SigmaU Blog

Have you ever noticed, you feel most alive and fulfilled when you’re under pressure; working towards something outside of your comfort zone? Perhaps, it’s a Big Hairy Audacious Goal that’s stretching you way further than you thought was possible.

Maybe, it’s a lifelong dream to live somewhere else, start a side hustle, move careers, or take the plunge and invest fully in creating the healthiest body you’ve ever had.

Once you have you goal defined, you can move full STEAM ahead!

S – Spark

When your heart is on fire, you’re lit up and excited about your big goal, you have a spark. A burst of energy that will sustain you!  When your goal gets you excited, you have crystal clear focus and become unstoppable! Even though you’re navigating unchartered terrain, you know you’re on the right path and the energy follows!

T- Time

We create time for what matters most! I once had a mentor tell me time wasn’t my issue; prioritizing...

Most people don’t realize the incredible power they have to change their lives in an instant.  The most powerful tool each one of us has is the immense power of our minds.

Unfortunately, most people react to the inner dialogue which is typically negative rather than consciously redirecting their thoughts in a positive way. The good news is anyone can change their lives dramatically by changing how they think.

Now I’m not going to tell you WHAT to think, there’s a big difference there. I’m going to share HOW other successful people think and you can decide what resonates with you.

Here are some of the lessons that I’ve learned the most successful people do!

Clearly Defined Goals

The most successful people in the world have clearly defined goals. They know what they want out of life, where they’re headed, and the steps required to get there! When we’re striving towards something bigger than ourselves that makes us stretch and grow,...

When I first started my career, I was told a lie. I was told that “no one does business in the summer!”. I bought in to that lie and I rested on my laurels during July and August while I thought that everyone was presumably away at their cottages or not interested in doing business.

It wasn’t until my business was barely able to cover payroll one summer that I decided to smarten up and change the narrative. It’s so interesting that when we change our lens on something, how drastically our world opens up!

Summer months are now typically the busiest of the year because we’re proactive with sales and marketing efforts. This got me thinking about personal development and our growth journeys. Are there certain times of the year where you’re fired up about your goals like New Years and then other times, not so much? Perhaps summer is that time for you? If that’s the case, I hope that this serves you and you see things from a new perspective.

Here...

There will be times in life when our backs are against the wall or we’re working towards a huge goal that requires next level grit and determination.  We will need to PUSH!

How do you muster up the energy and momentum to push when required?

P- Personal Development

Originally, I was going to write positivity as the first P.  However, in order to generate positivity, we need to fuel our bodies and minds with the right things.  Working on our body, focusing on our health, regaining a sense of accomplishment by moving our bodies in a way that nourishes and builds self confidence will be key for staying on track during a big challenge.  The second is feeding our minds! Don’t overlook this. Listening to positive podcasts, reading inspirational books and ditching mindless social media scrolling is critical to build a solid foundation and stay motivated as you press on. Zig Ziglar famously said “People say motivation doesn’t last.  Well,...

What have the past couple of years looked like for you in terms of your thinking? By that I mean, have you had an abundant or a scarcity mindset?

When we look at abundance, it’s a mindset of plenty for everyone! When we look at a scarcity mindset it refers to a lack of something. A lack of time or money.

I’ll be honest with you, prior to the pandemic I lived in a very abundant mindset.  During the pandemic, I found myself shrinking to a scarcity mindset.  Granted, our business dropped about 90% in revenue overnight and it was one of the most challenging times in my life.

I’ve worked through the push and pull of abundance vs. scarcity and I wanted to share some ways that I was able to shift my thinking and hopefully it serves you.

• Realizing that there is an abundance of money
  • Money is printed for heaven’s sake. Just because someone else’s business is thriving does not mean yours can’t too.  There’s an abundance of wealth to...

How do you renew your strength when you're completely out of steam? I'm going to share with you a couple of ideas that I find to be really helpful because I’ve been there too!  I have the best of intentions, I’m fired right up and then, well, it fizzles!

Number one is to revisit your goals often. Most of the time we write out goals and then we tuck them away in a drawer and we forget about them. I'll admit something very cool does happen when you do that and you find your goals accomplished years later, but it’s not as powerful as revisiting them each and every day!

The second thing is to maybe set a new goal. Perhaps your existing goal isn't getting you excited, and you look need to look at a new goal that's going to stretch you, that's going to require courage, that's going to require you to level up, and this may just get you renewed and excited again.

The third thing is to make a checklist of all the things that you've done already. Go through all your...

Clarity is incredibly powerful. Why?

When we have complete clarity about what it is we want in life, what we stand for and what our big North Star is, it gives us a sense of peace. It provides assurance that our efforts are counting towards something. Often, when we don't have clarity, we can bumble through each day, get a multitude of tasks completed, are very busy and may even feel some sense of productivity and accomplishment.  However, we can be left wondering if we’re making a significant difference at all.

When we have complete clarity, we know where we're headed, and what we want to achieve.  We have vision.  More importantly, that big North Star gets us excited and fired up and helps us build momentum. We’re more optimistic because we're working towards something that really matters to us.

Clarity also provides us with total focus so that we can determine what our distractions are. Meaning, what are the activities, people,...

I recently took a self-defence course which stretched me way outside of my comfort zone and made me reflect deeply on self-imposed limitations.

My husband encouraged me to take the course because I had an incident at eleven years old walking alone that had a massive impact on my life.  I’ve been looking over my shoulder for the past 33 years since, and I lost a significant part of my childhood innocence and freedom that day.

When I completed the course, I realized that I gained back a sense of confidence that had been missing for three quarters of my life.

During the weekend course I realized many lessons which I wanted to share with you…

1.  Discomfort is imperative to growth

I was very nervous about taking the course. I wasn’t sure what to expect, how I would react and if I could overcome deep seeded anxiety when it came to my self-protection. I had to get outside of my comfort zone physically and mentally to reach that next level of self-confidence....

Life can be challenging and throw curveballs to the best of us.  We have big dreams, goals and plans and then something outside of our control derails those plans, and we get stuck in the struggle.  Today I want to encourage you to honour the process and struggle so that you don’t miss the hidden gifts along the way.

This isn’t about being a Pollyanna, this is about accepting the struggle, seeing it as a process and learning and celebrating what the process is developing in you. 

Let me explain…

Having a driving WHY, knowing the importance of remaining consistent in our pursuit towards our goals will keep us focused.  Reflecting on the benefits of sticking with it, the sense of pride you will feel on the other side and picturing yourself in that moment of victory is key to staying the course.

When we lose sight of the end game, we can get trapped in the victim mentality. I did this recently.  There’s a situation that is physically...

I had never even heard the term false obligations until I started studying high performance habits and Brendon Burchard’s work.  In fact, the thought never dawned on me that I had been wrapped up in false obligations and the stress that accompanied it!

Let me back up, what is a false obligation? Well, it’s an “obligation” that we’ve created in our minds that requires our immediate time and attention. It’s something we feel guilty about not doing or we sense a loss of freedom of choice in the matter.

Some examples of false obligations include…

• Picking up the phone when it’s ringing
• Saying “Yes” to that coffee or dinner when you really need time alone to recharge
• Responding to a text immediately without sleeping on a response
• Behaving a certain way because of family expectations
• Rushing to visit three households on Christmas day so no one feels left out
• To share private information with people because they are good...