But Somehow I Hit Surrender

The Unshiny Podcast with Jo Casey

On today's episode of the Business NOT as usual podcast, I'm joined by Lara Heacock.

Lara is a Leadership Coach, Lara Heacock helps leaders and corporations leverage kindness to gain powerful results. Lara helps leaders lean into kindness to unlock blind spots, increase self-awareness, and improve their performance – even when it’s difficult. She’s a speaker, trainer and leadership coach with almost 20 years’ experience in corporate America, leading multi-million dollar projects. She’s also an award-winning writer, engaging speaker and innovative trainer.

Kindness and corporate America perhaps don’t seem like obvious bedfellows – but kindness is the difference that makes all the difference. Far from being an easy way out, kindness helps us to do the hard stuff. It helps build resilience, increase engagement and reduce turnover. It helps to foster loyalty, creativity, and innovation – in other words, it impacts our emotional bottom line as well as the financial one.

In our conversation today, Lara and I discuss the challenge (and opportunities) for Lara as a leadership coach who does a lot of her work in person. We discuss how she's been able to move many of her in-person events online and how she sees this time of enforced home working leading to a more flexible approach from many companies in the future.

We also have a discussion about surrender and dealing less than pleasant feelings of lockdown - from frustration to boredom, fear to stress. Here's what she says:

"Last week I was sitting in my house (because that’s what we do now) and I realized that I’d pretty much adjusted to being quarantined. In my state, I’m currently in week 4, so this was just about 3 weeks in. Huh, I thought. I guess I just don’t leave the house anymore and I’m living a little life in these 4 walls. Please know that I share all of this with DEEP awareness of the privilege I have to be in 4 safe walls. Somehow I hit surrender.What came before it? Exhaustion. Fear. Worry. Laughter. Sadness. Confusion. Anger.What will come after it? Exhaustion. Fear. Worry. Laughter. Sadness. Confusion. Anger.That’s the thing about surrender, or honestly any of these ways of being. They’re not permanent. It took 3 weeks and a lot of work (regular walks, daily meditation, online connection, quiet time, lots of cooking, snuggling with kitties, extra sleep) to reach surrender; and I know that it’s not going to stay with me until this quarantine ends…but I do know it’s possible. I know now that I can experience surrender, and joy, and laughter, and connection. I also know that I’ll feel sadness, and exhaustion, and confusion, and frustration…and that they will also pass."

You can read the full blog post here

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Kind Over Matter

LaraHeacock.com

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