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Don’t Drop Me! Wisdom for Us All from Olympian Figure Skater Karyn Garossino

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Show Notes

Karyn Garossino, former Olympic Figure Skater is just what we needed on the podcast to help move us forward in any goal we might have. We’ve discussed over physical fitness at length on the podcast, but today we will focus on mental fitness. Karyn talks to us about building mental fitness and resilience. This podcast episode is POWERFUL! Her successes did not make her resilient. Her challenges made her resilient. Listen in to find out how those very challenges we experience are building us up for success.

 

How to Build Resilience

You can’t buy it. It’s something you must build.

You need to take the challenges that come up in life, whether it’s in family, business, school or friendships and take those experiences and save them as learning opportunities. This is where mental fitness comes in.

 

How Do We Build Mental Fitness?Flex Your Mental Muscle

It’s about withstanding the negative things that come our way. Not so much about withstanding the hurt, because it is real to feel the hurt, we’re only humans. Part of this mental fitness and resilience is to be able to recover.

Component parts of building mental fitness:

It’s asking why. Afterall, our guest’s name is Karyn with a Y!!

When you are really scared, and connecting with that fear, one of the mental skills of resilience is to turn your attention on the why you’re doing this.

What does this mean to you?

What values are you honoring?

What contribution are you bringing to the world in this?

What are the things that you most look forward to?

This is the skill area of focus.

This is where you choose to put your attention.

Then ask, does the fear serve me?

 

Create an image in your head of where you want to be 1 to 2 years from now, and pull that image in your head every time chaos and stress are increasing and you’re getting busier daily.

The hardest thing you can do, is work hard and simply plot your feet one in front of the other. When you have your vision in your head that is a clear mental image of you in the future, you will be drawn to it even through all the obstacles, whether you go through it, over it or around it. It becomes your conveyor belt.

So create your visual image!!! You can create a vision board with images, or words and engrain it in your head every time you feel the stress and obstacles coming your way. Rather than a situation controlling the outcome, you control your own outcome.

If you can practice the way you want to execute a skill with mental imagery and play it out in your mind, you will be far more successful in actually implementing it. The more we do this, the more we will be able to do it.

Time Blocking with The One Thing

 

Karyn’s 3 Habits to Build Resilience

  1. Stay connected with the people that you care about. Social relationship quality.
  2. Quotes for inspiration.
  3. Smoothies- amazing integrated health blended together.

 

About Karyn Garossino:

Karyn Garossino is an executive coach and corporate educator specializing in building resilience, leadership development and increasing personal effectiveness. Drawing from experience at the highest level of elite sport and a Master’s degree in psychology Karyn brings credible insight to the challenges and pressures facing high performers at all levels in an organization. As a trainer with Performance Coaching Inc. and an instructor for Smith School of Business (Queen’s) Karyn delivers programs focusing on the inner skills required to survive and thrive in difficult environments, coaching as a leadership style and the interpersonal skills required to handle challenging conversations.
With integrity, fairness and an in depth understanding of high performance work environments Karyn also explores team dynamics and organizational effectiveness with her coaching clients. She assists clients to identify the variables in the work environment that undermine both performance and satisfaction.  Utilizing her expertise in communication skills and managing reactivity Karyn can navigate complex relationships and address barriers to action.
Karyn is passionate about healthy high performance and has been coached or coaching others for 40+ years. She is comprehensive and strategic in her approach to bring clarity, build commitment and inspire change.

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