Introduction
Radical self-care is the idea that when you accept full responsibility for taking care of yourself first before trying to take care of others, not only will you benefit, so will everyone around you.

It encompasses the idea that self-care is not just about doing nice things for yourself. It’s also about what you do and how you show up for yourself every single day.

With stress levels at new highs around the world due to the pandemic, it’s more important now than ever to bring out the best in ourselves by embracing the concept of true self-care.

In this post, I’ll share 7 examples of self-care that you may not have considered, yet can make a big difference right away.

Why is Self-Care Important?
The concept of radical self-care may be foreign to many of us, and yet when you think about it, it should be the most natural thing in the world.

When you love, and nurture yourself just as you would a loved one, you have more energy to give. You feel fulfilled and motivated and just by taking care of yourself everyone around you benefits.

A recent article in Psychology Today states that it’s not about forcing yourself to be in a positive state all the time. That’s unrealistic. Instead, it’s about finding ways to be in a positive state more often. “To find ways to nurture and nourish ourselves so we can stay more centered.”

Image by Tiny Tribes, Pixabay

Let Go of Perfectionism
It may seem strange to be talking about perfectionism in an article on self-care. But as a recovering perfectionist myself, I know the harm that can come from attempting to be a perfectionist in all areas of your life.

Image by Gerd Altmann, Pixabay

I was not only creating extreme stress for myself by being a perfectionist, I was making it difficult for others to be able to really connect with me.

Of course, there can be times when perfectionism might be a good thing – for example, if I’m about to have surgery, I’d really like it if the surgeon operating on me was something of a perfectionist.

If someone is doing work for me, I do like them to have perfectionist tendencies because that means they’re more likely to do a good job, particularly if it’s fine detail work.

Being a perfectionist can frequently get in the way though, and can even be very unhealthy. For example, perfectionists often don’t just have high standards, they can have unrealistic expectations and standards.

Like many people, I used to find it really difficult to delegate or to let anyone help me. I usually ended up doing things myself because it seemed easier and I knew it would be done the ‘right’ way.

As I discovered, that’s a really good route to stress and exhaustion. You can only keep that up for so long, and it really is a turn-off for others because they know you don’t trust them.

Before you know it, you HAVE to do everything yourself, because nobody else wants to set themselves up for rejection by trying to help you!

Perfectionists generally have a set of rules they live by and they expect others to live up to those rules. That’s setting yourself up for frequent disappointment - because other people won’t be able to live up to your rules. Most of the time they don’t even know what they are!

For example, you might have rules about always being on time, being considerate to others, doing a job a certain way or even cleaning up after yourself. If you expect everyone else to follow those same rules too, you’ll very often be disappointed.

Research has shown that perfectionist tendencies have been linked to things like:

• Depression and anxiety
• Social anxiety disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Eating disorders, and much more

This article in Medical News Today shows how perfectionism can affect your mental health.

So perhaps there is a healthy version of perfectionism, which is about having high standards, motivation, discipline and wanting to a good job, and an unhealthy version, which is when your best never seems good enough and everything seems to frustrate you.

Also, you might need to be more of a perfectionist in your work, but perhaps it’s not serving you to be a perfectionist in other areas of your life.

The key is to notice where and how it serves you, and where it doesn’t. Also to recognize that being hyper-critical of yourself and everything you do is not serving you either.

This is how it applies to self-care.

I began to notice that for me, my perfectionist tendencies were mostly not serving me. So I now acknowledge that I’m a recovering perfectionist. I still have high standards, and I always like to do a good job, but I no longer beat myself up if I make a mistake, I just put it right to the best of my ability and move on.

Examine Your Expectations

The next area where you might not recognize an opportunity for improved self-care is with your expectations.

Your expectations are set by the beliefs that you have. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” If you expect yourself to fail, then you will, and if you expect yourself to succeed, then you will.

Just like most things, expectations can be helpful or not helpful. So it’s important to be aware of the expectations you have and how they are serving you. You may have some unhelpful expectations that you’re not aware of, and they can make life unnecessarily difficult.

It’s particularly important for those of us who are empathic and/or highly sensitive to be aware of and pay attention to our expectations because we tend to have extremely (and often unrealistically) high expectations of ourselves, and therefore of others.

Also, because we see and experience things in a different way, with a lot more sensory input, we often have a tendency to expect that others see and feel what we do, which they don’t, and can’t. When we expect them to, this sets us up for massive disappointment.

Here are some examples of expectations that can get in the way:

• The expectation that life should always be fair – it would be nice if this were true. Unfortunately, things often happen that are not fair. The more you hold on to the unfairness of something that’s happened, the more stuck and frustrated you will feel.
  
  
• The expectation that other people should have the same values and integrity as you – I’m sure that by now you’ve experienced the fact that this is not true. Yet people often hold onto this expectation.
  
  
• The expectation that other people should have the same level of empathy as you – they won’t and in many cases can’t. If you’re an empath, the majority of people can never understand and feel the same way you do. Holding onto this expectation will not only continue to disappoint and upset/frustrate you, but it will also affect many of your relationships.
  
  
• Then there’s the expectation that you can help everyone  or change someone – the truth is, not everybody wants to be helped, and it’s not your responsibility to take on the problems of others. If someone doesn’t want to change or doesn’t see that they need to, then nothing you say or do will persuade them otherwise.
  
  If someone does come to you because they have a problem and they need help, you can support and guide them through it, but the change has to come from within them. There is only one person you can change, and that is you. I know from experience that holding onto this expectation will leave you feeling exhausted.

