inspHERation: Recent Episodes
Amanda Thomas & Elizabeth Garster
For credit union women by credit union women.
We are two former credit union marketers on a mission to inspire women in this great industry to become the best versions of themselves. By being vulnerable, thinking positively, talking about our daily struggles and fears, and building each other up, we will connect strong, fabulous credit union women to help them become more confident and empowered leaders.
It's easy to get burnt out at work and feel like you're just a hamster in the wheel, doing the same thing every day. As a result, it can be easy to lose sight of the passion you have for your job and forget what your purpose in the organization is.
So today we talk about why it’s okay if you feel like this sometimes and what you can do to rediscover purpose!
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
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Remember your why. There is obviously something that led you to join the credit union, or wherever it is that you work. Something led you to take that path, so reconnect with why you did that and what lit you up at that point in time. Similarly, reflect on the greater Why in your life outside of work.
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An article from the Harvard Business Review, "You’re Never Done Finding Purpose at Work," offers a great exercise: Throughout the workday, write down approximately how much time you spent in each of the three mindsets below. If you're spending most of your time, like 50% or more, in the purpose mindset and like, "This is really lighting me up. This is really exciting me. I'm really excited to be working on this particular project," then don’t throw in the towel. But if you're spending 90% of your time living in the other two, particularly towards the bottom, then it might be time to re-evaluate.
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Job Mindset - I'm here to get to collect my paycheck, to clock in, to be an adult that has a job.
- Career Mindset - I'm really interested in the title, and I'm really interested in more power, or more opportunities, or more pay; I want to advance my career.
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Purpose Mindset - I'm here because I'm passionate, and invigorated, and excited, and I love the work.
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Consider the things that you enjoy about your job and the things that you don't enjoy about your job (and this tip can actually help you with the above exercise). Sometimes your mindset all comes down to how you frame things. If you're not having a good day at work say, "But at least I get to work on _____, and that is something that really lights me up." Even if your current task doesn’t light you up, you don't get to work on it all the time. But if there's something that's part of your job that you really don't like to do, something that sucks your soul out, that's a good time to have a conversation with your boss and says something like, "This takes me way more time than it would with somebody who's really passionate about it or somebody who knows more about it than I do. Is it something that we can outsource?" Remember that there are things that you can do to make the job that you currently have more enjoyable, so don't just jump ship right away!
Resources:
- HBR: "You’re Never Done Finding Purpose at Work" by Dan Pontefract
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
At any given point, you have one of two different mindsets: a scarcity mindset or an abundant mindset. This is an idea written about in Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and today we will discuss what exactly these two mindsets look like in real life, how you can move toward an abundance mindset, and why you probably want to.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
- Keep a gratitude journal and be grateful. If you don't feel like you have enough of something, seeing all the things you do have is really powerful!
- Check the language that you use with others, as well as the internal dialogue that you're having with yourself. If you're saying “can't” a lot, or you “have to have” something, or you “have to do” something, try to take note of that and stop. You can accomplish what you want, and you get to live the life that you want to live!
- Say positive affirmations. A scarcity mindset can really lend itself to being in a negative place... and that’s just a hard way to live! Whatever you want that you don't feel like you have or deserve to have, for whatever reason, write it down and then either look at it every day or say it to yourself in the mirror. So pick a positive affirmation that will make yourself feel good and make yourself feel like you can achieve whatever you want to achieve, remind yourself of it every single day!
Resources:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Today, we're talking about difficult conversations... which, frankly, no one wants to have.
And it’s no wonder why – it’s right in the name! – but you can't get through life without having difficult conversations. And if you know how to do them well, and you go into them with the right mindset, it just makes things a lot better.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
- Journal about your first step, whatever it is. Just write it down! Or, if you’re not feeling like writing today, take out the voice memo app on your phone, record it, and listen back to it.
- Don’t apologize to someone as you tell them you want to have a difficult conversation. You're allowed to have your emotions, so don’t apologize for them! That's an important part of being a human.
