February 28, 2025 • 34 mins
Have you ever felt like life threw you a 40-pound bag of lemons? Join us as we welcome Chase Sterling, an Army veteran, who shares her incredible journey of resilience through life's unexpected turns. From navigating a challenging childhood in an abusive adoptive home to her courageous decision for early emancipation at 17, Chase's story is a testament to strength and adaptability.
Her journey continues with the founding of the Wellbeing Think Tank, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing workplace environments. By sharing the evolution of her consulting practice, Chase emphasizes the importance of community and collaboration in fostering well-being. With monthly events that promote knowledge-sharing and interdisciplinary strategies, Wellbeing Think Tank aims to create uplifting environments that positively influence both personal and societal well-being. Through Chase's personal evolution and her blog "Evolution of Chase," we uncover nuggets of wisdom and reflect on the necessity of adapting to change, inspiring listeners to embrace resilience and become better versions of themselves.
Guest Bio:
Chase Sterling is an Army veteran having served from 1998 - 2005, both on Active duty and in the Reserves. She was an 88M and left the military as an E5.
After transitioning from the military, Chase has dedicated her career to improving both individual and organizational wellbeing. With over 20 years of experience, Chase brings passion combined with evidence-based expertise.
Dedicated to the mission of improving workplaces, Chase founded Wellbeing Think Tank which provides free educational events on workplace wellbeing. Additionally, Chase partners with organizations to drive employee engagement at HHP Cultures. She has held leadership, consultant and educator roles at a variety of organizations including Cigna, Wounded Warrior Project, Google and Sinclair Community College.
Chase holds a BS in Exercise Science and Health Psychology and an MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with a concentration in Occupational Health Psychology. She holds numerous certifications related to health and wellbeing including Certified Wellness Practitioner, Mental Health Ally, DEI in the Workplace, and is a Certified Personal Trainer. Additionally. Chase has been published in the The American Journal of Health Promotion and serves on PAPREN, the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network Worksite work group.
Chase currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her rescue cat Fizzgig.
Connect with Chase:
LinkedIn
Connect with Theresa and Ivana:
Theresa, True Strategy Consultants: tsc-consultants.com
LinkedIn @treeconti, Insta @tscconsultants
Ivana, Courageous Being: courageousbeing.com
LinkedIn @ivipol, Insta @courbeing
SITP team, Step Into The Pivot: stepintothepivot.com
LinkedIn @step-into-the-pivot, YouTube @StepIntoThePivot
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody, welcome to this week's episode
of Step Into the Pivot.
We are so happy to have youhere and we are so happy to have
our guest today, chase Sterling.
So, chase, welcome, we're happyto have you on our show.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hi, thank you so much for inviting me.
I appreciate you both.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I haven't heard your story, but I love when I read
your bio that you're an Armyveteran, so that's amazing.
And then when you transitioned,you know how you're working on
some well-being things.
So I assume we're going to talka little about that today,
which I think is such animportant topic, both for us
personally in business, allthose kind of things, and I also
think there's going to be somesort of conversation about
lemons turning into lemonade andmaybe even a 40 pound bag of
(00:46):
lemons.
I don't know what that's about,but I'm excited to hear, so
even I'm going to let you takeit over from here.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Thank you, teresa.
Chase, welcome, so great totalk to you.
And, yes, so our listeners, ourfollowers, our community know
that sometimes, when we definewhat Teresa and I mean by pivot,
like what's pivot and what arewe talking about here?
It's about this situation whenlife gives you lemons.
(01:14):
That's a common phrase, right,but it's not on a nice splatter
and it's not like, served gently, and here we go, how about
these five?
And then you're like oh, thankyou, I will make lemonade with
that.
It's not like that.
Well, when we have a big lifeevent, a big transition,
typically that's an experienceas if you were, you know, hit by
(01:36):
something like a 40 pound bagof lemon.
Lemons out of nowhere comesblindsides you, maybe it hits
you in the solar plexus, you,you know, you buckle over and
it's really, reallyuncomfortable.
So you've heard us talk aboutthat before, if you've been
listening to the show for awhile.
And now Teresa saying wait, areyou going to talk about the
(01:56):
lemons again?
Yes, because when I met Chaseand I heard what happened to you
and how many times and how manystories you have, how many
pivots, I was like wait, chase,this is as if you were born
inside one of these 40 poundbags of lemons like a hundred
pound bag of lemons, and thentossed around as the thing was
getting, you know, you know,thrown all over the place.
(02:19):
So I am bringing in some levityhere.
I think that's importantbecause you are such a brave
individual and I am reallyhonored and grateful that you're
willing to tell us about someof these experiences.
So start anywhere you want andtell us about some of these main
(02:40):
pivots that you've experiencedand endured.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Sure, well, thanks again, even on Teresa, for
inviting me to come on.
And when you sent the email andtalked about the lemons and
even then again now it resonatedso much and I was like, yeah,
that absolutely sounds like me.
I was born inside a bag oflemons and then I was just
thinking I like eating lemons.
You know, I actually lovelemons Whenever I get them in
(03:07):
water, like I eat the raw lemonafterwards.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
So I thought I was the only one.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
No.
I do that all the time I'll takelemons out of other people's
glasses.
You know my friends, if theydon't want to, I was like oh,
and I just eat it whole.
But yeah, I've had more pivotsthan I can count.
I always joke that I'm like thefemale Forrest Gump, except I'm
not famous.
I don't know anyone famous andI haven't done anything super
big.
But I have a story I feel likefor almost everything, and if I
(03:37):
hadn't lived my life I wouldthink I was like a pathological
liar, because it's like how canone person go through all these
things and it be real?
But I think starting life in abag of lemons is set you up for
life a little differently.
So what we're kind of reallytalking about is resilience.
(03:58):
And you know how are weresilient?
Through pivots.
And what we know aboutresiliency is that it's really
hard to do research onresiliency because we know it's
kind of developed in childhood.
So it's not super ethical to doa lot of research on children.
But I think that's why I'm soresilient and why I've been able
(04:18):
to manage so many pivots andI'm sure I'll have even more
pivots in my lifetime is becausemy life kind of started
difficult in that bag of lemons.
So I was adopted before I waseven born.
But the people who adopted mewere really not good people and
they didn't really want mearound either, and so it was a
(04:40):
very abusive situation.
You know, I was in and out ofchildren's services, police
coming to my house, lots ofdifferent things like that.
I ended up going to a grouphome and then I kind of
graduated early, I gotemancipated and I was paying
rent and out on my own at 17.
And just working a lot.
(05:02):
That was probably my firstpivot was just being able to get
out and get out on my own.
And then, teresa, you mentionedI am a military veteran.
I was just working a lot,multiple jobs, until I was 21.
And I pivoted into the militaryand that helped provide me with
the avenue to eventually pursuehigher education.
(05:24):
And then, oh my gosh, there'sbeen so many pivots after that,
so pivoting from active dutyinto the reserves, into the
workforce.
I had a botched foot surgerywhich turned into five foot
surgeries, which turned into alot of autoimmune and medical
conditions, a lot ofmusculoskeletal stuff.
