No Matter What

Christi Hegstad November 2nd, 2020

Change, as you well know, is a constant.

Circumstances change. Policies and procedures change. Leadership changes.

And we, as individuals, change. We change our minds, our career paths, our personal styles. As a coach and a passionate pursuer of growth, I am attuned to and in favor of intentional change.

But still, I have come to realize there are some things I intend to keep constant – to not change – no matter what.

For example, I intend to always:

* Work to further causes I am passionate about, like literacy and education.

* Treat people with kindness and respect, including people who may believe or vote or act differently than me.

* Donate to food pantries.

* Focus on what I can control / influence.

* Look for, and shine a light on, the positives and the difference-makers.

* Take action instead of complaining. (Or at least keeping complaining to a minimum! :-))

* Care for my family, community, and world in the best ways I know how.

* Continue to grow, evolve, open my mind, and learn new ways to make a meaningful impact.

The reason I don’t foresee these things changing? They are rooted in my values.

They connect to my core beliefs, to my moral compass, to the purpose of my life. They are like the roots of a tree, providing the foundation from which every other aspect of my life grows.

So even as circumstances, policies, leadership, and everything else in the world changes – and even as I personally change and grow – those above items remain constant. They are things that I don’t intend to change, no matter what.

How about you? What will remain constant within you, regardless of the changing circumstances around you?

Set up your personal and professional development for the ENTIRE YEAR by enrolling in the ASPIRE Success Club! Our once-a-year enrollment is NOW OPEN for a limited time – get the details and join us here!

What Weighs You Down and What Lifts You Up

Christi Hegstad November 1st, 2020

Fifteen years ago, I drew two arrows on a piece of paper for a client: one pointing down, the other pointing up. I titled the page ‘Weights + Lifts.’

I then asked my client to name everything she could think of that weighs her down. As she said each energy drain aloud, I wrote them by the down – or ‘Weights’ – arrow. Vague things like worry, uncertainty, and lack of control appeared on the list, as well as more specific things like navigating an illness and a financial issue she was facing.

As we talked, I could sense a heaviness in her responses – but also a relief in getting them out of her head and ‘into broad daylight,’ so to speak.

We then shifted gears. “What raises your energy?” I asked. “What lights you up?” Again, I recorded her responses – this time next to the ‘Lifts’ arrow pointing upward. It took a few beats, but soon she started talking faster as she described how great it felt to pull a batch of fresh-baked cookies out of the oven, or to walk the nature trail near her home, or to hold the door open for someone at the store.

I write pretty fast, but after a while I couldn’t keep up. 🙂

And the shift in her demeanor was palpable.

We wrapped up our coaching session with an action plan that allowed her to acknowledge, address, and get support with some of the Weights, as well as intentionally invite more and more of the Lifts into her life on a regular basis.

When Things Feel Heavy

I’ve shared the Weights + Lifts exercise many times in subsequent years. And, of course, I’ve conducted it myself many times, too.

My Weights often show up in the form of worries, ‘shoulds,’ or trying to figure everything out myself.

My Lifts, on the other hand, frequently include breathing fresh outdoor air, taking an action within my control, journaling, creating something by hand, or holding a meaningful conversation with someone inspiring.

We don’t need to ignore the weights or pretend like they don’t exist. But we don’t need to let them run the show, either.

If you’re feeling a bit of ‘heaviness’ these days, consider giving my Weights + Lifts exercise a try. See if you can let go of, minimize, or get help with some of the Weights. Challenge yourself to invite small, healthy Lifts into your life on a regular – i.e., daily – basis.

Life may not always feel balanced. But rather than aiming for perfect balance, perhaps we can try to tip the scales in favor of what lifts us – and those around us – up instead.

What’s something that would appear on your Lifts list? Share your idea below or on Instagram!

Surround yourself with uplifting people all year long in the ASPIRE Success Club! Our once-a-year enrollment is NOW OPEN for a limited time – get the details and join us here!

Conducting A Personal End-Of-Month Review

Christi Hegstad October 31st, 2020

Well, friends, once again the end of the month has snuck up on us. How has yours been?

