Podcast Episode #54
===
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Extraordinary Life Podcast from the creator of the Extraordinary Life Tribe, Crystal Obregon, the self-development podcast propelling you forward toward your goals, using science- backed high -performance habits. Reach the next level in your physical and mental health. See new heights in your relationships.
[00:00:18] Gain clarity on your purpose and live your extraordinary life. Welcome your host writer, speaker and coach, Crystal Obregon.
[00:00:30] Hi there. This is Crystal of Crystal Obregon Coaching with Episode Number 54 of the Extraordinary Life Podcast.
[00:00:40] A few weeks ago, I shared how important it is to build relaxation time into your schedule on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Right now I'm almost three weeks into my road trip vacation with my husband and son.
[00:00:57] And I have a few [00:01:00] personal learnings and insights that I would like to share with you. I think they'll have value for you or at the very least be entertaining. Our vacation slash road trip was mostly planned around my 15 year old son attending the National Mountain Bike Championships in Winter Park, Colorado.
[00:01:23] And we hit the road about 10 days early so that he could get some time at altitude, since Winter Park is at 9,000 feet in elevation. So we started off in the mountains of California and our plan was to be there for about five days, hiking and riding bikes. But only a day in a fire started south of where we were.
[00:01:46] It resulted in very smokey conditions. So suddenly we are sitting inside with the windows closed instead of spending time in the outdoors, breathing fresh mountain air like we planned. The smoke came and [00:02:00] went for a few days. So in the end, we decided to leave a day early, to avoid more smoke. The other thing that happened during that time is that I bit down hard on a piece of olive of pit that was in my salad, and I didn't think much of it when it happened, but about a day later, it started severely impacting my trip.
[00:02:25] So our next stop was Park City, Utah. And as soon as we arrived, after about nine hours in the car, one of my teeth, along with the sinuses on the left side of my face, started to throb. I popped an ibuprofen before we grabbed some dinner and it definitely helped, but the next morning it was aching again.
[00:02:47] And I thought that maybe my sinuses were bothering me from the smoke in the air in California. And you know how sinuses can, it can sometimes seem like a tooth ache. [00:03:00] It was starting to hurt again, and it was a Friday. So I left a message with my dentist, then I decided I might as well try to call some local dentists.
[00:03:12] I called the first one that said they could get me an appointment in about 10 days, which obviously wouldn't work. And then I got lazy and decided to wait for my own dentist to call me and just hope it would get better. But after a few more hours, I was having a hard time ignoring the pain and decided to try again for a local dentist.
[00:03:35] I had much better luck that time around and got an appointment right away. So the local dentist, x-rayed the problem tooth told me that I need to see a specialist when I got home, but sent me away with prescriptions for antibiotics and pain killers. Not much insight to share from that experience other than just being grateful that it has [00:04:00] gradually felt better over time.
[00:04:03] On the other hand, that time is not as active as I'd planned. So I guess maybe the learning is that sometimes you just have to be patient and go with the flow. So I didn't see much of park city. I did get some extra reading time in while my son and husband rode on their bikes, exploring the trails. It wasn't in the plan, but I did just try to make the best of it.
[00:04:29] The next stop was Winter Park with a brief lunch stop in Grand Junction, Colorado to see an old friend. We hadn't seen each other in person for about 15 years, which was much too long. And I think we both really made it a priority to see each other, partly because of realizing how important connection is.
[00:04:50] I think that most of us during the pandemic have realized that we really need to make time to reconnect in [00:05:00] person, especially with friends with shared values. So it was just like old times and really worth it to make that. So we got to Winter Park and it was a really busy time, much busier than I expected.
[00:05:16] I thought that I'd have more time to exercise and relax, but the reality was that my husband and I were really there in support of our son and between cooking meals, race meetings, and pre rides. It felt like there wasn't that much time not to mention that my tooth was still hurting, even though it was getting better.
[00:05:40] So Winter Park, our time there, it was kind of a rough week for my son. He had two sets of qualifying races and then two final races and he still wasn't acclimated to the altitude. So his placings weren't anywhere near what he expected. I'm [00:06:00] sure he needed about another week at altitude to really be ready to compete.
[00:06:07] But I was really impressed with how he handled his disappointment. I don't know if I would've been able to be as gracious at 15 years old or really able to bounce back like that. He really took it in stride and identified where he could have done better and where it was just out of his control. One of the things that I was thinking about this is that it's really so easy to attach your worth to your achievements.
[00:06:40] For example, all year, he had done very well in the local and high school races and he really worked hard to do so well. So I feel like even if his results hadn't been so competitive, he still had plenty to be proud. It really made me think about how many times in my [00:07:00] life I've not given myself credit for achievements because I didn't think they were good enough usually because I was comparing myself to others or I've attached myself worth to my achievements so that when I perceive I'm doing well, I feel good about myself.
