SigmaU Blog

Struggle reveals your true allies and adversaries. 

Facing adversity can be a tremendous gift if we’re open to the impact and opportunity for growth.

Awareness of what you value!

Adversity creates awareness of what's most important to you. When you go through a traumatic experience or life-changing event, you quickly eliminate all the distractions, all the fluff, and you narrow in on what matters most. Typically, it's your core values, it's your family, it's your connections and deep relationships. It's your passion and it's your purpose and everything else seems to go by the wayside. People who have had their lives on the line or their freedom in jeopardy will assure you that when that’s at stake, little else matters. You become keenly aware of your driving “why”.

Awareness of your allies!

Adversity shines a light on who shows up and who shrinks back. Remember, honour, and show up for the people who came through for you. You will be surprised at who...

Think of your ideal life, your ultimate goal or current target. How badly do you want it?

Most people will say that they are committed but their attitudes, and more importantly their actions, don’t back their claims.

I get it. It takes courage to call your shot and when you do, you must follow through. No one is coming to save you or even cheer you on when you need it. That’s an unpopular statement but true and if you do have someone in your corner cheering you on, that’s a rare and beautiful gift. Embrace it!

As high performers, you and I must be committed to the process, call our shots, and then work relentlessly to make it happen!

What inevitably holds most people back?

We’ve been “sold” the lie that it should be easy!

It’s not going to be easy. You’re not going to have balance for a certain amount of time and you’re going to get knocked down time and time again. Too many people promote a que sera sera lifestyle, what will be...

Perhaps the Struggle is the gift!

What if the challenge that you and I are facing is the very thing that we need to develop excellent character?

I’m going to go back a few years to my childhood, the first time I experience a major frustration and struggle. I was probably eleven years old, and I desperately want the new white BMX bike with blue and orange neon splatter, full eighties style!

I went to my stepdad and begged him for it.  Being the smart man that he is, he sat me down and explained the cost.  He then said that I could have it if I was willing to contribute. I didn’t make any money so what did that mean? I got a weekly allowance and that’s how I would chip in. 

You must picture this, he’s the senior auditor at a bank, he pulls me aside each Saturday morning and we go through the ledger of accounts! He shows me how many weeks worth of allowances I’ve contributed and the balance remaining to cover half of the $250 bike.

...

When we're faced with resistance, we can either give up or rise up. 

Many of us have been sold a lie that life is supposed to be easy. There’s a great Buddhist quote that says, “Life is suffering.” While that seems a little bit grim, I think that we are often told that life is supposed to be easy and when we’re faced with resistance or a challenge, we think something is wrong with our purpose, life, or goals.

The reality is that life is faced with obstacles and resistance all the time. I remember a trainer saying that we’re either coming out of crisis, in the middle of it or heading into it! We can either accept it and give up or accept it and rise up!

When we give up, we start to question our dreams. Is this even feasible? Do I have the skill set? Do I really need to reach this goal? Was it too big a goal in the first place?

We give up when we start denying that we wanted it in the first place. We think, “well that was just a...

The definition of stretched is “of something soft or elastic be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking.”

I’ve been studying resiliency lately, listening to podcasts, reading books, and doing so because I feel like, recently, I’m being stretched. I also see colleagues and team members who seem stretched as well.

During one of the resiliency podcasts I was listening to, the speaker said that we don’t bounce back we rebound forward further. I’m paraphrasing but I loved the concept!

We don’t necessarily go back to where we were before because the situation changes us!

Go back to the definition above. It refers to something soft changing into something bigger without breaking. How cool is that? I don’t know about you but there are times when I feel soft when I feel like I can’t take on anymore and somehow, someway, I keep pushing and I do come out stronger.

When we’re at the gym, we mold...

When was the last time life blew up in your face? Like really blew up. During that time, did you think “well this is a character-building time in my life” or did you think “holy crap, get me through the next 24hours”?

If you’re anything like me, it’s the latter because it’s hard to see and appreciate the lesson during a storm. It’s often when we’re on the other side of it that we can appreciate that the situation happened to help us, develop us, or steer us on the right path.

I was listening to my coach and mentor today describe a rocky situation in his life. He had just purchased land which was to house his dream home. He sunk most of his savings into it and people told him he even overpaid for it. When he went to start developing the land, he was told that the land was no good for building. He persevered and found a developer willing to literally use dynamite to blow up the existing space so he could build his dream home. ...

The good book says that “Iron Sharpens Iron”.  In this case, the message is touching on the importance of selecting associations and friendships wisely.  Hang around people who are sharpening their proverbial axe and they will naturally influence you to do the same.

Think of your iron as your mind and your habits. We have associations that sharpen our iron but we also have control over keeping ourselves sharp with self-discipline.

Some of the ways, in which, we keep sharp are…

• Reading inspirational books
• Listening to motivational podcasts
• Eating clean food and keeping hydrated
• Working out on a regular basis and getting great sleep
• Working on courses or projects that expand our mind and help us grow or skill up
• Associating with high achievers

Some of the ways we dull our mind or self discipline are…

• Excessive eating or drinking
• Consuming garbage food, scrolling social media or consuming the news
• Skipping workouts
• Working overtime and...

Your values will determine what you chase, what you release and who you invest your time with.

Life is complicated to say the least and our core values ground us. What are our core values? They are the fundamental beliefs we have about life, about ourselves and about the things that matter most.  They whisper to us when we do something that feels “off” or nudges us when someone doesn’t feel aligned with us.

Each one of us has values that drive our daily decisions, major life choices and relationships. When we’re living in congruence with those values, life feels a little easier and focused.  When we get off course, life can feel clunky or, worse, we have a deep sense of anxiety, shame, or regret.

For many, they’re unsure what their core values are. They know what their family unit values were, what their company values are but what about their own personal values?

How do we determine our core values? We could start by asking questions...

My coach, Paul, served as a US Mustang Marine in Afghanistan in 2013 and he often weaves valuable insights from his training and service into our coaching sessions.

One thing we discussed recently was reacting when we’re “triggered” and how to slow things downs so that you take aligned courageous action.

In the past, I would say I’m your poster child of a trigger happy individual. I typically ask forgiveness and rarely request permission so slowing things down to pause when I’m upset is still definitely an area of growth for me.

As I was reflecting on my most recent session with Paul, I came up with the following checklist to ensure that I PAUSE before pouncing!

P – Perspective

Am I looking at different perspectives or am I only exposing myself to one narrative? This can be incredibly challenging, especially when we’re passionate about a topic, but it’s critical. We need to look at issues and challenges from others’ points of...