Rather than immediately thinking up a blanket one-word summary (ie, ‘Fine’), spend a bit of time truly reflecting on a few of the specifics:

What WINS did you experience?

What CHALLENGES did you navigate?

What LESSONS did you learn?

How did you move your GOALS forward?

For what are you GRATEFUL?

While I conduct a more in-depth review for my business each month (leave a comment below or on Facebook if you’d like me to share more about that), I address the above five questions in my bullet journal before planning the month ahead. It doesn’t take long, yet it a) helps me celebrate / acknowledge / appreciate the month that’s wrapping up, and b) supports me in creating purposeful goals and plans for the month ahead.

How do you like to close out the current month? What questions would you add to the above list? Share your ideas below or on Instagram!

Keep your goals moving forward all year long with the support and accountability of the ASPIRE Success Club! Enrollment opens on November 1 – sign up here to get all the details!

The Power of Accountability

Christi Hegstad October 30th, 2020

Typical situation:

I meet with my coach. I commit to taking certain actions before our next meeting.

The day before our next meeting, I scramble to do what I said I would do.

Yes, I am a coach, and have been for over 17 years.

And yes, this is still my story.

As humans – even ambitious, goal-oriented humans – we can tend to put off ‘non-squeaky-wheel’ things. And that’s where the power of accountability comes in.

When left to our own devices, we can struggle with prioritizing, repeatedly put the urgent in front of the important, or simply fall into the belief that we always have more time than we actually do.

But when we know someone is going to check in with us on our progress, we are much more likely to follow through on our commitments. Maybe we don’t want to feel like we’re letting them down, or maybe we just don’t want to hear our own excuses again – whatever the motivator, we’ll get it done when there’s more than just us involved.

Who helps you stay accountable to your dreams and goals? Maybe your supervisor and colleagues at work, but beyond that?

If you can’t think of anyone, now’s the time to line up your accountability for the new goals of the new year. Hire a coach, or join a group like the ASPIRE Success Club designed to help you flourish. Securing an accountability partner now can be the difference between putting off your goals for another week / month / year(s) and achieving them quickly and joyfully!

Enrollment to the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club opens on November 1! Sign up here to get all the details – then join us for an entire year of clarity, community, and coaching!

Fresh Starts – Starting Now

Christi Hegstad October 29th, 2020

Last week, I decided to get 12 inches of hair cut off, followed by an epiphany of sorts.

A hairpiphany, if you will. 🙂

As is typical of epiphanies, this one surprised me: Even though this year has brought seemingly endless change and constant new-ness, I realized I had fallen into some ruts – mostly with my thinking.

Feeling like I should be further along.

Thinking I should have more figured out by now.

Wondering if I should be doing things (ie, every single thing) differently than I currently am.

(Side note: ‘Should’ is one of my least-favorite words, and look at how often it appears! No wonder I needed a fresh start.)

The familiar wisdom then popped into my mind: We can’t keep doing the same thing, or thinking the same thoughts, and expect different results. It just doesn’t work that way.

So, when I made the decision to get the bulk of my hair cut off, I decided a few other things, too:

To intentionally create from a place of vision, purpose, and confidence – rather than from fear or uncertainty.

To share my feelings, creativity, even a selfie of my new haircut – without worrying about imperfection. This is an ever-present challenge for the Enneagram 3 in me. 🙂

To reach out more – rather than retreating inward to try and figure everything out myself. (Anyone else tend to do this, too?)

At the risk of sounding dramatic, this ‘fresh start’ thinking has felt life-changing in many ways – and it didn’t occur on January 1, or on the first of the month, or even on a Monday! Deciding that I needed a mindset shift occurred mid-day, mid-week, mid-cup-of-coffee – and its impact has been just as powerful as a new year’s commitment.

Where could you use a shift in your thinking? Don’t wait until the elusive ‘perfect time’ to make a change. Commit today – even to one baby step in the right direction – and see if you feel lighter as a result!

Enrollment to the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club opens on November 1! Sign up here to get all the details – then join us for an entire year of clarity, community, and coaching!

