I Dare You to Care

It's no secret that famed actor, Will Smith has begun to experience the ramifications of his decision to slap comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Regardless of the backstory or reasoning behind the incident, it is very clear that emotional intelligence skills could have played an important role in changing the trajectory of that infamous night. In this special edition, we explore an emotional management tool that can help us all better manage our emotions during testy trigger moments. 

Taking a brief pause to reflect on the direction of the show for the next season.

While uncertainty is something that is always present and will remain a fixture in our lives, it’s no secret that over the past 18 or so months, we’ve had unprecedented encounters with uncertainty. If this pandemic period has taught us anything, it’s really driven home the point that we aren’t half as much in control as we think we are. It’s also introduced us to some of our limitations and vulnerabilities, and opened our eyes to the need to develop strength in handling adversity and coping with uncertainty.

In this episode on reflections and realizations, we explore the lessons we can glean from the pandemic period to help us navigate our way forward.

Sometimes we find ourselves at moments in our lives where we just need to slow down, maybe even step back and give ourselves guilt-free permission to not feel the need to move as fast as it might feel like everyone else around us is moving.

While expectations help us operate in the world, we're living in an increasingly interconnected world that exposes us to greater societal conditioning and pressures from the expectations of others. These pressures often have us conforming to the opinions and judgements of others in ways that can leave us feeling financially, physically or emotionally drained.

In this episode, we look at some of the reasons why we keep up appearances in the first place. What we can do to free ourselves from the judgement and expectations of others and what we stand to gain when we choose to hear our own voice louder than anyone else’s.

How rich and rewarding our personal and professional relationships are, depends heavily on our ability to positively influence the experience others have in our presence. Whether we're aware of it or not, every single interaction we have, be it with our kids, a boss, a coworker, a client, a significant other, a friend or stranger, every single interaction we have leaves behind an emotional aftertaste.

People generally feel a certain way having been in your presence and oftentimes, it's either bitter or sweet. In this episode, we explore the case for what we stand to gain when we care about the aftertaste of our interactions, and what we stand to lose if we don’t care. We will also examine an important strategy that helps you influence the aftertaste of your interactions in a positive and productive way.

For everything that happens to or around us in life, we tend to attach a story or narrative to that event, circumstance or situation. We do this because as human beings, we feel the need to create context around the things we experience. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, the impact of some of our own narratives can be very harmful and costly.

In this episode, I challenge listeners to consider three things. To invest some time examining their own narratives, to be empowered to rid themselves of the ones no longer serving them, and to create new narratives that will serve them better moving forward.

At the beginning of each year, we often set goals for the things we want to accomplish and acquire throughout the year. What often gets overlooked, is the importance of also setting goals that help us develop into the best version of ourselves. In this episode, we explore an important challenge that listeners are invited to take on, in an effort to grow into a more likeable, approachable and truly successful human being.

As we wind down the first year of this new decade, I think it's fair to say that 2020 was pretty blindsiding. It has been an unpredictable year filled with change and challenges. A year that has tested us all in ways we never imagined. In this episode, we look at a critical emotional intelligence skill that we can tap into, to help us experience the inevitable challenges, trials and tribulations of our lives with less discomfort and heartache.

Our words matter because they have the power to influence outcomes. They have the power to influence how others relate to us and how we relate to ourselves. In this episode, I explore various ways that we use our words to either help us or harm us. Ultimately, I dare you to care about using your words mindfully as often as possible. 

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed by the goals you've set for yourself or when you find yourself caving under the weight of your own expectations? This is something that I bet almost none of us can claim to have never experienced in our lives. It's in these exact moments that we need to tap into some self-awareness to realize that the healthiest thing we can do is give ourselves a little grace. A little courteous goodwill. Grace allows us to flow with what feels right in the moment, and moves us further away from the loud voice of that bruising inner critic that sometimes lurks around in our head. This is a mini-episode highlighting my own experience with having to show myself some grace and hopefully it serves to remind you about moments in your own life when you will need to extend yourself some compassionate grace.