it can help you change or rewire how you think about it I have to give this presentation I have to go here I've got to go do this thing instead of I get to share an idea that could help someone reframe it think about how you're verbalizing your language so you're reframing the extrinsic reality changing the feeling without changing the circumstances by changing what how you talk about it which eventually may change how you feel about it another tip is to observe without judgment for 60 seconds breathe and notice your thoughts like passing clouds watch yourself I mean to me I laugh at myself sometimes oh you get your nose all out of joint there was a situation that came up recently about something a client did and I was my nose was all out of joint and I just and then I was just watching myself like okay look at you I didn't do anything you know that would hurt anything myself or anybody else but I was you know not real happy about certain something and then I started watching myself and then it just kind of faded out and I laughed I was like okay now how do you want to look at this you know giving yourself Grace so that observation gives you some cognitive distance which allows you to reset you know and then it could be the values are higher instead of me judging them or you know like the client situation that I just briefly mentioned just getting to a place of you know they get to do whatever they want to do I appreciate the work that I've done with them this is all good there probably was nothing to it give them the benefit of the doubt

[00:36:49] Suzie Price : that's the observe without judgment and uh give yourself some Grace alright so I'm gonna give you some famous examples of this intentional focus in action OK Nelson Mandela he spent 27 years in prison and he chose reconciliation over resentment he gives us a master class in aligning inner values using creating his own focus giving with people giving forgiveness in whatever way that he needed to so that he could focus on justice and unity the things that he cared about letting the past go 27 years in prison so that's some great examples you it's great to see role models and to kind of focus on them and align with them and know how possible it is to refocus Victor Frankel he was an Austrian neurologist psychiatrist and a Holocaust survivor who developed a therapy that helped him endure years in a Nazi concentration camp losing his I believe entire family got a great book I have a link to it in the show notes at Priceless professional.com forward slash get out of a funk um his book is man search for meaning um what he taught and what he did is remarkable

[00:38:04] Suzie Price : he taught that we always have the power to choose our attitude this is a direct reflection of a balanced acumen so this clarity in the intrinsic that's ourselves and others the extrinsic and our circumstances and and the things we need to do and the systemic our purpose and our ideal and visions he talked about that clarity he revealed that even in the face of unimaginable suffering our ultimate freedom lies in choosing our attitude and finding purpose so instead of withering away he decided I can choose how I think and feel another good example something very different if you knew Mister Rogers Neighborhood Fred Rogers he pre paved every episode with intention and and he is remembered today fondly by many children and there was a movie made about him I don't know how long ago but uh he's created quite a legacy and what he said is the space between the TV set and the viewer is holy ground

[00:39:07] Suzie Price : that's this idea of he was being guided by every action that he took and every action had meaning and so he changed the world not through force but through presence he personally answered over a million letters from children and adults proving that every person deserves to feel seen and valued that's a part of axiology where we say people are greater greater than tasks are greater than ideas or systems and structures so people it that's the hierarchy he lived that he personally answered over a million letters in 1969 he gave a six minute testimony before Congress which is still remembered today so that was a long time ago but he was talking to Congress about securing funding for public broadcasting and it became a master class in persuasion because of the empathy that he brought to the discussion not anger but alignment and love and valuing and so and through his 900 episodes he used child development science to teach emotional intelligence long long before that was a leadership buzzword you know and he reminded us he's that vision of that calm and intentional focus can change lives and when you start looking for this calm intentional focus in others you notice the strength of it and the quietness of it

[00:40:31] Suzie Price : but the strength of it and the value of it and the connection that it makes here's a Serena Williams is another example a great tennis player she has mantras that she uses and there are three words and they're like guiding phrases simple things like go through it or put your best forward and they illustrate how champions use micro mantras and we can find our own mantras right what is it that helps you mine have changed over the years I've got different things in my office that kind of highlight the different things that meant something to me at the time and really help me shift my focus find yours but Serena Williams or go through it put your best forward foot forward micro mantra is shift our focus align values and help us move through inner conflict so you know if for Serena go through it is an intrinsic shift accept your feelings and then rather than avoid them you know go through it put your best foot forward is you know showing up aligned with your ideal self and they both help her work and get something done rather than stay stuck or stay stay stuck on a problem with her tennis career so here's some actionable takeaways from what we just talked about and again there's a handout at Priceless professional.com forward slash get out of a funk before any stressful task ask yourself the the three axiology dimensional dimension questions what's the higher purpose here what's the next best action and what do I new need to do to feel grounded right now so that's staying present and it's thinking of the big picture thinking about what you need to do next and and what do you need right now personally another thing is to shift the spotlight if you have a strong inner critic it's loud shift the attention outward who will benefit from your showing up it's kind of like rethinking about the good things around something you need to go do it gets you away from self focus and activates some clarity in the other dimensions write a guiding sentence each morning that's something you know and I I will I speak it somehow that seems to work with me and I think over time maybe I've had guiding verbiage in my notes or in my notebook or things that I look at but one of them could be something like today I intend to bring calm and clarity to every conversation