These are just some of the expectations that can get in the way. Keep in mind that highly sensitive and empathic people often have many other unrealistic expectations as well, such as: that other people should understand you, people should automatically know and respect your boundaries, or that you should try to fit in and be like everyone else.

As with everything, it comes down to awareness. The more aware you become of your expectations, the more you will be able to see whether they are supporting you or standing in your way. Can you see how awareness of your expectations will contribute to caring for yourself?

Be Aware of the Emotions and Intention (Energy) Behind Your Thoughts and Actions

Think about someone who wants to lose a few pounds and become a little healthier. Every time she exercises it’s because she hates how she looks and is desperate to lose the extra weight.

You could argue that she is taking care of herself by exercising. So that is self-care. I would argue that it’s not self-care, because the energy and emotion behind it is coming from fear and disgust.

If, every time you exercise, you’re doing it because you don’t like yourself, that is not self-care. Imagine if, instead, you exercised because it feels good, because you know it’s good for your body and because there are many benefits to it.

The intention then is different. You’re doing it because it’s good for you, rather than because you feel you hate your body and have to lose the weight.

The energy is different. One is self-care, the other clearly isn’t.

Image by John Hain, Pixabay

This applies to everything you do. All that’s required is a shift in the way you’re thinking and feeling about what you’re doing. When you do something because it’s good for you and it feels good to do it, you’ll experience much better results than when you do it because you have to or because you’re afraid of what will happen if you don’t.

If you’re not sure how you can make this change, try asking yourself this question: “What would be the most loving way to approach this?” When you take the time to ensure that the energy behind what you’re doing is supportive, you are truly practicing self-care.

Honor and Embrace Your Uniqueness

There’s so much pressure to be like everyone else and to follow the crowd. This article in Psychology Today explains some of the science behind why we are so influenced by others.

When I was growing up I just wanted to fit in and be like everyone else. It was clear though that I wasn’t like everyone else. I didn’t enjoy the same things, I didn’t think the same way, I felt and experienced things that others didn’t.

For many years I couldn’t understand why I had such a hard time fitting in, why others didn’t understand me, and kept telling me I was wrong to be and feel the way I did. I really wanted to be like everyone else, but it was exhausting.

Eventually, I discovered the trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity, thanks to the research of and books written by Dr. Elaine Aron. Learning that this is a trait that applies to others, as well as me was life-changing.

I discovered that approximately 20% of the population has nervous systems that are ‘wired’ differently, making them much more sensitive to sensory input. Understanding this finally helped me make sense of me.

As I learned more, my whole life made much more sense to me. I realized also that the majority of the clients I have worked with over the years also have this trait. I was amazed at how this had happened naturally.

Once I stopped trying to fit in and be like everyone else I was able to connect with my true self. Once I started owning that and embracing it I found that my relationship with others naturally improved.

Image by John Hain, Pixabay

Knowing who you are, owning it, and allowing yourself to be that is the ultimate in self-care I think. Self-awareness is crucial for everyone - and if you feel that you are very different from others, then it’s even more important to explore exactly what that means.

I’d like to introduce you to 2 other forms of self-care that may be new to you. To explain them, I’ve invited 2 experts to tell you more:

Nature Connection as Self-Care and Earth Care
by Joan Vorderbruggen

"Long before I was old enough to understand what it meant to be an introvert or a highly sensitive person, I recognized that nature was my refuge when I needed to take a break from a stressful or overly stimulating situation.  The natural environment became a place I sought to find joy, to feel a sense of curiosity…wonder…peace. During times of heartbreak and loss, Nature was there to heal, to gently (or powerfully!) remind me that there are seasons in all life - death, dormancy, planting of seeds and growth.  When I found I could become certified to share Nature’s source of healing and well-being with others, I decided to train as a guide for Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing).

We are at an incredibly powerful time in history right now: our natural environment is severely stressed, and we as human beings are as well, not only due to the pandemic, but with so many other sources of anxiety weighing on us. These may be amplified if we’re particularly sensitive to the world around us or to emotions that others project outwardly. However, this powerful confluence of human and environmental upheaval can also serve as a catalyst for transformation for both - after all, we ARE part of Nature and it is a part of us.  We have a innate biological connection to the natural world, and it is only in the very last few minutes of human existence on earth that we have not been intimately connected with the land!"

To say we should reconnect with Nature in a mindful way is a bit of an oxymoron, for if there is to be a deep, rejuvenating connection made with Earth’s healing properties, we must actually allow ourselves to get away from our thoughts!  There is continual and mounting scientific justification that time in Nature can reduce depression and stress (which leads to some of our most life-threatening diseases), and can lower high blood pressure and heart rates. Intentional, engaged time in Nature can also strengthen our immune system and improve our overall feeling of well-being.  To gain the most benefits, it’s important to try to let go of thoughts, and to allow some time (10 minutes, though a couple hours is even better!).  Engage the senses by listening to the sounds of the natural environment, feeling the sun or mist or breeze, smelling the air or vegetation, and of course, paying attention to what we see - whether it be the clouds moving across the sky, a tiny ant climbing a blade of grass, or the dappled light on moving water.

It is my belief that if we can care for ourselves through being more present in Nature, we will also find ourselves caring for the Earth.  Connecting deeply to our natural surroundings can give us the strength and support to heal and achieve a greater sense of well-being.

I invite you to connect with my blog post with both a written and recorded audio of a Forest Bathing “invitation” where I guide you through a sensory 25 minutes in a natural setting of your choosing.  

I have always felt most comfortable in nature. I particularly love being around trees and am fortunate enough to have plenty of them where I live. Whenever I feel stressed, anxious or overwhelmed, spending even just a few minutes in nature restores my energy and brings me back to balance."