- Don't go into a difficult conversation with assumptions. You want to be in a good mindset because it's a lot more likely that something bad will happen if you go into it thinking that it will. And if you go into the conversation imagining what that other person is going to say or how they're going to react, that's informing how you speak to that person and how you react to them reacting.
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
At TwoScore, we have a thing called Motivation Mondays where we share and discuss an inspirational topic. This past week, Amanda shared an article from Success Magazine titled, “What Advice Would You Give to Your Younger Self?”
We started talking about it and it was really motivational for our team, so we wanted to share some of that with all of you!
Amanda’s Top 3 Pieces of Advice:
- Life is short, so eat the cake! It isn't always about the size of your jeans and everything. If you would enjoy a piece of cake, if that would make your heart happy, please do that!
- Take care of yourself. No one else will take care of you the way that you would yourself. We’re not saying that people won't take care of you, but no one else is going to advocate for you and take as good of care of you as you would yourself.
- Friends are the greatest treasures in life. I’ve have had some really rough times over my life, but the friends who are willing to come to your side at 11 PM when you’re a mess are worth more than gold – and they make life wonderful!
Liz’s Top 3 Pieces of Advice:
- Whatever you may be worried about is not as big a deal as you think it is! This too shall pass. It’s not that big a deal.
- People are too worried about themselves to really worry about you. We tend to think that people are watching our every move at work or in our personal lives, that we're under the microscope... but nobody cares! Again, we’re not saying nobody cares about you at all, but you’re not the center of everyone else’s universe
- You are the expert on your own story. So, whenever you're having impostor syndrome, remember that you're an expert in your own experience, you're an expert in everything that has led up to you making this decision. You have everything in your life to pull from and no one can take that away from you, and it's unique to you!
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
An exercise for you:
We always want to leave you with something you can take away from the episode, and today we have an exercise that we invite you to do with us over the next week:
Write a letter to your younger self – or, even better, find a younger person to share your wisdom with!
Our basic human need is being connected to others, and we think sharing advice can be a really powerful moment, for both you.
Resources:
- Read: “What Advice Would You Give to Your Younger Self?”
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Today, we are talking about perfectionism. Now, just to be clear, we are perfectionists... but we’re working on it, and awareness is the first step!
Sometimes we end up wearing perfection as a badge of honor, we like to think that means that we're working hard towards being better, but perfectionism can be a really dark place to be when you get too deep.
So we're going to kind of peel back the layers of perfectionism and discuss how to break some of your perfectionist habits.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
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Eliminate the word “perfect” from your vocabulary.
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Remember that you are a human being. What’s wonderful about our human existence is that you're here with everyone, you're alive, and you can feel things both good and bad. That means if you're a human being, you're also not a perfect robot!
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Social media is great for connecting with other people, but it lends itself to making the people who have perfectionism live in hell even more because they're constantly comparing their insides to everyone else's outsides. So if you find yourself in a negative space comparing yourself to others on social media, get off of social media for a while. Take a break. It's okay!
Resources:
- Download the Wheel of Happiness self-assessment tool
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
People (especially women) often think that self-care is superfluous, or a luxury, or it's something that you’ll get to after doing something else – but it’s really important, and it’s something we need to plan for and prioritize!
Now, we’re far from self-care experts. Actually... we’re kind of bad at it! But we’re trying to get better every day and we invite you all to join us on this journey!
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
- Believe that you're worthy of self-care. If you believe that you're worthy, then when you get upset, or you are having a bad day, or you're feeling stressed, you won't feel guilty about saying, "You know, I'd really enjoy ______."
- Make self-care a non-negotiable. It's okay if your life isn't perfect! Self-care doesn't come at the expense of everything else.
- Create a plan for self-care and pencil it into your calendar, but make it YOUR plan. So don’t say you’re going to read a book for 30 minutes every day just because that feels like what you should do. Self-care is all about recharging your batteries, loving yourself, and being good to yourself, so your plan has to be personalized to you!
Resources:
- Set up text or email reminders for yourself using sendrecurring.com
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Today we want to talk about women supporting other women, in the office.
