November 29, 2023 • 64 mins
Welcome back for part two of Amanda’s conversation with Sara Pedersen, Amazon’s Global Vice President of Community Engagement, as they delve into workplace wellness.
If you’re caught in the relentless cycle of a 5-day workweek, experiencing the “Sunday Scaries”, and feeling a constant sense of dread and anxiety about your job, it’s time to change that!
With over 15 years of experience in Corporate America, Sara shares her most valuable lesson: taking charge of your wellbeing is essential.
Amanda & Sara discuss:
- Putting too much stock into your career
- Identifying which aspects of your job are bringing you down
- Understanding the difference between mental health & wellness
- The physical effects of negative thinking
- Healthy ways to compartmentalize work stress
- Getting aggressive in taking your career into your own hands
- The importance of emotional intelligence & self-care
- Why corporations benefit from a happy employee
- Managing your time vs managing your energy
- Re-evaluating your daily habits
This episode is for you if you struggle with questions like:
- How can I achieve professional wellbeing and success?
- What truly drives my passion?
- Am I utilizing my talents effectively?
- What is my contribution to my workplace?
- How can I foster a sense of cohesion in my professional life?
Resources:
- Taking Responsibility for Your Wellbeing (Part 1 of Amanda & Sara’s discussion)
- "Atomic Habits" by James Clear
- Doc Amen
Ready to embark on a transformative journey with Soul Pathology? Let's delve deeper into the unique needs of your organization and explore how Amanda’s comprehensive approach can elevate your wellbeing paradigm. Your organization’s path to a resilient, thriving future begins now. Click here to get started.
Follow Amanda on Instagram @SoulPathology & send us an email SoulSessions@me.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi, everyone, it's Amanda Rigu Green. Welcome to Soul Sessions.
Thank you for joining me today. We have a special episode.
It's Part two of Wellness Discussion with my client and friend,
Sarah Peterson. To give you a little bit of a recap,
she has been in the events industry for fifteen years.
She currently works in business operations for Amazon Web Services.
(00:31):
In addition to that, she is on Amazon's Mental Health
and Wellbeing Affinity Group as well as their Emotional Intelligence
and Services Committee. Her contribution to workplace wellness and wellbeing
is not only a passion but a lifestyle that she
has created, and she's been able to affect tremendous personal
(00:54):
success in that and also professional success, and that is
the focus of our discussion today. So if you did
get to listen to part one, I encourage you to
go back because Sarah shares about her own wellness journey,
her call to action, and how she started to apply
practical tools and resources into her lifestyle. And today what
(01:16):
we're going to talk about is how that has affected
her professionally, finding deeper meaning, passion and success and of
course happiness in work. So I know you will relate
to this Welcome back, Sarah, thank you so much. Thank
you for having me absolutely, thank you so much for
intimately sharing your journey and the many tools and resources
(01:37):
and insights that you have discovered over the past few years,
and how they have positively influenced change effective changing your life,
contributing to your happiness and success. I think it's very
relatable and this topic about wellness. When we work on
our own wellness, it starts to filter out into all
(01:59):
parts of our life. And the question that many people
have on their hearts is how do I find professional
well being and success? Where is my passion? How am
I using my talents effectively? How am I contributing and
how do I feel that cohesion in the workplace in
my professional life? And I think you can speak to that,
(02:20):
not only personally, but how you've been able to in
your work at Amazon become a part of the wellness
movement and initiatives within Amazon. So talk to me a
little bit about your personal wellness journey. One of the
things that you and I were discussing was waking up
in the morning and feeling a sense of dread when
(02:42):
we and anxiety like, oh my gosh, I've got all
this on my plate today. This is what I have feeling,
this doom, this dread, and how that was something that
became you became very aware of and began to shift
and heal personally, but how it started to transform workplace
fitness and well being for you.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Like you said, I've been working in corporate America for
fifteen plus years now, and I've had periods of time
where I've felt very energized by the work that i
was doing in times that I didn't, And when it
comes to workplace well being, the biggest lesson that I
have learned is that you have to take your own
wellbeing into your own hands. Yes, your employer can do
(03:27):
have employee resource groups and provide benefits, and they are
responsible for creating sort of the culture of the company,
and yes, that goes into your wellness when it comes
to working. However, you also have to take some responsibility
for it, and I think when it comes to your career.
(03:48):
For me, I went through a hard time over COVID,
which we talked about in the first episode, but I
was feeling exactly how you were describing. I was thankful
that I had a job. However, I would dread going
to bed at night because that meant I had to
wake up in the morning and I had like just
the stress of it all when it came to work
(04:09):
was really overwhelming to me, and it was just the
work never ends, and it was problems with relationships at
work and just feeling like I had too much on
my plate all the time and it just felt like
a hamster spinning on a wheel and just feeling that
anxiety that dread every day was a really unhealthy place
for me, and so that really ignited a passion in
(04:32):
me to figure out, Okay, why am I feeling this way?
This is not a way to live. I don't want
to be spending five days a week dreading what I'm doing.
And yes, like you can't always control getting a new job,
like looking for a new job is a full time position,
especially over COVID, and for me, I have an events
background that that can be challenging finding a new job
(04:53):
in and of itself. I really just was in a
place where I was dreading work, and so I I've
kind of figured out, like, how can I feel better
throughout the day and not spend like I said, five
days a week feeling this looming doom. Knowing that I
can't just quit my job today because I need to
be able to pay my bills, and I was not
(05:15):
in a financial position to quit, although I could have
for a little bit, and I'm sure I would have
figured it out, but just I was way too scared
to just up and quit a career, even though I
knew it wasn't really speaking to my passions, it wasn't
energizing me. But I also was not in a position
to quit. Just practically speaking.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Well, I think a lot of people relate to that
because you're being realistic, you're getting very honest. This goes
back to self awareness and honesty, those two massive components
we talked about in Part one of personal wellness and
lifestyle change. Is this ability to get honest. Oh my gosh,
five days out of the week, I am going to
(05:57):
bed anxious, waking up in dress five day. If we
put that into perspective, depending on our work schedule, five
days out of a seven day week. If you do
the percentage on that, that's a pretty hefty percentage of
your life that you're spending in dread and anxiety. So naturally,
your creativity, your passion, your talents are not harnessed in
(06:22):
your workplace, so you're not only feeling or doing a
disservice to yourself or your employer's And of course, as
we discussed in the first one, you are a recovering
overachiever perfectionist like I am, like many of us out there,
So it creates this chain reaction of emotional despondency where
(06:42):
I feel guilty, I'm an imposter. I'm not putting my
heart and soul into this. I'm doing this because I
have to and I have to pay my bills and
what else am I going to do otherwise? And then
it just creates this residue and energy that is not productive.
But at the same time, when we can figure that
out out and say, okay, how do I start to
(07:02):
affect change. You talked about in our first podcast about
some of the things that you did to create personal change.
So if you haven't listened to that out there, everybody,
I would go and listen to it, because Sarah talks
a lot about getting quiet, spending time with yourself even
when it's uncomfortable, self awareness, looking at limiting beliefs, patterns
(07:24):
of behavior that may not be authentic or true to ourselves. Today,
there's a lot of nuggets of wisdom that contributed to
her workplace health and wellness. That will be helpful. But
when you started to feel better internally, get more clear
with yourself, what did you notice was out of alignment
(07:44):
professionally for you? And how did you start affecting healthy
practical change.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So when it came to my workplace, in my workplace
well being, I think one of the things that I
was doing, in clear a mistake that I was making
was putting way too much stock into my career, like
putting all of my eggs in one basket. And because
I'm not totally fulfilled with this job, I allowed myself
(08:15):
to kind of spiral and get so upset about things
instead of looking towards you know, gratitude and being thankful
that I had a job and you know, kind of
reframing things which we talked a lot about in the
last episode. So for me, really, I recognized that, Okay,
I'm giving way too much of my power away right
now and allowing myself to live in negativity and dread
(08:39):
and doom over a job which just seemed like way
too extreme for me, Like there's life is way too
amazing for this, Like I don't want to dread my
life and it's not all about work, And so a
big thing for me when it came to assessing my
relationship with my work was one understanding that I was
(09:01):
unhappy in my current job and really understanding why. And
for me, it was because I was in a position
that wasn't a great match for my skill set or
you know, I'm not going to put it all on
my employer, like I just wasn't achieving in that role,
and I had been in the same industry for a
long time, and I was just feeling like a crossroads
for me and I was ready for a change. But
(09:23):
just taking the time to understand what the issue was
was helpful for me as kind of a first step
and not giving my power away and learning to be
grateful for the discomfort, because I think that there's when
you are feeling out of alignment, or if you're in
a job where you're like, oh, gosh, this isn't it.
For me, I never knew what I wanted to be
(09:44):
when I grew up, so it's been kind of a
thing of trial and error and figuring out what you
like and what you don't like, and when you're in
a job where you feel like totally stuck. You have
to kind of figure out what is it about this
job that is bringing you down? Is it the environment?
Is it the people? Is it the culture? Is it
(10:04):
the work itself? Like, there's so much that goes into
your workplace and like your workplace well being. So it's
important to understand and be self aware about. Okay, if
I'm feeling out of alignment, I'm really unhappy, I'm feeling
this dread, why is that? And then like really pinpointing
and addressing what that is?
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I think that's so simple and clear and for anyone
out there if you are struggling professionally in feeling aligned,
feeling right sized, healthy whole, like you're using your talents
and you're passionate and contributing whatever gets you firing and wiring.
Knowing that and where it's it's underperforming, underutilized, but like
(10:49):
you said, identifying what components are depleting you from your
creativity and your your talents and passion. So is it
my team mates, is it the team that I'm working on?
Is it the department I'm in? Is it the balance
of being in and out of the office completely working
(11:09):
virtually or being in the office all the time and
feeling micromanaged. There are so many things that when we
start to assess the facts, which is again where I
think you're so equipped, is you get curious. You look
at the facts, and I think for anybody out there,
start by getting honest and looking at the facts. Why
(11:30):
am I unhappy? What is it about this job that
is not resonating with me? It is, you know, creating
the dread. And then to speak to the other part
of things, back into what you were saying around like
the five days a week going to bed anxious, waking
up in dread, and looking at that big chunk of
your life not being spent in the present moment, because
(11:52):
dread and anxiety are definitely tripping into the future. I know.
For me, let's say I have an abundant week, and
everybody knows me, I always replace the word busy with abundant.
I can easily sit, you know, in the evening and think,
oh gosh, I have all this on my plate. Oh
my gosh, I'm gonna get all this done. I mean,
that is the first go to for my brain, my hardwiring.
(12:14):
I am very conscious of that. And when I do that,
I laugh and I say, excuse me, Amanda, I just
have a die I disassociate, which you and I were
talking about, the detaching disassociating. I stop for a minute,
and in a healthy way, I say, excuse me. You're
sitting right here this evening, You've got both of your
dogs with you, you have the remainder of the evening
(12:35):
to wind down. You just had a good dinner, you know.
I start to look at where I am right now
and why in my comfort of the evening I'm needing
to feel guilty, dread, anxiety about tomorrow morning, which might
be ten to twelve hours away, whatever that timeframe is,
and say, okay, let me, let me get really present
(12:58):
right now, because tomorrow or will come. And also I
know this personally, nighttime is a very important time for
what our brains, our bodies, our consciousness resonates in. So
if I go to bed in anxiety, dread, fear, worry,
any of those emotions and thoughts that really contribute to
(13:20):
the quality of my well being, if I marinate in
that over six eight hours in the evening, plus the
two hours I'm spending watching TV but also feeling anxious
and dread, I am exacerbating that energy into my next
day and basically calling it forth, basically manifesting it. So
for me, I know, personally, I am so hyper aware
(13:42):
of that, and I consciously take action. And sometimes I'll
just say it. I'll say it to my husband just
so you know, I'm feeling anxiety and dread about tomorrow
or whatever I'm feeling, and he will say something very
clear to me, well, why are you feeling that that
we're not at tomorrow yet, we're today and we're about
to watch x y Z show on TV, or or
we're going to have dinner with some friends right now.
(14:05):
I mean, I can be already in anxiety when we
have dinner plans and I haven't even gotten to my
wind down. So being really conscious of those things does that.