(05:44):
So it completely changed mycareer, which had started more
in individual well-being andfitness and physical health to
then pivoting into workplacewell-being, and even in that
realm, I'm someone who's pivotedmy job a lot, and I think,
though, that's what kind ofmakes me a unicorn in my
(06:05):
industry is I've been on everyside of it.
So I always tell people I knowthe good, bad and the ugly of
workplace well-being becauseI've been on every side of the
industry, because I was alwayskind of pivoting into different
roles.
I think, in the last few years,some of my pivots have been
starting my own consultingpractice in 2019.
(06:27):
And then, throughout thepandemic, I had a really
difficult time.
I was really challenged withsome health issues.
I got diagnosed with a veryrare condition, had to have an
emergency life-saving surgery.
I went back to work really toosoon and I was being pushed too
hard.
I had a silent heart attack anda baby stroke, a transient
(06:48):
ischemic attack, which is kindof like a one second stroke, and
so I pivoted again.
I had been doing some some workelsewhere and went back to just
focusing on me, focusing on thethings I love to do, and, yeah,
I started a nonprofit at thesame time.
So that was probably like theshortest nutshell version of the
chaos that is my life, and I'lllet you two decide where on
(07:14):
earth you want to dig in.
Because there, as you can tell,I have been through an enormous
amount of pivots and I willprobably continue to pivot.
I don't talk about pivoting asmuch.
I like to talk about evolving.
And when I was much younger Iwas a blogger and I had a blog
about evolving and I always sayyou know, if you're not evolving
(07:36):
, you're dying.
And I plan on peaking the daybefore I die, like because after
you peak what's left.
So I'm just going to continueto evolve and pivot and go up.
And then you know, once I hitthe peak, I'm good, you know I
can, I can peace out.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
That was a lot, yeah, no, you know, thanks for
sharing all that, cause that isquite a few different things
that you've experienced.
But you know know, what I reallyloved about it was that you
know all those things happened,right, all these different
things and your positivity, yourenergy, how you, you know, and
(08:16):
I agree with you, I always feelthat even when something goes
bad, you learn from that, or yougrow from it, or you make
lemons out of lemonade, right,and we're going to go back to
that thing.
But you know, I really love thatabout you, chase, and I hadn't
heard all those things before,so you know that's why wow was
my first reaction, but I reallygot that from it too.
(08:37):
Right, we have to take, youknow, even when something bad
happens to us, we have to takethe good from it, the learning
opportunity, whatever that lookslike.
So can you talk a little aboutyou know how these shaped you in
that positive way, like youhave that positivity behind you,
and particularly talk, maybe,about your mental and emotional
(08:58):
health, right?
I think that's such animportant piece of who we are,
how we grow, how we bring itforward, right?
So can you talk for a little,for a minute or two, about that?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I know it's a lot and Itry not to like trauma dump or
like shock people.
It's just like, well, it's justmy story and I try to keep
things held back.
So it's not too much for people, but you know I am a lot, I am
too much for people, but youknow I am a lot, I am too much
for for a lot, and you know what, if it's too much, yeah, I
don't know, go somewhere else.
I'm just not the right one.
(09:32):
But I love what you're talkingabout, just about mental health
and well being.
Yeah, it definitely has notbeen an easy journey and I have
struggled a lot.
And I think when you experiencehardships as a child which you
know we call adverse childhoodexperiences when you go through
that, well, you don't know anydifferent.
When you're a kid, like Ireally didn't realize and I
(09:54):
think sometimes something willhappen, like I'll see something
and I'll be like oh, wow, yeah,that really was bad, that really
that my life really should nothave been that way as a child,
because I was just so unaware soI didn't really know.
When you don't know anydifferent, you really don't know
that things are wrong or bad.
So it didn't impact me in someways.
(10:16):
But I definitely reallystruggled when I was younger
with depression, a lot ofdepression, hunger with
depression, a lot of depression.
Really you know enormous traumaI had been through as a child.
I sought counseling when I wasin my 20s after some traumatic
(10:36):
events and really have alwayswanted to do the work.
I've always been a veryself-aware and introspective
person and so, because I do havecomplex trauma, I do work with
a mental health clinician, whichI think is important for
certain life experiences.
I always say everyone needssupport and some people need a
(10:56):
clinical intervention.
And so because I have, you knowwhat experts call like
compounded complexpost-traumatic stress, I do work
with a mental health clinician.
Who who helps, um, but where Ireally got my mindset from is, I
think I've always been a veryoptimistic person but very
grounded in reality.
So, like optimistic realism, Ilike to call it non-toxic
(11:20):
positivity, because you, life ishard, um, life is hard.
It's not fair.
Sometimes really bad thingshappen and it's not okay that
they happened.
But we have to decide how arewe going to wake up every day,
and that is also a choice.
(11:40):
So I think something that wasvery transformative for me was
when I was in my 30s, I had hada series of these surgeries.
I had developed pretty severechronic pain that I have every
day.
My baseline pain is like a four, like I'm in pain 100% of the
day, but I'm just kind of usedto it.
And I was working with a lot ofmindfulness techniques and
(12:03):
reframing and all the things youlearn.
But I'm gonna choose to wake upevery day and I can choose to
be miserable and wallow inself-pity and woe is me and just
live there, or you do have tostay there for a while.
That's toxic positivity, Ithink, not honoring that.
(12:23):
People need to feel theiremotions and process them and
work through them.
You know you do need to stay inthose dark places sometimes so
you can process, but when youmove through them, how are then
you going to move through?
It's never okay that thesethings happened, but I'm going
to choose to wake up every dayand I'm going to choose to not
(12:44):
be miserable.
And it doesn't mean that I'mnot in pain, it doesn't mean
that bad things don't stillhappen.
It doesn't mean I don't havedays where I'm stressed or you
know.
I will say I don't reallystruggle with depression anymore
and I'm very grateful for that.
But I definitely have days whenI'm sad or I cry.
But every day you wake up is achance to start over again.
(13:05):
And that's kind of myphilosophy on life is, you know,
every day you wake up it's achance to start over.
You can choose to start over inthe next second of life if you
want to, and so that reallykeeps me going.
But yeah, it doesn't mean Idon't have regrets about things
I've done.
It doesn't.
It doesn't mean a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
It's wonderful to see you do this introspection in
front of us, you know, becauseyou called yourself out on being
an introspective person and sohere it is.
You know you're kind of likedoing this like reflexive
journaling out loud.
You know what's what, what wasgoing on here, like reclaimed it
(13:50):
I walked away from it a whileago, I was really irritated by
it and hope and hopefulness.
You know, having experiencedsome, some things that you know
there was a certain like foot, Ithink, that wanted to be
acknowledged and dealt withbefore I could turn back to that
word.
And now, when I think abouthopeful, it's really aligned
with what you're describing,which is, you know, there's a
renewed sense of optimism andalso willingness to take an
(14:10):
action.
Because you know, some of thethings you're describing were
pivots that happened to you andyou were completely helpless
over, you didn't ask for that,you didn't ask for that
immediate experience, and thenyou mentioned some career
changes and then and othertransitions, and it sounds like
(14:31):
you've had a real big number ofboth kinds of pivots the ones
that happened and then you hadto adjust, and then the ones
that you initiated taking anaction, perhaps having done some
introspection.
