Penny Casselman:
There is magic in being curious. There's magic in asking questions and pausing long enough to be honest in your reflection. I wish nothing more for you, director, than to find a way to face those tough questions so that you can step in to the phenomenal life you are worthy of. Welcome to the Pivot With Passion podcast. Hi, I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life. Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities.
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Go grab your favorite beverage and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Welcome back, director, to Pivot with Passion. I'm thrilled that you showed up today.
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In my last episode, I shared a.
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Personal red marker moment.
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One of those times where I had to stop and take a hard look and then choose to make a bold new choice. And if you caught that episode, you know those moments are never easy, but they are powerful. Now, if you are new around here, you might be wondering what a red marker moment is. Well, it's a pivotal time in your life when you are ready to choose something new. It's a newfound desire to believe that you can figure out whatever it is that comes next. You're ready to take bold action, and you are continually holding a vision of the bright future you know you are worthy of. So welcome. Now today, I want to build on that concept and explore something I know is at the core of every red marker moment.
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And that is the questions we ask ourselves. Because the truth is, the quality of our life all depends on the quality of the questions that we ask ourselves. Ask the wrong ones and you will stay stuck. Ask the right ones and suddenly your perspectives will shift, doors open, momentum builds, and everything changes and helps propel you in the direction of the phenomenal life you are worthy of. Now please notice I use the word worthy of. I used to always say deserved. But here's the truth.
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Not everyone deserves a phenomenal life. If you are not ready to ask the right questions, to do the self reflection, to take the bold action, believe in yourself and hold a vision, there is nothing about that that leads to deserving. Are you worthy of having a phenomenal life? Absolutely. But to deserve a phenomenal life, you have to be willing to ask those hard questions, to take the bold action, to believe in yourself and set a vision. And that is what we are all here for. With Pivot with passion. I commend you for hitting play today. Before I completely dive in, I want to give you a little heads up because I am so excited.
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I've got something brand new coming. It is a free masterclass where I'll be sharing the exact high performer strategies I use with my one on one clients to help coach them to level up their lives. I will share more details at the end of the episode today. So please stick around because I want you along this ride with me. Let's unpack this whole idea of the.
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Questions you ask yourself now. Like I alluded to earlier, they can either keep you stuck or they can propel you forward into a completely new and exciting chapter in your life. Think back to those New Year's resolutions. Right? It makes sense. The most popular time for people to reflect, look around and maybe ask some high level questions. You bet. Is December 31st and January 1st. But what happens by March? Most resolutions have completely fizzled out.
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They are gone. They are abandoned now. Studies vary, but they all kind of land in the same place. And that is only about 10% of people who make resolutions actually stick with them and make them happen. 10%. And that's not even of the entire population. That's 10% of a percent of the population that does this. It's kind of disheartening right now.
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Hand raised. I have been one of those people that fell off the wagon more times than I care to admit.
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However, stepping into my high performance life, stepping into in to asking those right questions. I will tell you my life is on a trajectory up and it's so exciting. Which is why I show up here every week to share these ideas with you. So what is going wrong when these people fall off? Well, I believe it comes down to the questions that we ask ourselves. Poor questions lead to poor direction. Questions like why does this keep happening to me? Or why can't they stop doing that?
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That keeps us focused outward when we.
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Blame others or blame situations for our current reality. Conversely, we can go inward but still spiral when we ask questions or make statements that why am I so stupid?
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Why can't I get this right?
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Why is it everything I try fails?
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But here is the reframe Self reflection, when handled properly, is not a weapon.
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To beat ourselves up.
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It's a gateway, a path to self awareness.
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And only when we are aware can.
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We start directing our thoughts, making new choices and taking aligned action towards the life we are worthy of.
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Think about one of the top resolutions that people make. Go to the gym. That's why you see so many ads here, so many deals and marketing messages to get you into the gym at the start of every year. Now, the average person can show up every single day to the gym after making that declaration. But if they aren't asking the right questions, are they even going to notice a change in their appearance? For instance, questions like, what workout plan.
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Is right for what I want to accomplish? Or am I having the right form.
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While I'm using the equipment?
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Or. Or free weights?
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Too often the question boils down to, well, I'm going to the gym and I'm not seeing any results, so why bother?
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And then March rolls around and nobody goes to the gym. You see, you put in the effort, but without the right questions, results won't follow.
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And this director is the same. In life, if we keep asking poor questions, we should not be surprised when.
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We get poor results.
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You see, high performers don't shy away from hard questions because they know those hard questions are the key to growth. And I will be honest, that is one of the most exciting things about what I do as a high performance coach is I get to ask the hard questions. And it's in those moments that I see with my clients that they'll sit and pause and when I hear things like, I hadn't thought about that, or.
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That'S a great question, or I'm going.
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To have to reflect more on that.
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Shows that you do deserve that phenomenal life.
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It's time for a clarity cocktail. Today's clarity cocktail comes from Albert Einstein, and here's what he shares. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. I could not have drafted a better quote for today's episode. And yeah, it was never going to happen anyway because I'm not Albert Einstein. However, what I take from this is that questions aren't meant to be scary or intimidating. They're meant to unlock curiosity, creativity, and momentum.
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The right question is like a key. You turn it and see, suddenly a door opens that you didn't even know was there.
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I know because you are listening to.
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This podcast that you are striving for more.
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You are striving to be the best version of yourself. You are looking for ways to open more doors, to find the next evolution of what it is you're going after, the next evolution of your life. And that is so exciting.
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And thank you for letting me be a part of it.
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Questions are truly the basis of how.