We know that, sometimes, it can be HARD – women are people too, and people can get on your nerves! On top of that, we’re genetically predisposed to compete for scarce resources (whether or not that scarcity really exists) and compare ourselves to others. That bleeds into every area of life, including the workplace.
But remember: you can be the bulb in your organization that changes the color of all the other bulbs! (If that made no sense to you, check out S2E2!)
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
- Find another woman to mentor. Or, if you don’t have a mentor yourself, the first step might be to find someone to mentor you (and it doesn’t have to be a woman) because having a mentor will teach you the skills you need to mentor others. There’s always someone else who can benefit from what you’ve learned, and you can help them and build them up. If that makes them more successful, then they are going to mentor others and you’re going to start this wildfire of women building other women up.
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When you’re in a mentorship role (or being mentored), you are spreading positivity; you are building someone else up or they are building you up, and that’s a tribe! So take the time to get to know the women in your office and make yourself known as the person they can turn to to be there or trust.
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Stick up for other women at work when you see them being put down or being thrown under the bus. This is hard, but it’s important to show that this type of behavior isn’t acceptable, in front of others.
Resources:
- inspherationpodcast.com
- Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Today we’re talking all about FEAR – not the fears of spiders and snakes and things that go bump in the night, but the fears that drive us (and the anxiety we feel, as a result).
A big part of our conversation focuses on the relationship between fear and intuition, which are both feelings that come from our gut and guide your actions. Listening to them, however, can have wildly different results.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
- Identify your fear story, meaning what pops into your head when you think, “I can’t do that?” What is the fear that is driving you to say that to yourself?
- Consider whether that fear story that you’re telling yourself is true.
- Shine a light on your fear – and talk about it with others! It’s important to talk about what your fears are because there’s a shame factor in fear, and talking about it with people you trust lessens that.
Our challenge for you: Take one baby step towards a fear! If you take a chance and try something, the worst-case scenario is you learn from it!
Resources:
- inspherationpodcast.com
- Empower yourself at dailyworth.com
- Worth It: Your Life, Your Money, Your Terms by Amanda Steinberg
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Do you have a dark or negative workplace culture?
Does going to work deplete you, instead of adding to you? Are your co-workers protecting themselves, instead of the team? Is there any trust in the workplace? Is the leadership in your organization resistant to change?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you may just work in a negative or toxic workplace.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Three Key Takeaways:
- If you wish there was a positive light in your dark workplace culture, think Ghandi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” You don’t have to have a leadership role to be a leader in change.
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If the person you report to isn’t leading you the way you need to be lead, manage up! If you’re not getting the feedback or tools you need to do your job effectively, it’s up to you to start that open conversation. You can learn more about this in Managing Up by Roger Gittines and Rosanne Badowski.
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Create a list of what constitutes your dream culture. Consider what you need to thrive, in an ideal culture, and then identify the gap between where the organization is now and where you want it to be. This will help you put an action plan together.
Resources:
- inspherationpodcast.com
- Twoscore.biz
- Managing Up: How to Forge an Effective Relationship with Those Above You by Roger Gittines and Rosanne Badowski
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Welcome back! As we start Season 2, we want to catch you up with what we’ve been up to!
And we want to let you know about some format changes we’re making based on your feedback: episodes will be shorter (better for a commute!), there will be a greater focus on what we are learning, and every future episode will outline three key takeaways.
We’re also going to be sharing episodes with you on a weekly basis for a while, so look out for another dose of InspHERation next Monday!
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
- Instagram (@inspherationpodcast)
Resources:
- inspherationpodcast.com
- twoscore.biz
The inspHERation Podcast is produced by Podcast Masters
Matt Davis is the Founder of gameFI, a company that revolutionizes the front-line employee experience at financial institutions by making employee engagement fun.
GameFI's clients have increased their employee engagement levels by 20-40% by harnessing the power of gamification to build lasting cultures of sales, service, and performance through employee engagement.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
3 ways any organization can start leveraging their employees:
“If we’re going to actually drive success as organizations, we need to make sure we’re leveraging our most important assets: our employees.” –Matt Davis
- Focus – It’s impossible for an employee to perform when they don’t know, specifically, what their focus should be. Your organization’s goal should be helping employees focus on and understand the three or so most critical job functions that will help drive success for the organization.