I encourage you to visit Joan’s blog and to learn more about the self-care technique of Forest Bathing. If you'd like to learn more, check out Joan's book: Wild Calm: Finding Mindfulness in Forest Bathing, which is available online through her web site and at book stores.

Storytelling as Radical Self-Care
By Leah Walsh

“Wait for meeee!!” I holler from the bathroom, releasing any final bits of toothpaste from my mouth.

Jumping over the side of our worn out couch, my 8-year-old gymnast body squirms and settles in next to my younger twin brothers who are saddled up to my mother. Her knees are bent so the open book resting against them is well lit by my aunt’s passed-down lamp that stands on duty, loyally streaming down from the table behind her.

As a young child, these nights of reading before bed were my version of heaven. My love for stories started with my first breath.

Whose stories?

I will gladly vouch that spending time with a good story is a form of self care. My heart has melted and been smoothed over countless times when following characters who navigate paths that mirror my inner world. However, what I want to share today is actually how telling our own story can be a form of radical self care.

Why storytelling?

So many sensitive people don’t feel heard and seen in a multitude of ways by the time we reach adulthood. One of the secrets that I’ve learned is that our stories are storehouses for our personal power. If we don’t even feel ourselves worthy of having a story to tell, then we can’t know our strengths or be loved by people who are able to safely meet us in the present moment.

As we make space for our stories, it’s amazing to see how they change! Some parts wither, some get pinned to the earth like a gravestone, some brighten, some sing. As this happens, our brain and biology also shift. Stories help our rich inner landscapes meet the outer world - they help us know and be known - for the challenge and beauty that makes us.

Image by John Hain, Pixabay

Playful Practice - The story of your sensitivity

Think back to the time you started to realize you were highly sensitive. Was there something about that re-frame of your own life experiences that helped you narrate your own story in a new way? It was for me! That is an example of how telling your story inherently ask you to clarify what you really believe about yourself, your lived experiences, and the way they shape and define you.

Recently, this article was shared with me. This piece re-frames high sensitivity as “sensory intelligence.” This simple change in language helped several people in my community feel like their sensitivity was not a liability to manage, but actually came with clear gifts that can impact all areas of their lives. They started to rewrite and explore their own story in new ways.

Today I witness clients put their gifts of deep empathy, strong emotional intelligence, loyalty to meaningful work that values their unique contributions on the top of their resume. “I want them to celebrate me. If they can’t value these gifts I have along with my preferences that help me excel at work, then I am not their person.” This narrative pivots from the I’ll do whatever anyone else needs of me in order to be worthy narrative that was certainly my survival strategy as a kid…and is quite common for sensitive kids (and adults) so tuned into the adults in their lives.

So I’m excited to ask you - What narrative pivots are you ready to make as you begin to tell your story? What is possible? Can we honor the pain and loss of the past while continuing to ask, What does it mean to thrive?

Ways to Practice

Write. Two of my favorite prompts are, This is what I really want to tell you… and What I really don’t want to tell you....

Listen. Podcasts, storytelling events, observe your friends, interview your relatives - be with people who engage the craft of storytelling.

Tell. Find the people who have earned your trust. Lean into your senses. Explore simple ways to share your story. Be slow and gentle, but begin.

Resources to Explore
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
The Moth Storytelling Events and Podcast
Healing the Mind through the Power of Story by Lewis Mehl-Madrona
Brave & Tender Monthly Virtual Meet-ups for sensitive & neurodivergent humans

About Leah
Leah Walsh (she/her) is a student of storytelling, believing it to be an art capable of integrating the past while clearing space for a just and beautiful future for all beings. Her signature coaching program supports highly sensitive, neurodivergent, and introverted leaders to ground their confidence, cultivate deep-rooted belonging and awaken their unique impact. To learn more about Leah’s work, visit leahkwalsh.com."

Be Kinder to Yourself

You always know when a friend is a true friend when they are willing to tell you uncomfortable truths.

My good friend Jackie once told me something about myself that was difficult to hear. We were discussing a challenge I was having with a particular person who was routinely rude to people and did not seem to have any respect for anyone.

I was struggling with this and said that I found it difficult to understand how a person could be so mean to others. My dear friend then told me that in fact I was mean - to myself.

It took me by surprise, but I had to admit it - she was right. As mean as that person was to others, I was that (and more) to myself.

I talked to and treated myself in ways that I wouldn’t dream of treating anyone else. I think that many people are the same way. We are our own harshest critics.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Since then I have discovered that when I treat myself with kindness and respect, other people do too. I accomplish more and it’s a much nicer way to be.

The idea of self-love is difficult for many people.It was certainly difficult for me back then. It isn’t any more, but if you find the idea of self-love difficult, at the very least make an effort to be kinder to yourself.

This is the most basic act of self-care.

Image by Renee Bigelow, Pixabay

When you catch that critical voice berating you stop and ask yourself how you would treat someone else. What would you say to someone you loved? Now say that to yourself.

Find ways to be kinder to yourself and then every other aspect of self-care that’s been presented here will come more naturally.

Summary
These examples show how we have the opportunity everyday to choose self-care in multiple ways. Radical self-care requires awareness. It requires you to be conscious of who you are and how you are showing up for yourself in all areas of your life.

You can choose to let go of feeling not good enough, and the expectations you hold that are not serving you. You can choose to find the most joyful and caring ways to do whatever you need to do, rather than being harsh with yourself.

Radical self-care means knowing who you are, what your needs are and unapologetically allowing yourself to be you. Restoring your connection with nature helps you restore your connection with your (true) self. Sharing your story with others not only opens you up and helps you claim your uniqueness - it helps others do the same.

