Penny Casselman [00:00:00]:
And my friend, isn't that what life is all about? Is constantly putting one foot in front of the other, protecting your energy, your boundaries, your resolve, your integrity, so that you can go out and find, embrace, and live your phenomenal life. Welcome to the pivot with passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life. Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion.
Penny Casselman [00:00:56]:
Hello and welcome. Yes. Another week has gone by. What's going on in your world? I just returned from a most fabulous time in New York City. I was visiting a dear friend, probably my best female friend from college, shout out to Tara. We had a wonderful time catching up, hanging out, eating lots of good food, and doing a little shopping, seeing the city, looking at the sites, taking in new perspectives, new experiences. As much as the city is constantly changing there's always that underlying current that stays the same, the energy, the excitement, it was magical. So I hope that within the last week, you have found yourself taking in some new experiences, finding moments of magic in your day between the people you interact with, because my friend, that is what life is all about.
Penny Casselman [00:02:00]:
Do you recall the story about Goldilocks and the 3 bears? She stumbles upon their home. One bed is too hard, one bed is too soft, but one bed was just right. And same with the porridge. 1 was too hot, 1 was too cold, but one was just right. I do yoga at home, and the instructor, whom I adore and always go to for my sessions, brought up that exact Goldilocks concept into the practice. And I thought it was brilliant, and I wanted to share it with you. He often says, find that Goldilocks spot, that spot where it's between too much and not enough. And I thought what a perfect metaphor that we can use throughout our daily lives.
Penny Casselman [00:02:55]:
How many times have you pushed, pushed, pushed so hard and found yourself burnt out? Conversely, where have you not pushed yourself enough and felt disappointed by the results that failed to materialize because of those lackluster efforts. There is somewhere in between, and that is where growth happens. That is where the start of success can be found. And so I've been really leaning on that a lot recently as I've moved throughout my activities, my to do list is I don't want to burn out. I have been there before when I was in my corporate job. And in that corporate job, I know I take full responsibility for how stressful it made me feel. And so as much as I could point fingers to the organization, there was a lot leaning on my shoulders that burnt me out because I wasn't finding that good space, those boundaries to protect myself and keep me in that Goldilocks zone so that I wasn't burning out. But, conversely, was able to lead my team to a point where we were productive.
Penny Casselman [00:04:16]:
And if you miss my story or don't know my story, that was the first time that I experienced a red marker moment. Was the day that I literally pulled out a red marker, circled the date on the calendar, and said you are out of here. Meaning, I was quitting my job no matter what because I had swung too far to one side, and I could not wrap my head around finding a way out. So today, I wanna explore the idea of that Goldilocks zone and how we can set ourselves up for success by honoring that phrase. It's time for a clarity cocktail. I really didn't know what direction I wanted to go with the clarity cocktail And so I often will use this site called Brainy Quotes. I was clicking around the site just randomly trying to find, a quote for today. And when I read this one I know I've said this before, but this is another leak drop moment.
Penny Casselman [00:05:31]:
This is another quote where no truer words have ever been said. And I have to give mad props to Scott Hamilton because this is just brilliant. The only disability in life is a bad attitude. Smoke was coming out of my ears. I was blown away when I read that quote because it's the truth. Regardless of where you find yourself, regardless of what you are going through, you have a choice in how you approach any situation. And I think Scott kind of put the ice thing on the cake. See what I did there? Often through these Olympics, there were advertisements for the Paralympics.
Penny Casselman [00:06:15]:
And when you see those athletes, what they're faced with, I think these people do not have a bad attitude. These people have risen up above everything that life has thrown their way where others might have faltered. They chose an attitude of belief. They chose an attitude of competition, of passion for what it was they were going after. And I believe that they shine a light on this quote. The only disability in life is a bad attitude. And guess what? We can change our attitude in every moment, in every situation, every day we are alive. Now some people do it with better ease than others.
Penny Casselman [00:07:07]:
I know I have spent my life trying to figure out how I can choose a good attitude to move forward. Some days it's hard, not gonna lie. But I've always tried to find the silver lining, and I hope thinking about this quote as you move through your week, you will lean on Scott Hamilton's observation and take it to heart. The only disability in life is a bad attitude. And now back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to this idea of finding that Goldilocks space, that space between too much and not enough. I believe one of the big problems that we have is that when we are going after something, sometimes we push ourselves so hard to make it happen that it's too much.
Penny Casselman [00:08:04]:
And eventually, what happens is our brain shuts down. Maybe our body starts fatiguing, and we give up because we think it's got to be at that high level in order for us to achieve what we want. Conversely, maybe there's something you're going after, but maybe you're not a 100% sure. And so you start dipping your toe in the water and giving things of half hearted try only to discover that they don't yield the results even close to what you had envisioned, and then give up because it didn't come easy enough, fast enough from what you had expected. Have you experienced either one of those extremes? For me, absolutely. Often, it is this podcast process where I find myself creeping to one of those other extremes. Certainly, I had every expectation to outline this podcast before I went on my trip to Manhattan. Did that happen? No.
Penny Casselman [00:09:18]:
So now I find myself on Tuesday, the day before this drops, thinking, oh my gosh. I'm gonna have to stay up so late. I'm gonna have to outline and take hours, and yes, I'm gonna be exhausted by the end of the day, but I don't care because I said I'm gonna show up. But then I remembered my yoga teacher, and I remembered him saying, find that Goldilocks space. Yes. He was talking to me in my head. But I thought, okay. I'm not going to burn myself out to get the podcast out.
Penny Casselman [00:09:51]:
Conversely, I'm also not going to let myself off the hook simply because I failed to put reasonable expectations and plans in place before I went. So for me, the Goldilocks space I found for this podcast today was I'm doing this completely off the cuff with the exception of writing down Scott Hamilton's clarity cocktail. And I'm allowing myself to say it's okay that I am not as rigid and prepared as I normally am. Of course, my hope is that as you're listening, you're still gonna walk away with some little bit of insight or permission or that you can use moving forward in your life, in whatever it is you're doing. Find that Goldilocks space that preserves your integrity, preserves your ambition, preserves your energy, so that you can continue to move forward. And my friend, isn't that what life is all about? Is constantly putting one foot in front of the other, protecting your energy, your boundaries, your resolve, your integrity, so that you can go out and find, embrace, and live your phenomenal life. My friend, I would love to hear from you, whether that's done through a review of this podcast. I'm always grateful.
Penny Casselman [00:11:33]:
Or you just shoot me an email and let me know what you'd like to hear more of. If you haven't yet, get yourself on my list. You can find the link in my show notes or you can just hop on over to my website penniecastleman.com and get signed up there. Because one of the initiatives I'm moving forward with is being more consistent about communication outside of this podcast. And I would love to have you join me in that endeavor because there will be things I share in that email that I won't share anywhere else. So until we meet again, my friend, remember 2 things. 1, go out there and find your Goldilocks space. And 2, remember the only disability in life is a bad attitude, so make it a great one.
Penny Casselman [00:12:36]:
Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of pivot with passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. Because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker. Get excited for your future and make your first move to pivot with passion.