I know that that helps for me. But if I
can stop the cycle or halt it or become very
aware of it, then I have a chance. I have
a chance to actually affect my day the next day.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah, absolutely, And that made me think of So, I
don't know if you saw the last Dance with Michael Jordan.
I don't know if you saw the last Dance with
Michael Jordan. It's like the best thing I've ever watched
in my life is incredible. Yes, yes, it was a
(14:48):
docu all about my yeah and his coming up. Yeah,
he said something. I was taking notes that whole documentary.
I'm like, Okay, how do I be more like Michael Jordan?
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I know he is pretty much a badass like there.
I mean he really his discipline and his work ethic
and honing his craft. He was very dedicated to that.
So yes, okay, keep talking about that. I think it's
a great example.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I'm six weeks away from getting my master's in positive psychology,
and the whole thing on that is the study of thriving,
like studying because a lot of mental health wellness it's
all you know, you hear a lot about anxiety depression,
but like that's mental illness, that's not mental wellness. So
when things are going well, what does that look like?
How do you thrive? And he said in that documentary
(15:33):
that today he got asked a question about, you know,
the big game before the finals, would you worry and
stress out and how did you calm your nerves and
get to a good headspace? And he was so calm
and cool about it. He was like, why am I
going to stress out about a shot I haven't taken yet,
and I was like, dam yeah, that's right, but it is.
(15:55):
And you like, what spending your time worrying about things
is a waste of time? Like some amount of worry
is good. I mean, if you go down the wrong
side of the street and you feel unsafe, like that
kind of worry to protect you is good. I'm not
talking about that.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Yeah, because that's an intuitive hit that says, ooh danger,
something isn't safe.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
But when we use worry as a tool and it
becomes hardwired into our energy field, and it's almost like
a coping mechanism, an unhealthy one at that. I always
find too with people that I read for and in clients. Worry, doubt, shame.
Those lower insidious vibrations are the cancer causers, Yeah, because
(16:39):
they vibrate so low and so quietly that they become natural,
and then they adversely impact our actually our biological rhythms
and functions, which of course impact our mental health and
well being. But I like the distinction you made between
mental health, mental illness, and wellness two different you know,
(17:01):
And I think that is imperative to define in workplace wellness,
organizational health and wellbeing we have the physical component, we
have the mental component, but then we have these other
components emotional health and consciousness. Being able to rewire our brains,
our patterns, become very self actualized and self aware. Harnessing
(17:24):
those together can optimize not only people and in the
right place and space, but the outcomes, the output for
not only the organization, but for the human being the
contributor in that role.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah. Absolutely. And it's like your thoughts actually can make
you sick scientifically speak, can you release hormones into your body?
And excessive negative thinking will make you sick and cause
disease in your body. And so a big thing when
it comes to workplace and like feeling out of alignment
is just getting a hold of your mindset and just
(18:01):
understanding that where you are today is not going to
be your forever. This is not going to be your
job forever. Asking yourself what can you be grateful for?
Is great. Reframing is a really great thing that you
can do. A very subtle verbide shift that works for
me if I find myself saying I have to like, oh,
I have to put together this document. Amazon has this
(18:24):
big writing culture, so it's like, oh, I have to
put write this six page document. It's like, no, I
get to I get to go in front of the
smartest people I've ever worked with and get critiqued by them.
Like it's a very intense culture and it can feel
very overwhelming. But just reframing as opportunities I think is
(18:45):
really important and a powerful thing that you can do
when it comes to to work. And also compartmentalizing has
really helped me, and I don't want to I'm cautious
about saying that because I don't want people to feel
like they shouldn't feel the emotions. Are like taking the
time and like give yourself time and space when you're
feeling negative emotions, but don't live in it for too long,
(19:08):
and just learning to detach yourself in a healthy way.
That's what I did in my career where it's like Okay,
I know I don't want to work here, but detaching
yourself and saying, Okay, I'm not going to let this
affect the rest of my life and bleed into my
other relationships. Like I found myself getting short with my
partner and you know, like it's like I don't want
(19:31):
to do that, Like you don't let it bleed into
your other relationships is kind of the takeaway, and the
best way that I found to do that is being present.
So when you're at work, be at work, do the
best that you can. Put your head down, ask for help,
you know, don't drowned at work alone. If you're really
feeling overwhelmed, talk to someone. Of course, every workplace is
(19:53):
going to be different, but something that I learned is
being okay and raising your hand and saying, you know what,
I have too much on my plate, or even taking
it a step further and depending on your relationship with
your manager, but saying you know what, this role isn't
quite what I expected. I don't feel like it's a
great fit in these ways. For so long I was
(20:15):
afraid to do that because I thought it would put
a target on my back. And you don't want to
be the weak link or you don't want to have
your employers lose trust in you, So I would tread
with this a little lightly. It depends on your relationship,
but I was fortunate I had a manager who was
pretty accepting and I just said, you know, like, I
don't feel like this is a great fit for me.
(20:37):
And a week later I had another job at that
same company.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I remember this for you, I mean I remember it
clearly because you exercised your ability to communicate that you
were you were not comfortable, it wasn't a good fit.
And because of the culture that you're in within Amazon,
there are lots of internal opportunities and they've set up
good checks and balances to be able to grow within
(21:02):
the organization, explore other roles. And you were able to
healthfully assert yourself with your manager. And what you alluded
to is not all of us feel like we have
relationships with our manager where we can say that or
there will be blowback. But you did a lot of
personal work and clarity and clarification in order to assert yourself.
(21:24):
And I know in those kinds of moments which are
pivotal personally professionally, when we deny our truth, when we
stay unhappy for the sake of fear, What if there's retaliation?
What if I'm fired? What you know, we go to
the doomsday scenario, which that's human, that's normal, that's back
(21:46):
into that fight or flight part of our brain we
discussed in the first episode. But why not What if
I don't assert myself? What am I risking of my happiness,
my well being, me using my talents more optimally within
the organization and where I could be more useful, productive
and contributing to the overall of the organization and feel
(22:06):
happier and feel better. And when you were in that
discernment process, because I distinctly remember, it was all the
what if I don't speak up, what if I don't
do this, then I'm just gonna stay unhappy, unhealthy, probably
get sick, you know, become as a partner, you know,
more irritable, more discontent, and it's going to come out
sideways in all aspects of my life. So there is
(22:28):
an element of courage that comes with our well being
and our wellness that we do have to do hard things,
courageous things. But when we are speaking our truth, you know,
it may not perfectly align or the path may not
beautifully unfold exactly the way we envision it. But usually
when we are speaking from our heart and our truth
(22:52):
and coming from a place of neutrality, not retaliation or anger.
I know, for me that's a big piece of it
is do I believe in this and speaking for my truth?
Am I cleaning up my side of the street? And
I'm also doing it from a place of neutrality, not
from resentment or anger or fear. I'm coming from honesty.
I'm coming from clarity. I'm coming from a space where
(23:13):
my motive is more pure, more aligned, more authentic, more
in integrity. And if I am, then I'm going to
leave the rest up for me to higher power, to
the universe, to the other people and players involved, and
I'm going to trust that things are going to unfold
for the highest good. I mean, those are the kinds
(23:34):
of intentions that I said. I bring a higher consciousness
into that discussion because I can't do it alone and
I do need to ask for help, So thank you
for that, of course.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Yeah. And another way that you can frame it too,
if you don't feel comfortable saying this isn't a good
fit for me, if you don't want to go that
extreme with it or that honest. A way to kind
of frame it in like a good corporate political way
is I'm really great with people. I wish that you know,
are there opportunities for me to get work that is
more aligned with X, y Z, like whatever you're looking
(24:07):
for like or is there more opportunities for creativity or
coding or whatever it is that your strengths are or
whatever you're lacking in your current job. Maybe you won't
be able to get it in your current position, but
you can make connections and you're usually your manager can
help you with that, but with roles outside of your job.
(24:29):
Like I would say, something that's really helped me when
I have been in a full time position where I
maybe didn't feel so in alignment is picking up side
projects that do feel my passion. So that's sort of
where I started working with the mental health and well
being group at Amazon. Like I went through my dark time,
pulled myself out of it, and it was very practical,
(24:49):
like I could put together a playbook for how I
did it, and it's like, Okay, I really am passionate
about this and I want to teach these skills to others,
and so I started doing work with them. I found
executives who are doing this type of work and I'll
just put time on their calendar. Like I'm very aggressive
when it comes to going after what I want in
(25:09):
the corporate world, and you kind of have to be.
Like that goes back to taking your well being into
your own hands. You also have to take your career
into your own hands. And what that looks like to
me is making those connections, figuring out like whose career
do I admire here, whether it's a working style or
the actual work that they're doing, the type of work,
(25:29):
where are those people in my organization? And people want
to help people, they really do, Like you'd be surprised.
I send an email off to Jeff Bezos when I
got to Amazon's because why.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Not, you know, why not exactly?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
And I did get a reply and I did end
up the reason why this role that I'm taking now
with the Emotional Intelligence and Success community moving into twenty
twenty four, I'm moving into a VP role where I'm
going to be managing all of their internal emotional intelligence activity.
And the way that I was able to do that
is I put together a document that outlined what were
(26:06):
the business challenges that were going to be solved by
what I wanted to do and what my plan was,
and that got accepted and now I'm going to be
doing that moving into twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
First of all, you all have to know out there,
like I've known Sarah for a while now and her
journey personally, professionally, spiritually, mentally, I mean so many components
on an intimate level. This is so huge and for
her to have her personal wellness journey evolve into a
(26:40):
role where she can make a massive impact on a
practical and a cultural level of a huge organization and
it to be brought into reality. These are big leaps
and they came with a lot of practical, consistent action,
dedication to your own wellness. And this is an example
(27:04):
to anyone out there. I love that you shared about
being aggressive and she's not talking about confrontation or aggression
in the lower vibration. She's saying, put yourself out there.
It's essentially a numbers game too. There's networking and people
do want to help people, and you see what sticks.
You know, you put it out there. And when we
get rejected. I want to talk about rejection in that
(27:26):
sense too, because back to the numbers game and reaching
out and connecting and networking. That takes effort. And I
can't tell you how many people I connect with. And
I'm like, listen, you got a network. Like I know
it doesn't feel good. I know you're kind of stuck
in your energy field right now, but start reaching out
and start here's some simple ways, and don't worry so
much about who responds. You know, don't get focused on
(27:49):
the outcome of the connection. Just start to connect, because
you will create that momentum and that energy that is
setting a precedence in your energy field. That will build
a momentum and then what is aligned will start to stick,
and it will stick in a bigger timeline, a more
divine timeline, within the field, within the universe, maybe not
your personal timeline. So when you find yourself discouraged or
(28:12):
feeling rejected, see where you can really redefine that or
heal that because you're building a resiliency and you have
done all of those things, and now look what you
have coming up in twenty twenty four. I am thrilled
for you. Plus, it's needed, and it's setting a new precedent,
(28:32):
essentially a new place in workplaces and in Amazon for
the importance of emotional intelligence and that being a functional
role within the organization. That's huge and that's a big success. Congratulations.
Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yeah, thank you so much, Thank you so much. And
I just see a big need having worked in corporate
America for so long. It doesn't have to be at
the expense of your wellbeing. Like you can achieve right,
And actually, if you look at the research and the numbers,
the more that you take care of yourself and take
breaks and recharge, that actually increases your productivity. So I've
(29:09):
learned like self care and also, like we're talking about networking,
and I know that can be a little bit burfee like,
oh god, I don't need network Like that sounds corporate
and awful. It's all about framing and like reframing. I
view it as more making connections versus networking. And that's
a big thing too when it comes to workplace well
being is having connections and making connections. They've done a
(29:33):
lot of studies around this, and there was some study
out there that was saying, if you have two friends
at work, it's the equivalent of making an extra hundred
thousand dollars a year, which I don't know where that
came from or that was my colleague rich Wall, who
started the HU community at Amazon, had shared that with me.
