Design Yourself

So many things in today's world demand our attention: Targeted ads; technology programming; catchy headlines; our constantly refilling inboxes. Knowing how to eliminate distractions is a survival skill. We must learn to quiet the white noise and focus on the things that matter most. To eliminate distractions, we must know what to pay attention to - and then relentlessly block out the disruptions that pull us away. In this episode, we explore three key questions to help us get clear on what matters most, clarify the perspective that will help move us toward growth and discover the tactics that will help keep us on our path.       https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/eliminating-distractions/

Being prepared isn't just an act of readying for the future. It is a present state that means we are ready to do or deal with whatever comes our way. What a marvelous aspiration! In this way, preparedness feels connected to resilience, which allows us to bounce back from whatever circumstances we may face. But it's tricky. Preparation is something that holds both light and shadow. Preparation offers an antidote to anxiety. When we have put in the work and are ready, we can focus on our quality of presence. Think speaking from the heart on a topic you've researched and rehearsed versus reading off half-scribbled notecards shaking in your hands. And preparation can also trigger anxiety. We may feel like we can never know, do or be enough. There is more research to do. More visuals to create. More practice needed. Think toiling away on that creative endeavor that remains forever unfinished because there is no sense of what "done" looks like. In this week's episode we explore 3 aspects of being prepared - 1) Deep

Great leadership demands that we look beyond our own point of view. Taking perspective allows us to build empathy in the face of conflict, to understand the wants of our customers, to deepen our connection to our colleagues. Perspective taking can also be applied inward. We can weigh our options, see new pathways forward, tap into our vision, breathe life into our personal narratives. Today's podcast focuses on how we can expand our capacity to take perspective. We look at four ways to hone your ability and build up your perspective taking muscles - everything from learning how to look beneath the surface, to practicing fierce empathy (even in the face of conflict), to finding fun ways to get outside of your comfort zone, to seeking opportunities to expand your consciousness. Throughout the episode learn practical tips for how to develop and apply this skill.

Ready or not, the new year is upon us. While there is no one right way to do anything, there is what's right for you. Answering this question requires our discernment. How will you choose to show up and move through 2023? What are you wishing to call in this year? What will support you on this path?  In today’s episode we talk about finding your own right-fit approach to kicking off the new year and how you can use the flipping of the calendar year to bring fresh perspective to your daily rhythms and routines. We discuss what's different about a resolution and an intention. We talk about different themes you might play with like a word or color of the year. We invite you to consider what - if any - big picture annual thinking might be useful as you step into 2023. Regardless of what you are moving towards, the rhythms and routines that you establish will steward you on this path. To that end we close today's episode with an audit of what's working for you and how you might reimagine both the fixed and flexibl

The new year invites us to reimagine what's possible. This is not about trying to burden ourselves with unrealistic resolutions that we are doomed to abandon by February. Instead, it is about letting the rhythm of the calendar offer us a natural disruption in the momentum of our day to day. It is a chance to dream something new. In this week's podcast, we begin by discussing the importance of cultivating a belief that what you want is possible. And we look to Maslow's hierarchy of needs to create distinctions on where to focus our visioning energy. Do we need to shore up our foundation (physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem)? Or are we in a moment where we can expand into self-actualization? We then consider how to hold space to explore what you want. We embrace the mindset that whatever we are doing, it is enough. And we offer ways to go deeper. We then offer prompts to get you thinking about what you really want for this year - a linear process to get clear on your 2023 vision. We close with a s

Wintering is a season in the cold. It is both literal and figurative. It acknowledges those times where we move through a fallow period – cut off from the world. What is the power of wintering? How can we learn to call in the dark and the cold? In today’s episode on wintering we discuss what wintering is, borrowing from the brilliance of writer Katherine May; we speak to the power of wintering, specifically the power of the dark, the cold, letting go and resting; and we close with reflection questions to spark your own best thinking on how to integrate this practice. “So that is my wish for you – that you may be unburdened by the cold and dark of wintering. And more than that. That you can embrace it. Call in the dark and the cold – don’t run from it. It is through learning how to sit in this discomfort that we build our resilience for when the unexpected winters arrive.” https://pointroadstudios.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4750&action=edit