Questions To Ask When Investing In Your Growth

Christi Hegstad October 28th, 2020

I distinctly remember the first conference I attended as a professional.

As a new business owner and a young mom, a lot of coordinating had to take place: arranging child care, securing travel accommodations, finding the funds … it felt exciting and overwhelming all at once!

Upon my return home at the end of the event, my husband asked how it went. “It was fine,” I replied, “but not really what I expected.”

“What were you expecting?” he asked, quite logically.

I had no answer.

To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t really given the conference much forethought beyond the logistics.

What did I intend to walk away with? What did I hope to gain? And, most importantly, what was I going to do to ensure that happened?

No idea.

I realized at that moment that, in the future, I needed to be intentional about what I wanted to gain from any professional development experience. I could still be open to unexpected delights, of course, but I didn’t want to experience the aimlessness or fuzzy disappointment I did that first time around.

I have since applied this important step whether attending conferences, hiring coaches, enrolling in courses or certifications, or making any kind of commitment of my time and/or money. And since we are about to launch enrollment into the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club, I thought sharing a bit of my process might be helpful for you, too. All it requires is a brief pause and a few questions:

What do I most hope to gain from this experience?

It sounds so basic, but the nuances here are important: Sometimes you might enroll in a program for regular interaction with like-minded people, other times to advance your learning or achieve a Bold Goal, and yet other times because it provides continuing education credits in your field. Your response to this question may very well differ with each program / event / coach!

Where do I want to be a year from now, and how might this experience help me get there?

Reflect on your goals, both personal and professional, and consider how the program may help you achieve them. You’ll gain more from the experience when you feel you’re aligning your time with your future vision.

What am I willing to do to ensure this is an excellent experience?

I no longer enroll in things simply to be a name on a roster or to make my resume look good. If my goal is to advance my learning, I am going to take good notes; if it’s to build relationships with other members, I’m going to reach out and connect. Take your growth into your own hands – it’s actually quite liberating!

What is my gut telling me?

As much as the researcher in me loves data, most decisions really come down to this question: How do I feel? There have been times – many times, in fact – where I couldn’t state clear responses to the previous questions, but I felt so excited and optimistic and enthused by the potential experience that I said YES and figured it out later. The more you learn to listen to your gut, the more accurate you will find it. (It has taken me years to discover this!)

As you line up your professional development for the coming year, ask yourself a few questions to ensure a fruitful experience. And remember, whether you’re hiring your next coach, applying for grad school, or enrolling in the ASPIRE Success Club, you are investing in your present and future self – and that’s a worthwhile investment indeed!

Enrollment to the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club opens on November 1! Join us for an entire year of clarity, community, and coaching – limited space available!

Serving Powerfully – Whether One or One Million

Christi Hegstad October 25th, 2020

Focus on the person in front of you. Ask yourself, “How can I serve this person so powerfully that they never forget this experience for the rest of their life?” – Steve Chandler + Rich Litvin

I have the above question written on a sticky note on my office wall.

Before every coaching call or ASPIRE meeting, I take a deep breath and set this ‘powerful service’ as my intention.

In fact, one of my ongoing intentions in life is that people – whether clients, family, friends, or strangers – walk away from an encounter with me feeling better, stronger, and/or more understood than when the encounter began.

Entering a conversation with this focus can change the entire experience!

This week, serve powerfully.

Ask yourself how you can serve someone so powerfully that the experience leaves them changed for the better.

Does it involve being 100% present?

Does it mean asking what they most need from the conversation?

Does it require deep, active listening?

You don’t have to speak to a group of 10,000 people in order to make a massive difference in the world. Practice focusing on the person right in front of you, and set that magical ripple effect into motion!

Enrollment to the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club opens on November 1! Join us for an entire year of clarity, community, and coaching – limited space available!

Make A Decision Already!

Christi Hegstad October 22nd, 2020

The title of this article comes from words I would often say to myself, and not in the kindest tone, years ago.

At the time, I could waffle in indecision with the best of ’em:

I’d research possibilities endlessly, resulting in a pile of notes and a hefty case of analysis paralysis.

Or I’d ask ten different people what they would do and end up, of course, with ten different answers.

