The Best Investment

Welcome to This Daring Adventure podcast, where we work on bridging the gap between where we are and where we want to be in order to live a bigger and bolder life. In this podcast, we will provide inspiration, tips, and skills you need to make your life the adventure you want it to be. Here's your host, mindset mentor and life coach Trista Guertin.

Welcome back to This Daring Adventure. Thank you so much for joining me today. This is episode 89, and it's going to be all about working harder on yourself than on your job.

But before we start, I wanted to let you know about a webinar I'm doing next Wednesday, November 6th. It is a free webinar at 1 p. m on zoom and the link to register in advance will be in the show notes. You can register and join me live, or if you can't make it, I will be sharing a recording after that. You can watch at your convenience.

The webinar is get unstuck. It's time to fix your life. And I titled that I titled it that because I had a conversation with a client the other day. And she was talking about fixing herself, and my feeling is that you don't need to fix yourself. You might need to fix certain areas of your life.

Oftentimes, clients come to me and they're feeling frustrated in a few areas of their life, whether it's relationships or career or health or finances, and I think You know, getting stuck, feeling stuck is very normal. It happens to all of us at times. And we can fix those parts of our lives that are not working, that we're not satisfied with, that we're feeling a little frustrated, but we don't need to necessarily fix ourselves because there's nothing wrong with us. It's about learning new tools and skills, which is an important part of the coaching process. And in particular, it is the work we do in building a better relationship with yourself. this is key because when you have a better relationship with yourself, you show up differently in every area of your life. It has a. ripple effect on everything.

So people come to me to work on one area of their life or one or two areas of your life and it spills over. It has a knock on effect on your relationships, on your finances, on your health, on your career, on your business, whatever it is. And so I really want to share with you why we get stuck, how we can get ourselves unstuck and why building a better relationship with ourselves is key to this process.

And then you'll learn how I can help. I have a new program. It's the six week jumpstart to building a better relationship with yourself. I will be introducing the work that we do there.

And as well, I have a couple of great bonuses. That I will be sharing with you if you sign up for a consult and sign up for the program. So I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

All right. So let's get into the episode for the week. As I mentioned, it is working harder on ourselves than we do on our jobs. And this is something that I heard Jim Rohn say, He was a motivational speaker and author. And I watched some of his stuff on YouTube from time to time, and that quote really resonated with me.

At the time I heard it, I was already doing a bit of work on myself, but it helped me to really crystallize the path that I was on because First of all, it seemed like a confirmation that what I was doing made sense and that it really was beneficial and that, I could actually do more of it and do it in a way that was a little bit more systematic and a little bit more consistent in order to reap the greatest rewards from it. And I think it really has been one of the most profound shifts that I've made. I think disengaging from some of the hustle and especially some of the expectation on myself as to what I should be doing in my career and I think it was more mental than anything else thinking I should be doing all this reading and I should be signing up for these courses and there must be more I should learn and I could do. to be honest, it never really excited me. It never really lit me up. It seemed more of a stop gap. It seemed like something I should be doing and it felt quite heavy and just not very interesting or fun. I was never one of those people who spent hours and hours in the evening and the weekends working overtime and trying to climb the ladder and all of the things. And just shifting my focus to my own personal development, which obviously had benefit to my day job, certainly as a leader and as a manager, I was learning all sorts of skills and tools and information that really benefited me when I was leading a team.

So I think it all dovetailed nicely. Personally, for me, becoming a coach, starting my own business, that's where I really found my joy and my energy. And now I've shifted completely away from humanitarian aid into coaching full time. And it feels really lovely. It feels really nice. It feels finally that I've found my place. And so again, all of the work I do in personal development and on myself benefits my clients and the work that I do as a coach and as a business owner. So that's what I wanted to share with you today.