Most importantly, you can make a commitment to greater self-care by being willing to be kinder to yourself.

When you take better care of yourself everyone benefits. You’ll find that your energy and experiences improve - personally and professionally.

What is one thing you can take away from this that will help you connect more deeply with yourself?

If you’d like to learn more strategies for maintaining your energy balance, particularly at work, sign up for my Free Guide for Maintaining Your Energy Balance (and Sanity) at Work.

When we think of self-care we usually think doing something nice for ourselves, like taking time to relax, read a book, have a massage or something else that feels good.

I'd like to invite you to think a little more deeply about how you take care of yourself on a daily basis.

In this video I share ways of choosing self-care that you may not have considered, that will encourage you to:

• Think more deeply about the meaning of self-care
  
• Become aware of everyday things you do that may negatively affect your self-care
• Think about what you can easily change to take better care of yourself.
  
  

It's not just about doing nice things for yourself.It's also about what you do and how you think and feel every single day.

"The Human Design System is a synthesis of ancient and modern sciences, and has proven to be a valuable tool for human understanding.

With Human Design you discover what makes you different from everyone else. It offers profound insights into your psychology, along with strategies and techniques for making correct decisions and ultimately leading to a life of more ease and fulfillment." - Jovian Archive

I have found that it's an incredibly valuable self-awareness tool, helping you understand yourself at much deeper levels so that you can channel your energy in the healthiest and most effective ways.

I recently interviewed Human Design Expert, Nattalee K. Lilliko on Facebook Live - we discussed:

• What is Human Design and how/why is it useful?
• A description of the main types
• We take a look at my Human Design chart and some of the biggest learning for me
• How and where you can learn more
  

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Introduction
Most people don’t know themselves as well as they think they do. This is a problem because the less you really know yourself, the more likely you are to find yourself struggling with difficult people and challenging situations, being manipulated by others and living a life that doesn’t feel satisfying and fulfilling.

If you are committed to your own personal growth, success  and happiness it’s important to be willing to learn as much about yourself as you can.

In this post, along with 2 other self-awareness experts, I’ll share 7 of the best self-awareness tools and activities you can do to dig a little deeper and learn the most important and helpful things about yourself that will empower and enable you to live life on your terms instead of other people’s.

Why is Self-Awareness so Important?
When I (or any other coach) begin working with a client the first step is to find out as much about them as possible. This helps me to know how I can best help them, but it’s also usually very eye-opening for the client as they learn things about themselves they were not aware of. 

Here are a couple of comments from participants of my Inner Mastery program that demonstrate this:

As you can see from these comments, once you are willing to take a deeper look at yourself, things start to change and improve pretty quickly.

I do understand that many people are reluctant to embrace the concept of self-awareness. If you feel this way, it could be because:

• You feel that spending time on self-reflection is selfish - you should be focusing on others
  
• You are afraid of what you will find
  
• You think you already know everything about yourself
  
• It feels like a waste of time when you should be doing more important things
  
• Emotions and feelings are not important
  
  

If you have typically felt this way, I’d like to share another perspective for you to consider.

As human beings we are complex. Most of who you think you are and what you think you want is probably based on what you have learned from others, based on their experiences, beliefs and conditioning.

Part of the journey of self-awareness then is about letting go of what you thought you knew and being open to learning about the real you - not somebody else’s version of you.
 
There are many benefits to really knowing and understanding yourself at the deepest levels, such as:

• You’ll be able to clearly express your desires and be accepted for who you are.
  
• You experience less inner conflict as you learn how to respond to difficult people and situations.
  
• Setting boundaries becomes much easier.
  
• You have the clarity to make better and more informed choices that benefit you.
  
• Your relationships improve as understanding of yourself leads to greater understanding and tolerance of others.
  
• You stop comparing yourself to others - because you don’t need to.
  
• You’re able to bring your uniqueness and natural vitality to everything you do.
  

All of these things enable you to live a richer and more meaningful and fulfilling life.

So where do you start with getting to know yourself more deeply? There are a great many self-awareness tools, activities and assessments that it can easily become overwhelming and difficult to know where to start.

I’ve compiled a list of 7 of my favorites self-awareness tools and activities to help you get started.

Your Values

This is a great place to start. 

Your values are the things that are most important to you. 

They are the core beliefs that motivate you to act in certain ways, focus on and do certain things. 

When your values are not being met, life does not feel fulfilling and it’s difficult to set healthy boundaries.

Your values are guides to decision-making, boundary setting and are the reasons why you set goals. 

Research shows that just thinking or writing about your values can make it more likely that you take healthy actions. 

Knowing and staying connected to your values will also help you to stay motivated, particularly when you’re feeling tired or things are difficult.

Do you know what your top 5 values are? 

You might think you do, but people are often surprised to find they have values that they weren’t even aware of.

One of the easiest ways to find out is to refer to a list of values, like this one from Carnegie Mellon University (add your own if you feel there is something missing). Then narrow it down until you have your top 5.

Don’t think about it too much as you do the exercise. You can always do it again a few days later to make sure you really find the ones that are the best fit for you.

Your Interests

Interests include your passions, hobbies, and anything that holds your attention over a sustained period of time. 

To figure out your interests, it’s helpful to ask yourself these questions: 

• What do you pay attention to? 
• What are you curious about? 
• What concerns you? 
• What do you love to talk about?
• What do you enjoy reading about?
• What’s something that you could spend hours doing and time just seems to fly by?

Many people have built a career around a deep interest in something. 

Although it may not be possible for you to build a career around your interests, it is important that you make time for them. 

