SigmaU Blog

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but while I was doing my annual reflection, the first subconscious thought that jolted me while reminiscing on 2022 was… “you lived below your potential”. 

Ouch! That was tough to hear.  I’m doing my best to be open and coachable and listen to the hard truths that are often just what we need to hear.

Don’t get me wrong, there were several positive habits I kept in place from previous years, but I had this nagging feeling that I could have done way more.  This isn’t about perfection or striving for 10 out of 10 and consistently moving the target. This was an honest reflection on what I had done, and I had come up short.

There were some telltale signs that I missed, or let’s face it, ignored so I’m sharing those with you here so you can catch yourself before too much time passes.

1. Things running too smoothy

You may be thinking “Um Nikki, of course I want life to run...

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. ...

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...

As I was preparing for a group coaching session on the topic of Courage, I had a massive aha moment! This often happens when I’m preparing for workshops and sessions. The very thing I’m preparing for is often the message I need to hear.

During our session on courage, we’ll be talking about why we don't pursue our dreams or chase our goals to our maximum ability. Sometimes we hold back or even self sabotage. Why is that?

In High Performance Coaching™, we know that there are three reasons that hold us back from chasing after our goals and our dreams and having that courage to persist or pursue through something you’re currently facing.

Loss Pain

Loss pain is that sense of fear that stops us because we tell ourselves that by changing, we're going to lose something. We get in our heads and think we’ll lose something important to us. As I journaled about my specific dream, something funny happened. When I wrote down my...

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...

Ever have one of those “hit you over the head” moments where your perspective dramatically changed in an instant?

Well, that happened recently while I was watching a recording of Brendon Burchard’s teaching.  He was talking about his ability to connect deeply with a diverse group of people across ages, gender, cultures, religions, political affiliations, and it all came down to one powerful concept.  Release your expectation that others should think and behave the way you do, and your life will be forever changed!

What the what what??!!! YES!

See I’ll admit, I was stuck in this way of thinking and it absolutely impacted my relationships. I would get frustrated when my husband would hold on to something that I deemed he was holding on to for too long. Well, who cares? Let him feel and process things the way he wants to. In the past, I would immediately want to remedy the situation, give him 3 ways to change his physiology or make him tell me 3 things...

Sundays are a great time to rest and restore as well as get a jumpstart on your success for the week ahead.  Here are a few ways that high achievers make the most of this day to gain a strong footing on the racer’s block and nourish the mind, body and soul!

1.  Silence

While I’d love to claim that I do this each and every week, I don’t. But I do every so often and see the huge benefits of “Silent Sundays”. This means turning off all electronic devices, disconnecting from social media and tv and instead basking in the silence of either quiet reflection or a walk in nature. So why take the break?  Maybe you think that scrolling social media IS your way of relaxing.  Consider this, According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “excessive and pathological internet use has been recognized as an internet addiction, which shares features with substance-use disorders or pathological gambling. Common features...

What’s “the Suck?”

The suck is losing the big contract that you had your heart set on. The suck is being in quarantine with a limited lifestyle for over a year and counting. The suck is the lost friendship, broken marriage and devastating loss of trust. The suck is working on a project for four months, putting your heart and soul into it and seeing it fall completely flat before your very eyes! The suck comes in various forms and knocks us off kilter in different ways. We all experience it from time to time. Often it hits us over and over again and in business it can leave us feeling lonely and frustrated.

Why it hurts so much!

When we feel like failures and setbacks are coming at us from all sides, it can feel like our world is closing in on us. It hurts when we have finances on the line. It hurts when we show up, give our best and we get rejected. We question our competence and our resilience. I recently went through a massive failure that devastated me and so I...