But it's true, Like if you are upset at work
(29:56):
or unhappy at work, like having that one person who
you really trust too you can talk to and vent
you a little bit. I'm careful about venting, like you
don't want to spend too much of your time focusing
on things that you don't like. But just being able
to have that person or people is really important. But
you have to be careful in corporate America. You don't
(30:17):
want to like say too much and like you always
need to yeah, political and all that, but just having
connections at work, personal connections and like taking that time
to actually, yes, get to know.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Cultivating relationships. Yeah, and so while networking maybe a word
that like if we don't even want to think about that,
it's about cultivating relationships, interpersonal connections. And I love the
whatever the study was saying, having two friends at work
is like an extra hundred grand It's really this element
of the equity we build in community, in connection. We
(30:52):
work in community. We are hardwired for community, and we
do live in a society that is beginning to isolate
and pull back from connection and community, and we thrive
on that. We need it. I know that my creativity
is harnessed with other people and alongside other people. And
when I see someone else firing and wiring, eye fire
(31:14):
and wire higher, there is a natural resonance and energy
flow that is exponentially greater. And that's Essentially, what you're
encouraging is reaching out, making connections somebody who astounds you
or says something amazing in a meeting, or that you
was totally on point with the way that you were
(31:36):
conceptualizing something reaching out to them and saying, hey, you
shared this in a meeting, thank you. I totally resonated.
Or I've been thinking about this the last couple of weeks.
Maybe we can connect some time, or I'd love to
visit with you further about fill in the blank. It's
that courage that you were talking about, that assertion, asserting
(31:56):
ourselves and also reaching out to like minded or resources
within people that build our network, that create these connections
that can open new doors for us, stimulate new ideas,
and foster greater health and well being.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
What are some of the initiatives internally that you think
have been most successful within Amazon's Mental Health and well
Being affinity group and looking at emotional intelligence that have
been resonating with employees? What are some of the biggest
ask what's been resonating? Yeah, and where is a lot
of the focus right now.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
A program that I have been managing this year, it
was called an We call it the EQ and Action program.
But every month we pick one emotional intelligence team, So
if you're not familiar with emotional intelligence, it's essentially learning
how to manage your own emotions and then the emotions
of others. And this whole concept of EQ was a
little bit crazy at Amazon at first because it's like,
(33:05):
why are you talking about emotions and wushy stuff in
a corporate setting. What I have learned through working with
them is that emotions really are data, like their data
points that can be either used or ignored. And when
it comes to being successful in your career, you have
to be able to manage the people side of things
(33:26):
as much as the business. So like Amazon, for instance,
is a very innovative culture IQ through the roof, you know,
but where we saw what was needed most was really
that people's side and the human behind the work because
it's people working with people at the end of the day.
And so this EQ and Action program that we have
(33:47):
been running is every month we pick a theme that
goes along with emotional intelligence. So the ones that resonated
the most were self care. So we did a whole
month around self care and so this is if you're struggling,
like self care needs to be non negotiable. It just
has to be for everybody. Schedule it this. When I
(34:08):
say self care, diet, exercise, sleep, I mean these are
not not new concepts, but sleep is so important, getting outside,
scheduling time for things that bring you joy, nurturing the
relationships in your life. Making you know, for me, I
can get real into work and permit really badly. I've
(34:29):
learned to foster my relationships outside of work and also
my relationship with myself. So your relationship with yourself that
goes along with self care, how you talk to yourself
is really important. That's been a big focus. What I
have learned is through working in this corporate setting doing
this emotional intelligence work, is that the work side people
(34:50):
really have down. But it's like it's taking care of
yourself and your relationship with yourself that people seem to
struggle with. And I hear a lot about and out
and imposter syndrome. And this is from like the tippy
top executives at Amazon down to the fulfillment workers. You know,
like no matter what level you're at in the organization,
(35:12):
those seem to be the biggest pain points and just
finding purpose and work as well. So it's more kind
of the existential questions that people struggle with. Well.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Yeah, and you know, I love that you are bringing
this to the forefront and you have a voice within
Amazon that does have a massive impact in the corporate
world and in corporate wellness because so many leaders that
I talk to are experiencing these things. Burnout, even imposter syndrome,
the thing that we talked about in our first episode
(35:46):
of Everything on paper looks successful, but internally I'm not happy,
or I don't feel successful, or I'm not motivated, passionate,
driven in places I used to be whatever, whatever may
be going on. And so many leaders, and I don't
mean to say this as a blanket statement, aren't really
sure about investing in EQ IQ sure EQ. Why are
(36:11):
we talking about feelings in the workplace and how we
feel when we're looking at wellness. We have maybe the
physical components of wellness, physical health and well being, the
healthcare component of keeping people healthy, health insurance benefits, reducing
cost in that sense, and then we have mental health,
(36:32):
which again stigmas have been taken off of and now
it's taken a more prominent place in health care and
wellness and well being. But we have new frontiers and
they are emotional intelligence. And then I would also take
it a step further and talk about higher consciousness consciousness
because you've alluded to it when you talk about meaning
(36:52):
and purpose, and that all tracks and resonates. So the
employers to me, who are more innovative in looking at
new ways of revitalizing and optimizing their organizations and their
workforce are looking at EQ and also meaning and purpose
to respond to burnout or stressors, impress it pressures that
(37:16):
happen in everyday life. I love that you said that
one way that you all have tackled this is having
a monthly theme. I think for anybody out there that
has influence in their workplace or even in life, if
you want to have a monthly theme, I think this
could apply personally or organizationally having a theme. What am
I going to focus on this month? So if that's
(37:37):
you personally, make a theme, okay, I want to focus
on self care this month, or I want to focus
on my you know, my physical health and what I'm
putting into my body food this month, eating healthy to
feel healthier, to be healthier, having a monthly theme. But
I love too that anyone out there who does have
an impact professionally in their workspace and have a voice
(38:00):
and can contribute, or as a leader in your workplace,
how can you introduce a theme and maybe get some
people to collaborate or come in and speak or give
a presentation, do a webinar, because I know Amazon does this,
But if you want to have a monthly theme, you
know in twenty twenty four different themes that contribute to
(38:22):
wellness overall health and wellbeing, and then asking other people
to come in, give presentation, share insights and resources to contribute,
that can create a cohesion. So I love the idea
of or the implementation of a monthly theme.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
Yeah, because it's hard to facilitate culture change, you know,
Like when I talk to the top the leadership team
at Amazon, it all sounds great on paper, but it's
like what business problems are these actually solving?
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Yeah, And it's like, well, which is their question? And
they answer to their shareholders right on that eventually yes.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Yeah, and this is a company that is in place
to make money, like this is not a therapist office
or not roorty and so it's like I ustand but
what I have learned and found is through and there's
research and data to back this up. Is like, when
employees are happier, they're much more productive. When they're taking
care of themselves, they're more creative, Like the output of
(39:19):
the work is better if the person behind the work
is being taken care of.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
There's data to support that. And I'm about to say
something pretty bold and a discussion that I just had
with a CEO and someone who I know very well
and has been very successful, and we were talking about
employee wellness, workplace wellness, and the overall fitness of the organization.
And the conversation that came out of that was, well,
(39:47):
you know, I am hiring someone for a job. I
am hiring them to do X, Y Z job, and
I expect them to come in and do this job.
Why do I really care if they're happy at home?
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Right?
Speaker 1 (40:01):
That was a straightforward quession. Is it my responsibility for
them to be happy at home?
Speaker 2 (40:07):
And?
Speaker 1 (40:08):
On paper, no, but I know that when I'm happier personally,
I'm a human being. I'm going to have difficult times
in my life and I'm going to have, you know,
smooth sailing times in life. There are times when I'm
on cruise control and things are rocking along, okay, and
then I'm going to experience a family illness or something
(40:28):
sick because that is the nature of life. So ultimately,
an employer is not hiring me to take care of
my well being and the personal challenges I face in life. However,
how can CEOs, how can leaders, executive teams, managers respond
to productivity optimizing people performance? But how does that track
(40:52):
back to their happiness and their ownership on personal wellness
and well being, which to me talks about resiliency and
how how can employers embrace resiliency for their workforce so
they can experience the productivity and navigate the downtimes in
an economy or in people's personal lives.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
I know that's a really big question I'm asking you,
But that was an actual conversation I had, and I
mean my heart sank. Yeah, you know, like when I
had that conversation and I understood where it was coming from,
I understood both sides of the coin. But also that
is that leader's bottom line is I'm not responsible for
your happiness at home.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
Yeah, and I don't disagree with that. I think that
is completely fair. I think my answer to that when
it comes to teaching these skills is to keep it
focused on the work when you're teaching it at work, like,
for instance, self management was a one of our themes.
So how do you manage your own emotions, like when
you get triggered at work and in a meeting and
(41:54):
so you don't buy back? Yes, somebody, And so we
teach those real tactical, practical skills to help you be
successful in the workplace, and we put it in like
through a work lens. However, the skills are the same
at home or Yes, it's like we'll teach you these
skills and this is going to help you in your work,
(42:14):
but maybe you won't you be short with your kids
tonight because you have learned box breathing or like methods
of like to bring yourself down when you're feeling triggered.
So I agree that it's not an employer's responsibility, yes,
but I also think that the people side of it
is part of the business. And if you want to
(42:36):
have a creative, innovative culture where there's psychological safety, where
people feel free to be authentically themselves and come with
their ideas and bring their diverse perspectives, you have to
arm them with these skills. Well, you don't have to,
but you're going to be ahead if you arm your people.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
There you go, Yes, you don't have to, but you're
going to be ahead if you do. And this is
to me, I agree that it is not the employer's
responsibility to create my happiness, health and well being in
my home life or in my personal life. But the
skills are they overlap, they're the same. And if the
employer owns wellness and workplace wellness and fosters a culture
(43:20):
that creates safety, psychological safety, and education and support around that,
it's going to infinitely impact the employer, but it will
empower the employee in all aspects of their life, which
you just get a better, a more well rounded whole
human being.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah, and especially now with AI and machine learning. Yeah,
a lot of what we're doing, our task are going
to be taken up. The people side of it is
what we still have, you know, right kind of nurturing
that as well. And the way that we're doing it
at Amazon is none of this is forced upon people.
You know, we create these tools, we have these resources,
(44:02):
We host these sessions and people can come to them
if they want. But the interest there the appetite is there.
We've trained like over three hundred thousand people on these
skills in a very short amount of time, and it's
like the calendar is completely booked because people see these changes.
And something that you can I would recommend to employers
(44:25):
or managers. It's something simple that you can implement is
just adding gratitude. Gratitude is such a buzzword. But adding
appreciations to appreciation is.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
My Yeah, that's where I go to because gratitude is transactional.
Appreciation is actually a value add It raises, it appreciates
the value of something. So, yeah, you just made a
distinction that I usually call to action, but gratitude is
the gateway for that.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
It is. It is. But just like more practically, and
these are sort of the tools that we're arming managers
with now, is how you create that culture actually in
a remote environment is really challenging. Yes, so we're really
creating tools that are fostering a stronger, healthier, positive workplace.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
That's incredible. Well, are there any takeaways or nuggets of
wisdom you would like to share with everyone out there?
Especially Yes, we're navigating the holidays, so I want to
throw that in there. But anytime as we close out
the year and moving into a new year, If you
are struggling at work, feeling burnout, can't really you may
(45:33):
not feel right sized or harnessing your passion. What are
some things between now and the end of the year
that you would recommend people do in their personal time
to start to reevaluate their goals or their direction. What
are some practical things that might be helpful so people
(45:54):
can step into twenty twenty four more equipped and empowered
for a more successful and happy year professionally and personally.
What are some practical things that might be helpful so
people can step into twenty twenty four more equipped and
(46:18):
empowered for a more successful and happy year.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
When it comes to like feelings of burnout, I think
understanding taking inventory of why that's happening and when it's happening.
Are you in managing your energy versus managing your time,
because you only have so much energy in a day
to dedicate towards something, and then if you're pushing yourself more,
(46:45):
you're going to be making mistakes and you're going to
burn yourself out. So realizing one just taking inventory of
if you're feeling down, what is it is it at
work or is this you know, outside of work, and
maybe you're not taking care of yourself and that's bleeding
into your work, you know, like kind of understanding what
is it that's making you feel burnt out and then
(47:07):
taking action to address that. So if it's you, you
have way too many meetings. This is something that I
ran into. It was just like meeting, meeting, meeting back
to back to back. Okay, well that's not going to
work for me in the long term sustainable. So what
meetings are essential? Can a meeting turn into a walking
meeting where you're walking with your coworker chatting, so you're
(47:30):
like actually getting outside and out of your computer, like
kind of reinventing your day a little bit and not
just feeling like you have to stay on the hamster
wheel the whole time. And setting boundaries, Yeah, it's really important.
