Change Academy

Latest Episodes:

How do we create the conditions that foster positive change? Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

Change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Whether you are trying to create positive changes in your personal life or in your workplace or community, you are more likely to succeed if you are working in a supportive environment.

You’ll often hear this referred to (especially in workplace settings) as “creating a culture of wellness.” But our efforts to instill a culture of wellness very often miss the mark. In this episode, we’ll talk about why and how to fix it.

Joining me is Rebecca Johnson, co-founder and Chief Integrator of ViDL Solutions, a woman-owned consulting, training and coaching firm that fosters connection and courage in the workplace.

Things to Listen For

02:56 The difference between culture and climate

05:56 The four concentric circles of culture

08:56 The work we must do before we can change our own or others' behavior

13:05 The importance of both modeling AND rewards in creating culture change

19:00 How to initiate the conversations that lead to culture change

23:57 Building relationships and alliances that lead to positive change

25:14 The type of conversations that secure buy-in from others

Mentioned

Practicing Intentional Conversations

Rebecca Johnson on Linked In

Talk with Monica about Workplace Wellness Programs

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Change is hard. Maintaining the status quo can be even tougher. Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Working toward a big goal takes a lot of grit and discipline. You may imagine that everything will be so much easier once you reach your goal. You can finally relax and enjoy your accomplishment. But that transition, from active change to maintenance, can be really tricky. And we’re often completely unprepared for that.

If we’re not careful, we can let what we’ve attained slip through our fingers, simply because we don’t feel as motivated or rewarded by maintaining the status quo as we did by making progress toward it.

In this episode, I have a few suggestions for how we can prepare better for what happens after we’ve achieved our goal.

Things to listen for:

How the fear of backsliding can diminish the excitement of achieving a goal.
Why we need to learn how to sustain new behaviors without relying on external tracking or counting methods.
How electronic “rewards” hijack our brain
How to celebrate progress toward the goal without progress becoming the goal
Why reaching a goal is less important than what achieving that goal enables us to do.
What are the habits and behaviors required to maintain that new state?
Developing the identity that matches our new status quo

Want to support the show? Buy us a coffee!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MonicaReinagel

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Designing your Future: How to Make a Successful Career or Life Pivot Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

This is a must-listen episode for anyone contemplating a career shift, But even if you’re not necessarily looking for a new job right now, this conversation will be highly relevant to anyone trying to live a life of greater purpose and meaning.

Dr. Elizabeth Campbell, better known to her clients and students as “Dr. Bethy,” is a clinical psychologist, a marriage and family therapist, with special expertise and certification in career development counseling. I know you'll appreciate the resonance between the approach we take in this podcast toward working on behavior change and her approach to career counseling.

Things to listen for

How long you’re likely to be happy in your current job, according to research
Finding the courage to leave a dream job, when you realize it’s not your dream.
Where to start with your career explorations
Why your idea of who you are (and what you want) may be out of date
Re-invention vs Re-alignment
How False Expectations of Risk (FEAR) can keep us stuck
How micro-steps can help you gain clarity (and courage)
The peril of expecting your job to make you happy
Thinking beyond work that earns money

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode #51: Habits and Identity

Episode #33: Aligned Actions

50K Tuneup Series: Navigation System

Change Academy Playlist for Career Development

101 Career Myths Debunked: The Ultimate Career Planning Workbook

Follow Dr. Bethy on LinkedIn

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Insight is worthless unless you're willing to do this with it Jun 05, 2023

Show notes

If you are an insight junkie like me, this episode is intended to be the tough love we both need.

A lot of the coaching I do involves helping people better understand what is (really) driving their behaviors. These things are frequently invisible or unacknowledged–and this can result in our acting in ways that aren’t aligned with what we say we want.

Without insight into why we do the things we do, change can be very difficult. But the point I want to make today is that insight alone isn’t enough.

What to listen for

Using the Attention Intention Action cycle to keep you from getting stuck
Why we confuse consuming content with taking action
The two categories of resistance that you’re likely to feel
How to move through fear and confusion about next steps
Commitments as a way to propel action and accountability
The consequences of inaction
Three questions I want you to (literally) answer
My own answers to those questions (eek!)

Mentioned

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

Change Academy Episode #11 Attention, Intention, Action Cycle

Nutrition Diva podcast

Email me your 3 answers

Interested in working with me? Let’s chat

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Pushing past discomfort: How to create behavior change that lasts May 25, 2023

Show notes

Not only is it fun to share success stories, but there’s always something valuable to learn by hearing how people navigate the process of change. In this episode, one of our clients share some reflections on how has she approached her goals– and some of the surprising benefits that happened along the way.