[00:07:18] And when I perceive I'm not doing well, I don't feel as good about myself. And I definitely see my clients doing this all the time as well. That line of thinking really isn't productive, lends itself to putting you on an emotional roller coaster. If you haven't listened to Episode Number 50, where I talk about how your thinking can impact absolutely everything from your emotions to your actions, to your results, definitely go back and listen to that.
[00:07:54] Because working on your thinking and mindset never ends not for me. And [00:08:00] I'm sure not for you either. I think that my son's mindset success is partly youthful exuberance and some strategies he's hopefully learned from me and the fact that as parents, we don't place value on him based on how well he races or how he does in school, things like that.
[00:08:22] I certainly do hope that he picks up on that. For me as an adult though, I know that I must have tools in place so that I'm consistently working on my mindset. And my thoughts, honestly, this is where the insight comes in is that I've lately been lax in using them. I did do a blog post last fall on the tools I use for my mindset last fall.
[00:08:52] I'll link to that episode in the show notes. This is where taking a break can be really beneficial. [00:09:00] If you're doing the same old, same old, you can feel a little flat. At least I can, speaking for myself. Another place is that I've had several areas in my life where I've lack some clarity lately and sometimes shaking things up a bit does give a different perspective.
[00:09:19] And that's what I was hoping for during my time away. I didn't really get it much during the first part of my trip because I was dealing with wildfire smoke pain and just general race busyness. But as I'm writing this, I'm now in Helena, Montana. We dropped my son off at a cycling camp three days ago, my tooth is feeling much better, and I've finally been able to do some hiking and mountain biking.
[00:09:49] And that's when clarity comes to me when I'm exercising in nature, one thing I've been stuck on is how I wanna restructure my group coaching for the fall. [00:10:00] The way The Extraordinary Life Tribe worked for 2021 was perfect for my clients in the United States. We were still shut down in many ways. So honestly, people weren't as busy.
[00:10:15] They weren't really gathering in groups. There wasn't really a lot going on. With that group, we met for a year and the members of the group really found it invaluable to have that connection, to work through ways to move their lives forward when everything was radically different with the pandemic. I know I personally was involved in several groups that felt like a lifeline of connection, learning, and problem solving.
[00:10:43] But as things started to open back up, I did feel like I had less time on my hands. And I think that my clients did as well. I know I was ready to be in action and in movement instead [00:11:00] of being on zoom as much and things like that. While I was riding yesterday, it really became clear to me that I could structure my curriculum- based group coaching in more of a condensed manner.
[00:11:15] In other words, get results quickly. And then have a separate container for the group that meets less often to keep that connection going to both the members of the group and the goals that have been set during the coaching sessions after all. That's what my previous clients started asking for. So why not give it to them?
[00:11:38] If you can see how clarity comes from a change in surroundings and perspective. The solution really wasn't that hard. I just needed to have that fresh perspective. The other insight that I've had while being away is that I need to refresh my own high performance habits. I already [00:12:00] mentioned increasing clarity.
[00:12:01] That's always the first one. I work on myself and the first one I helped my clients with when I returned from my vacation and, and probably a little bit before that. I really plan to revamp my productivity habits as well. Simple things like setting a timer to get up from my desk every 50 minutes when I'm working, using my one page productivity planner, so that I know the three most important projects I'm working on.
[00:12:32] The five major moves I need to make for each of them to move forward. It's so easy for habits to slip if I'm not actively working on them, just because I'm a coach, doesn't mean I'm immune to falling off what I know works. And honestly, what is proven to work. I need inspiration and rejuvenation just like everyone else.
[00:12:58] And if I don't have it, [00:13:00] it's awfully hard to provide it for my clients and audience. Morning routine also needs some work before the pandemic. I would swim early in the morning, two or three times a week. It did wonders for my energy and productivity during the rest of the day. But during the pandemic, the pools closed.
[00:13:22] And now that they're open again, I've had a hard time getting back into that routine since I put other habits into that place. So that's my plan and my update for you. I've got another few days until I'm back home. I'm starting to look forward to sleeping in my own bed. And of course I miss my dogs. I do have more energy to pick up some projects that I've been working on.
[00:13:57] During the rest of August, I will [00:14:00] be talking about motivation because September is another great time to restart routines. I'm planning to help you get ahead of the game. That's it for today. Have a great rest of your day. And I will see you in here next week. Bye for now. Thank you for listening to the Extraordinary Life Podcast with writer and coach, Crystal Obregon.
[00:14:25] We'd love to connect with you outside of the podcast, too. To find more helpful insights, show notes and more about Crystal, go to Crystal Obregon.com, that's O B R E G O N, where you'll also find info for The Design Your Decade workshop. This workshop will help you to stop drifting and start creating. Until next time.
[00:14:45] Be extraordinary.
