Are you Frightful or Delightful?

What if I told you I could change your life in 6 weeks?

I’m talking big change – your partner notices, your boss notices, even your kids notice. And so do you! You’re more awesome at the office, at home, with friends, everywhere in your life …

You in?

Then keep reading, because I’m going to share a method I’ve used with thousands of clients, and in my own life, for designing the best version of you. Whether you’re a parent, a CEO, a parent who is a CEO, or anybody in between. Just follow my guidelines below, and I promise, in just 6 weeks, we will have Rocked. Your. World.

THE SECRET TO A BETTER YOU

Nobody’s perfect. We all have crap that gets in our way – aspects of our personality that quite frankly, suck. In The Handel Method^®, we call those aspects “negative traits.”

Negative traits come in all varieties – impatient, mean, cold, steamroller, judgmental, intolerant, lazy, fake-nice, angry, sloppy, grumpy, late. Fact is, no matter how awesome you may be, everybody comes with some negative traits.

And if you’re saying, “yes, but I already know mine, big whoop!” – that’s great. But what most of us don’t realize, is how profoundly some traits are sabotaging our happiness. Sure, you may know that you’re impatient, or judgmental, or bossy, but most of us have no idea just how much a negative trait can run the show, get in your way, and kill your dream.

So, how do we get that bad trait out of the driver’s seat? The first step is to recognize that you’ve handed over the wheel.

I’M ONE COLD YOU-KNOW-WHAT …

It was my sister, Lauren, who first broke it to me. We were chatting one day and she said, “Can you hear yourself? You are one Cold You-Know-What!” I laughed so hard that snot literally shot out of my nose. In my whole life, nobody had ever been that direct with me. What made it so funny was that I realized it was true. She was right. I’m totally a Cold You-Know-What.

But at that time, I was not walking around thinking, man I’m cold. I should really do something about it. And that’s because I had no idea it was having such a negative impact on me and everyone in my life. Like most of us, I was clueless.

That same night, one of our new employees called me at 8:30pm. I was totally annoyed; it was late, I was tired, and trying to finish work. But I picked up the phone anyway, answered her questions, and hung up as soon as I could. In my mind, that was totally normal. What was she thinking calling so late and bothering me?  

The next day I got an email from Lauren, who had spoken to the new employee. Lauren asked if I had been a Cold You-Know-What on the phone last night, and I replayed our conversation. It was true! I was all business, abrupt, and cold – totally insensitive to the fact that this was a new employee trying to figure out her new job. Unbeknownst to me, my Cold You-Know-What left this poor woman feeling like she wasn’t appreciated or respected. Not my proudest moment.

This was certainly not the kind of woman, or boss, I wanted to be. And if I was doing it to her, I knew that chances were, I was doing the same thing with my daughter, my friends, and my family. Our traits don’t just pop up at the office, they follow us everywhere we go. So I entered into battle. It was time to stop letting my Cold You-Know-What have access to the driver’s seat. It was time to take it down.

BATTLE PLAN

Most of us have an inkling of what our bad traits are. But if you don’t, ask around. Your friends, kids, spouse – every one of them knows your bad traits! Simply ask someone you love and trust. Believe me, they’ll be thrilled to help.

Once you’ve chosen a trait to take down, follow the same homework Lauren gave me: become a detective. For two solid weeks, write down every single time your trait rears its ugly head. Set a timer on your phone to remind you. And be warned, it’s going to be hard.

At the end of those two weeks, I promise you, you’ll find evidence of that bad trait everywhere. I found that I was cold to my daughter, to sales clerks, to my employees. Basically, if you got within 10 feet of me, there was a risk of feeling my chill. I couldn’t believe how bad it was, or how blind I had been. But thanks to that detective work, I could now see just how much my Cold You-Know-What was running the show, impacting everyone, and everything, in my life.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

After you’ve logged your trait, it’s time to connect the dots. Look for clues about this trait in your parent’s behavior. Negative traits are often passed down from parents to kids; chances are, one, or both, of your parents has some form of your trait. This isn’t about blame or finger pointing. This is about understanding where you come from so you can evolve.

I found my Cold You-Know-What in both my parents. After a long weekend with my kids, my mother would drop them off and say, “Here, have them. I need a vacation from my vacation!” right in front of them – giving them the impression that she didn’t have a nice time with them. My dad does it in his own way, too. He’s a lawyer, and totally “all business”. He used to hide out in the other room when my mother’s friends came over. Not even a simple hello. The message was a chilly, “I’m busy.” Just like me on the phone that night with our new employee.

I grew up on the receiving end of my parents Cold You-Know-What, so I knew exactly how it felt. Yet here I was pulling the same crap. And recognizing that about myself was really impactful, because that is not the behavior I want to be known by.  

READY TO ROCK

Now, I couldn’t just up and stop being a Cold You-Know-What. I had been one my whole life. You can’t just turn that crap off. To change, you need a practice in place. Specifically, you need to make a promise about how you’re going to behave.

I promised that if I was a Cold You-Know-What, I had to apologize within 24 hours. I did this for two weeks, and found myself apologizing all over the place. Instead of a cold chill, I was giving people my heart.  

After two weeks, it was time to step it up! I added another promise to my practice. Three times per day, I had to do something loving. Be generous with my heart or my time, or take care of a friend, family member, or coworker. And let me tell you, EVERYBODY noticed. I was a more loving mom, a better daughter, sister, and leader at work. I got closer with my daughter, my coworkers, and even my parents. And I liked myself better.

In order to guarantee that it sticks, create a consequence for each promise. This is not a punishment per se, but rather, something you have to do that will hold you accountable. If you break your promise, give up cream and sugar in your coffee for a week, or lose your lovely glass of wine at dinner. Share your consequence with a friend, your spouse, your kids – they will help keep you in check, because they’re invested in you winning!

And the best part? Doing this work will make you unbelievably proud and happy, because there’s simply no better feeling than knowing you’re rocking the best version of you.

Committing to this type of honest evaluation and focused action is the key to upgrading any area of your life, and the foundation of the work we teach through The Handel Method. Learn how to put these tools in action to consciously create the life of your dreams, as the person you want to be. We are always here to help.

P.S. There are tons of ways the Handel Group^® can rock your world. We can help you improve your career, your life, your education — anywhere you need a little extra push. Email me at lauren@handelgroup.com and let’s get the conversation started.