Our workplaces need more laughter. Our homes need more laughter. The world needs more laughter. And I don’t know about you, but I too need more laughter. There have been times of late when the smallest thing sets my family into a laugh-fest - usually triggered by something we were watching on TV or something one of us said that just tickled the proverbial funny bone. This communal laughter always feels like a welcomed exhale when I didn't even know I was holding my breath. Every time, I feel lig...
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 16
Avoiding controversy for the sake of comfort is not an option for you as you lead, do life, and rumble with all the big and little decisions before you. Sure, you do not want to contribute to the noise. You are not looking for a fight (or, like me, you try not to get scrappy just to offload some stress), or to be right just for the sake of being right. No. You value the big picture. You value the mission. You value the greater impact. These days, people try to shock us just so they can manipulat...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 15
Grief is inevitable as it's simply the other side of love. The more you love, the more grief you feel. It’s inevitable when you’re all in on life and the relationships within it. This is the cost of a life full of love and meaning. Daring to care means that grief and loss is inevitable. If we let it, grief can be a powerful teacher. But first? It deconstructs. It disrupts the best laid plans. And, it brings us to our knees both emotionally and physically. But truly feeling grief and letting it e...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 14
One of the toughest and most important choices for a leader is to look within and do the deep work to heal the echoes of trauma. By looking and healing our past, they lighten the load of their burdens so they can lead themselves—and others—better. On the contrary, right now, we are watching in real time the dangers of leaders who are not in touch with their humanity and lead with pain, bullying, and fear. We are breathing in so much toxicity right now and it is taking a toll on all of us. And ev...
Oct 30, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 13
The belief that hope will kill you is a common reason that many people reject the practice of hope in the first place. Most would rather keep the bar low and expect the worst. Protecting yourself with this level of cynicism leads to living a negative, small and joyless life. And we are not here for that. Embracing hope might look dangerous and reckless on the surface, yet, in truth, it is a deeply aligned practice grounded in values, courage, and consistency. This kind of hope supports showing u...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 12
Instead of making an enemy of your anxiety, you can make a friend out of your anxiety. This approach to the challenges of living with anxiety—in both your life and business as a leader—helps to turn the fear that comes with anxiety into your superpower. But if you’re to make friends with your anxiety, you need to understand the story behind its fear and concerns. Anxiety has a mission to protect and it often does so in ways that are crushing, robbing you of your presence and the place where you ...
Oct 02, 2020•58 min•Ep. 11
Over-functioning is the default setting for so many leaders. They want to fix and rescue everything—and sometimes that looks like working harder than others. But is that truly leading? Fueled by anxiety, a high sense of responsibility, and a lack of clear boundaries, over-functioning can hijack the best of us. What’s tricky in overcoming over-functioning is that part of your superpower is seeing the solution and knowing what needs to be done to fix it. And while over-functioning might be a part ...
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 10
One of the most challenging aspects of leadership is facing bullies. …the bullies from our past. ...the bullies in our present. ...and the bullies between our ears. We live in a culture that normalizes—and even elevates—bullies in the name of entertainment. Our culture encourages us to enjoy the suffering of others instead of empathizing with the personal pain of the bullied. Our culture increasingly urges us to see bullying as a sign of strength. When in truth, the culture of bullying is fueled...
Sep 04, 2020•53 min•Ep. 9
Most leaders go through a period where they take stock of the trappings of the life they believe they are “supposed” to live. They examine the assumptions they’ve made, the choices they’ve fallen into, and the circumstances that have shaped their stories. And they realize—however painfully—that it all needs to be torn down. I’ve been there, too. Brick by brick, they dismantle the details of their lives so that they can carefully and intentionally rebuild. It takes real courage to lead yourself t...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 8
We push ourselves until we crash. We people please until we lose ourselves. We hide our truth until we’re crushed from loneliness and disconnection. Instead of dealing with the stress of our present, the anxiety of our future, or the trauma of our past, we numb out. We drink the wine or take the pills or binge on the ice cream—and, oftentimes, we cross the threshold from numbing out to addiction. Not surprisingly, alcohol is one of the first things many reach for to numb the ache. It’s socially ...
Aug 07, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 7
Leaders are especially good at hiding from love and the vulnerability it brings in ways that look deceptively bold. This can be a dangerous contagion, I’ve found, encouraging others to also hide behind the protectors of Hubris. Individualism. Perfectionism. Hustle. I’ve seen how spending so much time hiding behind who you think you should be makes you forget who you are, what you value, and what you believe. And, honestly, it can crush your spirit. That’s why being able to receive love is founda...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 6
The past often acts itself out in the present and this can be super frustrating for established leaders—especially when it feels like you’ve already done the work to move past those struggles. I know it has for me and so many of you, too. We’ve read the books, gone to therapy, hired a coach, and went to the workshops. We’ve committed to the deep work so that we can lead, thrive, and create well. Sometimes, those struggles and challenges still impact the ability to navigate present challenges and...
Jul 10, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 5
Leadership is hard and it is not for the weary. Leading myself and others in the face of injustice while also staying aligned to my integrity and values has required an immense amount of courage, clarity, confidence—and a lot of deep breaths. In times of conflict, my ability to stay aligned with my integrity and core values has often been a reflection of the inner work I have done to tolerate criticism, backlash, conflict, being misunderstood, and losing support/business/followers. Words like ‘i...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 4
Somewhere early in my life, I got the message that acknowledging my pain was not okay. Being vulnerable opened me up for attack. It was dangerous. Messages like “never let them see your sweat” often got mixed up with “no pain, no gain.” So there’s a mixture of: don’t show your pain getting the best of you yet show yourself conquering it all. And it’s not working. Just look at the stats of those suffering from clinical depression, clinical anxiety, substance use and abuse, suicide attempts and co...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 3
My body was telling me to take a step back and reevaluate. Five years ago I had pneumonia and I couldn’t really do anything other than prop myself up on the couch and breathe... ...breathe and think about how I ended up in this mess I’d run myself into the ground. My schedule was full-to-overflowing. My life was packed and stretched to the edges. I had no margin for error, no space to breathe, no time to connect to who and what mattered to me. What was I really chasing? Why had I packed my life ...
May 29, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 2
Leaders often struggle to make time for healing until their body sends out an SOS. They postpone and avoid the need for deeper healing and then get slammed by illness, exhaustion, or burnout. And at the heart it? There is usually the burden of unaddressed trauma. Insomnia, chronic pain, hair and skin issues, digestive distress, mood swings, and illness after illness–if you’re experiencing these symptoms without relief, you might be one of these leaders. The cost of avoiding or bypassing the deep...
May 29, 2020•56 min•Ep. 1
Meet leaders who recognized their own pain, worked through it, and stepped up into greater leadership. Each week, we dive into how leaders like you deal with struggle and growth so that you can lead without burnout or loneliness. If you're eager to make an impact in your community or business, Rebecca Ching, LMFT, will give you practical strategies for redefining challenges and vulnerability while becoming a better leader. Find the courage, confidence, clarity, and compassion to step up for your...
Apr 10, 2020•3 min
