Hello Beautiful Human,

According to the research of subjectline.com, negative emoji’s at the start of a subject line outperform positive ones by 21% with consumers.

At first I wanted to trash that marketing advice, I thought, “I’m a positive person and my people need encouragement, not more negativity.”

But then I thought about the stat, it makes sense. Our brains are wired to look for threats. It has kept humans alive for millennia.

When we see someone who is ill, angry, or fearful, our brain tells us we should probably take note. “Don’t do whatever made someone else sick, avoid whatever made someone else feel angry, pay attention to whatever is causing fear in others”.

Negative emotions can be valuable indicators for survival. Every human adopts ways of dealing with the threats their nervous system notices. Our experiences, culture, and internal narratives play a HUGE part in creating these automatic reactions.

The ways of responding to threats can be super useful AND incredibly limiting or toxic depending on the situation.

The ways you react to threats may feel like your personality. Many people think, “It’s just who I am”. Or they fixate on the threat, leaving no mental bandwidth to reflect on their own reaction. Chronically focusing on the negative, unfortunately creates the situation over and over with little to no room for new potential solutions.

Implementing thoughtful reflection and a willingness to experiment with different responses to threats is where new possibilities emerge.

I realize I’m getting deep into the how and why of human behavior, but thanks for hanging with me, because this is where long lasting transformation is created.

In coaching we poke at the “threats” and negativity that our nervous system and brain tell us is MOST important. We compassionately question our automatic reactions and create the nervous system and psychological safety to try something new.

Are you struggling with:

• Taking on more work than you can possibly complete?
• Failing to delegate and trying to control every detail of the work?
• Taking on the emotional burdens of everyone around you?
• Freezing in procrastination and avoidance?

These are all just REACTIONS to perceived threats. They are all very human, and annoyingly, they keep many leaders from operating as their highest, most effective, and empowered self.

But you don’t have to stay trapped in reacting to perceived threats. Evolving your leadership is simple when you get to the root and work with your brain, emotions, and physical energy.