What have you learned this year? And how will those lessons inform your direction in the coming year? In this week's episode we explore the power of looking back and taking perspective. And then look at a few tools to help you do just that. We close with a how-to guide to writing a letter to yourself to reflect on the year. Here's to taking a few moments to look back and learn from what has unfolded for you in 2022.     https://pointroadstudios.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=podcast

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Point Road Studios! Has anyone ever told you, "No, you can't do that!" - and then you went ahead and did it anyway? That's a glimpse into why we celebrate together in this week's podcast. Join Sharon for a personal reflection and celebration meditation. Learn about the thing that Sharon is most proud of and hear some of the stories of clients she has worked with over the years. Hear her reflections on what being in business for a decade has meant for her personal life. And then reflect on what this means for you. Today's episode closes with a Celebration Meditation (starting at 15:47) inviting you to explore chapters of your own life. What are you celebrating? What are you noticing? What can you see? And at what perspective? Celebrate what you are most proud of. And not just the big milestones. Celebrate those tiny moments that summed together create the magical moments of your life. Because only you can know and navigate how to call forth the whispers of your heart. Listen

Perfectionism is a shadow driver of so many high achievers. It helps us get the job done. But at what cost? In today's episode, we cozy up to the realities of the perfectionism paradigm. We look at its different flavors and the ways we might experience it in our own lives. What standards do we hold ourselves to? What about the people around us? Our family? Colleagues? Friends? Community members? And what about the standards that we inherit from the cultures we live in and move through? The alternative to chasing an impossible standard is simple. We have to set our own. Rather than aligning our actions with an unachievable ideal, we have to connect our focus to what actually matters most. As defined by - you guessed it - you! Which does require that we know what we value. For this reason, we close today's podcast with an invitation to reflect - a chance to be honest with ourselves about our own relationship with perfectionism and to consider what's actually important to us. From the strength of our own convict

"No" is an incredibly powerful tool. It allows us to clear the clutter of our lives and to prevent unnecessary distractions. Behind every yes is a silent no - we just usually don't realize it at the time. It is through creating the negative space that we can dream up of biggest, brightest, happiest yeses. "No" really does create the space. In today's episode we give gratitude to "no" and offer up 4 simple questions to spark your own personal reflection. Host Sharon cozies up to her own answers including how fear and control get very loud when she's saying no - and how it's worse when she is afraid of how her no will impact someone else. We also look at patterns that lead you to avoid saying no and supports to get over it and just do it anyway.     https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/gratitude-for-no/

To gather - to come together with others - is a deliciously human act. But the experiences are varied. And many of us are out of practice or still adjusting to how it feels to be together. As we step into the season of gatherings, we invite you to consider what makes a gathering good for you. Sharon reflects on some of the wildly different gatherings that she has been a part of recently - from her annual-ish Entrepreneur's Getaway to a Catskills Sister Moon Circle, from  a Vision at Work Retreat to a family routine of playing Dragonwood before bed. She shares what each of these gatherings is, what she appreciates about the experience, what surprises her and more. Through cozying up to these experiences, she draws out 5 lessons that she knows will serve her in the intense season of coming together that lies ahead. And she prompts you to set your own intentions for the gatherings in your life.    https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/gather-good/

The end of the year is coming. It's that season where we are stretching to the finish line professionally - while simultaneously laying the ground work for what comes next. And our personal lives tend to get fuller too. Holiday celebrations and gatherings. Traveling and hosting. It is a time when we are naturally drawn to sprinting, adding on more responsibilities and generally pushing harder. But today's podcast challenges that way of being. It invites you to get clear on what matters most and then align your actions with these priorities. Particularly as we think about the short timeframe between now and the end of the year. We aren't talking about a laundry list of priorities either. We are talking about what 1 or 2 or maybe 3 things that matter most. That's it. And that's enough. Together, we examine why the time is right to be asking ourselves what matters most, we highlight what tends to get in our way and we offer questions to prompt your own best thinking on how to return to and honor your priorities.

We have enormous aptitude for thinking. But not all of our thought habits serve us. Frequently a thought that served us for one season of life gets in our way in the next. "I am a hard worker" may have given you the focus and discipline to rise into your current station in life...but it is also contributing heavily to your sense of burn out. Being able to break from your current thought habits is an incredible life and leadership skill. It requires both that you can see your current thoughts, discern if they are working for you and then shift them if they are not. In today's episode, we explore the Thinking Path model as a tool to help you do just that. Learn from real life examples and consider for yourself what thoughts you are ready to challenge and reimagine.

