Now is the time to move into the season of embracing our new normal. For the foreseeable future, this is real. It is here. How are we going to deal with it?

We no longer have the luxury as leaders, as parents, as spouses, as employers and employees to sit around in the trauma and the chaos of what’s going on and making it our excuse to not get used to this new normal. Nobody wants to do it. Nobody asked for a complete turnaround from what we knew to be normal. However, the fact is that it is here, and it is not going to change anytime soon. So instead of sitting around, waiting for somebody to let you know it’s time to come out of the house and then you’ll start getting back on track with your goals, make the choice to rise up. Something is shifting in the atmosphere and the overcomers are rising up. The overcomers are ready.

Now is the time to create a new normal. It is no longer the time to be sitting in the sorrow and pain of what’s going on. Be aware. Do...

Pivot.

In basketball it means to keep one foot in place while holding the ball and moving the other foot one step in any direction. The purpose of a pivot is to gain a positional advantage.

Right now, as of March 16, 2020, the United States is pivoting. Everywhere you look online, we see teams big and small pivoting. Some are panicking like Ross on F.R.I.E.N.D.S. screaming "Pivot! Pivot!" while getting metaphorically stuck on a staircase with a couch wedged against the wall because they are giving in to fear and panic. Others are handling it much better.

How do we make this pivot in a way that is to our advantage as a nation? As a state? As a community? As a Leader in our sphere of influence?

First, we realize that right now we need to pivot. We might not be able to physically go into the spaces we normally do, but we can still show up and be present right where we are.

At home.

Online.

Realize that pivoting is an offensive position. That's what we as a country are doing right now....

What does it actually mean when you say YES to something?

Most people don’t think about the ramifications of their YES.

YES is a long game. When we say yes to something, we have to follow through on it even when we don’t feel like it. It usually ends up being weeks or months later that we have to walk through the completion of that yes and we don’t think about the responsibilities that will be involved.

Every time we say yes to something, we should be thinking about whether or not we have the capacity in our life to follow through with it. So let’s consider this…

If you say YES to being a leader, you are saying YES to working on your own issues and character even when it is uncomfortable. Why? Because people like to follow people that can lead themselves first. We typically don’t like following people that say one thing and do another.  To be an effective leader, you must be able to lead yourself first. Your YES matters.

We need to face this! A...

What you speak out loud, matters. You’ve got to practice telling yourself the right things BEFORE you get in the game. Because by the time you get to the game, it’s too late.

Some people call this practicing affirmations. We call it Truth Statements®. And it’s important for a reason: Truth Statements® help you build a strong mindset.

The number one person that we believe, is ourself! What we tell ourselves matters. It matters that you have a strong mindset based on truth and not lies and negativity. Many of us struggle with the lies and negative thoughts. Studies are crazy when we compare how often we think things that just aren’t true.

Here’s the lie: some people think you will just KNOW what to say in the moment without practicing and being prepared. They gather content and memes on social media and it just sits in their social media space but they don’t actually practice SPEAKING IT out loud for their own ears to hear. They think they...

Want to have More Resilience? Change the Tape. 

By Raychel Perman

Resilient people bounce back from adversity. They are self-aware. They practice acceptance. They are OK with not having all the answers and they take care of themselves. They are flexible and don’t let adversity keep them down for long.

But how?

Enter cognitive restructuring. It’s one way you can develop more resilience.

A very useful technique that identifies inaccurate negative thoughts and then challenge and change them. It’s a practice derived from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and it helps you reduce depression, stress, anxiety, and cope with difficult events.

CBT is one of the most effective psychological treatments for common problems like depression, anxiety disorders, and binge eating. (Psychology today)

To put it simply, you need to think about what your thinking about. And change the tape if it’s not accurate. Let’s talk about 3 common negative and...