Author: Rachel Hanson

"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." -Carl Rogers Similar to AA. The first step in changing your relationship with alcohol is to admit you're an alcoholic. The first step in changing anything is acknowledging and accepting the reality of who and where you are. … Continue reading Accept then change

Fear and hurt are the primordial emotions that most dysfunction builds off of. Anger is a way to cover for and avoid fear and hurt, as is numbing. Over-achieving can be another unhealthy way of avoiding the hardest things. Dis-ease is a precursor for disease. The dis-ease you feel at those primordial emotions, and the … Continue reading Re-solve to resolve

So what, next pitch. That was the mantra adopted by many of the college players I coached. The point of it was to be present. You just gave up a home run? So what, next pitch. You just booted a ball at shortstop? So what, next pitch. Stay focused on what's happening right now, rather … Continue reading Next pitch

If you want to change the world, change yourself. It sounds trite but I see it happen over and over again with my clients. Too often we try to force it in the opposite direction. We want to see change in others, so we try to force them or cajole them to change. Doesn't work. … Continue reading Change

Leaders are believers and as a result leaders are believable. Why? Because they believe it. Whatever "it" is - their vision, the story their story-telling, their own beliefs. They have conviction, and we as humans find that believable. Normalize calling BS when you don't find someone believable. Normalize letting them know you don't find their … Continue reading Be believable

Boredom is both terrible and uniquely awesome. We humans hate boredom so much that we will literally inflict pain on ourselves rather than be bored. There's a study on this where participants, after being bored for a bit, would literally seek out the only source of stimulation in the room which was an electric shock. … Continue reading Boredom

Failing to follow through on or complete your productive actions will happen. Life will get in the way. An emergency, sick, you simply forget. Not a problem. It's a problem when it becomes a pattern. If you allow one off week to be an excuse for a 2nd, or for future inconsistency...big problem. Get back … Continue reading Problems and patterns

Kids can't raise themselves. True. And at a societal level we've somehow managed to over-raise and over-function for our kids. Also true. I saw the results of this first hand as a college coach - panic over failure, struggle to face hard things head on, lack of ability or desire to have difficult conversations. Not … Continue reading Fear less