And I'm curious if you can helpus connect the two, you know,
as part of that evolution and aspart of the journey and the
(14:52):
transformation that you'veexperienced.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Yeah, and thanks for kind of honoring my
introspection.
I am a verbal processor.
I think out loud, I talk withmy hands and I like look up a
lot when I'm thinking.
But, yeah, that is how Iprocess things is I have to say
it out loud and that is that is.
I think out loud, which youknow some people like, and it
annoys other people, and that'sokay.
(15:17):
But, yeah, I've made pivots fromboth, yeah, things happening to
me and then me deciding tochange something.
I think.
I think, though, even whenthings have happened to me, it's
your choice to change, and I'verealized in my life I'm very.
I think my purpose in thisworld is to help other people
(15:41):
who have been through thingssimilar to me and help show them
that, like, you can change, youcan pivot, you can, you know,
do things, but it's not.
Life is not fair.
We all don't have the sameresources, we all don't have the
same opportunities, but how doyou really identify what is
(16:02):
within your control?
And that's what you have tofocus on.
You have to focus on.
There are so many variables wecan't change, but what can we
change?
What do we have power over?
What do we have control over,and how can we change our
situation, even with, you know,the cards stacked against us.
(16:23):
So, while some things havehappened to me, I think it has
always been a deliberate,deliberate change to what do I
want next?
Okay, I was here for a while,but now what am I going to do?
So, and I am absolutely aperson that takes action.
I think we all need to ventsometimes and since I'm a verbal
(16:45):
processor, you know I need tobe able to vent and process
emotions and like talk aboutthings.
But staying there developsreally a lot of negativity.
You can't stay there, you haveto process it, you have to move
through it.
So after I'm done, I do takeaction, I make a plan.
I am really really good atstrategy.
That's what I do in myprofessional world and that is
(17:07):
what I do.
I think that's how I've beensuccessful in my life is I
always make a plan and kind of astrategy for myself.
So from when, you know, I movedacross the country and I had
moved from, I had been teachingat a community college in Dayton
, ohio, and then I moved to SanFrancisco and I had never even
been there before, but you knowwhat I was like.
I'm gonna go move to SanFrancisco and I had like a year
(17:28):
plan.
I developed my plan, my roadmaphow much money do I need to
save?
How am I going to get there?
And I made it happen and I'vedone that a lot.
I've lived in over 20 places.
I feel like I'm always kind oftrying to find home and where
I'm going to settle.
So I have to make that plan.
So I think, whether it happensto you or you choose it for
(17:51):
yourself, you have to make thatchoice for yourself of whatever
happened, happened, whateveryour circumstances.
It's the circumstance.
But what is within your controlto try to make that
circumstance better?
It doesn't mean it's ever goingto be maybe palatable, it's
never going to be maybehappyatable, it's never going to
be maybe happy.
But how can you get to content?
(18:12):
And I had a really interestingconversation a few weeks ago
when I was talking to someoneand they did happen to be
someone who's trained in mentalhealth clinicians and I was
talking about happiness and theywere like, well, happiness is
an emotion and happiness isfleeting and I was like, as we
talked, she goes.
Oh, what you're really talkingabout is just contentness, and
(18:33):
that's what we should strive for.
We should strive for beingcontent, because happy, being
happy all the time is notrealistic.
We can't stay in this happyplace all the time.
And I was like, yeah, that'snot my definition of happy and
so my definition really is moreabout contentness.
But I appreciated her reallyexplaining the differences in
(18:53):
how she was hearing thingsbecause, yeah, you can't be
happy all the time and I waslike, oh no, I know I can't be
happy all the time, I just wantto feel like this way and so I
think, striving for to becontent, you know, being
satisfied with what we have, notcomparing I always love telling
people I baby step for thisyoung girl.
(19:16):
Her name was Aria and her familywas Hindu, so she, she
practiced Hinduism and I thinkthis is a tenant from their
faith.
And she was five and she was inmy backseat.
You know we were driving andshe held up her hand I don't
know what I faith and she wasfive and she was in my backseat.
You know we were driving andshe held up her hand I don't
know what I said and she saidChase, we don't compare,
comparing leads to suffering,and I believe that is a tenet in
(19:39):
their faith and I alwaysremember that little
five-year-old Aria justschooling me on life.
But yeah, comparison is thethief of joy, I think is like a
common phrase people say.
So how do we really makefriends with being content?
And, as you can tell, I am somuch of a rule of process I just
say the same things over andover again because I'm
processing it.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
So well, no, I think that that that process, I think
that that a lot of us do that,whether we do it outwardly or
inside or however we do thatRight.
You do have to process thosethings and I love a lot of the
things you say like I agree withyou can't be happy, but you
need to be content I like thatword a lot, honestly.
So just so many, so many greatthings just said there about
(20:22):
that, about life and things youhave to think about and how that
all ties together.
So take a minute for me andtalk about.
You have a new nonprofit calledWellbeing Think Tank and I'd
love for you to tell me and ourlisteners a little bit about
that and how that kind of tiesinto these pivots.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Absolutely so.
In 2019, I started my ownconsulting practice.
So I do kind of organizationalconsulting with companies and
build like these very complexinterdisciplinary strategies and
that's called HHP Cultures.
And during that time I starteddoing.
I said I, you know, I speak, Iconsult and I educate.
(21:07):
And the education was me doingwebinars.
And when the pandemic hit in2020, I was like there are so
many other things going on thatI'm not really skilled to talk
about that.
You know, I'm not an expert in,I don't have an educational
background in, and there'sreally a difference between,
(21:27):
like, motivational speaking andinspiring people and then giving
advice or educating and I takethat really seriously.
So I really wanted to bring onother educators.
So I started tapping a bunch offriends on the shoulder and
said, hey, do you want to helpme transform this like event
series?
So that's when we kind of cameup with the name and our mission
(21:48):
, vision, values and then Iseparated it.
So I made it a separate entityas we grew and then became a
nonprofit.
So it's completely separatefrom my business now and it is a
501c3 nonprofit and we'rereally passionate about
providing education on workplacewell-being.
(22:10):
And I say anyone who ispassionate about well-being in
the workplace can come.
And when it comes to well-beingat work, all you need to do is
everything.
Everything impacts our healthand well-being at work.
Leadership impacts it, ourbenefits impact it, the programs
and resources offered to us,leadership, the physical
(22:31):
environment, how we'recommunicated to like everything
impacts our health and wellbeing.
So we talk about all kinds oftopics.
Being a nonprofit is reallygreat because it allows me to
invite a lot of really amazingresearchers and practitioners to
come on and share theirinsights.
And since we're a nonprofit,we're not selling anything.
(22:53):
They're like, yeah, I'll comeand talk for you, and so we're
able to produce these monthlyevents and it's really lovely.
I've learned so much and youknow, bringing speakers on kind
of the way you're bringing onwith me right now we learn so
much from each other.
I firmly believe incollaboration.
I tell people I speak withconfidence and authority, but I
(23:16):
don't think I'm right all thetime.
I know I'm not.
