Podcast Notes & Resources
3 Day Jumpstart
Episode 1: What is Alignment?
On day 1, I want to talk about Alignment.
You probably have heard of alignment for your back or spine (hey, I’m 32, I’m still young but am starting to feel the effects of not stretching after a workout, if you know what I mean…) but the alignment I’m talking about is alignment in your professional and personal worlds.
There are many ways to define it, but Alignment for me means:
Feeling good and positive about the next steps you are taking in an area. A generalized feeling that you are in a flow or state of action that you feel connects with who you are, your values, and where you want to go. Abraham Hicks (law of attraction) has written copious resources on this.
Usually when you’re in alignment with something, you have a hard time STOPPING thinking about it (in a positive way) or talking about it because you are excited about it.
Everyone has areas that are aligned with, and areas that they are not aligned with. It’s just part of life. When our gut says ‘no thanks’ – we aren’t in alignment with something.
One of the HARDEST parts of life is figuring out how to listen to our gut/intuition (something I feel or have observed is a stronger capacity in women) vs. rationalizing over it. How did I declare enough is enough for me, or really figure out when I was no longer in alignment with something? When you are in a position, relationship, or opportunity that aligns with you, you feel valued, listened to, and heard. It will not always be easy or perfect, but there will be clear lines of communication to work through the hard parts.
Previous experiences have taught me the value of recognizing when I start to convince myself of something (even though my gut says ‘NO!’) that I need to stop and analyze the situation. The inverse is true- I need to stop when I start to talk myself OUT of something (even though my intuition says ‘YES!’). You feel me? It’s a skill- one that I still am refining but becoming clearer on every day. And as I follow my intuition more, my vision becomes clearer. It also taught me that being in the hamster wheel (just ‘getting by’) is a recipe for being stuck in situations you don’t want to be in, because you don’t have enough time to analyze or think differently.
If you are curious to learn more about alignment- google Abraham Hicks and alignment (Gabby Bernstein also released an amazing meditation on Alignment today; check it out here) , you’ll find a lot more. You may not resonate with all of the content in that area, but I think a lot of it may give you further insight. Think about your life right now. Think about the people and opportunities that bring you TRUE joy. You just WANT to be there or be with those people. You are in alignment with them/those opportunities. You look forward to that time and you are sad when it’s done. There’s so much to alignment, but that’s how I can summarize it. And that’s why I want you to find and create more alignment in your personal and professional lives. I believe that if we can create greater alignment, we can rise up as leaders to inspire our fields.
Episode 2: What is the connection between Alignment and Leadership?
As most of you may know (or not) I am a mom and a business owner. These two things combined have created a wild ride over the last two years- one that has been full of ups and downs as I navigate how to let go of ‘balancing it all’ (not realistic or possible) and learn how to ask for help, communicate clearly, and figure out what I really want in a given situation (Vs. going with what I think I should want). Balancing it all on your own isn’t possible throughout seasons of life- we are meant to lean on our village and walk together with others. In a world where we say ‘lmk if you need anything’ I realized I wanted to be a ‘What can I do to support you’ person. I wanted to be able to ask for help, and give help, in meaningful ways. Through this process, I learned how to advocate for what I need and ask for help/support to get there. In order to be a leader, you have to be TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF in more ways than one- and that means asking for help/letting go of tasks and falling into your zones that are your areas of specialty.
Some of the strongest leaders I have experienced working with were amazing leaders because they loved what they were doing. You may have seen the chart that differentiates between a boss and a leader- a leader says ‘LETS GO’ and a boss says ‘GO!’ Leaders make you want to follow them because they naturally create inspiration and motivation to want to do better, and be better. So those who are in alignment with their work, or really are passionate about their work, naturally create stronger leaders (intentionally, or unintentionally). I have consistently observed time and time again that when people are in flow, or are in a state of alignment, they make the strongest leaders. Think about the people that inspire you in your life- it can be in any area (Sports, music, or otherwise). Think about the passion and energy they bring to what they do. It is easiest to be in a state of energy when we believe strongly in what we are
To take this a step further, I believe STRONGLY that leadership is one of the most important parts of the professional setting. Our leaders in a workplace make all the difference. If you reflect back on the most challenging position you’ve held professionally, and the most rewarding, was there a correlation there with the leadership in place? My equations sure are closely correlated.