And I want to encourage you not to allow working on yourself, be an afterthought or, not even to think about it at all. I think our job, our career, we've learned through programming, society, culture, that, we are what we do. And that's what our worth as a person is tied to, but the job can't really give you what you're after. And as I said, I was trying to fill that hole with, courses on project management or, gender, whatever it was. And it never It wasn't the answer and it just never felt like an answer. And I finally just gave up but by treating self work with the same importance and commitment as we do, when we have a big project at work or a job goal, or looking after a team, that's when things really begin to change. And we stop defining ourselves by our roles at work and we start defining our own lives. so what does it actually mean to work on yourself?

For me, it's meant deciding who I am and what's important to me and what I need and what I want and what I believe. This is not easy. It can be a little scary. It can be a little overwhelming. It means getting quiet and listening to that nagging feeling that nudge inside of you and acknowledging it, acknowledging what you truly want and what you truly feel, what you truly think, and knowing that's okay.

Knowing that maybe you have a desire for something different, or something more, and maybe noticing the patterns in your life or relationships. It could be as simple as just asking yourself, am I taking care of myself? Am I actually showing up for me in the same way that I show up for a work project or for my team, for my boss? And so some of the ways you can actually do this and actually start working on yourself. include just some small but meaningful daily practices. it doesn't necessarily have to demand a great deal of time, but it can, when done consistently, have a huge impact on yourself and in your life.

You can start with a daily check in. We might check in on our projects or with our team or our boss at work. So why not yourself?

Each morning, you take a couple of minutes. What do you need today? How are you really feeling? What do you want to focus on? And sometimes it's just about giving yourself permission to need something or to want something. I always recommend journaling to my clients, writing down, some of your thoughts, some of your goals, taking that time to focus your mind, focus yourself for the day, and just checking in, especially with how you're feeling can be a very important process.

Second, challenge your thoughts, challenge the story that you're telling yourself. You can examine some of your beliefs that you hold about yourself and about your life. Sometimes we have these unrealistic thoughts that, we have to be perfect or that we're too old for something or you don't have time for something.

So taking a moment to have that awareness of what's going through your mind, some of those thoughts and asking yourself is it really true? Is it helpful? Do I want to keep it? And then looking at what else could be true, looking for evidence to the contrary, and then, deciding on what you want to focus on.

Your brain is offering you a lot of thoughts, a lot of beliefs, a lot of stories. But do they serve you? Are they helpful? If they're not, I suggest you pick new ones.

Third, celebrate your wins. Every day take a minute, celebrate either, something from that day or the day before the week, the month, whatever it is. But acknowledge where you've made a little bit of progress, where you've experienced some success, where you've you've done something that you are proud of yourself for. it doesn't have to be, winning the Nobel prize. It can be something simple as reading for 20 minutes before bed or watching a YouTube video or signing up for that yoga class or taking a walk or saying no to your mother in law. something like that, very simple, but it can be very rewarding to take a moment to acknowledge it.

The fourth thing is getting help, getting support, don't hesitate to read that book, watch that YouTube video, get an accountability partner, sign up for coaching, sign up for that course, whatever it is that you're You think we'll support you in your journey, help you to learn, help you to grow, get the help that you need. And I think it does accelerate our progress and our growth when we learn from others and get that support.

Make it a habit, make it a priority, schedule time for doing this work. If you're taking 20 minutes before bed or 20 minutes in the morning when you first get up or time on the weekend, whatever it is, decide it's priority, schedule the time, commit to it and follow through and try different things.

Some people try meditation and it find it extremely beneficial and extremely helpful. Others won't. You might try tapping. You might try yoga, you might try something else, but, don't be afraid to experiment and see where you gain your greatest growth and learning and progress and that it's fun. And it gives you energy as well. That's the important thing. And. If you are consistent, I like having a habit tracker. I like to get the little hit of dopamine when I check off on the day that I've done something.

But I find that doing something, committing to something for 30 days is where I experienced the greatest shifts and the greatest growth. And I've done that a few times this year already. And I definitely noticed progress and a payoff and a shift when I do my work consistently.