Or I’d finally make a decision (hooray!), only to spend hours (days, weeks) second-guessing myself and wondering if I made the right choice.

It was utterly and completely exhausting!

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Decision-Making 2.0

Even the most confident among us struggle at times with decision-making – and in vastly different ways.

Some can make business decisions in seconds but agonize over their next lawn furniture purchase.

Others can quickly and confidently decide to move the family across the country for a new job, then spend six months and countless swatches deciding what color to paint their office.

Wherever you wrestle with indecision, consider these ideas:

Consult Your Purpose.

When I look at anything through the lens of my purpose, which is steeped in my core values, I feel like a ship captain who has spotted a lighthouse on a foggy night. If you have a Purpose Statement, use it as your decision-making filter. (If you don’t have one, let’s chat!)

Create A Helpful Guiding Principle.

Around the time I wrote my Purpose Statement, I also adopted a brief set of Guiding Principles – quick ‘life reminders’ to keep front-and-center. Principle #1 for me was, and still is, Decide And Take Action. This simple statement helps me do the necessary homework, make a decision, then take an action in favor of that decision.

Review Your Personal History.

Look at decisions you’ve made in the past that turned out excellent. What patterns do you notice in your decision-making process? What feeling comes over you when you know you’ve made a strong choice? Your own past experience can provide valuable clues for future decisions.

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Onward and Upward (For The Most Part!)

I’d love to say I now make all decisions with ease. 🙂

The truth is, I can still get tripped up at times. The above-mentioned techniques, however, tend to move me more smoothly from a harsh “Make a decision already!” to a clear and purposeful choice.

What decision are you currently grappling with? Take a deep breath. Consult your purpose, principles, and personal experience. Then make your decision with clarity and confidence!

Want a simple decision? Join us for an entire year of clarity, community, and coaching in the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club! Space is limited and enrollment will open November 1 – sign up here (just put your email in the blue bar) to get all the details!

Simple Ways To Uplift At Any Time

Christi Hegstad October 18th, 2020

I first learned the phrase ‘Carry as you climb’ several years ago when reading Regina Brett’s lovely book, Be The Miracle.

“Whatever career ladder you’re headed up,” Brett writes, “take someone with you.”

This week, carry as you climb.

How might you help someone rise in work, leadership, or life? You could:

* Post your top 3 takeaways from an empowering book you just read.

* Write a testimonial or endorsement for a service provider.

* Ask your team member how you can help him achieve his goals.

* Email your supervisor indicating something you appreciate about her leadership.

* Join a mastermind group focused on supporting one another’s dreams and goals.

* Write a blog sharing the 5 most valuable success lessons you’ve learned so far.

* Offer a smile, a word of encouragement, or a note of gratitude.

As we discussed in our ASPIRE Success Club meetings last week, there are countless ways we can ‘be the miracle’ for others – small, simple, purposeful actions that make a big difference.

Choose or create one to intentionally implement this week. The world thanks you in advance!

Enrollment to the 2021 ASPIRE Success Club opens November 1, 2020 with limited space available! Join our email community to be among the first to get all the details!

How To Win, No Matter The Score

Christi Hegstad October 11th, 2020

Nearly every personality assessment I’ve ever taken tells me what I’ve known most of my life:

I like to achieve.

Maybe you do, too? Maybe it shows up in the form of reaching goals, winning games, or challenging yourself in new ways.

But the assessments don’t reveal one important factor:

Achieving means little if we compromise our values in the process.

This week, hold your head high – no matter the score.

Discern your 3-5 core values and write out what they mean to you.

Looking at your schedule this week, reflect on how you will keep your values front-and-center throughout your activities.

For example, maybe ‘respect’ is one of your core values. How will you create a respectful environment with your colleagues? How will you demonstrate respect with a challenging customer? How will you encourage a respectful discussion at the dinner table?

Make plans to win your week in a meaningful, values-based way!

Christi Hegstad, PhD, PCC is the Certified Executive + Personal Coach for Achievers, here to help you bring your purpose to work, leadership, and life! Reach out today to learn more.

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