And by bringing all thesepeople on, I've just learned so
much and I love how generouspeople are with their time and
their knowledge and sharing it.
It just always really fills mycup when people are willing to
come on and share, and we do.
We spend so much of our lives atwork, and I have a lot of
(23:38):
chasisms when it comes to mywork and one as individuals.
Of course, we have a personalresponsibility to care for our
own health and well-being, butthe role of a workplace is to,
at a bare minimum, leave us inthat kind of homeostasis.
But for most of us, work bringsus down, it has a negative
impact on our mental health, onour physical health, and that
(24:01):
impacts the rest of our lives,and so I think it's really
imperative for society.
We need to work.
The majority of us are notwealthy and need to work.
You know, work, at its heart,is an exchange of labor for
money, so we need to do that.
But we need to make workplaces aplace where we leave feeling
uplifted.
If we left work every day andwe felt accomplished and
(24:24):
uplifted, we would be betterparents, we would be better
partners, we would better plantmoms, or I have a cat, you know.
We would be better parents, wewould be better partners, we
would better plant moms, or Ihave a cat, you know.
We would work on our hobbies,we would nourish ourselves more,
and we spend so much of ourlife at work that I just think
making workplaces better issomething I'm super passionate
about.
So that's my.
That's a little bit aboutWellbeing Think Tank and that's
(24:47):
our name Wellbeing Think Tank.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
So Chase, we could talk to you for a long time
because there's so much to cover, so much to cover being mindful
of the time, because one of thethings that we do with the
pivot is that's part of our kindof a break, and we were really
thinking about a break a womanon a break from work and then
(25:17):
still kind of staying connectedwith some of these topics, but
taking a walk with theseconversations in her mind and
hopefully reaching her heart aswell, their hearts, because this
show is for everybody.
There is something that I amready to ask you, our final
question that we ask all theguests.
(25:37):
But, teresa, we cannot notbring up the military background
at all.
Like I just want to know, likesuper quickly, three things that
you learned in the militarythat you still use all the way
through today, that are, likeyou know, principles or the way
you've transformed through thatexperience.
They're like you know what thisis.
(25:58):
You know, maybe it's like I'malways on time and that is like
time or I'm not.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
And it's funny you say that, even because you know
when I first talked about thatit's totally true, because I
loved also that you used that,and I think a lot of people like
you use that at a time in yourlife where you needed kind of
that structure or what like, andI think a lot of people do that
that we don't give them creditfor.
So I think that's a really coolthing too.
(26:27):
You know, I have a lot offamily who was in the military
over time, but I know even asputting you on the spot, but I
could see you thinking, so Ithink this question is going to
be kind of easy for you.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yeah, I had to think of you know I'm thinking about
it, but but things are coming upand I think one is that
definitely, you know, the veryfew people serve in the military
when you look at the population, and a lot of people who serve
in the military come from lowsocioeconomic backgrounds, come
(26:56):
from marginalized communities,come from areas where there's
not a lot of opportunity andthat is the only opportunity.
And so serving in the militarythere's a lot of pros and
there's a lot of cons, but Ithink understanding that you
know life is not fair we all donot.
(27:16):
I think a lot of times,especially in the United States,
we have this narrative thatit's equal and everyone has the
same opportunities, and pullyourself out by your bootstraps
and like the world is youroyster, and that is not true at
all.
There are millions of people inthe US, in this world, who are
brilliant, who are never goingto be given the opportunities to
(27:40):
thrive, and you see that in themilitary and a lot of people
disparage, you know, people whogo in, or whether you're
enlisted, like I was, or anofficer, which usually you come
from a little bit differentsocioeconomic background,
because that means you had anopportunity for education first,
but I think throughout life,when I look in the workplace or
(28:01):
in life, I really like to try togive opportunities to other
people.
Most people from my backgrounddo not succeed in life, and if
not for people giving meopportunities and noticing that,
okay, she might be rough aroundthe edges, but we could polish
some things up.
And so I do think that'ssomething I carry with me from
the military is that there wereso many amazing people I met who
(28:24):
just hadn't had opportunitiesyet.
That was kind of the firstthing that came to me.
I was joking, I was justlaughing when you said the on
time, because I'm always latefor everything, I'm not on time
at all, but I think, oh gosh,what else did I really learn
from the military?
Speaker 3 (28:47):
This one's so big, this one's so big, this is such
a big, I think it has so manylike you have given like three
or four different answers withinthis one.
So if you then were to bringall this together, thinking
about your original comments,about the evolution you know,
when you said I talk about theseconcepts that you two talk
about too, I always think ofthis as evolution.
(29:07):
How were all these you knowunexpected big moments,
transitions, you know, many ofthem uninvited, many of them
initiated how were they allultimately a process of
evolution for you?
How were these pivots, a stepforward?
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah, oh gosh.
Well, I was thinking of theother thing that came to mind
with the military I do just kindof want to sneak it in there
real quick which is reallyhonoring people as people, as
humans first.
And I think something I'mreally proud of myself for is
that, honestly, I can look atevery job I've had and I still
have a connection at least fromevery job and I am not perfect.
(29:47):
I have messed up in leadershippositions billions of times.
I like to say I fail up, but Ithink that is something I
started in the military was Iknew everyone's names.
I knew who their spouses were,I knew their kids' names, I knew
about them as a human beingfirst, and I genuinely care for
people, and I think that's whatmakes women really invaluable as
(30:08):
leaders is that we have a lotof that genuine empathy and care
.
And when you genuinely careabout someone and prioritize
their human needs first, thenthey do really good work for you
and you develop loyalty and allthese things.
So, um, that is something, andthat loyalty is a core value of
the military.
But then, evolving through allthese pivots, uh, remind me,
(30:30):
break it down, a simple answer,what I should try to answer like
uh, like the biggest lesson, orwhat, what, what, how?
Speaker 1 (30:36):
was how are all these pivots the biggest step forward
for you?
Just put it in that perspective.
You know you've talked about, Ithink, really a lot of things
that happened to you.
You've already really talkedabout how those moved you
forward and I think you've builton a lot of them.
So is there's one thing thatreally that our listeners could,
really would really stand outto you?
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I think that you know , through whatever happens to
you in life, you know you dohave the power to move forward
and to evolve.
That moving forward isn't goingto look the same, and this
actually also kind of comes fromthe military and became a
phrase during COVID.
In the military, we talk aboutthe new normal.
A lot of comes from themilitary and became a phrase
(31:20):
during COVID.
In the military, we talk aboutthe new normal.
A lot of people in the militaryexperience physical or mental
trauma, and so that phrase hasbeen used by the military for I
don't even know how many decadesof this event happened.
But how do we get to your newnormal?
And it was used a lot duringCOVID.
So I feel like, but yeah,whenever something happens, how
do we find your new normal?
And it was used a lot duringCOVID.
So I feel like, but yeah,whenever something happens, how
do we find your new normal?
It's never going to go back towhat it was before.
(31:40):
You have been transformed bythis experience, but you do have
the power to keep moving and tomove with it.
And again, it doesn't mean itwas okay, it doesn't mean it was
a good thing, but how can youtake it and then continue to
move forward and honor it, andmaybe you leave it behind, maybe
(32:04):
a piece of it comes with you.