Over a year ago, I enrolled in Audible and one of my first purchases was ‘Leaders eat last’ by Simon Sinek. I can’t tell you exactly what enticed me to listen to this book, but it REALLY guided me into a Leadership crave. Since that book, I have been focused on incorporating leadership reading into my routine. (SIDE NOTE- I read about 4 books/month (sometimes more) and I alternate between professional-personal-leadership themes to keep me fresh and excited for the next book). There are so many areas of leadership to consider, but I have consistently identified that leaders prioritize alignment with the position they are in to support those that are working with them.
Episode 3: Strategies to Create Alignment
In today’s episode, Day 3 of the jump start, we are going to cover a few brief ideas on how to start to identify and create alignment in your every day life. I often reflect that life is just so dang busy, isn’t it? In fact I feel busy has become one of our most favorite used words- ‘hey Danielle, how are you?’ ‘Busy!’ You can hear it now, right? I’ve intentionally tried to step away from that word, and use words such as ‘productive’ or ‘living fully’ – and I have simultaneously consciously created more open spaces in my life to enjoy and sip in the beauty (and chaos) of this thing called life. I encourage you to be conscious of how often you use the word ‘busy’ or hear the word ‘busy’- and try and create a new standard for how we are living this life.
The strategies below do kind of work in order- but you can also pick and choose which strategies make the most sense for you right now.
Strategy # 1- the Post It strategy
I’ve found myself recommending this to a lot of colleagues lately, and this is AFTER I did it myself last year. I think I got so far into my business that I stopped really looking up and thinking ‘where do I want to go? What actually brings me joy?’ So last year, on a day when my husband took the kids for the day (Bless you, Adam) I grabbed a bunch of post its and started writing. (in my bio I REALLY should mention that I love the STAPLES store. Love is probably not a strong enough emotion but, you get the point) I split up the different streams of my business/work, and got detailed on the different populations I saw (e.g, students with autism, articulation, etc.). I wrote it all out there. It was alllll over the place. My color coding was based on place (e.g., school), populations, work I was doing (e.g., evals, consulting), and other factors. I then moved post-its to 3 columns: like it, love it, tolerate it. I did it quickly and without over analyzing (I just really went with first gut reaction, which is the most powerful. If you want more information on this- read ‘the 5 second rule’ by Mel Robbins, which tells us a lot about the power of the first 5 seconds of making a decision! The Love it column was pretty slim- but that’s really what alignment is about! Picking the 4 leaf clovers out of the field to figure out where you want to go.
Strategy # 2- Design your life.
Ahh, imagine it. You’re living your weeks in an IDEAL schedule. You wake up excited to go to work. Mondays are one of your favorite days (or make it whatever day your week would start on!). You work the ideal # of hours per week, you have awesome colleagues. You work with the ideal population for you. You feel so fortunate. Ok, imagining over. Write it all down. What does that schedule look like? Write out your week, start to finish. There is a really specific disclaimer here. If you AREN’T sure what your ideal week looks like- go back up to Strategy # 1 (Post-it strategy) and identify those 4 leaf clovers and then draw a mock up of your week that incorporates those areas.
Strategy # 3- What are your Priorities in life?
Life is a funny thing that has its way of flying right by us if we don’t take the time to be intentional with it. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to end up wishing someday that I had done all the things I thought about. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
Strategy # 4: Identify what is ENOUGH
This is an important one for me. As my business has steadily grown over the last few years, my goals have grown right along with it. And that is awesome, right? Or is it? The problem with having a moving target for ‘enough’ is that you are never really satisfied. Our culture teaches us that bigger is better, more is delightful, and you should always be reaching to smash the next ceiling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first to want to go crush some goals. But keeping ‘enough’ at your forefront prevents you from running towards a goal that you don’t really want anyways. If your target keeps moving, you can lose your vision on what is most important in your life (Go back to Strategy # 3). Is your ‘enough’ to be able to pick up your littles every day from school? Take a day off when you want it? Pay off debt? Identify your ENOUGH and work towards that.
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