Life is much more interesting and enjoyable and you will feel a lot more energized when you allow time for your interests and hobbies.

When you talk to someone about their passion they come alive. It’s like a light shines from within. What is that for you?

Your Temperament and Traits

Learning about your temperament and traits is a way of examining your inborn preferences. For example:

• Do you restore your energy from being alone (introvert) or from being with people (extrovert)? 
  
• Do people tell you you’re “too sensitive?” 
  
• Are you a planner or go-with-the-flow type of person? 
  
• Do you make decisions more on the basis of feelings or thoughts and facts? 
  
• Do you prefer details or big Ideas? 
  

Knowing the answers to questions like these could help you more easily choose situations in which you could flourish and avoid situations which would be more of a struggle for you.

Certain things you’ll already have a good feel for - for example, whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, or whether you prefer details or are a big picture person.

Here are some valuable self-awareness tools to help you discover even more about your temperament and traits:

Sensory Processing

It is estimated that approximately 20% of the population has what is known as “sensory processing sensitivity,” otherwise known as high sensitivity, or HSP (highly sensitive person). 

If you’ve ever been told “you’re too sensitive,” it’s likely that this applies to you.

When you are highly sensitive your brain and nervous systems  are literally “wired” differently from everyone else's. 

Psychologist and researcher, Dr. Elaine Aron, who is the pioneer into research on this trait has written many books on the subject and if you are interested, I highly recommend you start with her first book: The Highly Sensitive Person.

Why is it important to know if you’re highly sensitive?

Like many others, when I read Elaine Aron’s book it was a life-changing experience for me. 

When you’re not like everyone else, and others can’t understand why you think, feel and behave the way you do they tell you there’s something wrong with you - and you end up believing them. 

When you learn that you are highly sensitive, and that it is simply a trait that applies to many other people, then you understand that there is nothing wrong with you. 

You learn as much about the trait as you can and how to use it to your advantage. This is what I and many other HSPs have done. 

You begin to realize that there are many advantages to being highly sensitive and that it’s really a gift, when used in the right way.

To find out if you are highly sensitive, here’s a link to the self-assessment used by Dr. Aron in her book. CLICK HERE

Being a highly sensitive person can be very challenging and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. There’s a lot you can do to learn how to make the most of your highly sensitive nature and use it to your advantage.

There are many self-awareness assessments that are used by coaches and organizations all over the world. It can be difficult to know which ones to use. 

I asked Dr. Sarah Stebbins, a coach and consultant specializing in change management, which ones she recommends.

Here’s her response:

Meyers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
This assessment is the ‘gold standard’ among personality assessments. It has been around for over 50 years and has a strong test-re-test reliability. [See note]  

The assessment identifies preferred personality ‘types’ which then can be applied in a variety of ways: leadership development, team building, communication skill development, career development and change management. 
 
It is this versatility that makes it my preferred ‘go to’ assessment with my wide range of coaching clients.  In particular, I have had great success with both the career and leadership development applications. 
 
There are many ‘MBTI knockoffs’ on line and while they may provide some initial insight into personality styles, the MBTI administered by a certified practitioner, really provides all the depth and breadth the instrument has to offer!
 
There are 16 Meyers Briggs personality types. You can read more about them on the Meyers Briggs web site.
 
MBTI can be taken on line. The cost is $50 [paid on-line] 
 
If required, an in-depth interpretation can be facilitated by Sarah for $100 through two virtual coaching sessions via Zoom. It’s also possible to go to a community college career center [when it opens again] to take the assessment and receive assessment feedback (cost unknown). 

[Note: by Jake Beech - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30859659]

Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Daniel Goleman who developed this assessment once stated that EI is a greater predictor of success than IQ.

I agree with this analysis! This assessment gauges the degree to which people react to typical life situations. 

The purpose of the assessment is building awareness of emotional responses which are all too often exhibited from an unconscious state.  
 
The logic behind the assessment is that once one is aware of one’s emotional triggers and responses to a given situation, one can make a different choice of how to respond in that moment.  

I have found this assessment to be particularly useful for clients who experience interpersonal challenges at work or home. 
 
When you purchase the book (about $27 on Amazon) it comes with an access code you can use to take the test online.
 
If you are new to this kind of work, it is recommended that you work with a Certified Professional Coach, as the assessment could trigger some emotional baggage that a coach or therapist could help you navigate.

About this expert:
Dr. Stebbins is a coach and consultant living in Portland Oregon. Specializing in change management, she is currently writing a book “From Fire to Water: Moving through Change. The Six Steps to Personal Resiliency”, important writing for our time!

Learn more about Dr. Stebbins HERE.

My experience:

Meyers Briggs: I have to admit that it’s a long time since I did the Meyers Briggs test. So long ago that I can’t find the results and can’t remember exactly what type I am! I do remember that I found it helpful though. 

Perhaps it’s time for me to re-visit this test.
There are a number of sites online where you can take the Emotional Intelligence test for free.

Emotional Intelligence: I recently took the test through the Psychology Today web site. It was a long test - taking about 45 minutes to complete.

The results were  about what I expected - I scored fairly high with "some room for improvement." To find the areas of improvement you'd have to pay for the full report, but I found taking the test itself to be interesting and thought-provoking.

The Enneagram
One of my personal favorite self-assessments is The Enneagram.

The Enneagram is a powerful tool for helping us understand ourselves and others more deeply.

Although it can appear to be very complicated at first, and you certainly will probably identify a little with all of the 9 types, experts at the Enneagram Institute say that “everyone emerges from childhood with one of the nine types dominating their personality…”

You can take a free Enneagram test to determine your particular type HERE. 

