Academic Coaching

Transitions

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 17:32:23 +0000

Transitions Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/17/2024 - 10:32

“You begin with the possibilities of the material.”

― Robert Rauschenberg

We’ve rounded the corner to another new year and should be reminded that time is possibility and that the cyclicality of beginning and ending is deeply attached to perception and cultural norms. All of these tools give us space to build our own approach to that which is new, taking into account what has passed, what might come, and what our observations, perceptions, and expectations tell us. So how do we harness the idea of transition as a framework? Start by asking yourself: What has changed? How do I want to grow? If money, location and training were no object, what would I do? And why? What do I want to leave behind? What stories do I need to let go of to move forward? What do my current conditions support? What do I need to bring with me (i.e., experience, strengths, wisdom) to create my future? What's one change I could make that would give me more calm? How does this change align with my values? When I successfully navigate this change, how will my life be different? What would my future self say to encourage me? Who can support me? Who are my allies?

As you reflect on these questions, embrace your resilience, curiosity, and creativity. They have prepared you to own your growth. Take some time to explore the tools below to fortify your transition strategy and practice greater intentionality during periods of change.

UFYB | UFYB 22: INSIGHT VS. TRANSFORMATION

I Have ADHD | Creating a (Doable) Vision for 2024

I Have ADHD | The ADHDers Guide to Being Proactive (Even With a Reactive Brain)

I Have ADHD | How to Build Self-Trust Even with ADHD

Victoria Albina | Ep #200: How To Trust And Reclaim Your Intuition

Pinnacle 7 | 8 Questions to Help You Move Forward in any Transition

Your Time to Grow | 10 Powerful Questions to Ask Yourself When Facing Change

Be Well Life Coaching | In the Midst of a Transition? 5 Questions That Will Help

In sharing my enthusiasm for the immense potential transitions carry, I must also acknowledge my own bittersweet departure from ENVD. My time here has been incredibly rewarding, especially in collaborating with such talented design students and working alongside a team that's nothing short of inspiring. As I have grown alongside you, I have been inspired to choose a path of possibility that now leads beyond ENVD. I thank you all for giving me this gift and am encouraged for the path(s) that lie ahead. Since this is my last chance to address you all from OYS, I encourage you to continue to own your work, your intentions, and your futures. Each of you holds the strength and creativity to surmount any challenge. Trust yourselves as you forge ahead and take heart in the wake of the uncharted. You have everything you need.

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Endings

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 19:47:48 +0000

Endings Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/15/2023 - 12:47

“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn't matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”

― Paulo Coelo

The cyclicality of process and its perpetual reification of the start-iterate-finish paradigm grinds at the two-pronged directive of modern, capitalist living—work hard, get rewarded. However, we know the cycle as we envision it—a pristine linearized radius that mythicizes the inevitability of progress feeding progress—versus the cycle as we experience it, something more akin to this:

Or this...

Or even this...

Given the cultural disconnect between ideal and reality, it becomes important to manage one's own energetic engagement with process and the idea of ending. You might start by interrogating your relationship with these concepts: How would beginning with an end in mind help you? What obstacles could get in the way? What helps you decide to start ending? What do you intentionally do to end well? How do you know that you’ve learned what you needed to learn? How do outcomes/products benefit you? Who do you need to be to end something? What will you do to celebrate ending?

“The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.”

― Nietzche

As you explore your approach to ending and build a toolkit that supports that outcome energetically, consider what it might take to find, as Neil Gaiman says, “somewhere to rest, to stop reading, and to be content,” and take some time to explore the tools below to challenge and build your relationship with your reason for getting things done.

UFYB: How to Get Sh*t Done

I have ADHD: Podcast Episode #84: When You Get Nothing Done

The Marginalian | Probable Impossibilities: Physicist Alan Lightman on Beginnings, Endings, and What Makes Life Worth Living

Life Hack: 10 Essential Tips to Finish What You Start

Zen Habits: How to Finish

Personal Excellence: How to Finish What You Start

Scott H. Young: How to Build the Habit of Finishing What You Start

Lifehacker: How Do You Know When You're Finished?

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Fear

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 18:47:15 +0000

Fear Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/01/2023 - 11:47

“Have no fear of perfection-you'll never reach it.”

– Salvador Dali

Fear is many things--a manifestation of anxieties and social pressures, a desire to avoid discomfort, an evolutionary predisposition to protect the reptilian self—and its stigma, the sometimes-delimiting factor to its efficacy. Candidly, fear is simply information, albeit information meant to drive our decision-making to achieve an almost always singular outcome: safety.

So how can we reengineer this discomfort as a powerful ally? You might start by interrogating your fears: What am I afraid of? What is the worst thing that can happen? What is the cost of the status quo? What do I miss out by avoiding this decision? How do I know if my fears are real or imagined? How are my fears holding me back? How will taking action impact me? Who do I need to be to own my fears?

As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked resources below. You might find tools/thought exercises/questions that help you reframe fear as information, opportunity, and ally.