You know it looks different forevery person in every situation
.
But yeah, back in my 20s thatwas the name of my blog, it was
called Evolution of Chase andyeah, I think I kind of already
said it If you're not evolving,you're dying, and I think we
need to keep evolving as humans.
So I think all these pivotshelp me evolve into the next
(32:27):
iteration of myself, and Ievolve every single day.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Chase, I love that and I loved your new normal.
I loved how you kind of broughtthat full circle.
Um, I, I that really, um, yeah,that really made me think about
it.
So I really did love that howyou brought in the military, how
that works and because, right,things do change and it and it
does become our new normal andit's something we have to
(32:53):
continually adjust and adapt andall those things too.
So, thank you so much.
I'm sure even a do you want tosay something before we sign off
today?
I'm sure you do.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Chasism.
I can't wait to listen to theepisode again and see how many
chasisms I can I can catch.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Chasisms.
That's a great one for sure.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here to Jake Chase.
We really enjoyed thisconversation with you.
I think I picked up so manylittle tidbits.
I hope our listeners did aswell.
Thank you so much, and toeverybody out there, remember if
you have a pivot step into it,
Hello everybody, welcome to this week's episode
of Step Into the Pivot.
We are so happy to have youhere and we are so happy to have
our guest today, chase Sterling.
So, chase, welcome, we're happyto have you on our show.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hi, thank you so much for inviting me.
I appreciate you both.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I haven't heard your story, but I love when I read
your bio that you're an Armyveteran, so that's amazing.
And then when you transitioned,you know how you're working on
some well-being things.
So I assume we're going to talka little about that today,
which I think is such animportant topic, both for us
personally in business, allthose kind of things, and I also
think there's going to be somesort of conversation about
lemons turning into lemonade andmaybe even a 40 pound bag of
(00:46):
lemons.
I don't know what that's about,but I'm excited to hear, so
even I'm going to let you takeit over from here.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Thank you, teresa.
Chase, welcome, so great totalk to you.
And, yes, so our listeners, ourfollowers, our community know
that sometimes, when we definewhat Teresa and I mean by pivot,
like what's pivot and what arewe talking about here?
It's about this situation whenlife gives you lemons.
(01:14):
That's a common phrase, right,but it's not on a nice splatter
and it's not like, served gently, and here we go, how about
these five?
And then you're like oh, thankyou, I will make lemonade with
that.
It's not like that.
Well, when we have a big lifeevent, a big transition,
typically that's an experienceas if you were, you know, hit by
(01:36):
something like a 40 pound bagof lemon.
Lemons out of nowhere comesblindsides you, maybe it hits
you in the solar plexus, you,you know, you buckle over and
it's really, reallyuncomfortable.
So you've heard us talk aboutthat before, if you've been
listening to the show for awhile.
And now Teresa saying wait, areyou going to talk about the
(01:56):
lemons again?
Yes, because when I met Chaseand I heard what happened to you
and how many times and how manystories you have, how many
pivots, I was like wait, chase,this is as if you were born
inside one of these 40 poundbags of lemons like a hundred
pound bag of lemons, and thentossed around as the thing was
getting, you know, you know,thrown all over the place.
(02:19):
So I am bringing in some levityhere.
I think that's importantbecause you are such a brave
individual and I am reallyhonored and grateful that you're
willing to tell us about someof these experiences.
So start anywhere you want andtell us about some of these main
(02:40):
pivots that you've experiencedand endured.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Sure, well, thanks again, even on Teresa, for
inviting me to come on.
And when you sent the email andtalked about the lemons and
even then again now it resonatedso much and I was like, yeah,
that absolutely sounds like me.
I was born inside a bag oflemons and then I was just
thinking I like eating lemons.
You know, I actually lovelemons Whenever I get them in
(03:07):
water, like I eat the raw lemonafterwards.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
So I thought I was the only one.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
No.
I do that all the time I'll takelemons out of other people's
glasses.
You know my friends, if theydon't want to, I was like oh,
and I just eat it whole.
But yeah, I've had more pivotsthan I can count.
I always joke that I'm like thefemale Forrest Gump, except I'm
not famous.
I don't know anyone famous andI haven't done anything super
big.
But I have a story I feel likefor almost everything, and if I
(03:37):
hadn't lived my life I wouldthink I was like a pathological
liar, because it's like how canone person go through all these
things and it be real?
But I think starting life in abag of lemons is set you up for
life a little differently.
So what we're kind of reallytalking about is resilience.
(03:58):
And you know how are weresilient?
Through pivots.
And what we know aboutresiliency is that it's really
hard to do research onresiliency because we know it's
kind of developed in childhood.
So it's not super ethical to doa lot of research on children.
But I think that's why I'm soresilient and why I've been able
(04:18):
to manage so many pivots andI'm sure I'll have even more
pivots in my lifetime is becausemy life kind of started
difficult in that bag of lemons.
So I was adopted before I waseven born.
But the people who adopted mewere really not good people and
they didn't really want mearound either, and so it was a
(04:40):
very abusive situation.
You know, I was in and out ofchildren's services, police
coming to my house, lots ofdifferent things like that.
I ended up going to a grouphome and then I kind of
graduated early, I gotemancipated and I was paying
rent and out on my own at 17.
And just working a lot.
(05:02):
That was probably my firstpivot was just being able to get
out and get out on my own.
And then, teresa, you mentionedI am a military veteran.
I was just working a lot,multiple jobs, until I was 21.
And I pivoted into the militaryand that helped provide me with
the avenue to eventually pursuehigher education.
(05:24):
And then, oh my gosh, there'sbeen so many pivots after that,
so pivoting from active dutyinto the reserves, into the
workforce.
I had a botched foot surgerywhich turned into five foot
surgeries, which turned into alot of autoimmune and medical
conditions, a lot ofmusculoskeletal stuff.
(05:44):
So it completely changed mycareer, which had started more
in individual well-being andfitness and physical health to
then pivoting into workplacewell-being, and even in that
realm, I'm someone who's pivotedmy job a lot, and I think,
though, that's what kind ofmakes me a unicorn in my
(06:05):
industry is I've been on everyside of it.
So I always tell people I knowthe good, bad and the ugly of
workplace well-being becauseI've been on every side of the
industry, because I was alwayskind of pivoting into different
roles.
I think, in the last few years,some of my pivots have been
starting my own consultingpractice in 2019.
(06:27):
And then, throughout thepandemic, I had a really
difficult time.
I was really challenged withsome health issues.
I got diagnosed with a veryrare condition, had to have an
emergency life-saving surgery.
I went back to work really toosoon and I was being pushed too
hard.
I had a silent heart attack anda baby stroke, a transient
(06:48):
ischemic attack, which is kindof like a one second stroke, and
so I pivoted again.
I had been doing some some workelsewhere and went back to just
focusing on me, focusing on thethings I love to do, and, yeah,
I started a nonprofit at thesame time.
So that was probably like theshortest nutshell version of the
chaos that is my life, and I'lllet you two decide where on
(07:14):
earth you want to dig in.