Two things that I want you listen for:

1. Stephanie wasn’t just looking to create a certain result. She was specifically interested in making a change that would be durable. She didn’t just want to hit a goal, she wanted to create a new way of approaching challenges. (Spoiler alert: she succeeded!)
2. The other thing I want you to hear is the decision Stephanie made to not let discomfort be an an excuse for giving up. As you’re listening, ask yourself what discomfort you might be willing to lean into in order to achieve something meaningful to you.

More things to listen for

Making your choices more intentional
Find more freedom by embracing a spirit of experimentation
The surprising pay off from being less efficient
Transferring accountability from external sources to internal motivation
A process that allows you to sustain habits when the circumstances of your life change
When you’re committed to your objective, obstacles are not reasons to quit, just challenges to incorporate.

Mentioned in this episode

Weighless Program

Nutrition Diva podcast

Nutrition GPA app

30 Day Nutrition Upgrade

Ep 11: Attention Intention Action cycle

Email me your definition of success (and your primary obstacle)

Send me a voicemail

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Why workplace wellness is not the solution for burnout (and what is) May 15, 2023

Show notes

Everyone is burned out. Employees are burned out. Business owners are burned out. Caregivers are burned out. But the solutions that are being promoted are not necessarily what we need in order to solve the problem of burnout.

Cassie Christopher returns to the Change Academy to talk about workplace burnout and the impact this is having on both employees and employers (and even the self-employed)--and how each has a different role to play in creating a healthier and happier workplace.

What to Listen For

The three ways you are likely to experience burnout
How employee burnout affects productivity and profitability
Why more wellness programming is the last thing burned-out employees want or need
The six requirements of a burnout-proof workplace
Why no-one wants to fill out your employee survey
How understanding the science of burnout makes you a better advocate for your own needs in the workplace
The most effective ways to recover from long-term burnout
What entrepreneurs and the self-employed can do to reduce their own burnout
How working on self-esteem can sometimes undermine our progress
The role of self-compassion in more productive problem-solving
The two beliefs that foster effective behavior change

Resources mentioned

Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski\

Christina Maslach’s Burnout Inventory

The Liberated Mind by Steven C. Hayes

Workplace wellness workshops with Cassie

Connect with Cassie on LinkedIn

Corporate wellness programs with Monica

Connect with Monica on LinkedIn

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Why your attempts to solve the problem keep failing May 05, 2023

Show notes

If there’s an issue that you can’t seem to get a handle on, a goal that you've had forever, or a problem that just won’t stay solved, this episode is for you. We’re talking about why this happens--and how to get yourself out of this frustrating cycle.

Often, it's because there's a mismatch between the solutions that we are applying and the problem that actually needs to be solved in order for us to create the desired outcome.

In this episode, we cover how to know whether you've got the right solution for the problem, and how to stop spinning your wheels and start gaining traction on whatever it is you're working on.

What to Listen For

A resource for newer Change Academy listeners
Identifying problem/solution mismatches so that you can stop spinning your wheels
Why cutting expenses isn't always the best way to balance your budget
The red flag that signals you're trying to solve the wrong problem
The critical step we need to take before brainstorming solutions
The true solution to stress eating (it's not about eating)
Shifting the focus from problematic behaviors to the conditions driving the behaviors
Identifying the problem that actually needs to be solved in order for you to succeed

Resources Mentioned

Ep. 102: Change comes to the Change Academy
Listening Guide: 8 Things You Need to Create Change
Ep. 27: What, How, and Why Problems
Ep. 11: The Attention, Intention, Action Cycle
Learn more about the Stop Stress Eating program

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Change comes to the Change Academy Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

We’ve been on Spring Break for the last few weeks but we haven’t spent the time lounging on a beach. We’ve been doing some big thinking about the future of the Change Academy and we have some big news to share:

We are redefining our respective roles at the Change Academy. Having co-created and co-hosted the show for the past 3 years, Brock is now stepping away from the mic but not going far…just a few steps away, into the production booth.

In Brock's final episode as co-host, we share more about the process of deciding to make a big change and why deciding to end a project doesn't mean it wasn't successful. We also share more about what isn't changing and what you can expect in future episodes of the Change Academy.

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Spring Rituals (Extracurricular) Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Brock and I (Monica) are taking our traditional Spring Break from the podcast and using that time to take a fresh look at our goals, objectives and commitments and do some tidying of our own. And we’d like to invite you to do the same–and we’ve even created a special resource to help you do just that.

--
Visit ChangeAcademyPodcast.com/tuneup to join us for a system-by-system inspection and tuneup (or complete overhaul, if necessary) of your health, habits, outlook, and ambitions.

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Why it’s OK if you don’t reach your goal Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

We’ve talked a lot about goals in this podcast: the purpose and function of goals, how to set good ones, and how to pursue them more effectively, even your goal-setting personality! But in this episode, we want to talk about NOT reaching our goals–and why that is not necessarily a problem.

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