[00:42:49] Suzie Price : today is gonna be a good day no matter where I go no matter what I do I'm gonna look for things that I want to see I'm gonna say those things I'm gonna speak about the good you know we get to start again every day I have a sign in my office that says you know we get to begin again every day every day is a new day having some kind of one sentence intention that you refer to can help ground you and help you recalibrate and you know reframing triggers when irritation hits remind yourself that hey irritation is some feedback it's not failure so you know just like the other day when I was irritated about some client situation I mean I was mad and it made me laugh I kind of was laughing while I was mad so it's like this is feedback something about this really matters what is it and you know I just kind of walk through it and 10 minutes later I'm like oh I get it so it helps us know that our focus has drifted and and that we something matters and it can help us realign and then you can do an end of the day alignment check did I act for my true priorities or from pressure so you know how did you do on what you said yes to or how clear and organized were were you at the end of every day I like to do a you know what I appreciate about today and often times it's like there's so many things that I list that I've accomplished that I've moved through so quickly that I've forgotten about it and I go gosh this was a really good day you know and then reminding myself of all the good things that have happened so that is really clear so as we talk about all of these little tools all these little ideas which one gives you a little sense of relief or curiosity that's that's usually the one to start with so when you learn to manage your focus instead of your circumstances everything changes this is emotional and mental agility it's living axiology in real time and as Victor Frankle that was the a search a man search for meaning who was in the concentration camps said this so brilliantly and it's well known and shared quite often between stimulus and response there is a space

[00:44:49] Suzie Price : in that space lies our power to choose so we do have power to choose let's just not forget it I think this whole episode that's really a good summary of what this whole episode's about we have the power to choose and we're gonna need to choose again and again and again and again and we don't wanna beat ourselves up when we don't choose we just start again cause you when you're beating yourself up now you're choosing something that's you know stimulus and response you're taking yourself away from feeling better move towards what's feeling better that choice of choosing that intentional focus is where alignment relief and renewed energy begin former Major League Baseball coach Douglas White says emotions are feedback mechanisms that they they tell us where we stand in reflection to our alignment and once we own our state or how we feel we own our power it's profound and it's something we all have these emotions and so it's good to talk about them that's why we featured Douglas this year in our podcast and you can check out my conversations with Douglas about well being and emotions and then he did 14 short audio reminders about managing emotions check those out at Priceless professional.comslashwell being and he is a former Major League Baseball coach he's been in the World Series great guy and doing some great coaching so check him out again it's priceless professional dot com slash well being and you'll see clips from him and more about managing emotions

[00:46:31] Suzie Price : so we're going to tool 3 now about getting out of a funk when you feel like pulling the covers back over your head the key is to start small and as we've already talked about in all these tips it's all internal it's all us making these shifts and that and remembering that small shifts create big momentum so setting a morning intention which we just talked about and that's one of my favorite is today no matter where I go no matter what I do I intend to focus on what I want to see that's my message is to look for the good so one clear intention can steady our minds before the day starts moving do the appreciation reset I've already talked a lot about that it will give you a lift and at first you'll be like why am I doing this and you start doing it and then the list gets longer and longer and the end and if you watch yourself you'll feel you'll feel your self shift and your set point will change over time something that I've done episodes on and articles about is daily list of six choosing six non neagertiables for the day at the end of every day know what your six are not 20 but six there could be 20 things on your list but there's six things that you absolutely have to happen the next day this structure builds momentum and reduces overwhelm and I've got a link to an article about the list of 6 it's a lot of coaching clients have used that to great success of clarity reframing our hard moments one of the coaches that we've had on our podcast and a good friend of mine Sherry Rebar often says if it's not working there's a bigger plan so that can you know it's it's that's relieving you know to say wait a minute it's not working I'm trying to muscle this into place and sometimes the most powerful move is let it go of what isn't yours to carry it's not working maybe there's a bigger plan and we can't carry everything right and then shape your environment make it work for you so this is big instead of relying on willpower adjust your surroundings so that the right actions become easy and here are some examples from my life and I'll share this as if I'm giving advice to myself and these are things that I do now I didn't always do I didn't grow up in a very structured household and my mind is not always structured and so I'm not always planful but I am now in my life because I shape my environment and this is part of that pre paving I was talking about

[00:49:02] Suzie Price : here's some tips and it is in my world things and you can think about what what could you do here but for working out lay your workout clothes out the night before so I'm up and I see those clothes there's the shoes it's the socks it's everything that I'm gonna wear I've picked out what I'm gonna do I'm either gonna do a Kathy dot com class or I'm gonna do a peloton spin or tread um all of it is like when I wake up and when I set it out at night it's the energizing I get up and I'm gonna go do that in the morning when I see it so it feels automatic and energizing it makes it easy we're shaping the environment to make it work for us for the things we wanna do for walking the dogs you keep it all in one place keep the leashes the bags the walking shoes by the door so every walk feels easy to start there's no gathering hunting or decision making it's trying to you stop the decision making and make doing the things you need to do easier for healthy meals keep a big bright fruit bowl at the kitchen island to make a healthy choice visible and effortless

