"Joe's advice gave me the courage to take back my life, challenge my fear of imperfection, and realize that guilt is a choice. Thank you, Joe!"
I use an array of strategies in my coaching that are available in the research, but that we never hear about. Great minds are working hard to make our lives easier and less stressful. My life balance programs and coaching follow the scientific findings on effective work, time management, optimal experience, and life gratification to increase satisfaction on the job and off.
We can build a less stressful work style than just reacting to devices, events, and others all day. One of the keys is a concept that has disappeared for the most part — boundaries. They are the most basic management tool. As one Harvard study shows, they are a success strategy, critical for job and life satisfaction.
We also learn how to manage stress, not just our own but also the secondhand-stress of other people. As I detail in "How to Control the Hidden Engine of Stress and Burnout: Rumination," we have the power to turn off the false stories that drive stress. Switch off the danger signal of stress, and the fight-or-flight equipment stops in four minutes. Plus, you learn how to bounce back from challenges and setbacks with the power of resilience.
One-on-one coaching means benefits like these:
We are not born to be stuck. Our brain neurons want progress and movement. What would you like to make progress on? Manage stress? Deal with a setback? Handle a difficult person? Create a happier life? Manage deadlines better?
I enjoy coaching, because I get to work with people determined to push past the roadblocks and realize their potential. Like the real estate agent whose stress was so severe, she could only sleep three hours a night. Or the systems engineer who was overwhelmed by workload. Like the CEO who had a heart attack and didn't want another. And accountants, engineers, and everyone in between.
Work stress, burnout, and other workplace issues are something we all struggle with, but assistance is hard to come by. It's an area that falls between the cracks of the regular healthcare arenas, beyond the scope of the family doctor and perhaps non-industrial psychologists.
That's where I come in, since I specialize in these overlooked realms, from productivity and work overload to the science of engaged experience (the life side) and building life balance. The coaching process is very convenient. We work together by phone, Zoom, or Skype consultations wherever you are in the world. We identify your goals and challenges and use practical, proven strategies to get results.
My life balance program zeroes in on key adjustments we need to manage demands and difficulties. We find answers to bottlenecks, set boundaries, reframe pressures, and start solving challenges. It's effective, affordable, and fast.
The other side of the work-life hyphen, life, often gets overlooked, but it is key to work, and, of course, satisfaction off the job. How we recharge and engage with our world off-the-clock fuels performance on the job, connects us with family and friends, and provides the gratification we need for core needs such as autonomy, competence, and connection with others (see my article, "The Three Things We Don't Know We Need to Be Happy."
In my book, Don't Miss Your Life, which shows through the science the skills and mindset needed to activate the fullest life, a brave Texan named Heather Burcham put it into the proper perspective. She was diagnosed with a terminal case of cervical cancer in her twenties and set out to live as much as she could in her remaining months. She said, "You are so lucky. You get to live every moment."
And we do. But we can't wait for it to happen. We have to make it happen. For that, we need the right skill-set. The work mind of results and outcomes doesn't apply to the life side, which is about enjoying the experience of fun or learning for its own sake — no external rewards. Life is an internal affair. We find it through engaged experiences, intrinsic goals, and skills that put us on the path to determining the content of life.
The great mythologist Joseph Campbell once said that it's not the meaning of life we are after but the rapture of being alive. In our happiest moments we are not worried about meaning, since we are in the thick of the experience of it. We can prioritize more of that with adjustments to how we work and participate in our lives.
Click the button below for a no-obligation consultation. You can also reach me at 310-570-6987, or at joe@worktolive.info. Look forward to hearing from you.