- Feedback – There are now multiple generations in the workforce who have been exposed to video games, and other forms of interactive technology, for their entire life. Those people are used to, and expect, instant feedback about everything that they do… but most of us are still working in a work environment with annual employee reviews. That needs to change.
- Fun – Matt saw the world being transformed by fun, and he sees the potential gamification has to transform businesses. We can incorporate game design principles to encourage specific outcomes by creating a greater sense of accomplishment and fun.
Big takeaways:
- Employee engagement and happiness affect your bottom line, but some organization have been ignoring it for years.
- If there is not a program or culture encouraging employee engagement or fun in your organization, YOU can be the one to start it – it only takes one person to spark a positive change!
- If you are a leader in your organization, it’s very important that you don’t just talk about employee engagement – you also have to take action and show that you are invested. If you’re not engaged, your employees won’t be either.
- Show your employees that you care! Everyone wants to feel valued.
- If you’re not getting the feedback that you need to do your job effectively, ask for it.
Resources:
- Learn more about gameFI: gameFI.org
- Follow gameFI on Twitter: @The_gameFI
- Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
Today, we simultaneously celebrate some good things happening in our lives and talk about why celebration is such an important part of success.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Our 3rd Birthday (and Other Reasons for Celebration)
TwoScore is three years old! We’re officially not a startup anymore, and it feels great!
On top of that, we met our 2017 business goals before the end of September!
We also set personal challenges for ourselves this year, and we crushed them!
- Liz doesn’t usually have “unorganized fun.” She always has a plan and an itinerary, so Amanda challenged her to take a weekend trip with NO PLANS (except for a place to stay).
- Amanda has had body image issues since she was young, so Liz challenged her to do a photoshoot – just something to make her feel good about herself. “It was super fun. Probably the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Celebrate Good Times
Celebration isn’t just for fun (although it is fun) – it’s also an important part of the goal setting process. Constantly celebrating, and recognizing where you are in the process, goes a long way towards keeping you motivated and keeping those goals in front of you.
- You can get in the habit of celebrating yourself by keeping a journal of daily wins. This allows you to look back, on a monthly or quarterly basis, and put into perspective how much you’ve accomplished, and then narrow down the things that you should really brag about.
- Make your dreams visible so that you can keep them top of mind and renew your sense of purpose every day.
- Challenge yourself to do something outside of your comfort zone – then you have TWO reasons to celebrate!
- When you celebrate, do something that feels decadent (but not necessarily expensive). Treat yo’ self, as they say.
Resources:
- Watch “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang on YouTube
Today we chat about the pinnacles of great leaders, philosophy, and (of course) credit unions. We learned a LOT, and we’re really excited to share it with all of you in InspHERation Nation!
Alison Carr is the Chief Strategist at Your Credit Union Partner, an organization that helps credit union leaders identify practical and effective solutions to support growth, revenue, impact, and relevance.
What will you discover in this episode?
- What Your Credit Union Partner is doing for small credit unions, in particular.
- How credit unions can succeed through empathy
- What an empowering business culture looks like.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Strategic Empathy
“Being able to create the world and business that we want to have is empowering, and it’s that feeling of empowerment that helps us empower our clients.” –Alison Carr
Alison feels empowered because YCUP allows her to support low-income communities, and she passes that empowerment onto her credit union clients.
You can’t necessarily teach that kind of empathy to a new hire – it’s intrinsic in the work that credit unions do, and the people that are passionate about them. However, the culture in the organization itself has to reflect the passion of those within it.
So, if you want to create a culture in your community makes members feel welcome, supported, and heard, then you need to have that culture internally, as well. That means a top-down approach to empathy that starts with the leaders facilitating and championing an appreciative, communicative, and collaborative culture.