Like I block off my calendar after five. I don't
take calls after five, and I have team members all
over the globe, so I'll block off time on my
(47:52):
calendar when I'm not going to be taking calls and
feel empowered to do that. Like take your schedule into
your own hands is a big thing. I think a
lot of times we feel pressured, or at least I did,
to just go, go, go and take every meeting. But
it's like, what is the priority do I need to
be in this meeting and not just accepting everything that
(48:16):
comes into your inbox because you could work yourself into
the ground and you would still not be done.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Yeah, No, I think that's I think that's so healthy.
I mean managing your energy versus your time. That is
a great distinction and clarification to make because they are
not necessarily equal, and most of us are hardwired to
treat them equally. I should have abundant energy for all
the time there is, you know, well how many of
(48:43):
us say, gosh, if there were only thirty hours in
a day, you know, and that's a really sad way
to think and communicate. But that's a good point managing
your energy versus your time, setting very clear boundaries for yourself,
whether it be with your attendance and meetings, your availability,
the projects you're working on, Really assessing your schedule, your
(49:05):
responsibilities and setting healthy boundaries so you don't feel over
extended and you're communicating authentically, but taking your schedule into
your own hands. Just stating it that way is like, oh,
I know, one of the things that I appreciate for
myself is in making my schedule. Of course, things are
(49:27):
dictated in terms of clients and appointments, and then I'm
able to add things in. But I also add into
my schedule on a daily basis self care. And I
have done that. I mean, I've done it for over
a decade. And it's interesting how the self care contributes
to my efficacy, my happiness. And I know when the
(49:51):
self care is kind of benched out or squeezed out,
if that happens two or three days in a row.
I see it mentally. I see it in my physical body.
I see it in my creativity because I have enough
time and data to track that. So it's like healthy
sleep practices. I've gotten healthy sleep for years, and I
know when I have things on my plate that preclude
(50:14):
consistent healthy sleep. I see it when i can only
sleep X amount of hours per night because I've got
stuff going on, or life happens. Sometimes things just happen.
I feel it, and I can feel it in my
body where I am not clear and I'm not functional,
and so those things, I yes become more grateful for
(50:35):
my self care. But there's this appreciation that happens with
self care where I see myself more clear, productive, valuable, kinder,
you know, better communication skills, whatever it may be, and
more resilient. When my body is run down or I
do get sick, it may run through me a little
bit faster because I've created this precedent of care in
(50:59):
all aspects of my life.
Speaker 2 (51:01):
Yeah. Absolutely. When I was really struggling career wise, what
I learned so much was that it was more related
to me and my relationship to myself and self care,
and like things that I were ignoring were more me.
But then that bled into my work and like the
work of using us is kind of the scapegoat, but
it really had to like heal my trauma and get
(51:26):
better healthy habits and something if you struggle, If anyone
listening struggles with habit forming and keeping habits or like
keeping resolutions, run, don't walk. Atomic Habits is a book
by James Clear. I think it's New York Times bestselling books. Yeah,
it's a group of people have read it. If you haven't,
I would check that out. Something he suggests in that
(51:48):
book is called a habit assessment, and this really helped
me is just sit down with a notebook and write
down your habits from the time that you wake up
in the morning. So wake up, check my phone, put
chapstick on, go to the bathroom, take a shower like that,
grain nearly go through your day and see how you're
(52:08):
actually spending your time. And then when you look at
that list for each task that you put say is
this helping me towards my goals? Or is this hurting
me towards my goals? And sometimes watching Real Housewives is
helping you because you want.
Speaker 1 (52:23):
To think, Yes, I tell you what. Thank you for
saying that, because I a lot of times will talk
to people about their self care or spiritual practices being
really superficial or mundane. And when you carve out the
time for that and it makes you laugh, it brings
you joy. We all have a myriad of things that
(52:44):
can be self care for us. It's just not it's
not falling into escapism or complete debilitation around those things.
So I love that you're defining that too in more
broad terms, because self care is personal, but you're also
asking everyone to make an honest assessment. Okay, I hop
(53:04):
on my phone immediately. First thing in the morning, and
studies have shown I mean I know this. I talk
about this quite a bit. My first thing in my
day is when I am in that groggy state. That's
when I pray, I said intentions. I harness that positive
energy momentum that is between the sleeping and the waking state.
So I hesitate, hesitate before I pick up my phone
(53:25):
as long as I can to stay in that state,
and it actually builds, It builds on my intentions. I
condition my day. But I wouldn't know that if I
didn't get really honest about ooh, I'm just reaching for
my phone and scrolling through my email first thing in
the morning. So making an honest assessment or appraisal of
your time of your habits is a great starting place,
(53:47):
and with no judgment, objectively just being like, WHOA, I
didn't realize I was spending I did this seven times
a day. Is that contributing to my goals? Or is
it keeping me in a stasis?
Speaker 2 (54:00):
Yeah? And just something that has helped me is I
don't pick up my phone unless I have a reson too,
like just to pick it up?
Speaker 1 (54:07):
So good?
Speaker 2 (54:07):
Think it so good? Where am I going to go?
Let me just go through my six apps that I
go and bounce beteenum aimlessly. I don't do that. If
I need direction somewhere, I'll pull up my phone or
you know, our phone. Our lives are centered around our phones,
like we're going to be on our phone, such as
how it is now. But I am very intentional about
(54:28):
how I use my phone. When I was really going
through a hard time, getting off of social media really
helped me a lot. I was the time, who would
you know, compare to others or feel behind, and like
I would feel worse. So it's like have an assessment,
but then also figuring out how are these things making
me feel? Ising me is scrolling on social media for
(54:51):
half an hour helping me? Maybe it is? Maybe yes,
it's great. I love seeing pictures of my family and
my friends and sending memes and this is a great
time for me. But there's the other side of that.
Or when you're on social media, are you feeling you know,
less than ugly behind? Like whatever it is, what are
you doing? And then how are these things making you feel?
(55:14):
And if it's not making you feel good and it's
not an essential part of life, you know, like bills,
paying bills doesn't feel good, but we have to do it.
But you know, like generally speaking, how are things making
me feel? And focus on things that make you feel good.
This is a big thing. Like it comes down to
your habits and your mindset. Those are the biggest things
(55:37):
that I have really learned. And when it comes to mindset,
and I know we've chatted about this, but starting and
ending your day with gratitude. There's a lot of research
around this. So when you wake up in the morning,
asking yourself or telling yourself setting intentions like today is
going to be a great day, and then what I
(55:58):
like to do at night is ask yourself what went
well today. I learned that from doctor Daniel Amon, who
is author and yeah, he's amazing.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
He's amazing. Yeah, I mean I follow him on social
media and I learned something all the time. I have
so many videos saved from him, especially how he really
talks about how bad diet coke is. Because I don't
drink much diet coke, but anybody who knows me knows, Okay,
I like, I just want a fountain diet coke and
he's like carcentogen. So I go back to his videos
(56:27):
and be like, okay, I'll have a nice tea nice tee. Okay,
go back to sorry, I just I love him, but anyway,
go ahead.
Speaker 2 (56:34):
Buzz Yeah he has this. Yeah, I'm phrase. I hope
I get it right. But he's like, if you want
to feel good, you have to think good because your
thoughts create your feelings. Your feelings create your behaviors. Your
behaviors create your outcomes.
Speaker 1 (56:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (56:47):
So if you are stuck in which I was, in
negative thought patterns and going thinking the worst and just
worrying future tripping all of that, a great thing to
do is just stop, notice how you're feeling and then
choose a different thought. You know what feels better, Like,
what can I be grateful for in the situation? What
(57:08):
is this teaching me? Just really reframing the negativity in
your life, because it's going to be there either way,
but you do get to use how you look at
it and the lens that you're seeing it through.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
Absolutely that goes to that control thing of what do
you have control over your attitude, your outlook, and your actions.
And that's the habits and the mindset are the best
bang for your buck to see results, to make a
difference and an impact, and it just it takes habitual action,
(57:42):
so habitually reviewing your mindset and then choosing to expand it,
to shift your perspective, to get curious. And I think
those things we can all incorporate. We just get to
make the decision if we're dedicated to it. And I
think for me and for many people, once I see
people make a decision, I want to be healthier, I
(58:05):
want to be happier, I want to heal this, I
want to find more of this. It's making that decision
and then say I'm going after it. It may not
be easy, but I'm going to go after it, and
I'm going to go after it tomorrow and the next day,
and before you know it, all of a sudden, there
are results or you feel a difference, or something clicks,
or there's an outcome that you didn't expect but is
(58:29):
a result of some consistent effort.
Speaker 2 (58:32):
Yeah. Yeah, and your failures often lead you to better things.
And when doors close, I think it happens for a reason.
I really think everything happens for a reason. And so
it's just knowing that happiness is not an automatic state.
I remember Michelle Obama had a quote. She was doing
an interview and she was saying that it's your job
and your responsibility to do the work to make yourself
(58:54):
feel good, like it's on you have. Happiness is not
something that you are like a lot of times like
oh if I get the job, if I get the relationship, yeah,
I get the house, then I'm going to feel this,
but it's short lived. You have to find happiness, fulfillment
in yourself and purpose too. And that goes along with
(59:15):
your career too. I know we're talking to your career focus,
but it's about finding that in yourself.
Speaker 1 (59:21):
Absolutely well, Sarah, thank you so much for this vast
discussion around wellness and how personal wellness professional wellness they
really are two sides of the same coin that it
is all interconnected and it relates and one does impact
the other. So wherever you are looking to establish better
(59:47):
wellness and well being practices, whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually,
or energetically or all of the above, I think probably
the greatest takeaway is howbits in mindset. What Sarah was
closing on is looking at and assessing your habits today
and doing it objectively. It's not about judgment or shame
(01:00:08):
or berating yourself being able to take an honest appraisal
and then asking yourself, is this adding value? Is this
adding or contributing to my goals, my hopes, wishes, desires
and dreams, And in order to do that, getting clear
on your goals, hopes, wishes, desires, and dreams, that's what
that's what usually comes through there. So it gives you
(01:00:29):
a little bit of a template to start affecting some
change now into the end of the year that doesn't
have to have such external results, but where you internally
will start feeling like you're taking action, especially as we
move into a new year next year twenty twenty four,
which is a highly empowering year, and it's one of
(01:00:50):
those years energetically, I'll just close and saying this where
you will reap what you have sown, Meaning if you
have done the work and you have wholeheartedly been working
and growing to heal, you will feel that. But wherever
maybe you've been lacking in that, you will also see
the squirreliness, the disease, the discomfort come out erratically. And
(01:01:15):
we will all we all have different levels and spectrums
of this, so nobody's just gonna come out perfectly, and
then others are going to come out at a detriment.
It's not making those broad stroke claims, but it is
saying you will see where your deficits are in areas
that maybe you have denied strengthening new muscles or doing
the healing work or the growth, and then you will
(01:01:37):
see your successes where you have created that traction. So
I think this leads up into the end of the
year and into next year beautifully in a multitude of ways.
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
Yeah, And I would just close by saying the last
piece I think of advice that I would give is
just to be kind to yourself and give yourself permissions
to be a beginner. I hear a lot of imposters
and drum and people feeling like a phony. It doesn't
matter what level you're at, people feel that way. And
something that I hear a lot is you know, fake
it till you make it. And I used to love
(01:02:10):
that phrase, but I don't.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Because you're not faking it, you're doing it for the
first time. Yeah, So it's yes, you know, be confident
and like trick your brain into telling yourself you're excited
instead of being nervous. Like there's things that you can do.
But I would just say giving yourself grace is really important,
especially around the holidays. If you're not able to get
to everything on your to do list, or you're you
(01:02:35):
burn the pie, it's okay.
Speaker 1 (01:02:38):
Yeah, you know, you burn. That's a good example. If
you burn the pie, it's okay, Like it is okay, yeah,
the hopefully the ends like just the crust and the
inside is good, right exactly, Like if there's a pie
in front of me, I'll probably eat it, even if
it's burned on the bottom, like I'll find I'll find
the good stuff in it. So it's all that. It's
the mindset, you know, Okay, the crust maybe burn, which
(01:03:00):
the middle isn't, Like, give me that part of it,
you know. That's the way I go at it. So, Sarah,
thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight
and your experience on your personal journey and how that
is impacting you in the workforce and your role today
and your evolving role especially in wellness and emotional intelligence.