TED | Tim Ferriss: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals

BetterHelp: Using Fear as a Motivator

The Washington Post: Fear and anxiety can help. Here’s how to use them to your advantage

Adventure Collection: 10 Reasons Why a Dose of Fear is Good for You

LinkedIn | Sonia McDonald: Fear To Courage: How To Use The Emotion Wheel To Transform Your Feelings

Psychology Today: Fear Is a Tool of the Trade: Here's How to Use It

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Awareness

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 17:58:06 +0000

Awareness Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/20/2023 - 10:58

“Expectation is the mother of all frustration.”

– Antonio Banderas

We experience misalignment when our expectations do not match real-time conditions. The biproducts of misalignment—frustration, disappointment, self-doubt, dissatisfaction—cause productivity lapses, interpersonal friction, and burnout. And yet, we are often unaware when we are misaligned. Choosing awareness creates opportunities to design strategies that support better outcomes and greater overall satisfaction. So how do we get there? You might start by asking yourself:

How can I be true to my values?
What are my expectations?
What stories am I telling myself that create momentum? ...roadblocks?
Are my goals my own or influenced by other people?
What creates a sense of forward momentum?
What am I learning that will help me in the future?

How do I relate to others?
Which working partnerships are best for me?

If frustration, fear and doubt were no longer holding you back, what actions would you take to move closer to your dreams? Imagine you have all the confidence and self-belief needed to succeed. How would this impact your decisions and actions? As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked resources below. You might find tools/thought exercises/questions that support your effort to cultivate awareness! You will find a few additional articles on frustration, anger, and other distractors as well.

MindTools: Developing Self-Awareness

Positive Psychology.com: How to Increase Self-Awareness: 16 Activities & Tools

Harvard Business Review: 5 Ways to Become More Self-Aware

Harvard Business Review: Managing Anger, Frustration, and Resentment on Your Team

Medium: Managing Anger and Frustration in a Way that’s Helpful to Your Team

Very Well Mind: What Is Self-Awareness? Development, Types, and How to Improve

Very Well Mind: How to Deal With Frustration

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Energy

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 17:27:08 +0000

Energy Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/03/2023 - 11:27

Energy defines our experience as living creatures down to a quantum level and yet we often engage with it passively or even reactively. As a result, we expend considerable amounts of energy in ways we don’t realize or even mean to. This leads to a spectrum of time-absorbing consequences that might be mitigated by a more engaged and aware relationship with energy.

I challenge you to explore your energy commitments and to ask yourself: To whom am I giving my energy? What does my energy output tell me about my priorities? ...my values? How am I allocating my energy to support my priorities? ...my values? ...my goals? How do I want to use my energy? Where do I want to use my energy? What risks am I willing to take with my energy?

As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked resources below. You might find tools/thought exercises/questions that provoke greater intentionality and awareness of habits and patterns that are/aren’t serving your purpose. Let them guide you to practice something new!

HBR: Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

UFYB: Why Mental Health Matters Most (Turn Panic into Peace #4)

Brit + Co: 5 Common Things Draining Your Energy and How to Prevent Them

Brit + Co: 6 Self-Love Barriers Holding You Back from Happiness (And How To Overcome Them)

Coach Your Life Caroline: 12 Ways to Protect and Raise Your Energy

Clarity Coaching: How to Manage Your Energy With ADHD

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Beginning

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 18:20:23 +0000

Beginning Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/23/2023 - 12:20

“The beginning is always today.”

– Mary Wollstonecraft

Beginning is a favorite topic of philosophers and industrialists and a dreaded experience for the neurodiverse rank-and-file. Its attachment to directionality acts to mythify the nature of endings as both punctuated and precipitating rather than to highlight the continuity and confluence of thought and energy required to satisfy the becoming we all manifest. As we embark upon the second half of the term, I encourage you to embrace this circular narrative with a growth-mindset.

How can you reimagine “beginning” as part of a continuum? Who are you becoming? How are you honoring who you have been? ...what you have learned? ...what you have learned about yourself? Where do you want to go? Who do you need to be to get there? What experiences have taught you that you will get there? What is the worst that can happen?

As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked articles below. These resources articulate strategies for generating momentum at project inception and throughout the process, particularly if you find the task challenging or, even, contrary to your interests.

Medium: How to Get Started (On Anything)

The Positivity Blog: 8 Simple Tips for Getting Started with Something

Alexander Young: 5 Tips To Get Started At Anything

Focused with Kristen Carder: Episodes featuring strategies for “getting started” while navigating ADHD, anxiety, and trauma

Zapier: How to Start Doing a Thing When You Really, Really Don't Want To

Beginning is a favorite topic of philosophers and industrialists and a dreaded experience for the neurodiverse rank-and-file. As we embark upon the second half of the term, I encourage you to embrace this circular narrative with a growth-mindset.

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Failure

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 22:40:08 +0000

Failure Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/06/2023 - 16:40

“Screwing things up is a virtue. Being correct is never the point. I have an almost fanatically correct assistant, and by the time she re-spells my words and corrects my punctuation, I can't read what I wrote. Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea.”

