SigmaU Blog

Your parents were rightly concerned about the shady friends you may have had during your school years. My parents always wanted to know who I was hanging out with and warning me when they felt uneasy about someone’s character. Our friendships and associations have a massive impact on our actions and character. This got me thinking about positive friendships and those associations that achievers look to have. Here are the four P’s to look for…

1. Push You!

Great friends, mentors and associates push you to be a better version of yourself. If you say you’re going to run 5KM and you only run 4KM, a great influencer will hold your feet to the fire. They will make you uncomfortable, so you reach your potential! They will challenge you when you settle for mediocre thinking or goals. They will stretch your current beliefs and replace skepticism with possibility thinking. The wrong person in your circle will tell you that you “work too hard.” None of my...

I had a coach who would often probe for greater detail by asking “I’m curious Nikki….” followed by “why do you feel that way”, or “what else could it be” questions. He taught me an incredibly valuable lesson and that is the power of being curious!

Being curious is a strong desire to know or learn something. How true! When we are closed-minded or have already made assumptions, we are not open to learning a new perspective or hearing others’ views. By contrast, when we are genuinely curious we open the door for greater connectivity.

1. We Breakdown Walls

Genuinely seeking to understand another’s perspective and gently asking a curious question gets others to open up about their viewpoint. The important part is actually being curious and non-judgemental in your approach. You can see that “I’m curious why…” could sound judgemental if it is not delivered with a sincere desire to be open to...

What is pessimism? It is a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. It is a lack of hope or confidence in the future.

I’ve been reading a lot about mindset, the power of the subconscious brain and the science behind just how powerful our thoughts are and the impact that they have on our life and happiness. During a recent Zoom call between family members, it was abundantly clear how pessimism and optimism are powerful opposing forces.  While I listened to two people describe the same job, one hating every minute of it, feeling like he was being “used” by corporate evil bigwigs, the other saw the job as quite satisfying. He described loving the freedom of the work in comparison to the chained version that the other family member described. It got me thinking a lot about optimism and pessimism and so I wanted to share the following thoughts with you.

Price #1 – Lower Levels of Happiness

It seems quite apparent that...

Oh heck ya! Bring it on! Typically words you do not hear most people say about criticism and, I must admit, I never initially react that way to it.  Like most people, I struggle with criticism which is quite different from constructive feedback. One builds, one destroys. One easy check: is what I’m saying being done to serve the other person or my ego?

Criticism stings and it can tear us down and hold us back from our full potential if we let it. There are, however, some incredible ways to use criticism to your advantage!

Breakthroughs

Upon reflection, I’ve realized that two of my biggest breakthroughs in life have come from criticism. When I wrote my first book “Relationship ROI” I promoted my BAAM series which had a fun and quirky vibe. Many of my photos I was pretending to knock out the competition with a punch move. I had a ton of fun at the photoshoot, launched my program and then WHAM! I was the one sucker punched! I saw a group chat that I...

We’ve all done it! Someone’s behaviour is driving us nuts. Day in and day out it grinds on our nerves. We’re triggered when we see them or hear their voice and yet we do nothing about it! Guess what leaders, you’re not alone! Most of the leaders that I’ve spoken with hate confrontation and, you know what, I did too. It wasn’t until I learned how to have them in a different way that I learned to embrace them and have them on a regular basis. Like any muscle, the courage muscle - once stretched - becomes stronger and it’s a muscle required in a leadership role.

Defining courageous conversions, feedback and confrontation in a different way

Courageous conversations: are conversations which take you outside of your comfort zone. They may make you feel exposed or vulnerable and typically something important is on the line.

Feedback: is simply bringing awareness to a pattern in someone’s behaviour so that they can improve future performance.