You can read more about each of the 9 individual types on the Enneagram Institute web site. 

I have found this test to be particularly helpful in learning more about myself and I encourage my clients to take it. Not only does it help them learn about themselves, it helps me know how to help them most effectively.

Here’s an example of how understanding the Enneagram has helped me personally: I am a Two on the Enneagram - the Helper. Those with the Helper personality experience a compulsive need to help anybody and everybody. This can be good, but often is not healthy.

Here are some of the ways iit might not be so good - if you are an Enneagram number Two you may relate:

• Helping others when they haven’t asked for help
  
• Trying to fix things for other people
  
• Helping others at the expense of yourself
  
• Being so focused on others that you have no sense of yourself and your needs
  
• Believing that you’ll receive love by helping others
  
• Being perceived and treated as a ‘doormat’ by others 
  
• Never being able to ask for help or allowing others to help you
  
• Wearing yourself out by focusing on other people’s needs instead of your own
  
• Believing that whatever you do is never enough
  
• Believing that you are not (and can never be) good enough
  

Understanding this has been incredibly helpful for me as I’ve worked to turn these things around and become a healthy version of the Two personality. 

I remember one time I was talking to a friend and she asked if I could recommend a book on a subject that would be helpful for her business. 

I then ‘observed’ myself giving her the names of several books, but then I went on to share many other ‘helpful’ resources. Even though I knew I was doing it and I was giving her things she had not asked for I couldn’t seem to stop. 

Afterwards I wrote to her to apologize because I knew I had completely overwhelmed her.

That, and other similar experiences helped me move from unhealthy to a much healthier version of the helper personality. 

I still help people - that’s just who I am, but it comes from a place of strength rather than weakness.

The Enneagram helped me understand my innate nature much more clearly and learn how to change it. 

This is the tool that helped me transform from a chronic people-pleaser to learning how to challenge myself and others to be the best we can be. It helped me learn that I didn’t need to take things personally, which was life-changing.

Obviously you can go into a lot more detail because we are all so multifaceted and have aspects of all types within us. 

I think that learning about your basic type can be extremely helpful even if you don’t want to dig deeper than that.

Human Design

This is another of my favorites, but it is typically not as well known and can be very complicated when you are new to it. I asked  Human Design expert Nattalee K. Lillico if she would explain it: Here’s her response:

“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.”

~ Eckert Tolle

Today, more than ever, we need to know who we are at our core, what makes us tick, and how we can amplify our natural talents and gifts. 
 
Since 1997 people have been finding self-awareness through a pearl of ancient wisdom called Human Design. Other personality or skill set assessments like the Myers-Briggs are based on how we see ourselves. Human Design is a synthesis of modern science and ancient wisdom like Astrology, and the I Ching, giving profound insights to our true nature. 
 
Each human has a unique energy signature, which we can discover with our birth information. 
 
Why Human Design?
Our modern world is speeding up. Yes!?  With speed comes the potential for additional stress, even burnout. Human Design delivers intelligence to navigate life’s challenges so we can connect with the correct people and projects. 
 
Where do I start?
The first step to unlocking your human potential is to know your Type.
 
There are four primary Design Types, each with variations. No one type is better than another; each has its strengths, needs, and unique purpose. 
 
The second step is to know your strategy to optimize your unique energy Type. 
 
Knowing your Type and experimenting with the suggested strategies provides a framework to allow your true nature to emerge organically.
 
Next is understanding how to make the best decisions about who and what is a good match for you. 
 
The fourth step is beyond understanding your potential but to practice it to obtain results.
 
For example, “Kathy” often felt pulled by other people’s wishes and demands. As a prominent leader in her community, her friends and colleagues frequently asked her to endorse or help them with their projects. 
 
After learning about her Human Design strategies, she practiced them with each invitation and request. What she discovered was that she had agreed to other’s wishes based on what she thought she “should” do or felt obligated to do. 
 
“Kathy” found a new sense of freedom, additional creative energy for her projects, increased income, and more explicit partnership agreements. 
 
Suggested Resources
You can obtain your free chart and beginners’ guide at the Human Design main website, Jovian Archive.
Recommend reading and study guide: The Definitive Book of Human Design, The Science of Differentiation by Ra Uru Hu. Inside you’ll read about the origin of the system, as well as a follow along description for each of the main aspects of your chart.

About this expert
Nattalee K Lillico is a certified Life Purpose Coach (ICF), IHDS Human Design Certified Analyst & Teacher, and the only recognized Genius Report Trainer in the United States.

Her Human Design journey began in 1999. In private practice since 2006, her intuitive insights and robust coaching techniques have created breakthroughs and desired results for hundreds of clients.  

You can learn more about Nattalee on her YouTube Channel.

My experience: I have to say that Human Design is one of the tools that has helped me the most. It is very in-depth and can help you identify and change behaviors that are not serving you.

One of the ways it helped me was in learning to manage my creative energy. I am enthusiastic about many things and that didn’t always serve me as I would find myself putting my energy into things that weren’t necessarily a good fit. Only I didn’t find out until I was deeply immersed in whatever it was.

Understanding this about myself I learned that one of the most important things for me to do was to pause and step back before taking on anything new. 

This was not easy for me to learn. But it was one of the most valuable lessons and my life is so much better because of it. I no longer waste my energy on things that aren’t right for me, which enables me to put all my energy into things that are in alignment with who I am and what I want.

Summary
This is a small sampling of self-awareness tools that are available. 

Each of them will give you valuable information about yourself which you can then use to improve your life experiences.

Commit to exploring at least one of these tools in more detail and to learning more about yourself.