5 Pillars of Successful Leaders & Organizations
- Empathy
- Commitment to success and seeing things through
- Open-door communication
- A culture that includes sharing the philosophy of your organization
- The education and empowerment of staff members
Resources:
- Learn more about Your Credit Union Partner
- Connect with Alison on LinkedIn
Amanda & Liz sit down for their first episode in a series on Leadership, and to kick things off they discuss how leadership starts from within.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Intuitive Eating & Living
Liz has been working with a health coach lately, and part of that is practicing something called Intuitive Eating. There are no diet rules - the point is to listen to your body, give it what it wants, and nourish it by eating more mindfully.
If you want a burger, eat a burger! But make it the best burger you can, be present, eat it slowly, and eat in moderation.
This practice can have a significant impact on the rest of your life because, as Liz’s health coach says, the way we do one thing is the way we do everything.
Mental Health
There are a lot of metrics to measure for assessing physical health, but we don’t have any conveniences like that when it comes to our mental health. However, it’s still important to take active steps towards self-care.
Unsurprisingly, binge watching Netflix isn’t the best way to deal with any potential mental health problems (although it can feel like the right thing to do). Sitting alone and watching TV, or mindlessly doing anything else, is actually a great opportunity to dwell.
Amanda recently started attending a meditation yoga class, and she feels like a new person! Giving herself the time to sit without judgement, and just allowing her thoughts to happen, is giving her a lot of peace.
How do you treat yourself?
If you aren’t nice to yourself and you don’t respect yourself, other people are going to treat you the same way; You teach other people how to treat you through the way you treat yourself.
Everyone’s a Leader
Even if you don’t have a leadership role within your organization, you’re probably a leader to someone. People learn from how you act every day, so when you start treating yourself better and practicing self-care, you will help them on their journey too.
Welcome to another Instant InspHERation! These are the episodes where Liz and Amanda sit down, just the two of them, to share their thoughts about something they’re passionate about. As two recovering perfectionists (or at least as two perfectionists trying to recover), they want to talk about the dangers of perfectionism and how you can overcome it.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- contact@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
5 Ways to Overcome Perfectionism & Be the Best Version of Yourself
- Have grace for yourself. It can help to consider how you would treat a friend going through the same things you’re going through. Would you be so hard on them?
- Know your strengths. Know what you’re good at and gain confidence through that, and understand that you can’t be good at everything (so you shouldn’t expect yourself to be). When you know your strengths, you also know the things you’re not best at, which allows you to be vulnerable, ask for help, and build your tribe.
- Tell yourself the truth. Liz likes to visualize someone interrupting her negative thoughts (Oscar from The Office, specifically) with an “Actually,” statement that corrects her negative self-talk. Amanda likes an exercise where you write down all of the negative things you think about yourself in one column, and then have to write down the truth in a second column next to it.
- Don’t should all over yourself. It’s very easy to compare yourself to other people and say, “Person X is doing this, so I should do this too.”
- Learn to love yourself. Start by acknowledging that you deserve love (and you do!) and then figure out how to show yourself love, which looks different for everybody.
Production & Development for inspHERation by Podcast Masters
Today’s guest, Gigi Hyland, has been inspiring women in credit unions for years – including us! She is a great example of someone fighting for what they want in the industry, and we’re thrilled that she came to talk with us about what is happening in credit unions right now, and how women can forge their path to leadership.
Gigi is the Executive Director for the National Credit Union Foundation, which is widely recognized as the national philanthropic arm of America’s credit union movement. The Foundation works as a catalyst to improve people’s financial lives through credit unions.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Bridging the Gender Gap
Leaders in the credit union industry are having a lot of conversations about the gender gap: many women are being hired, but there’s not an obvious or easy career path to executive leadership. They are trying to figure out how leaders can intentionally create more opportunities for women so that they can get more engaged and move forward in their careers.
During the 11th annual Financial Literacy Summit in April, Gigi sat down with six other executive women for an incredible panel: “Bridging the Gender Gap.”