[00:50:01] Suzie Price : I have so many things I do around healthy meals cause that's really one of my key priorities but that's a good good start though there's an example for podcast creation I keep my microphone headphones and everything set up so the inspiration can be calm I've got folders that I can use to track ideas and so that I can record without friction or set up time for client meetings create simple meeting prep folder on your desktop with tri metrics templates checklist and dashboards ready to go no searching no stress I do find this if I'm finding that something's stressing me out every time I go to it's like I need to fix that that is friction that doesn't need to be there and I can't do it all the time right then but I make a note of it and I work on it so I reduce the friction of those daily things that are causing me tension and then for everyday flow I've talked about it's the other theme of today which is tune in time you know keep your journal or your or your audio app close by so you can drop into tuning tune in time without rearranging your space you know so small environmental tweaks gently quietly nudge your behavior in the right direction no drama no forcing no stress you know maybe some stress but it can get easier and easier so we're coming to a close here in a moment but progress over perfection if you're feeling stuck what's one small step I can take right now the smallest win will reset your energy so perfection lives in the future progress lives in the present

[00:51:29] Suzie Price : and the present is where change happens so if we're trying to be perfect we need to get present all right so here's an observation practice for you for 7 days simply notice your emotions without judgment just notice when your moods go up or down and always awareness always comes before improvements so you can't shift what you don't see so out of all of this what's one tiny doable action a one minute behavior shift that would move you from stuck to just a little bit more steady that's where you want to start so we're gonna wrap up why all this matters you know everything that we teach at Priceless professional development comes down to helping people see and use their unique value their talent their strength their genius cause we all have that um but it starts with self mastery so let's take a quick look at the big 3 takeaways I shared a lot of small little things but let's look at the big takeaways from today's episode that can help us all master our focus and let me say that this is a thing that never ends you can't get it wrong because we're never done we're always gonna be working on this so give yourself Grace around that and and enjoy it

[00:52:46] Suzie Price : but first the first big thing is tune in time 15 minutes a day just 1% of the day of your day of your time can completely change your energy and focus it's that pause that resets your perspective and it builds 91 hours remind you of that stat of calm and clarity over the year and Mccuen from my favorite book essentialism says if you don't prioritize your life someone else will and then during the tune in time that's when you can prioritize you can prioritize your mood you can think about how you how what you want to accomplish those 15 minutes are your daily investment in calm focus and ownership of your time second the intentional focus method oh my goodness be intentional you can't always control what happens around you just can't you can't really control what happens around you but you can control what you focus on and how you feel and look at whatever's happening around you so when you shift from frustration to appreciation genuine not just words that sound good you change your entire emotional landscape and there will be results that follow

[00:53:55] Suzie Price : my favorite teacher Abraham Hicks says you have the ability to focus and therefore the ability to choose the way you feel so we can do that and as Victor Frankle said between between stimulus and response there is a space and in that space lies our power to choose so very important we have this ability so remember that if this podcast reminds you of just that that's important and then that helps us reach our next um main point of today that self mastery is true power and be having being self aware of who you are how you feel what you want and why you want it every time you choose to focus on what's going well you choose to plan your six must do's for the day because our life is made up into moments of everyday and so let's make every day the best we can but then when we also decide to give ourselves Grace so we focus on what's going well we plan what we're going to do and we give ourselves Grace guess what we strengthen our alignment and guess what we can give others Grace and we can be more present with others the most powerful leaders the most powerful and happy people the most peaceful people are the ones who know how to manage their focus it is a worthy lifelong endeavor

[00:55:11] Suzie Price : and let's see I talked about it earlier mastering others is strength mastering ourselves is true power so 15 minutes a day 1% of your day you can move from funky to focus from stressed to strong from tired to truly wake up eager there's that cumulative effect so this has been fun sharing this with you all these things matter to me and I hope that you got something from it thank you for listening to the wake Up eager Workforce podcast if today's episode helped you share it with someone who could use a little extra energy and encouragement maybe leave us a review on iTunes send me a note with ideas or thoughts things that you're going to do and what worked for you and you can find the show notes tools and all episodes at Wake Up eager workforce.com the show notes again are at Priceless professional.comslashget out of a funk check it out check out all the links there remember how you lead matters lead with purpose and intention reduce the drama and keep building your wake up eager life one step at a time one choice at a time and I'll close with your wake up eager focus mantra for today today I will think focus and talk more about what's going well than what's going wrong as I manage my focus I feel empowered eager and at ease and as I genuinely feel better I become a greater benefit to myself and to everyone around me you've got this 15 minutes a day 1% of your day to wake up eager again now go out there and TNT your day we'll see you on the next episode thanks for tuning in

[00:57:01] Outro : this episode of the wake up Eager Workforce podcast was brought to you by Priceless Professional Development thank you for tuning in if you enjoyed today's show head over to Priceless professional.com to gain access to more professional development resources