Self-awareness is empowering. If you want to change anything, you start by knowing yourself.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” - Aristotle

For more empowering energy tips to help you go from Stuck to Unstoppable, sign up for our weekly newsletter by clicking the button below.

He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened." - Lao Tzu

In this video I'm sharing 3 aspects of self-knowledge that will help you make more beneficial decisions, set healthy boundaries, and experience greater fulfillment.

I'll share information about:

• Your values - that help you make decisions and set boundaries
  
• Your interests - that energize you
• Your temperament and traits - that make you who you are.

These things are important because going against the grain of your own personality is exhausting and destroys your happiness and well-being.

Enjoy!

"You learn who you are by unlearning who they taught you to be." - Nikki Rowe

The power of community… When we think of community we usually think of people physically coming together. Now that we’re experiencing a global need for self-isolation that can be uncomfortable for many people as they are not used to spending time alone and away from their friends, family, and colleagues.

Spending time at home and self-isolating doesn’t have to mean feeling isolated and alone though. One of the things I’ve been observing over the past few weeks is how people are staying connected and even building new communities online.

From employees working from home to students taking their classes online, to local communities offering information and support to each other, what I’m seeing is a huge increase in people coming together in ways they would not have before.

Technology can certainly have its challenges and I think most of us have a love/hate relationship with it – we love it when it’s working and hate it when it’s not! Social media can be used to share disturbing things as well as positive things. What I am finding encouraging though is how people are finding creative ways to use it to come together. For example, I usually have lunch with the same group of friends once a month. Obviously we can’t do that in person this month so we’re going to use Zoom to get together instead. We’ll still have lunch together, we’ll just each be in our own homes.

I’ve heard of people doing this with cocktail hour or getting together in this way for coffee or for book club. My local community has a Facebook group where people share information on what’s happening – everything from what restaurants are open for takeout to where to find toilet paper. If somebody needs something they can ask and somebody will be able to help.

If you live alone and are finding it difficult because you can’t connect with family or friends, explore ways to do this online. If you don’t have anyone you can talk to and feel you don’t have any community, search for one online or create one to meet your needs.

Even if you’re an introvert (like me) you can still find your people. There’s never a need to feel alone.

I’d love to hear what things you’re doing to stay connected. Leave a comment and let me know.

Be Unstoppable!

Linda

Now is the time… We’ve talked before about managing change, particularly when it’s something that’s been forced upon us. Well, that’s certainly happening now in a big way!

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious with all that’s going on all over the world, but there’s a lot you can do to help yourself and those around you right now. Here are some suggestions:

• Accept the unknown – things are changing daily right now. Nobody knows what’s going to happen next, or how long these challenges are going to last. The only thing you can do is take things day by day. You cannot know the future, and there’s no point in holding onto the past. The only thing to do is focus on each day, and each moment, which is living with presence.
  
  
• Take care of yourself – people are being forced now to consider the health of their immune system so they don’t get sick. This is something you want to do anyway. Every day ask yourself what you can do to take care of yourself.
  
  
• Look for what’s good – there comes a point when you have to switch off the news because it can take you into a downward spiral that’s difficult to come out of. Yes, you want to be informed, but focusing only on the bad news is detrimental to your health (and sanity). It may seem as though there is no good news to be had right now – but if you look for it, it’s there. Communities are coming together to help each other, groups are being setup online to keep people informed about what assistance is available, where they can buy the things they need, and where they can ask for help. Look for these groups in your area.
  
  
• Look for community – even if you live alone and you have to self-isolate, you can still find community online. You can talk to people via video chat, or by phone. There’s no need to feel lonely. Even if you’re an introvert, you still want to talk to someone from time-to-time.
  
  
• De-clutter – if you have to work from home and/or spend more time at home it’s a wonderful opportunity to do some de-cluttering. One of the best things you can do for yourself energetically is to remove items that you no longer need, use, want or love. Last weekend I took 5 boxes of stuff to Goodwill – it felt really good to let go of all that stuff. I really felt the weight of it.
  
  
• Learn something – now is the perfect time to learn something new. You can take online courses for just about anything you want to do. What’s something you’ve been putting off that you’ve always wanted to do? You could learn how to play piano, or learn a new language – or you could take one of my courses – like learning how to improve the energy of your home with the Feng Shui Success Course, or learning how to change your energy so you become unstoppable. You can check out these courses by CLICKING HERE.
  
  
• Stay fit – if you have more time at home you can dig out those workout DVD’s you haven’t looked at for years, or you can find some online fitness classes and follow along. You don’t have to go to the gym to do this.
  
  
• Volunteer – one of the best things for helping with anxiety is to find ways to help others. For example, Meals on Wheels have been looking for extra help with delivering meals, and animal shelters have been looking for more people to foster animals since they are spending more time at home.

These are just some of the things you can do. Things are changing. We might not be able to stop what’s happening right now, but what we can do is change how we respond to it. We can empower ourselves to step up to the new challenges. When you take care of your energy, raise your vibration and stay grounded, you will come through this and feel stronger and better than before.

If you have questions or particular challenges let me know. I’m here for you.

Be Unstoppable!

Linda

Just breathe… It’s easy to underestimate the power of breathing. After all, it’s something we do naturally all the time. Because it’s something that we do unconsciously we often don’t think about what benefits there might be to breathing consciously.

The only way to understand the benefits is to try it. For the next week, make a note to stop a few times each day and just pay attention to your breathing. Simply pause and put your attention on your breathing. Notice your breath coming in and going out of your body.