Because there, as you can tell,I have been through an enormous
amount of pivots and I willprobably continue to pivot.
I don't talk about pivoting asmuch.
I like to talk about evolving.
And when I was much younger Iwas a blogger and I had a blog
about evolving and I always sayyou know, if you're not evolving
(07:36):
, you're dying.
And I plan on peaking the daybefore I die, like because after
you peak what's left.
So I'm just going to continueto evolve and pivot and go up.
And then you know, once I hitthe peak, I'm good, you know I
can, I can peace out.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
That was a lot, yeah, no, you know, thanks for
sharing all that, cause that isquite a few different things
that you've experienced.
But you know know, what I reallyloved about it was that you
know all those things happened,right, all these different
things and your positivity, yourenergy, how you, you know, and
(08:16):
I agree with you, I always feelthat even when something goes
bad, you learn from that, or yougrow from it, or you make
lemons out of lemonade, right,and we're going to go back to
that thing.
But you know, I really love thatabout you, chase, and I hadn't
heard all those things before,so you know that's why wow was
my first reaction, but I reallygot that from it too.
(08:37):
Right, we have to take, youknow, even when something bad
happens to us, we have to takethe good from it, the learning
opportunity, whatever that lookslike.
So can you talk a little aboutyou know how these shaped you in
that positive way, like youhave that positivity behind you,
and particularly talk, maybe,about your mental and emotional
(08:58):
health, right?
I think that's such animportant piece of who we are,
how we grow, how we bring itforward, right?
So can you talk for a little,for a minute or two, about that?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I know it's a lot and Itry not to like trauma dump or
like shock people.
It's just like, well, it's justmy story and I try to keep
things held back.
So it's not too much for people, but you know I am a lot, I am
too much for people, but youknow I am a lot, I am too much
for for a lot, and you know what, if it's too much, yeah, I
don't know, go somewhere else.
I'm just not the right one.
(09:32):
But I love what you're talkingabout, just about mental health
and well being.
Yeah, it definitely has notbeen an easy journey and I have
struggled a lot.
And I think when you experiencehardships as a child which you
know we call adverse childhoodexperiences when you go through
that, well, you don't know anydifferent.
When you're a kid, like Ireally didn't realize and I
(09:54):
think sometimes something willhappen, like I'll see something
and I'll be like oh, wow, yeah,that really was bad, that really
that my life really should nothave been that way as a child,
because I was just so unaware soI didn't really know.
When you don't know anydifferent, you really don't know
that things are wrong or bad.
So it didn't impact me in someways.
(10:16):
But I definitely reallystruggled when I was younger
with depression, a lot ofdepression, hunger with
depression, a lot of depression.
Really you know enormous traumaI had been through as a child.
I sought counseling when I wasin my 20s after some traumatic
(10:36):
events and really have alwayswanted to do the work.
I've always been a veryself-aware and introspective
person and so, because I do havecomplex trauma, I do work with
a mental health clinician, whichI think is important for
certain life experiences.
I always say everyone needssupport and some people need a
(10:56):
clinical intervention.
And so because I have, you knowwhat experts call like
compounded complexpost-traumatic stress, I do work
with a mental health clinician.
Who who helps, um, but where Ireally got my mindset from is, I
think I've always been a veryoptimistic person but very
grounded in reality.
So, like optimistic realism, Ilike to call it non-toxic
(11:20):
positivity, because you, life ishard, um, life is hard.
It's not fair.
Sometimes really bad thingshappen and it's not okay that
they happened.
But we have to decide how arewe going to wake up every day,
and that is also a choice.
(11:40):
So I think something that wasvery transformative for me was
when I was in my 30s, I had hada series of these surgeries.
I had developed pretty severechronic pain that I have every
day.
My baseline pain is like a four, like I'm in pain 100% of the
day, but I'm just kind of usedto it.
And I was working with a lot ofmindfulness techniques and
(12:03):
reframing and all the things youlearn.
But I'm gonna choose to wake upevery day and I can choose to
be miserable and wallow inself-pity and woe is me and just
live there, or you do have tostay there for a while.
That's toxic positivity, Ithink, not honoring that.
(12:23):
People need to feel theiremotions and process them and
work through them.
You know you do need to stay inthose dark places sometimes so
you can process, but when youmove through them, how are then
you going to move through?
It's never okay that thesethings happened, but I'm going
to choose to wake up every dayand I'm going to choose to not
(12:44):
be miserable.
And it doesn't mean that I'mnot in pain, it doesn't mean
that bad things don't stillhappen.
It doesn't mean I don't havedays where I'm stressed or you
know.
I will say I don't reallystruggle with depression anymore
and I'm very grateful for that.
But I definitely have days whenI'm sad or I cry.
But every day you wake up is achance to start over again.
(13:05):
And that's kind of myphilosophy on life is, you know,
every day you wake up it's achance to start over.
You can choose to start over inthe next second of life if you
want to, and so that reallykeeps me going.
But yeah, it doesn't mean Idon't have regrets about things
I've done.
It doesn't.
It doesn't mean a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
It's wonderful to see you do this introspection in
front of us, you know, becauseyou called yourself out on being
an introspective person and sohere it is.
You know you're kind of likedoing this like reflexive
journaling out loud.
You know what's what, what wasgoing on here, like reclaimed it
(13:50):
I walked away from it a whileago, I was really irritated by
it and hope and hopefulness.
You know, having experiencedsome, some things that you know
there was a certain like foot, Ithink, that wanted to be
acknowledged and dealt withbefore I could turn back to that
word.
And now, when I think abouthopeful, it's really aligned
with what you're describing,which is, you know, there's a
renewed sense of optimism andalso willingness to take an
(14:10):
action.
Because you know, some of thethings you're describing were
pivots that happened to you andyou were completely helpless
over, you didn't ask for that,you didn't ask for that
immediate experience, and thenyou mentioned some career
changes and then and othertransitions, and it sounds like
(14:31):
you've had a real big number ofboth kinds of pivots the ones
that happened and then you hadto adjust, and then the ones
that you initiated taking anaction, perhaps having done some
introspection.
And I'm curious if you can helpus connect the two, you know,
as part of that evolution and aspart of the journey and the
(14:52):
transformation that you'veexperienced.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Yeah, and thanks for kind of honoring my
introspection.
I am a verbal processor.
I think out loud, I talk withmy hands and I like look up a
lot when I'm thinking.
But, yeah, that is how Iprocess things is I have to say
it out loud and that is that is.
I think out loud, which youknow some people like, and it
annoys other people, and that'sokay.
(15:17):
But, yeah, I've made pivots fromboth, yeah, things happening to
me and then me deciding tochange something.
I think.
I think, though, even whenthings have happened to me, it's
your choice to change, and I'verealized in my life I'm very.
I think my purpose in thisworld is to help other people
(15:41):
who have been through thingssimilar to me and help show them
that, like, you can change, youcan pivot, you can, you know,
do things, but it's not.
Life is not fair.
We all don't have the sameresources, we all don't have the
same opportunities, but how doyou really identify what is
(16:02):
within your control?
And that's what you have tofocus on.
You have to focus on.
There are so many variables wecan't change, but what can we
change?
