Strengthen Your Professional CORE Building a strong physical core requires regular repetitions of core exercises. Similarly, developing your cognitive core—what I call your “core capital,” encompassing your ability to regulate emotions, focus, follow through, and communicate effectively—also demands consistent practice.
Consider these examples:
Jay W. from Wichita, KS: He does a set of 30 pushups every four hours.
Janelle S. from Winchester, MA: Training for the Chicago Marathon, she completes six hill reps five times a week to build leg strength and endurance.
Jesse from Elmhurst, IL: Focused on core strength for distance swimming, he performs six sets of seven barbell reps every other day.
What do these individuals have in common? They are all startup founders who use physical fitness challenges to help them improve their startup stamina. By committing to their physical exercises, they strengthen their resolve, pushing through discomfort and monotony to reach the next level. Each founder agrees that the discipline of physical core workouts translates into the repetitive actions necessary for their business growth, such as:
Daily cold calls
Weekly customer check-ins
Regular meditation
Posting on social media
Maintaining a healthy bedtime routine from Monday to Friday
Saying “no” to distractions when most vulnerable
Planning the next day’s activities
To make these actions more automatic, the key is frequency, not the duration of time spent on each task.
There are various ways to monitor your consistency with these reps. If you prefer a pen-to-paper approach, visit our Tools section, and print out the Streak Out Accountability Checklist. This tool helps you track your target behaviors and the small steps needed to ensure consistency.
For example, effective weekly customer check-ins might involve reviewing the status of a complaints or concerns beforehand, leading to more constructive conversations. Similarly, prepping your workout clothes the night before can increase your chances of making it to the gym on time.
The number of reps, assuming that you do one rep or a set of resp per day, to create a habit varies, typically ranging from 7 to 66 days.
Here are two of my favorite resources for building your core capital:
Atomic Habits by James Clear – A comprehensive guide on building good habits and breaking bad ones, with practical advice on how to make small changes that lead to significant results.
What areas in your life could benefit from more reps?
Need help identifying a high value behavior integral to your core capital and making it a habit? Learn more about my CoreCoaching approach at MindfulCommunication.com
Consider adding a daily dose of belly laughter to your routine! Problems, frustrations and worries take their toll on our health. Meditation, exercise, journaling etc. are all very helpful, but my observations suggest that a good belly laugh should be in the mix.
In the last few weeks, I experimented with adding a few minutes of a belly laugh segment (my choices include Monty Python and old skits from SNL from YouTube) and noted its effect on my energy, my outlook and, most importantly, the creativity and efficiency of my coaching sessions. I can say with confidence that all improved as a function of my belly laugh routine.
Steve Wilson, author of the book “Good Hearted Living,” states that heavy attitudes can get in the way of the “lightness” in our lives, so we don’t laugh as much as we need to. You certainly could use a daily dose(s) of laughter if you find yourself stuck in any one or several of these attitudes:
Judgmentalism.
Rigidity.
Being unappreciative.
Mean-spiritedness.
Anger.
Racing and hurrying.
Workaholism.
Laughter brings the focus away from anger, guilt, stress, and negative emotions in a more beneficial way than other mere distractions.
On a physical level a good bout of laughter exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs, and even works out tension in the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward.
It provides a good workout for the heart.
Furthermore, a good belly laugh gives our respiratory system a massive workout, strengthening the lungs and furthering their health.
And there’s more. Did you know that laughter can be contagious? It’s not only good for you but hearing or watching someone else splitting their sides laughing can lift your mood. I remember, years ago, after a long and tiring day calling my mother and hearing my Dad in the background laughing uproariously at a Marx Brothers movie. Even over the phone and at a distance, his laughter was infectious – it refreshed my day!
Let’s experiment right now! Watch this short skit from an old Carol Burnett show. I hope our humor aligns somewhat so you can get a feel for the effects of what I’ve been talking about! Otherwise choose another YouTube video and see how the rest of your day goes. Then, share the clip with someone who could use a good laugh.