– Robert Rauschenberg

Denver’s very own revolutionary drag queen and creative prodigy, Yvie Oddly, calls failure a “gift.” (RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Yvie Oddly Fails Her Way to Success (S7, E5) | Paramount+). This claim finds its antithesis in the years of conditioning we experience as endemic to the culture of competition that defines education, personal growth, and professional life in this country. Yvie and I are asking you to stop and reframe. Failure is possibility in its most refined form. And, while our responses to it might not be as singularly elegant, the lessons it offers alongside opportunities for growth, for genius, for revolutionary thinking are manifold–if you let them be. Dig into failure with curiosity:

How does failure benefit you? your process?
How does failure create opportunity?
Who do you need to be to learn from failure?
Who do you need to be to allow failure to give you confidence?
What does failure change?
What does failure allow you to do?

As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked podcasts and articles below. These resources might support a shift in point of view, particularly if your relationship with failure is a complicated one. Take a chance on a wild idea—let failure be a good thing.

Psychology Today: The Benefits of Failure

Better Up: Why Learning from Failure is Your Key to Success

TED: The Benefits of Failure

UFYB: Dealing with Uncertainty

I Have ADHD: Adult ADHD + How to Fail (And Not Let It Break You)

CU Division of Student Affairs: Tips from a Senior: Dealing with Failure

Denver’s very own revolutionary drag queen and creative prodigy, Yvie Oddly, calls failure a “gift.” This claim finds its antithesis in the years of conditioning we experience as endemic to the culture of competition that defines education, personal growth, and professional life in this country. Yvie and I are asking you to stop and reframe.

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Momentum

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 22:39:33 +0000

Momentum Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/21/2023 - 16:39

“Improvising things is always changing. A lot of momentum.”

- Ikue Mori

Momentum is motivation's most accessible companion--we're talking small, but generative moves. If motivation doesn’t come easily, consider what gives you momentum and the outcomes that momentum delivers. Small sparks can fuel productivity and growth! What assumptions or behaviors support your momentum? What assumptions or behaviors undermine your momentum? What is one thing you can do to challenge those assumptions and behaviors? How compelling is your current goal? How can you align your goal with your current momentum? How can you align your mindset with your current momentum? How sustainable is your current pace? What is the smallest, most achievable change you need to make today?

As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked articles below. These resources provide various frameworks for reflecting on the benefits of harnessing your own momentum to push yourself beyond your own expectations, particularly in the wake of stressors, burnout, anxiety, and other cognitive distractions.

Medium: The 10 Steps to Building Momentum.

Forbes: How to Build Momentum When You Feel Stuck

Inside HigherEd: Isaac Newton and College Completion

Pick the Brain: The Psychology of Momentum: 5 Steps to Get Yourself Out of a Mental Rut

Harvard Business Review: 3 Types of Burnout, and How to Overcome Them

Engage for Succes: How to Build Momentum in Work & Life

Medium: How to Cultivate Motivation After a Year of Standing Still

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Curiosity

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 17:29:21 +0000

Curiosity Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/11/2023 - 11:29

“People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' Well, in the first place, I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea, it's too limiting and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity.”

- Robert Rauschenberg

Curiosity is the lifeblood of creativity and critical problem-solving. It activates, pursues, grows, empowers, challenges, changes, inspires, strengthens, and builds. Most importantly, curiosity helps us survive.

What makes you curious? What has your curiosity shown you? How has curiosity driven you? How will you harness curiosity to support you? ...your ENVD goals? Who do you need to be to be curious?

As you consider these questions, spend some time reviewing the linked articles below. These resources provide various frameworks for reflecting actively on your relationship with time and the impact this relationship has on day-to-day experiences while also outlining effective time management strategies that you can harness to support your success.

Harvard Business Review: Cultivate Curiosity

Forbes: Five Ways to Cultivate Curiosity and Tap into Your Creativity

Big Think: Want to be more curious? Experts recommend these 5 habits

Medium: Cultivating Curiosity — Three Ingredients to a More Curious Mind

Psychology Today: Cultivating Curiosity

Fast Company: How (and why) to train your brain to be more curious at work

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Time Management

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 18:25:40 +0000

Time Management Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/29/2023 - 12:25

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

–Andy Warhol

Time is the abstract currency by which we measure progress and achievement. Unfortunately, its inherent limitations and linear nature frequently clash with our self-knowledge and expectations inhibiting our ability to channel it in service of our goals. As you begin this new academic year, reflect on your relationship with time.

What keeps you focused? Motivated? What distracts you? How do you organize your week? Track progress? Create space for self-care? What time management successes have you had? Challenges? How are your priorities/expectations/goals reflected in the way you use your time?

Health and Wellness Services for CU Boulder Today: Stress Less: Managing time and getting things done

CU Division of Student Affairs: How to avoid procrastination with better time management

Dartmouth - Academic Skill Center: Time Management Tips

Harvard Summer School: 8 Time Management Tips for Students

BetterHelp: 6 Tips For Time Management For College Students

I have ADHD: Understanding your capacity

I have ADHD: When You’ve Overscheduled Yourself…Again

Psychology Today: Could you be timeblind?

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