What do we have power over?
What do we have control over,and how can we change our
situation, even with, you know,the cards stacked against us.
(16:23):
So, while some things havehappened to me, I think it has
always been a deliberate,deliberate change to what do I
want next?
Okay, I was here for a while,but now what am I going to do?
So, and I am absolutely aperson that takes action.
I think we all need to ventsometimes and since I'm a verbal
(16:45):
processor, you know I need tobe able to vent and process
emotions and like talk aboutthings.
But staying there developsreally a lot of negativity.
You can't stay there, you haveto process it, you have to move
through it.
So after I'm done, I do takeaction, I make a plan.
I am really really good atstrategy.
That's what I do in myprofessional world and that is
(17:07):
what I do.
I think that's how I've beensuccessful in my life is I
always make a plan and kind of astrategy for myself.
So from when, you know, I movedacross the country and I had
moved from, I had been teachingat a community college in Dayton
, ohio, and then I moved to SanFrancisco and I had never even
been there before, but you knowwhat I was like.
I'm gonna go move to SanFrancisco and I had like a year
(17:28):
plan.
I developed my plan, my roadmaphow much money do I need to
save?
How am I going to get there?
And I made it happen and I'vedone that a lot.
I've lived in over 20 places.
I feel like I'm always kind oftrying to find home and where
I'm going to settle.
So I have to make that plan.
So I think, whether it happensto you or you choose it for
(17:51):
yourself, you have to make thatchoice for yourself of whatever
happened, happened, whateveryour circumstances.
It's the circumstance.
But what is within your controlto try to make that
circumstance better?
It doesn't mean it's ever goingto be maybe palatable, it's
never going to be maybehappyatable, it's never going to
be maybe happy.
But how can you get to content?
(18:12):
And I had a really interestingconversation a few weeks ago
when I was talking to someoneand they did happen to be
someone who's trained in mentalhealth clinicians and I was
talking about happiness and theywere like, well, happiness is
an emotion and happiness isfleeting and I was like, as we
talked, she goes.
Oh, what you're really talkingabout is just contentness, and
(18:33):
that's what we should strive for.
We should strive for beingcontent, because happy, being
happy all the time is notrealistic.
We can't stay in this happyplace all the time.
And I was like, yeah, that'snot my definition of happy and
so my definition really is moreabout contentness.
But I appreciated her reallyexplaining the differences in
(18:53):
how she was hearing thingsbecause, yeah, you can't be
happy all the time and I waslike, oh no, I know I can't be
happy all the time, I just wantto feel like this way and so I
think, striving for to becontent, you know, being
satisfied with what we have, notcomparing I always love telling
people I baby step for thisyoung girl.
(19:16):
Her name was Aria and her familywas Hindu, so she, she
practiced Hinduism and I thinkthis is a tenant from their
faith.
And she was five and she was inmy backseat.
You know we were driving andshe held up her hand I don't
know what I faith and she wasfive and she was in my backseat.
You know we were driving andshe held up her hand I don't
know what I said and she saidChase, we don't compare,
comparing leads to suffering,and I believe that is a tenet in
(19:39):
their faith and I alwaysremember that little
five-year-old Aria justschooling me on life.
But yeah, comparison is thethief of joy, I think is like a
common phrase people say.
So how do we really makefriends with being content?
And, as you can tell, I am somuch of a rule of process I just
say the same things over andover again because I'm
processing it.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
So well, no, I think that that that process, I think
that that a lot of us do that,whether we do it outwardly or
inside or however we do thatRight.
You do have to process thosethings and I love a lot of the
things you say like I agree withyou can't be happy, but you
need to be content I like thatword a lot, honestly.
So just so many, so many greatthings just said there about
(20:22):
that, about life and things youhave to think about and how that
all ties together.
So take a minute for me andtalk about.
You have a new nonprofit calledWellbeing Think Tank and I'd
love for you to tell me and ourlisteners a little bit about
that and how that kind of tiesinto these pivots.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Absolutely so.
In 2019, I started my ownconsulting practice.
So I do kind of organizationalconsulting with companies and
build like these very complexinterdisciplinary strategies and
that's called HHP Cultures.
And during that time I starteddoing.
I said I, you know, I speak, Iconsult and I educate.
(21:07):
And the education was me doingwebinars.
And when the pandemic hit in2020, I was like there are so
many other things going on thatI'm not really skilled to talk
about that.
You know, I'm not an expert in,I don't have an educational
background in, and there'sreally a difference between,
(21:27):
like, motivational speaking andinspiring people and then giving
advice or educating and I takethat really seriously.
So I really wanted to bring onother educators.
So I started tapping a bunch offriends on the shoulder and
said, hey, do you want to helpme transform this like event
series?
So that's when we kind of cameup with the name and our mission
(21:48):
, vision, values and then Iseparated it.
So I made it a separate entityas we grew and then became a
nonprofit.
So it's completely separatefrom my business now and it is a
501c3 nonprofit and we'rereally passionate about
providing education on workplacewell-being.
(22:10):
And I say anyone who ispassionate about well-being in
the workplace can come.
And when it comes to well-beingat work, all you need to do is
everything.
Everything impacts our healthand well-being at work.
Leadership impacts it, ourbenefits impact it, the programs
and resources offered to us,leadership, the physical
(22:31):
environment, how we'recommunicated to like everything
impacts our health and wellbeing.
So we talk about all kinds oftopics.
Being a nonprofit is reallygreat because it allows me to
invite a lot of really amazingresearchers and practitioners to
come on and share theirinsights.
And since we're a nonprofit,we're not selling anything.
(22:53):
They're like, yeah, I'll comeand talk for you, and so we're
able to produce these monthlyevents and it's really lovely.
I've learned so much and youknow, bringing speakers on kind
of the way you're bringing onwith me right now we learn so
much from each other.
I firmly believe incollaboration.
I tell people I speak withconfidence and authority, but I
(23:16):
don't think I'm right all thetime.
I know I'm not.
And by bringing all thesepeople on, I've just learned so
much and I love how generouspeople are with their time and
their knowledge and sharing it.
It just always really fills mycup when people are willing to
come on and share, and we do.
We spend so much of our lives atwork, and I have a lot of
(23:38):
chasisms when it comes to mywork and one as individuals.
Of course, we have a personalresponsibility to care for our
own health and well-being, butthe role of a workplace is to,
at a bare minimum, leave us inthat kind of homeostasis.
But for most of us, work bringsus down, it has a negative
impact on our mental health, onour physical health, and that
(24:01):
impacts the rest of our lives,and so I think it's really
imperative for society.
We need to work.
The majority of us are notwealthy and need to work.
You know, work, at its heart,is an exchange of labor for
money, so we need to do that.
But we need to make workplaces aplace where we leave feeling
uplifted.
If we left work every day andwe felt accomplished and
(24:24):
uplifted, we would be betterparents, we would be better
partners, we would better plantmoms, or I have a cat, you know.
We would be better parents, wewould be better partners, we
would better plant moms, or Ihave a cat, you know.
We would work on our hobbies,we would nourish ourselves more,
and we spend so much of ourlife at work that I just think
making workplaces better issomething I'm super passionate
about.