(01:03:22):
I think it's very needed, and I'm excited for your
voice to come through even broader and in more of
a leadership role in that area. It's much needed. So
thank you for coming on. Thank you everyone for joining us.
I hope you've gotten some practical wisdom, valuable nuggets from
this and you can do some shifting in your habits.
(01:03:45):
Really have the courage to assess your habits and look
at your mindset and how it's contributing. And then also
permission to be a beginner, like Sarah said, giving yourself
the grace and the kindness to say, Okay, I'm shifting
my habit. That's not an easy thing. Okay, I'm just
getting started at this, instead of having those high expectations
(01:04:06):
that many of us do. So we do give ourselves
the space and the grace because the advancement will come
as a result of that. Thank you for joining me
on soul Sessions. Have an amazing week.
Speaker 2 (01:04:16):
Be well.
Hi, everyone, it's Amanda Rigu Green. Welcome to Soul Sessions.
Thank you for joining me today. We have a special episode.
It's Part two of Wellness Discussion with my client and friend,
Sarah Peterson. To give you a little bit of a recap,
she has been in the events industry for fifteen years.
She currently works in business operations for Amazon Web Services.
(00:31):
In addition to that, she is on Amazon's Mental Health
and Wellbeing Affinity Group as well as their Emotional Intelligence
and Services Committee. Her contribution to workplace wellness and wellbeing
is not only a passion but a lifestyle that she
has created, and she's been able to affect tremendous personal
(00:54):
success in that and also professional success, and that is
the focus of our discussion today. So if you did
get to listen to part one, I encourage you to
go back because Sarah shares about her own wellness journey,
her call to action, and how she started to apply
practical tools and resources into her lifestyle. And today what
(01:16):
we're going to talk about is how that has affected
her professionally, finding deeper meaning, passion and success and of
course happiness in work. So I know you will relate
to this Welcome back, Sarah, thank you so much. Thank
you for having me absolutely, thank you so much for
intimately sharing your journey and the many tools and resources
(01:37):
and insights that you have discovered over the past few years,
and how they have positively influenced change effective changing your life,
contributing to your happiness and success. I think it's very
relatable and this topic about wellness. When we work on
our own wellness, it starts to filter out into all
(01:59):
parts of our life. And the question that many people
have on their hearts is how do I find professional
well being and success? Where is my passion? How am
I using my talents effectively? How am I contributing and
how do I feel that cohesion in the workplace in
my professional life? And I think you can speak to that,
(02:20):
not only personally, but how you've been able to in
your work at Amazon become a part of the wellness
movement and initiatives within Amazon. So talk to me a
little bit about your personal wellness journey. One of the
things that you and I were discussing was waking up
in the morning and feeling a sense of dread when
(02:42):
we and anxiety like, oh my gosh, I've got all
this on my plate today. This is what I have feeling,
this doom, this dread, and how that was something that
became you became very aware of and began to shift
and heal personally, but how it started to transform workplace
fitness and well being for you.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Like you said, I've been working in corporate America for
fifteen plus years now, and I've had periods of time
where I've felt very energized by the work that i
was doing in times that I didn't, And when it
comes to workplace well being, the biggest lesson that I
have learned is that you have to take your own
wellbeing into your own hands. Yes, your employer can do
(03:27):
have employee resource groups and provide benefits, and they are
responsible for creating sort of the culture of the company,
and yes, that goes into your wellness when it comes
to working. However, you also have to take some responsibility
for it, and I think when it comes to your career.
(03:48):
For me, I went through a hard time over COVID,
which we talked about in the first episode, but I
was feeling exactly how you were describing. I was thankful
that I had a job. However, I would dread going
to bed at night because that meant I had to
wake up in the morning and I had like just
the stress of it all when it came to work
(04:09):
was really overwhelming to me, and it was just the
work never ends, and it was problems with relationships at
work and just feeling like I had too much on
my plate all the time and it just felt like
a hamster spinning on a wheel and just feeling that
anxiety that dread every day was a really unhealthy place
for me, and so that really ignited a passion in
(04:32):
me to figure out, Okay, why am I feeling this way?
This is not a way to live. I don't want
to be spending five days a week dreading what I'm doing.
And yes, like you can't always control getting a new job,
like looking for a new job is a full time position,
especially over COVID, and for me, I have an events
background that that can be challenging finding a new job
(04:53):
in and of itself. I really just was in a
place where I was dreading work, and so I I've
kind of figured out, like, how can I feel better
throughout the day and not spend like I said, five
days a week feeling this looming doom. Knowing that I
can't just quit my job today because I need to
be able to pay my bills, and I was not
(05:15):
in a financial position to quit, although I could have
for a little bit, and I'm sure I would have
figured it out, but just I was way too scared
to just up and quit a career, even though I
knew it wasn't really speaking to my passions, it wasn't
energizing me. But I also was not in a position
to quit. Just practically speaking.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Well, I think a lot of people relate to that
because you're being realistic, you're getting very honest. This goes
back to self awareness and honesty, those two massive components
we talked about in Part one of personal wellness and
lifestyle change. Is this ability to get honest. Oh my gosh,
five days out of the week, I am going to
(05:57):
bed anxious, waking up in dress five day. If we
put that into perspective, depending on our work schedule, five
days out of a seven day week. If you do
the percentage on that, that's a pretty hefty percentage of
your life that you're spending in dread and anxiety. So naturally,
your creativity, your passion, your talents are not harnessed in
(06:22):
your workplace, so you're not only feeling or doing a
disservice to yourself or your employer's And of course, as
we discussed in the first one, you are a recovering
overachiever perfectionist like I am, like many of us out there,
So it creates this chain reaction of emotional despondency where
(06:42):
I feel guilty, I'm an imposter. I'm not putting my
heart and soul into this. I'm doing this because I
have to and I have to pay my bills and
what else am I going to do otherwise? And then
it just creates this residue and energy that is not productive.
But at the same time, when we can figure that
out out and say, okay, how do I start to
(07:02):
affect change. You talked about in our first podcast about
some of the things that you did to create personal change.
So if you haven't listened to that out there, everybody,
I would go and listen to it, because Sarah talks
a lot about getting quiet, spending time with yourself even
when it's uncomfortable, self awareness, looking at limiting beliefs, patterns
(07:24):
of behavior that may not be authentic or true to ourselves. Today,
there's a lot of nuggets of wisdom that contributed to
her workplace health and wellness. That will be helpful. But
when you started to feel better internally, get more clear
with yourself, what did you notice was out of alignment
(07:44):
professionally for you? And how did you start affecting healthy
practical change.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So when it came to my workplace, in my workplace
well being, I think one of the things that I
was doing, in clear a mistake that I was making
was putting way too much stock into my career, like
putting all of my eggs in one basket. And because
I'm not totally fulfilled with this job, I allowed myself
(08:15):
to kind of spiral and get so upset about things
instead of looking towards you know, gratitude and being thankful
that I had a job and you know, kind of
reframing things which we talked a lot about in the
last episode. So for me, really, I recognized that, Okay,
I'm giving way too much of my power away right
now and allowing myself to live in negativity and dread
(08:39):
and doom over a job which just seemed like way
too extreme for me, Like there's life is way too
amazing for this, Like I don't want to dread my
life and it's not all about work, And so a
big thing for me when it came to assessing my
relationship with my work was one understanding that I was
(09:01):
unhappy in my current job and really understanding why. And
for me, it was because I was in a position
that wasn't a great match for my skill set or
you know, I'm not going to put it all on
my employer, like I just wasn't achieving in that role,
and I had been in the same industry for a
long time, and I was just feeling like a crossroads
for me and I was ready for a change. But
(09:23):
just taking the time to understand what the issue was
was helpful for me as kind of a first step
and not giving my power away and learning to be
grateful for the discomfort, because I think that there's when
you are feeling out of alignment, or if you're in
a job where you're like, oh, gosh, this isn't it.
For me, I never knew what I wanted to be
(09:44):
when I grew up, so it's been kind of a
thing of trial and error and figuring out what you
like and what you don't like, and when you're in
a job where you feel like totally stuck. You have
to kind of figure out what is it about this
job that is bringing you down? Is it the environment?
Is it the people? Is it the culture? Is it
(10:04):
the work itself? Like, there's so much that goes into
your workplace and like your workplace well being. So it's
important to understand and be self aware about. Okay, if
I'm feeling out of alignment, I'm really unhappy, I'm feeling
this dread, why is that? And then like really pinpointing
and addressing what that is?
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I think that's so simple and clear and for anyone
out there if you are struggling professionally in feeling aligned,
feeling right sized, healthy whole, like you're using your talents
and you're passionate and contributing whatever gets you firing and wiring.
Knowing that and where it's it's underperforming, underutilized, but like
(10:49):
you said, identifying what components are depleting you from your
creativity and your your talents and passion. So is it
my team mates, is it the team that I'm working on?
Is it the department I'm in? Is it the balance
of being in and out of the office completely working
(11:09):
virtually or being in the office all the time and
feeling micromanaged. There are so many things that when we
start to assess the facts, which is again where I
think you're so equipped, is you get curious. You look
at the facts, and I think for anybody out there,
start by getting honest and looking at the facts. Why
(11:30):
am I unhappy? What is it about this job that
is not resonating with me? It is, you know, creating
the dread. And then to speak to the other part
of things, back into what you were saying around like
the five days a week going to bed anxious, waking
up in dread, and looking at that big chunk of
your life not being spent in the present moment, because
(11:52):
dread and anxiety are definitely tripping into the future. I know.
For me, let's say I have an abundant week, and
everybody knows me, I always replace the word busy with abundant.
I can easily sit, you know, in the evening and think,
oh gosh, I have all this on my plate. Oh
my gosh, I'm gonna get all this done. I mean,
that is the first go to for my brain, my hardwiring.
(12:14):
I am very conscious of that. And when I do that,
I laugh and I say, excuse me, Amanda, I just
have a die I disassociate, which you and I were
talking about, the detaching disassociating. I stop for a minute,
and in a healthy way, I say, excuse me. You're
sitting right here this evening, You've got both of your
dogs with you, you have the remainder of the evening
(12:35):
to wind down. You just had a good dinner, you know.
I start to look at where I am right now
and why in my comfort of the evening I'm needing
to feel guilty, dread, anxiety about tomorrow morning, which might
be ten to twelve hours away, whatever that timeframe is,
and say, okay, let me, let me get really present
(12:58):
right now, because tomorrow or will come. And also I
know this personally, nighttime is a very important time for
what our brains, our bodies, our consciousness resonates in. So
if I go to bed in anxiety, dread, fear, worry,
any of those emotions and thoughts that really contribute to
(13:20):
the quality of my well being, if I marinate in
that over six eight hours in the evening, plus the
two hours I'm spending watching TV but also feeling anxious
and dread, I am exacerbating that energy into my next
day and basically calling it forth, basically manifesting it. So
for me, I know, personally, I am so hyper aware
(13:42):
of that, and I consciously take action. And sometimes I'll
just say it. I'll say it to my husband just
so you know, I'm feeling anxiety and dread about tomorrow
or whatever I'm feeling, and he will say something very
clear to me, well, why are you feeling that that
we're not at tomorrow yet, we're today and we're about
to watch x y Z show on TV, or or
we're going to have dinner with some friends right now.
(14:05):
I mean, I can be already in anxiety when we
have dinner plans and I haven't even gotten to my
wind down. So being really conscious of those things does that.
I know that that helps for me. But if I
can stop the cycle or halt it or become very
aware of it, then I have a chance. I have
a chance to actually affect my day the next day.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah, absolutely, And that made me think of So, I
don't know if you saw the last Dance with Michael Jordan.
I don't know if you saw the last Dance with
Michael Jordan. It's like the best thing I've ever watched
in my life is incredible. Yes, yes, it was a
(14:48):
docu all about my yeah and his coming up. Yeah,
he said something. I was taking notes that whole documentary.
I'm like, Okay, how do I be more like Michael Jordan?
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I know he is pretty much a badass like there.
I mean he really his discipline and his work ethic
and honing his craft. He was very dedicated to that.
So yes, okay, keep talking about that. I think it's
a great example.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I'm six weeks away from getting my master's in positive psychology,
and the whole thing on that is the study of thriving,
like studying because a lot of mental health wellness it's
all you know, you hear a lot about anxiety depression,
but like that's mental illness, that's not mental wellness. So
when things are going well, what does that look like?
