SigmaU Blog

Things aren’t always as they appear. We know that our minds can play tricks on us. Just think about some of the shapes you’ve seen in the dark! Things that appear to be wild creatures turn out to be shrubs or bushes.  Things that seemed scary turn out to be nothing at all, but if we’re not careful, they can derail our success!

Recently, I vacationed in Costa Rica.  While I was there, I was determined to stick to my fitness routine.  The very first day, things started great. I did my run and then went over to the bench and started picking up my weights.  I was shocked to discover I couldn’t pick up a 20lb weight, something I had done merely 24 hours prior.

I was frustrated, bummed, and lost my motivation. Could it be because I’m closer to the equator? The magnetic pull?  The 32-degree weather? What the heck was going on?  I went down in weights and used a much lower dumbbell; 8lbs in fact. I couldn’t believe it. ...

If you’ve never worked with a coach, I promise you, the return is tenfold! Coaching brings a new sense of self awareness.  A coach is an objective partner that will teach you the necessary skills to achieve self-mastery, and provide a gentle nudge of encouragement on your journey to success.  Here are some of the ways coaching has helped me recently…

1.  Stay on track with positive habits

Sometimes, we don’t realize that we’ve slipped up or fallen back in to old patterns until someone holds up a mirror for us. This happened recently while I was working with my coach. The topic we were covering that day was presence.  The deeper we got in to the conversation, the more I realized that I had completely slipped back in to an old pattern that wasn’t serving me! I was checking email first thing in the morning in bed, during lunch and after hours. I was back to having an umbilical cord relationship with my phone and I had stopped separating...

The eternal optimist in me tends to avoid the negative and at times I must admit that I’d rather bury my head in the sand than face reality.

During COVID I started doing a lot of journaling. It brought clarity and increased focus and purpose for me. I’ve spoken about that in a recent blog (https://www.growwithsigmau.com/blog/Journaling).  One of the questions in my High-Performance Journal triggered me when I first saw it. 

The question is “A situation that might stress me out or trip me up today could be…” and the next question “And the way my best self would deal with that is…”.

I’ll admit, I didn’t want to answer the question at first. The question itself literally tripped me up! I resisted it because my rationale was to look for the good. If we look for the bad, we tend to find it.  While that may be true, when I started answering this question it placed me in a much better position to deal with...

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,...

Life can pass us by so quickly! The days pass, the weeks and then ultimately the months. Unfortunately, most go through life at such a speed that things become a blur. 

I did this for years and then found I had a sense of discomfort. I was unfulfilled. While I had met several of my professional and personal goals, I felt something was missing.

Then I read "Do the Work" with Dr. Nicole LePera, who teaches journaling as part of the healing process.

Here's what simple, daily journaling did for me...

Slow Down

Taking the time to write out the answers to these questions posed by Dr. Nicole, I found myself slowing down to be present and really think through how I wanted my day to unfold.

Here are the questions I journal...

Today I am...

Today I am optimistic, confident, and kind.

I am grateful for...

I list all the amazing things about life.

Today I am practicing...

Today I am practicing fierce...

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...

Personal development is such an important and life-changing journey.  To pursue mastery of oneself requires deep reflection, challenging limiting beliefs and releasing lies we may have told ourselves up to this point in life.

Our words are incredibly powerful and what we say to ourselves matters much more than what others say to us. While others may wound our ego and hurt our feelings or sharp words may jeopardize relationships, the most important dialogue is internal.

I struggled for years with self-deprecating language, lies and stories that didn’t support my growth. Once I released the grip that these lies had on my life my world opened to more positivity living, healthier relationships and increased self-confidence.

Here are some of the lies that I told myself, see if any of them resonate with you…

• It takes money to make money.
• You’re only beautiful if you’re a size six.
• You’re not leadership material.
• Who do you think you are sharing your...

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,...

I failed miserably lately BUT, here are the lessons I learned...

Let me back up a bit.  Back in August 2021 I started a program called 75Hard and as you guessed, it’s damn hard y’all.  It’s a physical and mental program to condition you to become resilient and disciplined.  It took a lot of determination. I lost my dad on day 23 of the program and was hell bent on making it to day 75, and did.  I promptly cried like a baby once I had completed it because I felt so proud of how I showed up during one of the darkest periods of my life.

Compromise compounds quickly

Fast forward a few months later and I started compromising.  Instead of eating clean every day of the week, which is part of the program, I “cheated” on a Friday. Instead of working out twice a day each day I started skipping my second work out. It wasn’t anything big that happened at once, it was small little seemingly insignificant compromises that compounded...

Purpose is a topic that comes up a lot when I’m coaching with clients.  Often people will start coaching because a lack of purpose has stirred something inside them and they are seeking more.

During the pandemic most of us went through significant changes professionally and personally.  Pandemic aside, we’re often met with change that can leave us feeling purposeless.  Perhaps the kids have moved out and moved on and there’s a void.  Perhaps you were once entrenched in the day-to-day operations of your business, but you’ve hired a president and feel like your purpose has been diminished.  We all need to feel a sense of purpose to lead a fulfilled and charged life!

The highest achievers in the world have clarity and high levels of purpose. So how do these high performers have purpose while others don’t? 

They intentionally seek and develop purpose. Here’s how…

1. They evaluate how they’re living!

...