So that's my.
That's a little bit aboutWellbeing Think Tank and that's
(24:47):
our name Wellbeing Think Tank.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
So Chase, we could talk to you for a long time
because there's so much to cover, so much to cover being mindful
of the time, because one of thethings that we do with the
pivot is that's part of our kindof a break, and we were really
thinking about a break a womanon a break from work and then
(25:17):
still kind of staying connectedwith some of these topics, but
taking a walk with theseconversations in her mind and
hopefully reaching her heart aswell, their hearts, because this
show is for everybody.
There is something that I amready to ask you, our final
question that we ask all theguests.
(25:37):
But, teresa, we cannot notbring up the military background
at all.
Like I just want to know, likesuper quickly, three things that
you learned in the militarythat you still use all the way
through today, that are, likeyou know, principles or the way
you've transformed through thatexperience.
They're like you know what thisis.
(25:58):
You know, maybe it's like I'malways on time and that is like
time or I'm not.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
And it's funny you say that, even because you know
when I first talked about thatit's totally true, because I
loved also that you used that,and I think a lot of people like
you use that at a time in yourlife where you needed kind of
that structure or what like, andI think a lot of people do that
that we don't give them creditfor.
So I think that's a really coolthing too.
(26:27):
You know, I have a lot offamily who was in the military
over time, but I know even asputting you on the spot, but I
could see you thinking, so Ithink this question is going to
be kind of easy for you.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yeah, I had to think of you know I'm thinking about
it, but but things are coming upand I think one is that
definitely, you know, the veryfew people serve in the military
when you look at the population, and a lot of people who serve
in the military come from lowsocioeconomic backgrounds, come
(26:56):
from marginalized communities,come from areas where there's
not a lot of opportunity andthat is the only opportunity.
And so serving in the militarythere's a lot of pros and
there's a lot of cons, but Ithink understanding that you
know life is not fair we all donot.
(27:16):
I think a lot of times,especially in the United States,
we have this narrative thatit's equal and everyone has the
same opportunities, and pullyourself out by your bootstraps
and like the world is youroyster, and that is not true at
all.
There are millions of people inthe US, in this world, who are
brilliant, who are never goingto be given the opportunities to
(27:40):
thrive, and you see that in themilitary and a lot of people
disparage, you know, people whogo in, or whether you're
enlisted, like I was, or anofficer, which usually you come
from a little bit differentsocioeconomic background,
because that means you had anopportunity for education first,
but I think throughout life,when I look in the workplace or
(28:01):
in life, I really like to try togive opportunities to other
people.
Most people from my backgrounddo not succeed in life, and if
not for people giving meopportunities and noticing that,
okay, she might be rough aroundthe edges, but we could polish
some things up.
And so I do think that'ssomething I carry with me from
the military is that there wereso many amazing people I met who
(28:24):
just hadn't had opportunitiesyet.
That was kind of the firstthing that came to me.
I was joking, I was justlaughing when you said the on
time, because I'm always latefor everything, I'm not on time
at all, but I think, oh gosh,what else did I really learn
from the military?
Speaker 3 (28:47):
This one's so big, this one's so big, this is such
a big, I think it has so manylike you have given like three
or four different answers withinthis one.
So if you then were to bringall this together, thinking
about your original comments,about the evolution you know,
when you said I talk about theseconcepts that you two talk
about too, I always think ofthis as evolution.
(29:07):
How were all these you knowunexpected big moments,
transitions, you know, many ofthem uninvited, many of them
initiated how were they allultimately a process of
evolution for you?
How were these pivots, a stepforward?
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah, oh gosh.
Well, I was thinking of theother thing that came to mind
with the military I do just kindof want to sneak it in there
real quick which is reallyhonoring people as people, as
humans first.
And I think something I'mreally proud of myself for is
that, honestly, I can look atevery job I've had and I still
have a connection at least fromevery job and I am not perfect.
(29:47):
I have messed up in leadershippositions billions of times.
I like to say I fail up, but Ithink that is something I
started in the military was Iknew everyone's names.
I knew who their spouses were,I knew their kids' names, I knew
about them as a human beingfirst, and I genuinely care for
people, and I think that's whatmakes women really invaluable as
(30:08):
leaders is that we have a lotof that genuine empathy and care
.
And when you genuinely careabout someone and prioritize
their human needs first, thenthey do really good work for you
and you develop loyalty and allthese things.
So, um, that is something, andthat loyalty is a core value of
the military.
But then, evolving through allthese pivots, uh, remind me,
(30:30):
break it down, a simple answer,what I should try to answer like
uh, like the biggest lesson, orwhat, what, what, how?
Speaker 1 (30:36):
was how are all these pivots the biggest step forward
for you?
Just put it in that perspective.
You know you've talked about, Ithink, really a lot of things
that happened to you.
You've already really talkedabout how those moved you
forward and I think you've builton a lot of them.
So is there's one thing thatreally that our listeners could,
really would really stand outto you?
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I think that you know , through whatever happens to
you in life, you know you dohave the power to move forward
and to evolve.
That moving forward isn't goingto look the same, and this
actually also kind of comes fromthe military and became a
phrase during COVID.
In the military, we talk aboutthe new normal.
A lot of comes from themilitary and became a phrase
(31:20):
during COVID.
In the military, we talk aboutthe new normal.
A lot of people in the militaryexperience physical or mental
trauma, and so that phrase hasbeen used by the military for I
don't even know how many decadesof this event happened.
But how do we get to your newnormal?
And it was used a lot duringCOVID.
So I feel like, but yeah,whenever something happens, how
do we find your new normal?
And it was used a lot duringCOVID.
So I feel like, but yeah,whenever something happens, how
do we find your new normal?
It's never going to go back towhat it was before.
(31:40):
You have been transformed bythis experience, but you do have
the power to keep moving and tomove with it.
And again, it doesn't mean itwas okay, it doesn't mean it was
a good thing, but how can youtake it and then continue to
move forward and honor it, andmaybe you leave it behind, maybe
(32:04):
a piece of it comes with you.
You know it looks different forevery person in every situation
.
But yeah, back in my 20s thatwas the name of my blog, it was
called Evolution of Chase andyeah, I think I kind of already
said it If you're not evolving,you're dying, and I think we
need to keep evolving as humans.
So I think all these pivotshelp me evolve into the next
(32:27):
iteration of myself, and Ievolve every single day.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Chase, I love that and I loved your new normal.
I loved how you kind of broughtthat full circle.
Um, I, I that really, um, yeah,that really made me think about
it.
So I really did love that howyou brought in the military, how
that works and because, right,things do change and it and it
does become our new normal andit's something we have to
(32:53):
continually adjust and adapt andall those things too.
So, thank you so much.
I'm sure even a do you want tosay something before we sign off
today?
I'm sure you do.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Chasism.
I can't wait to listen to theepisode again and see how many
chasisms I can I can catch.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Chasisms.
That's a great one for sure.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here to Jake Chase.
We really enjoyed thisconversation with you.
I think I picked up so manylittle tidbits.
I hope our listeners did aswell.
Thank you so much, and toeverybody out there, remember if
you have a pivot step into it,
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