Finding Your Path Forward
When women think about what career path they want to go on, the starting point should be to be a little introspective. What is this all about? Is this about me, what I want to do, my skillset, getting power, or something else? How do I want to pursue that?
After you answer this questions really truthfully, you’re be able to direct questions to your friends, network, and mentors about your strengths, desires, and ways you may be able to develop yourself.
Book Review: Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work
Liz loved this book! She describes it as a business book for people who don’t like business books, and it’s told in the form of a story. Using this useful Choice Map, readers can learn how to shift from blame-focused questions that impede success to solution-focused questions that facilitate it.
Resources:
- Learn more about The National Credit Union Foundation
- Watch Gigi’s panel: “Bridging the Gender Gap”
- Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work by Marilee Adams
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- Choice Map
Production & Development for inspHERation by Podcast Masters
Too many of us let work bleed into our personal lives, at every hour of the day.
We definitely struggle with this balance, so Amanda is starting a big challenge this week: she will give up social media and her phone for one week. After work, she will be completely unplugged!
We have a giveaway!! Anyone who sends us a message over the next week will be entered to win FREE InspHERation swag. To enter…
- Fill out the contact form on Inspherationpodcast.com
- Tell us what your weekly commitment is or ask us a question to address on the air
We will randomly select a winner next week.
What will you discover in this episode?
- Why Amanda is starting a Get Unplugged challenge.
- Why it is important for us to stay present in our real-world relationships when we’re not at work, and how phones pull us away.
- Tips for setting boundaries and staying unplugged when you’re not at work.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Tips for Getting Unplugged & Staying Present
- When you wake up, put your phone on Airplane Mode. This will turn off the cellular connection, location services, bluetooth, and wifi. Try not to turn it off until lunch!
- If you need to see your email after work hours, set boundaries! Establish with your friends or family that you will only check your email at one, predetermined time every evening. After that, no more email until you go to work. (Amanda’s family sometimes has a basket that everyone puts their phone in for the evening.)
- Install productivity applications to enforce boundaries. Try one of these 14 Tools to Help You Avoid Distractions and Stay Focused at Work.
- If you don’t think you are too connected, try keeping a journal of every time you use your phone or go online. You may surprise yourself with just how often you plug in!
- Have an honest conversation with the people closest to you! If you are receiving too many notifications and they’re pulling you away from the real world, talk to the people who send you so many messages. Let them know that you are trying to be less plugged in, and then set boundaries for yourself: turn off notifications for messaging apps, or uninstall them completely.
Resources:
- 14 Tools to Help You Avoid Distractions and Stay Focused at Work
Production & Development for inspHERation by Podcast Masters
We received some great feedback from some of you listening in InspHERation Nation, and we are inspired by your inspiration!
In today’s episode, we want to follow up on some emails we receive and discuss how giving yourself the freedom and permission to make choices that are for and about you can transform your day-to-day.
What will you discover in this episode?
- A lot more about who Amanda is and what she enjoys
- Investing in yourself
- Why self-care isn’t optional
- What we do to relax
- Morning routines
- Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Be Good to Yourself (You Deserve It!)
“You can only be as good for others as you are for yourself.”
–Amanda Thomas McMeans
An investment in yourself is probably the best way you can invest your time and energy! You will always receive a positive ROI when you invest in yourself.
There are certain things that should be non-negotiable: the things that rejuvenate you and make you who you are. That’s self-care, and it’s not optional (if you want to maintain your health and sanity in the long-term).
You can try this self-care experiment with Amanda: give yourself permission to do one thing that relaxes you every day.
The Morning
“How you feel when you start your day dictates your whole day.”
–Amanda Thomas McMeans
What you do and what you tell yourself in the morning can transform your whole day. One simple way to start your day off right is just setting aside 30 to 60 minutes for you – read, work out, take a walk, meditate, or whatever else makes you feel good.
Don’t Should on Yourself
Don’t think of self-care in terms of what you should do. Think of what you can do. It’s the time you have for you, not a job!
You don’t have to wake up at 4 AM, work out, meditate, make a smoothie, and do an hour of work before the sun is up – set the bar somewhere realistic.