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We grow as humans.
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And this quote from Albert Einstein sums.
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Up what it's all about. The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. I want to challenge you. Write down that Quote and ask yourself, what questions have I been avoiding this week? Maybe what questions might I start asking to move my life forward? There is magic in being curious. There's magic in asking questions and pausing long enough to be honest in your reflection. I wish nothing more for you, Director, than to find a way to face those tough questions so that you can step in to the phenomenal life you are worthy of. This upcoming masterclass that I am putting together for you will highlight all of.
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The characteristics that help move high performers in to the life they are worthy of. So as your high performance coach today.
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I want to read the quote one more time.
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The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
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And now back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to this idea of want a better life?
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Start asking better questions.
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Let's explore what some of the issues are that we face when we don't ask the hard questions.
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There are really three different areas that we encounter that can absolutely throw up a roadblock in front of us, and those include fear, fatigue, and frustration.
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At a high level, fear is nothing more than fear of being judged, making the wrong choice, or what happens if we fail.
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The second issue that we face is fatigue, not only mental, but also physical fatigue. Sometimes we don't want to ask better questions because we simply don't have the stamina, the endurance, the energy to do anything after we reflect.
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And the third thing that can keep.
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Us stuck is frustration. When we look around and think we're.
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Doing all the right things, but why isn't it working in any one of those situations? Fear, fatigue, frustration. We may get feedback from others, and too often that feedback can be interpreted as criticism. But if we can look and start to reframe feedback that we get as simply information, we open up an entire new space to play, to question, to explore, to reflect, and to believe in ourselves. Know that we can figure it out, be ready to take bold action and hold that vision in any of those circumstances. If we're not willing to ask for feedback and receive feedback, you will stay in that same loop of stuckness and abandon any dreams that you have. And you can see this by simply people watching at the grocery, at the coffee shop. How many conversations have you heard about people complaining or lamenting about things that.
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They have no control over as the.
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Reason their life isn't going better. When you notice those interactions, Director, take a pause and think, what would a high performer do? What would I do to reframe that.
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Situation and keep myself moving forward? Here are three strategies and suggestions that I want to offer and I invite you to think about could one of.
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These be beneficial as you move forward in pursuing your phenomenal life? Number one, Ask for help. You have probably heard this over, over and over and over again.
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And like I said in last week's episode, there are times that our brain is not receptive to feedback we are being given. However, if you can ask for help, if you can admit that you don't know everything, it is not a sign of weakness, director. It is a sign of strength.
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And high achievers, just like you are.
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Striving to be, ask for help because they know collaboration accelerates growth. And you can ask any of my high performing clients why we work together and they will echo that exact sentiment because they know collaboration will accelerate next their growth. Number two, Reframe feedback. Instead of hearing criticism, whether it's solicited or unsolicited from someone, what I want you to think about is they are offering some directions. You see, feedback will always show you where to refocus, where to redirect, and will help move you into excitement for what's possible, excitement for exploring a new path.
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And the third thing you can explore is upgrade your questions. Move from powerless questions to powerful questions. Instead of why me? Ask instead, what can I learn from this? Instead of why can't I ever get this right? To what do I need to adjust to make this work? It is that subtle shift in language that forces your brain to start generating ideas. Remember, our brains must answer questions and you can either point your questions in a negative bent or a positive move you forward into the phenomenal life you want. Allow me to recap those three strategies one more time. One, Ask for help Director. It is a sign of strength, not of weakness. Number two, reframe feedback.
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Remember, it is not criticism. It is simply an offering of directions that you might consider. And number three, upgrade your self questions.
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That's right. How can you ensure that when your brain goes out to answer the questions.
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You are setting yourself and your brain.
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Up for positive momentum forward Small shifts, Director, in your questions can yield big shifts in the results that you see.
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Whether or not you listened to last week's episode. And side note, I invite you to hop back and listen if you missed it. Not long ago I had my own red marker moment.
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And up until that point I realized.
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I had been asking myself the wrong questions.
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I was spinning, I was frustrated, and.
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Man was I feeling stuck in my life.
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Yet when I reached out to a friend to get some outside perspective, the feedback I got hit me between the eyes. But instead of taking it as criticism, I chose to reflect. I asked myself different questions. I asked myself, what if she's right? What would change if I actually did something about the situation? And that, Director, was my huge turning point. That moment when I was asking better questions unlocked an entire new choice for me. And honestly, it unleashed what's on the horizon in my life and in my business. Was it scary?
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Hell yes.
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Yes, this is probably one of the top three red marker moments I have had in my life, and I was terrified. However, in stepping into a red marker moment, I believed that I could figure out what was coming next. I was ready to take bold action, and I knew that that vision that I had been holding and keeping in the background for so long was possible. And that was completely freeing.
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So here's what I want you to take away today. If you want a better life, start asking better questions. Remember, poor questions keep you stuck. Powerful questions move you forward. So what's one new empowering question you need to start asking yourself right now? I want you to write it down, reflect on it, so that you can guide yourself into new action. And Director, if today's episode resonated, you are going to love what's Next. As I mentioned at the top of the episode, I'll be hosting a free masterclass where we'll dig deeper into the strategies high performers use to create clarity, courage and momentum. Think of it as your chance to not only listen in, but to start applying these tools right away in your life.
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So please keep your eyes on my emails and socials for the full invite. Trust me, you will want to grab a seat until next week. Director. Ask the tough questions, be open to what it reveals, and move forward with passion. Friend. Thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcast.
Penny Casselman:
Because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker, get excited for your future and make your first move to Pivot with Passion.