So whatever your work will be for you, try a 30 day challenge and see if you don't experience some sort of shift by the end of it, if not before. To me it's made a huge difference. So be consistent, show up daily, do the work. And if you do happen to miss it. You want to be persistent and start again, start where you are, begin again. Don't beat yourself up. we have this propensity to say, okay, we missed a couple of days, so there's no point in starting now. We should wait or, just give up completely. Don't do that. For some reason, our brain will offer us this thought that we may as well not do it now or it's not worth trying or it's too late, whatever it is. Don't give into that. Start where you are and begin again.

The other thing I found really helpful is making an appreciation list. In the same way that you're celebrating your wins, make a short list of a couple of things that you appreciate each day. That is a great way to really focus your brain on the things that bring you joy and make you happy and give you energy. And I think, what you focus on expands. And so by appreciating certain things, making, conscious effort to appreciate them really does help to expand their presence in your life, as opposed to focusing on what's not working, what's not right. And what, you're complaining about.

I also recommend going out for a walk going out for a walk for 20 minutes, half an hour, is fuel for your brain. It's beneficial. I don't have all the science here with me at my fingertips, but it is scientifically proven that it is beneficial for your brain. And especially if you are doing any sort of writing or creative work, taking a break like that, going out for a walk is extremely beneficial in terms of increasing your creativity and your productivity.

And then finally, don't be afraid to get quiet. Take some quiet time. For me, it's meditation. 10 to 15 minutes a day really has a beneficial impact on my emotions and just my nervous system regulation. I find that I am not as emotional and it helps me to process some of the bigger emotions instead of letting it build up and getting stressed. And it just helps me to keep an overall calmness that seems to elude me if I'm not doing this on a daily basis. So take some time, take some quiet time.

Again, if it's not meditation, then maybe it's tapping or maybe it's some other activity there where you just take time to shut the phone off, take a break from other people and get quiet and get still and see what comes up for you.

So I think, basically, when we put in this kind of work on ourselves, it really isn't just for us. I think it does benefit every single relationship we have and the responsibility we have. it benefited me professionally as a leader, as a manager, as a partner. and it does help to build that overall relationship with ourselves.

I think this is very much part and parcel of what I spoke about earlier in terms of getting unstuck and the new program that I have, it's a six week jumpstart to building a better relationship with yourself. I think it does help you to know yourself better and to respect yourself and you will show up more authentically in each and every role and relationship in your life, not just as a, an employee or a worker, but as a whole person. it will allow you to be there for others without losing yourself, without giving up what you want or what you need. You stop chasing validation and looking to be fulfilled by external circumstances, by other people, by your job, by your paycheck. And you start to learn how to give that to yourself and you find out what might be possible for you and what gives you energy. And this ripples out to everyone around you, your kids, your friends, your partners, your parents, and even your colleagues.

So here's the thing, learn to put yourself on your own to do list every single day, work harder on yourself than on your job. And I promise you the payoff is real. The joy, the fulfillment, the excitement, the energy, the passion is going to come from your growth. It's going to come from exploring the possibilities for yourself and for your life. It's seeing what's possible. It's setting goals. It's accepting challenges. It's imagining something bigger and bolder for yourself that you never thought was possible.

This is the work that we do in coaching. This is what lights me up and excites me and what I want to share with you.

So if you're interested in learning more, the link is in the show notes for the webinar.

You can also sign up for a consult, a mini session with me, learn more about my program and whether coaching is right for you and, keep taking those small steps and remember that it's worth it.

Every bit of effort that you put into yourself prioritize yourself and it will spill over, it will ripple into your entire life and all of your relationships. I'll see you next time on this daring adventure.

Thank you for joining me. Take care and keep showing up for yourself. Bye.

Thank you for listening to This Daring Adventure podcast with your host Trista Guertin.

We hope you enjoyed the tips and conversations on how to get excited about life again.

As always, you can head to tristaguertin.com for additional resources and to book a one on one coaching session.

You can also follow Trista on Instagram at tristavguertin. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Thanks again for tuning in and we'll see you next time.