Resources:
- Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Production & Development for inspHERation by Podcast Masters
Today we’re discussing how you can beat burnout with one of Amanda’s mentors, Andy Janning. He is a veteran of the credit union industry who now uses storytelling to help organizations understand and overcome burnout.
We also talk about how his upcoming book, Heroes, Villains, and Drunk Old Men: A Love Story for Real Life, will help you be a hero in the lives of others, inspire a community, and create a lasting legacy.
What will you discover in this episode?
- What burnout is and how it can manifest in your life.
- The risks and long-term effects of burnout on you, your family, and your business.
- What you can do to start a conversation about culture and burnout in your business.
- How women can be more powerful and more effective leaders.
- Why credit unions’ greatest enemy is apathy.
- Andy’s upcoming book, Heroes, Villains, and Drunk Old Men: A Love Story for Real Life, and how it will help you become the hero of your own journey.
- Our thoughts on Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
--
The Weekly Commitment
What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Instagram (@inspHERationpodcast)
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Before we can understand how to avoid or come back from burnout, we need to understand what burnout is and how it manifests in our lives.
The 3 Elements of Burnout
- Depersonalization - You stop seeing other people as people; you stop seeing them as unique individuals with unique needs who you care about and love. Instead, you see them as lumpy individuals who stand in your way and are not here to serve you.
- Emotional Exhaustion - You feel emotionally dead. You don’t necessarily feel overwhelming sadness, although that can be part of it. It’s characterized by an overwhelming numbness.
- Lack of Personal Achievement - This is probably the most powerful element of burnout. It is the sense that the work that you do doesn’t matter. You start thinking that no one would miss you or care if you weren’t there.
If we accept and understand that burnout is essentially a lack of fuel then we can shift our mindset.
We shouldn’t be trying to avoid burnout – we should be learning how to keep our tanks full.
Unfortunately, too many of us treat burnout like Tyler Durden treats Fight Club: we don’t talk about it.
We need to start this conversation in the credit union industry. Of any industry, we should have the responsibility, drive, and right to talk about the things that threaten cooperation, collaboration, and community. If we’re not brave enough to have these conversations then we might as well just become a bank.
Our competition is not banks, regulatory relief, apps, or anything else. Our single biggest competition is apathy.
Burnout dies when someone speaks into your life and fills your tank. If, as a community, we support each other and fill each others’ tanks then we will all have enough to pour a little into somebody else’s.
We need to establish a culture in our organizations that makes us want to tell someone the difference they make, how they’re doing well, and where they’re falling down.
Go forward and be fabulous, InspHERation Nation!
Resources:
- Learn more about Andy: Website | Heroes, Villains, and Drunk Old Men
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
- Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Welcome to the first episode of InspHERation! This is a show for women who want to become the best version of themselves so that they can live better lives, inspire the lives of people around them, or make a big difference in the credit union industry.
What will you discover in this episode?
- Why your co-hosts, Amanda Thomas McMeans and Liz Garster, started InspHERation and the most beneficial things we’ve done for our careers.
- What TwoScore is and how we empower the people who run credit unions.
- Why women often struggle with confidence and guilt in professional settings (and how we can overcome that).
- How mentorship can transform your life.
- Why balance is a critical part of anyone’s healthy & happy lifestyle.
- Why body image is the foundation of how you do your job.
- What you will discover in future episodes of InspHERation.
Welcome to InspHERation Nation!
--
The Weekly Commitment
Every week, we will ask you the same question: What is the one thing that you will commit to doing or improving this week?
Writing down your answer to the question will start a self-accountability process, and following up with this practice after every episode will help you take consistent small actions that ultimately lead to BIG transformations.
If you want to share what you are committing yourself to, we would love to hear! You can get in touch with us at...
- info@InspherationPodcast.com
- Twitter (@inspHERationpod)
Resources:
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
-
- We will be reviewing this book in the next episode! If you want to follow along during our discussion, you can pick up a copy beforehand.
- Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence by Tim Sanders
- “Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified” - Harvard Business Review