By Mindy Finholm Morris, Start with Self LLC Owner My metastatic breast cancer diagnosis was unexpected; cancer is not something my family is genetically predisposed to. That factor changed forever in October 2021. Like with my other life challenges and stressors ( such as competing priorities, basic training, constant change, marriage, birth of my daughter, failures, divorce, military retirement, death of loved ones, conflict, finding a civilian job)… I leaned into the resilience skills developed over my lifetime. I understand resilience to be the ability to bounce back and learn from life’s ..read more

The topic of emotional intelligence is an exciting one to discuss. We asked our good friend Amy Steindler to share her perspective on the EQ-i as it positively impacted a client. Thank you Amy! One of the reasons I chose to supplement my coaching practice with the EQ-i 2.0 model is its unique ability to give clients important insights into how they make the choices that affect their lives. Since our daily moment-to-moment decisions determine everything—quality of life, relationship and career success, health, and in the worst-case scenario, survival—it’s a good idea to understand the internal ..read more

The pandemic has taken us, our relatives, friends, and organizations through various ups and downs. In the early days of this pandemic, our focus was on adapting to new protocols and isolation and thinking it should all be over soon—a few months at most. More recently, it has morphed into bouts of malaise, depression, burnout, bewilderment, and “The Great Resignation.” People everywhere have taken time to re-evaluate their lives, values, and work over the last two years and many have made big decisions on where to take their next chapter. Millions of people from front-line contributors up to C ..read more

A little over a year ago my wife was gifted a large collection of vinyl records that includes music from a wide variety of artists and genres. Sorting through the artwork of the albums, reading the lyrics, and researching their current value started the adventure. Well into the adventure we’ve listened to many of the records enjoying the exploration and discovery of artists from years gone by and reconnecting with long lost favorites. Most of us have a favorite artist or genre and we’ll listen to relax, unwind, energize, dance, sing, celebrate or more! Knowing what kind of music moves you and ..read more

Halloween is right around the corner so it’s time to talk about tricks & treats and of course zombies. Groaning, oozing, stinking, decaying zombies, do we really want them showing up in our lives? However, when we bury emotions, we are setting ourselves up for a possible zombie emotion apocalypse. Our buried emotions tend to fester and transform into something more toxic than they were originally. Research from Psychology Today and the American Psychological Association through many articles share the negative impacts of emotional suppression such as: Sleep Disorders High Blood Pressure I ..read more

Oftentimes we are faced with situations, people, or events that test our inner being to its fullest capacity.  During these times choosing to be optimistic rather than pessimistic is not always easy to do.  The good news is our immediate reactions to situations are quite often just habits.   Consider how you would react to the following scenarios?  Scenario 1:  You’ve packed up and about to leave the office for that weekend trip when your manager pops in to announce a brand new company initiative! You’ve been chosen to spearhead the project!  You are then tol ..read more

What do you think of when you hear the word change?  Is it positive or negative?  We often do not imagine thriving during change, but it is possible, and we argue this capability is a critical need for organizations today.  Organizations need their teams to be agile and constantly collaborating, innovating, and transforming to be at their best. However, our brains were not designed for the new normal, a constant state of change. From birth, our brains are wired to survive, belong, and learn. To understand how to thrive during the transitions of change initiatives, you must first ..read more

Originally written by Chris Hennessy on March 8th 2014 the skill of Impulse Control is an emotional intelligence skill of the EQ-i 2.0 model and aids us in navigating challenging times. I stop and think before I respond Measuring my emotions and my desire to act Pondering reality and thinking of a common goal Understanding other’s perspectives Listening to what is being said and what is shown Slowing down my urge to be right Expressing myself in the very best way Correcting my habit of thinking and being first Open to opinions and advice from peers Never neglecting my time or that of others Tr ..read more

Making the Time to Focus on Interpersonal Connections Within the Workplace Emotional Intelligence EQ Competency for well-being: Self-regard, Optimism, Interpersonal Relationships, & Self-Actualization. When we think of well-being and self-care, most of us think about how we take care of ourselves outside of work. However, since many of us spend a large portion of our days at work, it’s time to rethink this idea. The pandemic further blurred this separation with so many people working in their houses, while also trying to juggle online schooling for their children and competing demands of b ..read more