The things we carry can get heavy, fast. And we have a choice. Keep holding the weight. Or set it down. To move through the world with levity, unburdened by the weight of our mental loads, requires us to both see what we are holding onto and then decide consciously what to do with it. As our work and lives take on a new shape, we are once again revamping the rhythms and routines of how we give shape to our days. And this means we are taking on new mental loads. In today's episode we create space to take perspective on why many of us are experiencing a sudden uptick in our mental loads. We then explore what mental loads we are holding so that we might see with fresh eyes the things we carry. We close the episode with 4 moves you can make to get relief.   https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/mental-loads-getting-relief/

Your attention is a precious resource. But one that is all too often wasted or ignored. Annie Dillard speaks to this beautifully: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing." You can choose to focus your attention and the minutes of your life on what matters to you. Or not. The act of focus may seem small in the moment, but its ripple effects are wildly consequential. In today's episode we draw inspiration from David Foster Wallace's commencement speech and emphasize the importance of choice when it comes to where we gift our attention. We then invite you to reflect on 4 questions to spark your own best thinking on how to put the ideas shared into practice in your own life.   https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/gifting-your-attention/

You are in charge of your reactions to the circumstances around you. As for the circumstances and people around you, not so much. Yes, you can motivate, negotiate, influence and inspire those things. But you can't control them. But your reaction? Absolutely yours to decide. Yet we know it doesn't always feel like it's our choice. We get so triggered in the moment or so habitual in our response that we forget that we do actually have a choice.  In today's episode, we help you remember that the choice is always there. We begin by looking at why centering matters and then share tools for three ways of centering: Tactics to come back to center when you are  triggered; practices to build up your centering stamina so that you are less likely to be triggered in the moment and practices for how to center with your team - whether with your colleagues around the board room table or on a zoom call or at home with your family. Enjoy!  https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/finding-center/  

We've been 2020ed and there is no turning back. That has a lot of us feeling adrift. Untethered. Unmotivated, even. We can't unsee or unexperience these last few of years. This new consciousness has sparked lots of change in the workplace.   For some of us, this new awareness has spurred us into action. Perhaps seeking a new job (hello, great resignation) or reimagining the one we already had. For others of us, we have scaled way back - perhaps exiting the workforce or re-evaluating how much we are willing to give (#quietquitting). And our employers are following suit. Return to office plans are rolling out, flexible work plans are being established (or not) and generally speaking, the next normal is coming into focus.   In today's episode we cozy up to how we are feeling in the face of multi-years of near-constant, collective change. At a time when so many of us feel like things are beyond our control, we explore the choices we do have that might help bring us back to center.  Sneak peek: All paths forwar

Get pumped! Starting October 5, the Design Yourself podcast is coming back to spark inspiration and share practical resources for how to imagine what you really want and figure out how to lead with your vision each and every day. In this sneak peek episode, learn about the fun personal project that led Sharon to put the podcast on hold (hint: you can read about it in the NYT and Dwell!) and why she is recommitting to the Design Yourself podcast now (hint: it has a lot to do with offering support amidst the unprecedented demands and choices facing professionals today).

A is for Actualize. B is for Brainstorm. C is for create. Okay, just kidding, that's not quite the structure of today's podcast. In this week's episode, Sharon does share some key terms for breaking apart the big idea of vision. She says a more linear set of distinctions that can move us along that path by exploring terms like strategy, goals, milestones and tactics. And also shares a magical pathway to vision through the lens of words like surrender, release, be, listen and move. The idea is not that there is a single or better pathway to realizing and stepping into what you really want. Instead these are distinct ways to break down something that can feel big into simple concepts and structures. This episode closes with some questions for you to consider as you wend your way down your own visionary path.

The podcast is back! Listen to Sharon read Frank Bidart poems, share what she's been up to over the last 4 months and talk about the power of not forcing things. She discusses how being still can be uncomfortable and yet why that's important. She shares how to drop in and listen to the voice within you (and not just the mental chatter) and lead and act from that space of wisdom. And finally, when you are just itching to sprint to action even if it doesn't feel right, she reminds you to just breathe. And see if you can't tilt into a deeper sense of presence over action.