You only need to do this for a few breaths – I would say anything from 3 – 10. Then carry on with whatever it was you were doing. You may not notice anything immediately, and your mind will probably tell you this is a waste of time. However, when you do this regularly I think you’ll begin to feel more energized, you’ll have greater clarity, and you’ll feel less stressed.

It’s such a simple thing, yet when you do it regularly it can have major benefits for your body and your mind.

The key to doing this most successfully is to make sure your focus stays on your breathing while you’re doing it. You might find that thoughts start to creep in to take your attention away from your breathing. If this happens, just notice it and bring your attention back to your breath. It may take a little practice, but it’s worth it.
 
This technique is particularly helpful when you are in the middle of a stressful situation, or even an argument. Focus on your breathing and take a few long, slow deep breaths and you’ll find your body starts to relax a little more and you feel calmer. This enables you to handle the situation much more effectively, allowing you to respond instead of reacting.
 
If you are someone who has trouble meditating I think this can be just as good when you do it regularly, and it takes about 1 minute. If you forget, try setting a timer to remind you. Or at the very least you can do it first thing in the morning when you wake up and last thing at night before you go to sleep.
 
Try it and let me know your experience of this simple but powerful technique.
 
Be Unstoppable!

Linda
P.S. The art of becoming Unstoppable requires small steps and small shifts like this every day. The Becoming Unstoppable program is a really simple and affordable way to keep your focus and attention on doing the right things to get you there. CLICK HERE to find out more.

What you CAN do… I think we’ve all been in situations where we feel helpless, like there’s nothing we can do that will make a difference. At times like that all you can see is what’s NOT happening and NOT working and what you CAN”T do. The mind can continue on that train of thought for a long, long time.

I have learned that in situations like that there is always something you can do. That something may seem very small and it may seem as though it won’t make any impact on the huge challenge you’re facing, but it’s something.

If, instead of focusing on what you can’t do or worrying about what you can’t do, you decided to look for the 1 small thing you CAN do, it’s amazing how quickly things can shift.

If you don’t know what that 1 thing is, then ask yourself, “what is 1 thing that I can do right now that will help me/this situation?”

You might think you don’t know what that 1 thing is, but it’s more likely that you’re either not recognizing it or are unwilling to accept it.

For example, let’s say the only thing you can do right now is to walk away from a situation or person and spend some time alone. You may reject this idea as something that doesn’t solve the problem. You may feel it’s weakness or that you’re giving up. It might not even occur to you that it’s an option.

What if, in walking away and giving yourself some time away from the situation to breathe to focus on something else, and to take care of your energy, you are allowing a solution to present itself to you?

What if that simple act of stepping away gave you access to everything you need to reset and find a solution to the challenge?

Or perhaps the 1 thing you can do is to call a trusted friend and talk through your situation. You may reject that idea because you don’t want to dump your problems onto someone else, or you think that person won’t understand the situation and so cannot help you.

What if the simple act of talking it through with someone who is simply there to listen brings clarity to your mind and all of a sudden you know what you need to do? What if the person you talk to doesn’t need to solve the problem but can simply be there to listen in support and non-judgment to allow you to reach the conclusions you need? Perhaps as they listen they may ask some questions which allow you to see something you didn’t see before.

This has happened to me many times. Even though I thought I didn’t know what to do, these simple acts of either stepping away or finding someone who will listen as I talked things through brought new clarity and understanding and enabled me to see the solutions that were right there in front of me that I hadn’t been able to see before.

Worry drains your energy. Focusing on what you can’t do drains your energy. Focusing on what you CAN do, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, energizes you.

Be Unstoppable!

Linda
P.S. I'm creating a 6-month online program for those who are ready to put these tips into action and become truly Unstoppable. If you are interested in being a founding member of this private and exclusive community, CONTACT ME to schedule a call to see if it is a fit for you.

Acceptance and change… Many people feel that if they accept something they don’t like and don’t want then they are giving in to it. They feel they must fight against it and find a way to win. The feeling is “this shouldn’t be happening to me.”

If you’ve been in a situation that you feel shouldn’t be happening and you continue to fight against it, you may have had the experience that things keep getting worse. The harder you try to change it the more stressed and anxious you feel too.

Acceptance is not giving up. It’s simply acknowledging that “yes, this is happening,” and now you can open yourself up to solutions and possibilities. If you think about it energetically, by accepting that it’s happening, you attract solutions and by resisting you push them away because you’re so busy fighting against what’s happening that there’s no room for anything else.

Resistance brings fear, and acceptance brings clarity.

Think about Bill who is working for a company that is laying people off. He could say “this shouldn’t be happening, it’s not fair,” and he could get angry with the company and with management. Every day Bill would feel more and more stress, anxiety and anger. He would carry this with him and it would begin to affect his life at home, and his relationships.

The other alternative is that Bill could acknowledge what’s happening and the fact that he could be next to go. Then he could consider what might be the best course of action – perhaps he could be looking for another job now, before the worst happens. Or he could make the decision that it’s better to stay and see what happens. Even if he chooses to stay, he can still be on the lookout for other opportunities.

What I’ve seen happen time and time again is that someone who takes the approach of acceptance in this way will often find another job opportunity, or things will open up in such a way that leads them to something that’s even better – something they may not have thought of before.

Think of it this way – acceptance gives you energy to do what you need to do and to be in the right frame of mind to attract and notice opportunity.

Resistance, however, takes up all your energy. It depletes you and, as the saying goes: “what you resist persists.”

If you don’t like the word ‘acceptance’ because it feels like giving in, then choose another word, like ‘acknowledge.’ “I acknowledge that this is happening, now what do I want to do about it.” That’s a much more empowering way to be.

Be Unstoppable!

Linda