How do you thrive? And he said in that documentary
(15:33):
that today he got asked a question about, you know,
the big game before the finals, would you worry and
stress out and how did you calm your nerves and
get to a good headspace? And he was so calm
and cool about it. He was like, why am I
going to stress out about a shot I haven't taken yet,
and I was like, dam yeah, that's right, but it is.
(15:55):
And you like, what spending your time worrying about things
is a waste of time? Like some amount of worry
is good. I mean, if you go down the wrong
side of the street and you feel unsafe, like that
kind of worry to protect you is good. I'm not
talking about that.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Yeah, because that's an intuitive hit that says, ooh danger,
something isn't safe.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
But when we use worry as a tool and it
becomes hardwired into our energy field, and it's almost like
a coping mechanism, an unhealthy one at that. I always
find too with people that I read for and in clients. Worry, doubt, shame.
Those lower insidious vibrations are the cancer causers, Yeah, because
(16:39):
they vibrate so low and so quietly that they become natural,
and then they adversely impact our actually our biological rhythms
and functions, which of course impact our mental health and
well being. But I like the distinction you made between
mental health, mental illness, and wellness two different you know,
(17:01):
And I think that is imperative to define in workplace wellness,
organizational health and wellbeing we have the physical component, we
have the mental component, but then we have these other
components emotional health and consciousness. Being able to rewire our brains,
our patterns, become very self actualized and self aware. Harnessing
(17:24):
those together can optimize not only people and in the
right place and space, but the outcomes, the output for
not only the organization, but for the human being the
contributor in that role.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah. Absolutely. And it's like your thoughts actually can make
you sick scientifically speak, can you release hormones into your body?
And excessive negative thinking will make you sick and cause
disease in your body. And so a big thing when
it comes to workplace and like feeling out of alignment
is just getting a hold of your mindset and just
(18:01):
understanding that where you are today is not going to
be your forever. This is not going to be your
job forever. Asking yourself what can you be grateful for?
Is great. Reframing is a really great thing that you
can do. A very subtle verbide shift that works for
me if I find myself saying I have to like, oh,
I have to put together this document. Amazon has this
(18:24):
big writing culture, so it's like, oh, I have to
put write this six page document. It's like, no, I
get to I get to go in front of the
smartest people I've ever worked with and get critiqued by them.
Like it's a very intense culture and it can feel
very overwhelming. But just reframing as opportunities I think is
(18:45):
really important and a powerful thing that you can do
when it comes to to work. And also compartmentalizing has
really helped me, and I don't want to I'm cautious
about saying that because I don't want people to feel
like they shouldn't feel the emotions. Are like taking the
time and like give yourself time and space when you're
feeling negative emotions, but don't live in it for too long,
(19:08):
and just learning to detach yourself in a healthy way.
That's what I did in my career where it's like Okay,
I know I don't want to work here, but detaching
yourself and saying, Okay, I'm not going to let this
affect the rest of my life and bleed into my
other relationships. Like I found myself getting short with my
partner and you know, like it's like I don't want
(19:31):
to do that, Like you don't let it bleed into
your other relationships is kind of the takeaway, and the
best way that I found to do that is being present.
So when you're at work, be at work, do the
best that you can. Put your head down, ask for help,
you know, don't drowned at work alone. If you're really
feeling overwhelmed, talk to someone. Of course, every workplace is
(19:53):
going to be different, but something that I learned is
being okay and raising your hand and saying, you know what,
I have too much on my plate, or even taking
it a step further and depending on your relationship with
your manager, but saying you know what, this role isn't
quite what I expected. I don't feel like it's a
great fit in these ways. For so long I was
(20:15):
afraid to do that because I thought it would put
a target on my back. And you don't want to
be the weak link or you don't want to have
your employers lose trust in you, So I would tread
with this a little lightly. It depends on your relationship,
but I was fortunate I had a manager who was
pretty accepting and I just said, you know, like, I
don't feel like this is a great fit for me.
(20:37):
And a week later I had another job at that
same company.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I remember this for you, I mean I remember it
clearly because you exercised your ability to communicate that you
were you were not comfortable, it wasn't a good fit.
And because of the culture that you're in within Amazon,
there are lots of internal opportunities and they've set up
good checks and balances to be able to grow within
(21:02):
the organization, explore other roles. And you were able to
healthfully assert yourself with your manager. And what you alluded
to is not all of us feel like we have
relationships with our manager where we can say that or
there will be blowback. But you did a lot of
personal work and clarity and clarification in order to assert yourself.
(21:24):
And I know in those kinds of moments which are
pivotal personally professionally, when we deny our truth, when we
stay unhappy for the sake of fear, What if there's retaliation?
What if I'm fired? What you know, we go to
the doomsday scenario, which that's human, that's normal, that's back
(21:46):
into that fight or flight part of our brain we
discussed in the first episode. But why not What if
I don't assert myself? What am I risking of my happiness,
my well being, me using my talents more optimally within
the organization and where I could be more useful, productive
and contributing to the overall of the organization and feel
(22:06):
happier and feel better. And when you were in that
discernment process, because I distinctly remember, it was all the
what if I don't speak up, what if I don't
do this, then I'm just gonna stay unhappy, unhealthy, probably
get sick, you know, become as a partner, you know,
more irritable, more discontent, and it's going to come out
sideways in all aspects of my life. So there is
(22:28):
an element of courage that comes with our well being
and our wellness that we do have to do hard things,
courageous things. But when we are speaking our truth, you know,
it may not perfectly align or the path may not
beautifully unfold exactly the way we envision it. But usually
when we are speaking from our heart and our truth
(22:52):
and coming from a place of neutrality, not retaliation or anger.
I know, for me that's a big piece of it
is do I believe in this and speaking for my truth?
Am I cleaning up my side of the street? And
I'm also doing it from a place of neutrality, not
from resentment or anger or fear. I'm coming from honesty.
I'm coming from clarity. I'm coming from a space where
(23:13):
my motive is more pure, more aligned, more authentic, more
in integrity. And if I am, then I'm going to
leave the rest up for me to higher power, to
the universe, to the other people and players involved, and
I'm going to trust that things are going to unfold
for the highest good. I mean, those are the kinds
(23:34):
of intentions that I said. I bring a higher consciousness
into that discussion because I can't do it alone and
I do need to ask for help, So thank you
for that, of course.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Yeah. And another way that you can frame it too,
if you don't feel comfortable saying this isn't a good
fit for me, if you don't want to go that
extreme with it or that honest. A way to kind
of frame it in like a good corporate political way
is I'm really great with people. I wish that you know,
are there opportunities for me to get work that is
more aligned with X, y Z, like whatever you're looking
(24:07):
for like or is there more opportunities for creativity or
coding or whatever it is that your strengths are or
whatever you're lacking in your current job. Maybe you won't
be able to get it in your current position, but
you can make connections and you're usually your manager can
help you with that, but with roles outside of your job.
(24:29):
Like I would say, something that's really helped me when
I have been in a full time position where I
maybe didn't feel so in alignment is picking up side
projects that do feel my passion. So that's sort of
where I started working with the mental health and well
being group at Amazon. Like I went through my dark time,
pulled myself out of it, and it was very practical,
(24:49):
like I could put together a playbook for how I
did it, and it's like, Okay, I really am passionate
about this and I want to teach these skills to others,
and so I started doing work with them. I found
executives who are doing this type of work and I'll
just put time on their calendar. Like I'm very aggressive
when it comes to going after what I want in
(25:09):
the corporate world, and you kind of have to be.
Like that goes back to taking your well being into
your own hands. You also have to take your career
into your own hands. And what that looks like to
me is making those connections, figuring out like whose career
do I admire here, whether it's a working style or
the actual work that they're doing, the type of work,
(25:29):
where are those people in my organization? And people want
to help people, they really do, Like you'd be surprised.
I send an email off to Jeff Bezos when I
got to Amazon's because why.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Not, you know, why not exactly?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
And I did get a reply and I did end
up the reason why this role that I'm taking now
with the Emotional Intelligence and Success community moving into twenty
twenty four, I'm moving into a VP role where I'm
going to be managing all of their internal emotional intelligence activity.
And the way that I was able to do that
is I put together a document that outlined what were
(26:06):
the business challenges that were going to be solved by
what I wanted to do and what my plan was,
and that got accepted and now I'm going to be
doing that moving into twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
First of all, you all have to know out there,
like I've known Sarah for a while now and her
journey personally, professionally, spiritually, mentally, I mean so many components
on an intimate level. This is so huge and for
her to have her personal wellness journey evolve into a
(26:40):
role where she can make a massive impact on a
practical and a cultural level of a huge organization and
it to be brought into reality. These are big leaps
and they came with a lot of practical, consistent action,
dedication to your own wellness. And this is an example
(27:04):
to anyone out there. I love that you shared about
being aggressive and she's not talking about confrontation or aggression
in the lower vibration. She's saying, put yourself out there.
It's essentially a numbers game too. There's networking and people
do want to help people, and you see what sticks.
You know, you put it out there. And when we
get rejected. I want to talk about rejection in that
(27:26):
sense too, because back to the numbers game and reaching
out and connecting and networking. That takes effort. And I
can't tell you how many people I connect with. And
I'm like, listen, you got a network. Like I know
it doesn't feel good. I know you're kind of stuck
in your energy field right now, but start reaching out
and start here's some simple ways, and don't worry so
much about who responds. You know, don't get focused on
(27:49):
the outcome of the connection. Just start to connect, because
you will create that momentum and that energy that is
setting a precedence in your energy field. That will build
a momentum and then what is aligned will start to stick,
and it will stick in a bigger timeline, a more
divine timeline, within the field, within the universe, maybe not
your personal timeline. So when you find yourself discouraged or
(28:12):
feeling rejected, see where you can really redefine that or
heal that because you're building a resiliency and you have
done all of those things, and now look what you
have coming up in twenty twenty four. I am thrilled
for you. Plus, it's needed, and it's setting a new precedent,
(28:32):
essentially a new place in workplaces and in Amazon for
the importance of emotional intelligence and that being a functional
role within the organization. That's huge and that's a big success. Congratulations.
Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yeah, thank you so much, Thank you so much. And
I just see a big need having worked in corporate
America for so long. It doesn't have to be at
the expense of your wellbeing. Like you can achieve right,
And actually, if you look at the research and the numbers,
the more that you take care of yourself and take
breaks and recharge, that actually increases your productivity. So I've
(29:09):
learned like self care and also, like we're talking about networking,
and I know that can be a little bit burfee like,
oh god, I don't need network Like that sounds corporate
and awful. It's all about framing and like reframing. I
view it as more making connections versus networking. And that's
a big thing too when it comes to workplace well
being is having connections and making connections. They've done a
(29:33):
lot of studies around this, and there was some study
out there that was saying, if you have two friends
at work, it's the equivalent of making an extra hundred
thousand dollars a year, which I don't know where that
came from or that was my colleague rich Wall, who
started the HU community at Amazon, had shared that with me.
But it's true, Like if you are upset at work
(29:56):
or unhappy at work, like having that one person who
you really trust too you can talk to and vent
you a little bit. I'm careful about venting, like you
don't want to spend too much of your time focusing
on things that you don't like. But just being able
to have that person or people is really important. But
you have to be careful in corporate America. You don't
(30:17):
want to like say too much and like you always
need to yeah, political and all that, but just having
connections at work, personal connections and like taking that time
to actually, yes, get to know.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Cultivating relationships. Yeah, and so while networking maybe a word
that like if we don't even want to think about that,
it's about cultivating relationships, interpersonal connections. And I love the
whatever the study was saying, having two friends at work
is like an extra hundred grand It's really this element
of the equity we build in community, in connection. We
(30:52):
work in community. We are hardwired for community, and we
do live in a society that is beginning to isolate
and pull back from connection and community, and we thrive
on that. We need it. I know that my creativity
is harnessed with other people and alongside other people. And
when I see someone else firing and wiring, eye fire
(31:14):
and wire higher, there is a natural resonance and energy
flow that is exponentially greater. And that's Essentially, what you're
encouraging is reaching out, making connections somebody who astounds you
or says something amazing in a meeting, or that you
was totally on point with the way that you were
(31:36):
conceptualizing something reaching out to them and saying, hey, you
shared this in a meeting, thank you. I totally resonated.
