Elaine Dizon is a life and mindset coach, writer, mother of 2, a recognized AT&T Business Cultural Champion, and a 2021 recipient of the AT&T Spark Award – the company’s highest honor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work bridging Tolerance to Understanding. She supports, empowers, and celebrates women who are looking to move beyond uncertainty and grief towards a life filled with intention, meaning, and joy.

One of my friends shared her word of the year with me, “Embrace”. This one word tool is something I workshopped earlier in the year as a way to support you in shifting your mindset quickly when the practice of pause and reflection may not be available to you. I have leaned on this word (embrace) as a tool whenever a challenging situation arises. The definition of embrace that grounds this moment is as follows, “accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.” A challenge is something that tests our abilities. As a runner, I am used to these challenges appearing as a race distance, a new running venue, or a whole new obstacle course. As a mother, these challenges appear every day – unexpected events, last minute changes in plans, or someone dropping their food on the floor and having to recreate a whole new meal. As a business owner, the adaptation to market trends or creating content can be challenging. Challenges are great because they offer us an opportunity to grow. And, aren’t we all here to grow some aspects of ourselves?

Challenging conversations are another point of learning for me. Whether it is discussing unfamiliar to me with someone else or receiving feedback from others, these are the conversations that test me. The ability to offer or receive uncertain conversation points can prompt your fight or flight response. As the worry steps in, the heart rate gets faster, and the body temperature rises, I can keep going and begin drowning out what I need to hear or say. OR, I can take a beath and think of my friend’s word – EMBRACE. As I experience the stress, I use this word as a tool to shift my mind and embrace the experience of this challenging conversation.

I think about the following:

What am I hearing?
Does this information support or serve me?
Can I zoom out of this conversation and listen to it with a wider point of view?
What do I appreciate about this person right now?

Holding a bit of space before reacting and responding has been a helpful moment in these challenging conversations. When you find yourself in these situations, I encourage you to try out these steps.

Need a little more help, please consider attending a workshop I am co-facilitating with Coach Jordan Lindsay on May 24, 2P PST – 4P PST. We will be offering space to identify and embrace a challenging conversation that is on the horizon for you.

To learn more about our workshop and register, please click the link or graphic below.