Many of my COREageous clients are diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety and/or depression. They rely on medications to facilitate their work performance to allow their strengths to flourish. But now, there is a shortage of Ritalin and Adderall due to supply chain issues, increased demand and regulatory issues.
Here are several ways to manage the symptoms related to focus, follow through and mood changes. These steps can help compensate in the absence of medication and, in many cases, enhance your performance even when the medications become available.
Start or increase the frequency of your exercise
Optimize your sleep quality and quantity
Delegate tasks to those who are capable of following through
Ask for assistance with tasks that normally you did independently
Learn to say “No, not now” to the lower priority tasks
Use alarms and analog clocks to keep you on time
A cup of coffee 200mg (or mgs allowed by your doctor) alone or followed by a 20 minute nap.
Because the medication shortage is so unpredictable, consider coaching to habituate these skills and routines and enhance your executive functioning. Contact me at Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com
When Victor Hugo, the playwright, procrastinated and wanted to go out to a café instead of writing, he coaxed himself to get work done by having a servant take away all his clothes and return them only until he completed his work. A bit extreme, but it worked.
It’s tax season, time to get back to the gym, plus all the other things you may be putting off. Don’t fret, keep your shirt on! I have a better solution. Check out my 80→20 Nocrastination tool.
Go to my websitewww.MindfulCommunication.comand hit the TOOLS menu. Open the 80→20 Nocrastination Tool. No downloads, and it’s free!
The 80→ 20 tool will walk you through the steps to get started on the task you are putting off. My clients describe procrastination as an ever-widening deep, scary chasm between them and the start of the task. The gap is filled with potential obstacles: uncertainty, boredom, the fear of failure and the dreaded emotions that accompany them. The longer you put off a task the greater the gap.
The 80→20 gets you started, and gently guides you through each step towards DONE. The 8 questions (the 80%) gradually clear the obstacles making the task more approachable. The last 2 steps (the 20%) help you follow through to DONE. The process is easy and can move quickly. Every step narrows the gap and eases the stress.
Give the 80→ 20 a try. I would love your feedback!
Still stumped by procrastination? Seriously? Contact me at Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com
About this time of year is when good intentions for building a new habit start to fade. Check with your local health club, if you doubt me. Research from University College London concluded that the median amount of time necessary to build a new habit takes66 consecutive days!
Hopefully, you are still going strong towards your 2022 Resolution. Do you have a back-up plan for if and when the habit formation process is challenged?
For example, if your goal is to work out first thing every morning, having your workout clothes at the foot of your bed makes it easy to get up and jump on the tread mill. But what happens to your habit-building streak if one morning the dog runs off with your shorts, or if the treadmill breaks down? Those interruptions can allow all sorts of distractions to deter you from your workout and weaken your resolve.
Just like in business, have a Plan B and Plan C to stay on track – an extra pair of shorts on the nightstand, or a substitute series of aerobic exercises. Habit-building is an endurance test, so make the process easier with a back-up plan.
Need help in devising and sticking to a habit-forming plan? Contact me at Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com
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When I ask clients about ‘self-care,’ they will usually refer to diet and exercise. Some might even go as far as to add ‘sleep’ to the list.
Many of my COREageous clients are diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety and/or depression. They rely on medications to facilitate their work performance to allow their strengths to flourish. But now, there is a shortage of Ritalin and Adderall due to supply chain issues, increased demand and regulatory issues.
When Victor Hugo, the playwright, procrastinated and wanted to go out to a café instead of writing, he coaxed himself to get work done by having a servant take away all his clothes and return them only until he completed his work. A bit extreme, but it worked.
About this time of year is when good intentions for building a new habit start to fade. Check with your local health club, if you doubt me. Research from University College London concluded that the median amount of time necessary to build a new habit takes 66 consecutive days! 
"It takes more than courage to be an Entrepreneur, it takes CORE."