Or I've been thinking about this the last couple of weeks.
Maybe we can connect some time, or I'd love to
visit with you further about fill in the blank. It's
that courage that you were talking about, that assertion, asserting
(31:56):
ourselves and also reaching out to like minded or resources
within people that build our network, that create these connections
that can open new doors for us, stimulate new ideas,
and foster greater health and well being.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
What are some of the initiatives internally that you think
have been most successful within Amazon's Mental Health and well
Being affinity group and looking at emotional intelligence that have
been resonating with employees? What are some of the biggest
ask what's been resonating? Yeah, and where is a lot
of the focus right now.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
A program that I have been managing this year, it
was called an We call it the EQ and Action program.
But every month we pick one emotional intelligence team, So
if you're not familiar with emotional intelligence, it's essentially learning
how to manage your own emotions and then the emotions
of others. And this whole concept of EQ was a
little bit crazy at Amazon at first because it's like,
(33:05):
why are you talking about emotions and wushy stuff in
a corporate setting. What I have learned through working with
them is that emotions really are data, like their data
points that can be either used or ignored. And when
it comes to being successful in your career, you have
to be able to manage the people side of things
(33:26):
as much as the business. So like Amazon, for instance,
is a very innovative culture IQ through the roof, you know,
but where we saw what was needed most was really
that people's side and the human behind the work because
it's people working with people at the end of the day.
And so this EQ and Action program that we have
(33:47):
been running is every month we pick a theme that
goes along with emotional intelligence. So the ones that resonated
the most were self care. So we did a whole
month around self care and so this is if you're struggling,
like self care needs to be non negotiable. It just
has to be for everybody. Schedule it this. When I
(34:08):
say self care, diet, exercise, sleep, I mean these are
not not new concepts, but sleep is so important, getting outside,
scheduling time for things that bring you joy, nurturing the
relationships in your life. Making you know, for me, I
can get real into work and permit really badly. I've
(34:29):
learned to foster my relationships outside of work and also
my relationship with myself. So your relationship with yourself that
goes along with self care, how you talk to yourself
is really important. That's been a big focus. What I
have learned is through working in this corporate setting doing
this emotional intelligence work, is that the work side people
(34:50):
really have down. But it's like it's taking care of
yourself and your relationship with yourself that people seem to
struggle with. And I hear a lot about and out
and imposter syndrome. And this is from like the tippy
top executives at Amazon down to the fulfillment workers. You know,
like no matter what level you're at in the organization,
(35:12):
those seem to be the biggest pain points and just
finding purpose and work as well. So it's more kind
of the existential questions that people struggle with. Well.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Yeah, and you know, I love that you are bringing
this to the forefront and you have a voice within
Amazon that does have a massive impact in the corporate
world and in corporate wellness because so many leaders that
I talk to are experiencing these things. Burnout, even imposter syndrome,
the thing that we talked about in our first episode
(35:46):
of Everything on paper looks successful, but internally I'm not happy,
or I don't feel successful, or I'm not motivated, passionate,
driven in places I used to be whatever, whatever may
be going on. And so many leaders, and I don't
mean to say this as a blanket statement, aren't really
sure about investing in EQ IQ sure EQ. Why are
(36:11):
we talking about feelings in the workplace and how we
feel when we're looking at wellness. We have maybe the
physical components of wellness, physical health and well being, the
healthcare component of keeping people healthy, health insurance benefits, reducing
cost in that sense, and then we have mental health,
(36:32):
which again stigmas have been taken off of and now
it's taken a more prominent place in health care and
wellness and well being. But we have new frontiers and
they are emotional intelligence. And then I would also take
it a step further and talk about higher consciousness consciousness
because you've alluded to it when you talk about meaning
(36:52):
and purpose, and that all tracks and resonates. So the
employers to me, who are more innovative in looking at
new ways of revitalizing and optimizing their organizations and their
workforce are looking at EQ and also meaning and purpose
to respond to burnout or stressors, impress it pressures that
(37:16):
happen in everyday life. I love that you said that
one way that you all have tackled this is having
a monthly theme. I think for anybody out there that
has influence in their workplace or even in life, if
you want to have a monthly theme, I think this
could apply personally or organizationally having a theme. What am
I going to focus on this month? So if that's
(37:37):
you personally, make a theme, okay, I want to focus
on self care this month, or I want to focus
on my you know, my physical health and what I'm
putting into my body food this month, eating healthy to
feel healthier, to be healthier, having a monthly theme. But
I love too that anyone out there who does have
an impact professionally in their workspace and have a voice
(38:00):
and can contribute, or as a leader in your workplace,
how can you introduce a theme and maybe get some
people to collaborate or come in and speak or give
a presentation, do a webinar, because I know Amazon does this,
But if you want to have a monthly theme, you
know in twenty twenty four different themes that contribute to
(38:22):
wellness overall health and wellbeing, and then asking other people
to come in, give presentation, share insights and resources to contribute,
that can create a cohesion. So I love the idea
of or the implementation of a monthly theme.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
Yeah, because it's hard to facilitate culture change, you know,
Like when I talk to the top the leadership team
at Amazon, it all sounds great on paper, but it's
like what business problems are these actually solving?
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Yeah, And it's like, well, which is their question? And
they answer to their shareholders right on that eventually yes.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Yeah, and this is a company that is in place
to make money, like this is not a therapist office
or not roorty and so it's like I ustand but
what I have learned and found is through and there's
research and data to back this up. Is like, when
employees are happier, they're much more productive. When they're taking
care of themselves, they're more creative, Like the output of
(39:19):
the work is better if the person behind the work
is being taken care of.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
There's data to support that. And I'm about to say
something pretty bold and a discussion that I just had
with a CEO and someone who I know very well
and has been very successful, and we were talking about
employee wellness, workplace wellness, and the overall fitness of the organization.
And the conversation that came out of that was, well,
(39:47):
you know, I am hiring someone for a job. I
am hiring them to do X, Y Z job, and
I expect them to come in and do this job.
Why do I really care if they're happy at home?
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Right?
Speaker 1 (40:01):
That was a straightforward quession. Is it my responsibility for
them to be happy at home?
Speaker 2 (40:07):
And?
Speaker 1 (40:08):
On paper, no, but I know that when I'm happier personally,
I'm a human being. I'm going to have difficult times
in my life and I'm going to have, you know,
smooth sailing times in life. There are times when I'm
on cruise control and things are rocking along, okay, and
then I'm going to experience a family illness or something
(40:28):
sick because that is the nature of life. So ultimately,
an employer is not hiring me to take care of
my well being and the personal challenges I face in life. However,
how can CEOs, how can leaders, executive teams, managers respond
to productivity optimizing people performance? But how does that track
(40:52):
back to their happiness and their ownership on personal wellness
and well being, which to me talks about resiliency and
how how can employers embrace resiliency for their workforce so
they can experience the productivity and navigate the downtimes in
an economy or in people's personal lives.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
I know that's a really big question I'm asking you,
But that was an actual conversation I had, and I
mean my heart sank. Yeah, you know, like when I
had that conversation and I understood where it was coming from,
I understood both sides of the coin. But also that
is that leader's bottom line is I'm not responsible for
your happiness at home.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
Yeah, and I don't disagree with that. I think that
is completely fair. I think my answer to that when
it comes to teaching these skills is to keep it
focused on the work when you're teaching it at work, like,
for instance, self management was a one of our themes.
So how do you manage your own emotions, like when
you get triggered at work and in a meeting and
(41:54):
so you don't buy back? Yes, somebody, And so we
teach those real tactical, practical skills to help you be
successful in the workplace, and we put it in like
through a work lens. However, the skills are the same
at home or Yes, it's like we'll teach you these
skills and this is going to help you in your work,
(42:14):
but maybe you won't you be short with your kids
tonight because you have learned box breathing or like methods
of like to bring yourself down when you're feeling triggered.
So I agree that it's not an employer's responsibility, yes,
but I also think that the people side of it
is part of the business. And if you want to
(42:36):
have a creative, innovative culture where there's psychological safety, where
people feel free to be authentically themselves and come with
their ideas and bring their diverse perspectives, you have to
arm them with these skills. Well, you don't have to,
but you're going to be ahead if you arm your people.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
There you go, Yes, you don't have to, but you're
going to be ahead if you do. And this is
to me, I agree that it is not the employer's
responsibility to create my happiness, health and well being in
my home life or in my personal life. But the
skills are they overlap, they're the same. And if the
employer owns wellness and workplace wellness and fosters a culture
(43:20):
that creates safety, psychological safety, and education and support around that,
it's going to infinitely impact the employer, but it will
empower the employee in all aspects of their life, which
you just get a better, a more well rounded whole
human being.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah, and especially now with AI and machine learning. Yeah,
a lot of what we're doing, our task are going
to be taken up. The people side of it is
what we still have, you know, right kind of nurturing
that as well. And the way that we're doing it
at Amazon is none of this is forced upon people.
You know, we create these tools, we have these resources,
(44:02):
We host these sessions and people can come to them
if they want. But the interest there the appetite is there.
We've trained like over three hundred thousand people on these
skills in a very short amount of time, and it's
like the calendar is completely booked because people see these changes.
And something that you can I would recommend to employers
(44:25):
or managers. It's something simple that you can implement is
just adding gratitude. Gratitude is such a buzzword. But adding
appreciations to appreciation is.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
My Yeah, that's where I go to because gratitude is transactional.
Appreciation is actually a value add It raises, it appreciates
the value of something. So, yeah, you just made a
distinction that I usually call to action, but gratitude is
the gateway for that.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
It is. It is. But just like more practically, and
these are sort of the tools that we're arming managers
with now, is how you create that culture actually in
a remote environment is really challenging. Yes, so we're really
creating tools that are fostering a stronger, healthier, positive workplace.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
That's incredible. Well, are there any takeaways or nuggets of
wisdom you would like to share with everyone out there?
Especially Yes, we're navigating the holidays, so I want to
throw that in there. But anytime as we close out
the year and moving into a new year, If you
are struggling at work, feeling burnout, can't really you may
(45:33):
not feel right sized or harnessing your passion. What are
some things between now and the end of the year
that you would recommend people do in their personal time
to start to reevaluate their goals or their direction. What
are some practical things that might be helpful so people
(45:54):
can step into twenty twenty four more equipped and empowered
for a more successful and happy year professionally and personally.
What are some practical things that might be helpful so
people can step into twenty twenty four more equipped and
(46:18):
empowered for a more successful and happy year.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
When it comes to like feelings of burnout, I think
understanding taking inventory of why that's happening and when it's happening.
Are you in managing your energy versus managing your time,
because you only have so much energy in a day
to dedicate towards something, and then if you're pushing yourself more,
(46:45):
you're going to be making mistakes and you're going to
burn yourself out. So realizing one just taking inventory of
if you're feeling down, what is it is it at
work or is this you know, outside of work, and
maybe you're not taking care of yourself and that's bleeding
into your work, you know, like kind of understanding what
is it that's making you feel burnt out and then
(47:07):
taking action to address that. So if it's you, you
have way too many meetings. This is something that I
ran into. It was just like meeting, meeting, meeting back
to back to back. Okay, well that's not going to
work for me in the long term sustainable. So what
meetings are essential? Can a meeting turn into a walking
meeting where you're walking with your coworker chatting, so you're
(47:30):
like actually getting outside and out of your computer, like
kind of reinventing your day a little bit and not
just feeling like you have to stay on the hamster
wheel the whole time. And setting boundaries, Yeah, it's really important.
Like I block off my calendar after five. I don't
take calls after five, and I have team members all
over the globe, so I'll block off time on my
(47:52):
calendar when I'm not going to be taking calls and
feel empowered to do that. Like take your schedule into
your own hands is a big thing. I think a
lot of times we feel pressured, or at least I did,
to just go, go, go and take every meeting. But
it's like, what is the priority do I need to
be in this meeting and not just accepting everything that
(48:16):
comes into your inbox because you could work yourself into
the ground and you would still not be done.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Yeah, No, I think that's I think that's so healthy.
