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 How did taking the time to think Big Picture go for you last week? Were you able to guard the one hour or more you put on your calendar and say ‘no’ to everything else? Did you have more confidence that you were focusing on the right things? This week we are focusing on decompressing, especially around working with our emotions. Most of us feel the heightened intensity of the world we live in right now. Work is full of pressures and constant change. Worldwide we are all feeling the lingering pressures of the pandemic and our emotions are more intense, too. We need processes that can help us decompress on the spot. Recently, I connected to a zoom presentation called Changing Leadership in Changing Times hosted by the Performance Excellence Network (PEN). One of the panelists, Mary Engels, Sr. Director of Organization Development at Essentia Health, shared a tool called Emotional Audit that they use with their leaders to help them decompress. Week 8 - Monday Moment Habit Creator The first step in the Emotional Audit tool is to Pause and remember to breathe for 90 seconds. Then ask yourself these 5 questions:
I love the Emotional Audit tool with these specific steps because the questions can quickly get us in touch with what’s going on within us; especially when we feel tense, frustrated, or stuck. I also like these questions because they help us get in touch with our thinking, which often drives our emotions. It reminds me of the concept that whatever happens in life is neutral. It’s the story we create around what happened that makes us feel positive or negative about the situation and thus drives how we feel about it. My invitation to you this week is to test drive the Emotional Audit tool. You can use it to build more awareness when something is going well and you’re feeling lots of pleasant emotions or you can use it to understand what’s going on within you during a time of unpleasant emotion. Try using it daily and at different times of the day to give you insight into what triggers you and to help guide you to remain in that calm state of being more often. I hope you find it useful. Let me know how it works for you. I’ll be using it too. If this Monday Moment resonated with you, please feel free to share it with a friend or colleague, and remember, if you ever feel stuck, I’m here to help. Quick Reminder:
Have a great week! Warm regards,  Rita Webster, Ph.D. The Executive Coach for Women Leaders Connect With Me On LinkedIn 612-598-6614 | http://www.wiseleader.net/ 
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 Whoops! I'm sorry this is a day late, but I'm excited to dive into week 7 of our Monday Moments. I’m so very curious about how your week went when you focused on only saying YES to those things you really wanted to do. Take a moment to reflect, I hope you ...
If you are not clear on YOUR priorities, you end up being spun around and reacting to everyone else’s priorities. Then before you know it, your frustration level goes up, your sense of control vanishes, and your feeling of well-being gets harder to access. That ‘too much to do’ feeling sets in and your ability to work from a calm place goes out the window. Week 7 - Monday Moment Habit Creator How to determine your priorities?
With clear priorities, you’ll feel much more in charge of your days and weeks. And that will help fuel your feeling of calm and your underlying state of well-being.
I will tell you that my clients who are diligent about taking an hour or more every week to think big picture are some of the calmest and most productive leaders I know. As always, let me know how it goes. If this Monday Moment resonated with you, please feel free to share it with a friend or colleague, and remember, if you ever feel stuck, I’m here to help. Quick Reminder:
Have a great week! Warm regards, Rita Webster, Ph.D. The Executive Coach for Women Leaders Connect With Me On LinkedIn 612-598-6614 | http://www.wiseleader.net/   How did last week's self-care go? Take a moment to reflect:
If you struggled with finding the time or keeping your commitment to yourself for 15 minutes of self-care every day last week, today’s topic will be a big help to you. Today we’re talking about saying no. I tell all my clients that ‘no’ is a complete sentence. It’s easy to get caught up in saying yes too often. We don’t want to disappoint. We want to make sure our team feels supported and we want to be a team player. However, there’s a good chance you’ll never get to what you truly want to do until you get good at saying ‘no’ to what you don’t want to do. And saying no to the things that keep you from doing what you want to do. For those of us who usually say yes, learning to say no is a real challenge. Week 6 - Monday Moment Habit Creator Practice saying yes ONLY to those things you really want to do. Say no more often than you are comfortable with. Here are some tips to get started.
As always, let me know how it goes. If this Monday Moment resonated with you, please feel free to share it with a friend or colleague, and remember, if you ever feel stuck, I’m here to help. Reach out to me on LinkedIn or simply schedule a 20-minute chat with me here: Book Your Chat. Have a great week! Warm regards,
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I hope you can join us! Warm regards,   Today we are at the halfway point of our 10-week challenge! Take a moment to reflect:
Being a leader is hard work. There are plenty of changes, ambiguity, and challenges. We want to take good care of those around us on our teams and at home. And it’s easy to run out of time in the day to take good care of ourselves. When we do that, we invite stress and burnout to be close by. I don’t want that to happen to you. If you are one of those people who don’t have time for consistent self-care, today’s Monday Moment is especially for you. Your daily self-care needs to be at the top of your priority list. I’m not talking about pedicures, although those are lovely. I’m talking about TAKING 15 minutes a day just for you. Yes, I said taking. No one comes up to you and says “Be sure to take your self-care time today.”. It’s up to you to make it a priority. It’s not selfish and there is no need to feel guilty. You cannot be at your best if you are not taking good care of yourself. Quick Tip: Here’s an easy way to get started. Find a consistent time every day and block off 15 minutes on your calendar. Call it whatever you like. What matters is that the people around you know that time is yours and not to interrupt you. Everything will be fine for 15 minutes. Then try out a few different things during your self-care time to see what fills you back up, relieves your stress, and makes your feel a bit refreshed. Yes, all those things can happen in 15 minutes. These are some of the things women I’ve coached have tried: reading a chapter in a favorite book, yoga poses, napping, knitting (my personal favorite), journaling, drawing, taking a bubble bath, sitting quietly with your favorite cup of tea, taking the dog for a walk, arranging fresh flowers (another of my personal favorites), meditating, coloring a mandala, reading poetry, writing poetry. You get the idea. Experiment. Try something. Then STOP, breathe and notice how you feel. You’ll find your favorites. Of course, you can do the bigger self-care things like getting a manicure, going to the gym, skiing, long walks around the lake, doing a spa day, or spa weekend with your favorite friends. These are wonderful. But you’ll benefit even more from doing something daily to let go of any stress or frustration that may have built up inside; often without even realizing it. Week 5 - Monday Moment Habit Creator Take out your calendar right now, and block out 15 minutes for yourself every day this week. It can be the same time every day. It can be at different times every day.
And be sure to do your deep breathing for the first 90 seconds of your self-care time. The deep breathing will help your body and mind get maximum benefit. This is one of the hardest habits for leaders to build. Give yourself plenty of grace this week. Do your best to honor the time commitment you are making to yourself for 15 minutes of every day just for you. The benefits build over time. As my dear friend and colleague, Louise Griffith says, You are Worth It! Let me know how it goes! If this Monday Moment resonated with you, please feel free to share it with a friend or colleague, and remember, if you ever feel stuck, I’m here to help. Reach out to me on LinkedIn or email me. Have a great week! Warm regards, Rita Webster, Ph.D. The Executive Coach for Women Leaders Connect With Me On LinkedIn 612-598-6614 | http://www.wiseleader.net/  Is imposter syndrome hijacking your career, maybe without you even knowing it? Join us for a free event to learn how to identify imposter syndrome, what it is, and tools for combatting it. Imposter syndrome strikes men and women equally, affects high-performing and aspiring individuals, AND can be there without you even knowing it. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome To Reach Your Full Potential In this FREE lunch & learn webinar, we'll cover:
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I'm excited to be hosting this with special guests Amy Ferguson and Hannah Hartung. I hope you can join us. Warm regards,  |
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