I mean managing your energy versus your time. That is
a great distinction and clarification to make because they are
not necessarily equal, and most of us are hardwired to
treat them equally. I should have abundant energy for all
the time there is, you know, well how many of
(48:43):
us say, gosh, if there were only thirty hours in
a day, you know, and that's a really sad way
to think and communicate. But that's a good point managing
your energy versus your time, setting very clear boundaries for yourself,
whether it be with your attendance and meetings, your availability,
the projects you're working on, Really assessing your schedule, your
(49:05):
responsibilities and setting healthy boundaries so you don't feel over
extended and you're communicating authentically, but taking your schedule into
your own hands. Just stating it that way is like, oh,
I know, one of the things that I appreciate for
myself is in making my schedule. Of course, things are
(49:27):
dictated in terms of clients and appointments, and then I'm
able to add things in. But I also add into
my schedule on a daily basis self care. And I
have done that. I mean, I've done it for over
a decade. And it's interesting how the self care contributes
to my efficacy, my happiness. And I know when the
(49:51):
self care is kind of benched out or squeezed out,
if that happens two or three days in a row.
I see it mentally. I see it in my physical body.
I see it in my creativity because I have enough
time and data to track that. So it's like healthy
sleep practices. I've gotten healthy sleep for years, and I
know when I have things on my plate that preclude
(50:14):
consistent healthy sleep. I see it when i can only
sleep X amount of hours per night because I've got
stuff going on, or life happens. Sometimes things just happen.
I feel it, and I can feel it in my
body where I am not clear and I'm not functional,
and so those things, I yes become more grateful for
(50:35):
my self care. But there's this appreciation that happens with
self care where I see myself more clear, productive, valuable, kinder,
you know, better communication skills, whatever it may be, and
more resilient. When my body is run down or I
do get sick, it may run through me a little
bit faster because I've created this precedent of care in
(50:59):
all aspects of my life.
Speaker 2 (51:01):
Yeah. Absolutely. When I was really struggling career wise, what
I learned so much was that it was more related
to me and my relationship to myself and self care,
and like things that I were ignoring were more me.
But then that bled into my work and like the
work of using us is kind of the scapegoat, but
it really had to like heal my trauma and get
(51:26):
better healthy habits and something if you struggle, If anyone
listening struggles with habit forming and keeping habits or like
keeping resolutions, run, don't walk. Atomic Habits is a book
by James Clear. I think it's New York Times bestselling books. Yeah,
it's a group of people have read it. If you haven't,
I would check that out. Something he suggests in that
(51:48):
book is called a habit assessment, and this really helped
me is just sit down with a notebook and write
down your habits from the time that you wake up
in the morning. So wake up, check my phone, put
chapstick on, go to the bathroom, take a shower like that,
grain nearly go through your day and see how you're
(52:08):
actually spending your time. And then when you look at
that list for each task that you put say is
this helping me towards my goals? Or is this hurting
me towards my goals? And sometimes watching Real Housewives is
helping you because you want.
Speaker 1 (52:23):
To think, Yes, I tell you what. Thank you for
saying that, because I a lot of times will talk
to people about their self care or spiritual practices being
really superficial or mundane. And when you carve out the
time for that and it makes you laugh, it brings
you joy. We all have a myriad of things that
(52:44):
can be self care for us. It's just not it's
not falling into escapism or complete debilitation around those things.
So I love that you're defining that too in more
broad terms, because self care is personal, but you're also
asking everyone to make an honest assessment. Okay, I hop
(53:04):
on my phone immediately. First thing in the morning, and
studies have shown I mean I know this. I talk
about this quite a bit. My first thing in my
day is when I am in that groggy state. That's
when I pray, I said intentions. I harness that positive
energy momentum that is between the sleeping and the waking state.
So I hesitate, hesitate before I pick up my phone
(53:25):
as long as I can to stay in that state,
and it actually builds, It builds on my intentions. I
condition my day. But I wouldn't know that if I
didn't get really honest about ooh, I'm just reaching for
my phone and scrolling through my email first thing in
the morning. So making an honest assessment or appraisal of
your time of your habits is a great starting place,
(53:47):
and with no judgment, objectively just being like, WHOA, I
didn't realize I was spending I did this seven times
a day. Is that contributing to my goals? Or is
it keeping me in a stasis?
Speaker 2 (54:00):
Yeah? And just something that has helped me is I
don't pick up my phone unless I have a reson too,
like just to pick it up?
Speaker 1 (54:07):
So good?
Speaker 2 (54:07):
Think it so good? Where am I going to go?
Let me just go through my six apps that I
go and bounce beteenum aimlessly. I don't do that. If
I need direction somewhere, I'll pull up my phone or
you know, our phone. Our lives are centered around our phones,
like we're going to be on our phone, such as
how it is now. But I am very intentional about
(54:28):
how I use my phone. When I was really going
through a hard time, getting off of social media really
helped me a lot. I was the time, who would
you know, compare to others or feel behind, and like
I would feel worse. So it's like have an assessment,
but then also figuring out how are these things making
me feel? Ising me is scrolling on social media for
(54:51):
half an hour helping me? Maybe it is? Maybe yes,
it's great. I love seeing pictures of my family and
my friends and sending memes and this is a great
time for me. But there's the other side of that.
Or when you're on social media, are you feeling you know,
less than ugly behind? Like whatever it is, what are
you doing? And then how are these things making you feel?
(55:14):
And if it's not making you feel good and it's
not an essential part of life, you know, like bills,
paying bills doesn't feel good, but we have to do it.
But you know, like generally speaking, how are things making
me feel? And focus on things that make you feel good.
This is a big thing. Like it comes down to
your habits and your mindset. Those are the biggest things
(55:37):
that I have really learned. And when it comes to mindset,
and I know we've chatted about this, but starting and
ending your day with gratitude. There's a lot of research
around this. So when you wake up in the morning,
asking yourself or telling yourself setting intentions like today is
going to be a great day, and then what I
(55:58):
like to do at night is ask yourself what went
well today. I learned that from doctor Daniel Amon, who
is author and yeah, he's amazing.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
He's amazing. Yeah, I mean I follow him on social
media and I learned something all the time. I have
so many videos saved from him, especially how he really
talks about how bad diet coke is. Because I don't
drink much diet coke, but anybody who knows me knows, Okay,
I like, I just want a fountain diet coke and
he's like carcentogen. So I go back to his videos
(56:27):
and be like, okay, I'll have a nice tea nice tee. Okay,
go back to sorry, I just I love him, but anyway,
go ahead.
Speaker 2 (56:34):
Buzz Yeah he has this. Yeah, I'm phrase. I hope
I get it right. But he's like, if you want
to feel good, you have to think good because your
thoughts create your feelings. Your feelings create your behaviors. Your
behaviors create your outcomes.
Speaker 1 (56:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (56:47):
So if you are stuck in which I was, in
negative thought patterns and going thinking the worst and just
worrying future tripping all of that, a great thing to
do is just stop, notice how you're feeling and then
choose a different thought. You know what feels better, Like,
what can I be grateful for in the situation? What
(57:08):
is this teaching me? Just really reframing the negativity in
your life, because it's going to be there either way,
but you do get to use how you look at
it and the lens that you're seeing it through.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
Absolutely that goes to that control thing of what do
you have control over your attitude, your outlook, and your actions.
And that's the habits and the mindset are the best
bang for your buck to see results, to make a
difference and an impact, and it just it takes habitual action,
(57:42):
so habitually reviewing your mindset and then choosing to expand it,
to shift your perspective, to get curious. And I think
those things we can all incorporate. We just get to
make the decision if we're dedicated to it. And I
think for me and for many people, once I see
people make a decision, I want to be healthier, I
(58:05):
want to be happier, I want to heal this, I
want to find more of this. It's making that decision
and then say I'm going after it. It may not
be easy, but I'm going to go after it, and
I'm going to go after it tomorrow and the next day,
and before you know it, all of a sudden, there
are results or you feel a difference, or something clicks,
or there's an outcome that you didn't expect but is
(58:29):
a result of some consistent effort.
Speaker 2 (58:32):
Yeah. Yeah, and your failures often lead you to better things.
And when doors close, I think it happens for a reason.
I really think everything happens for a reason. And so
it's just knowing that happiness is not an automatic state.
I remember Michelle Obama had a quote. She was doing
an interview and she was saying that it's your job
and your responsibility to do the work to make yourself
(58:54):
feel good, like it's on you have. Happiness is not
something that you are like a lot of times like
oh if I get the job, if I get the relationship, yeah,
I get the house, then I'm going to feel this,
but it's short lived. You have to find happiness, fulfillment
in yourself and purpose too. And that goes along with
(59:15):
your career too. I know we're talking to your career focus,
but it's about finding that in yourself.
Speaker 1 (59:21):
Absolutely well, Sarah, thank you so much for this vast
discussion around wellness and how personal wellness professional wellness they
really are two sides of the same coin that it
is all interconnected and it relates and one does impact
the other. So wherever you are looking to establish better
(59:47):
wellness and well being practices, whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually,
or energetically or all of the above, I think probably
the greatest takeaway is howbits in mindset. What Sarah was
closing on is looking at and assessing your habits today
and doing it objectively. It's not about judgment or shame
(01:00:08):
or berating yourself being able to take an honest appraisal
and then asking yourself, is this adding value? Is this
adding or contributing to my goals, my hopes, wishes, desires
and dreams, And in order to do that, getting clear
on your goals, hopes, wishes, desires, and dreams, that's what
that's what usually comes through there. So it gives you
(01:00:29):
a little bit of a template to start affecting some
change now into the end of the year that doesn't
have to have such external results, but where you internally
will start feeling like you're taking action, especially as we
move into a new year next year twenty twenty four,
which is a highly empowering year, and it's one of
(01:00:50):
those years energetically, I'll just close and saying this where
you will reap what you have sown, Meaning if you
have done the work and you have wholeheartedly been working
and growing to heal, you will feel that. But wherever
maybe you've been lacking in that, you will also see
the squirreliness, the disease, the discomfort come out erratically. And
(01:01:15):
we will all we all have different levels and spectrums
of this, so nobody's just gonna come out perfectly, and
then others are going to come out at a detriment.
It's not making those broad stroke claims, but it is
saying you will see where your deficits are in areas
that maybe you have denied strengthening new muscles or doing
the healing work or the growth, and then you will
(01:01:37):
see your successes where you have created that traction. So
I think this leads up into the end of the
year and into next year beautifully in a multitude of ways.
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
Yeah, And I would just close by saying the last
piece I think of advice that I would give is
just to be kind to yourself and give yourself permissions
to be a beginner. I hear a lot of imposters
and drum and people feeling like a phony. It doesn't
matter what level you're at, people feel that way. And
something that I hear a lot is you know, fake
it till you make it. And I used to love
(01:02:10):
that phrase, but I don't.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Because you're not faking it, you're doing it for the
first time. Yeah, So it's yes, you know, be confident
and like trick your brain into telling yourself you're excited
instead of being nervous. Like there's things that you can do.
But I would just say giving yourself grace is really important,
especially around the holidays. If you're not able to get
to everything on your to do list, or you're you
(01:02:35):
burn the pie, it's okay.
Speaker 1 (01:02:38):
Yeah, you know, you burn. That's a good example. If
you burn the pie, it's okay, Like it is okay, yeah,
the hopefully the ends like just the crust and the
inside is good, right exactly, Like if there's a pie
in front of me, I'll probably eat it, even if
it's burned on the bottom, like I'll find I'll find
the good stuff in it. So it's all that. It's
the mindset, you know, Okay, the crust maybe burn, which
(01:03:00):
the middle isn't, Like, give me that part of it,
you know. That's the way I go at it. So, Sarah,
thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight
and your experience on your personal journey and how that
is impacting you in the workforce and your role today
and your evolving role especially in wellness and emotional intelligence.
(01:03:22):
I think it's very needed, and I'm excited for your
voice to come through even broader and in more of
a leadership role in that area. It's much needed. So
thank you for coming on. Thank you everyone for joining us.
I hope you've gotten some practical wisdom, valuable nuggets from
this and you can do some shifting in your habits.
(01:03:45):
Really have the courage to assess your habits and look
at your mindset and how it's contributing. And then also
permission to be a beginner, like Sarah said, giving yourself
the grace and the kindness to say, Okay, I'm shifting
my habit. That's not an easy thing. Okay, I'm just
getting started at this, instead of having those high expectations
(01:04:06):
that many of us do. So we do give ourselves
the space and the grace because the advancement will come
as a result of that. Thank you for joining me
on soul Sessions. Have an amazing week.
Speaker 2 (01:04:16):
Be well.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.