#6: Being Seen

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Is vulnerability necessary for personal growth? In this episode, Whitney and Paul tackle this sensitive topic, revealing their own hurdles with honesty and authenticity. What is the strength in vulnerability? And why is it so hard to let ourselves be seen for who we really are?

Links and References in this Episode:

Empathy begins with vulnerability by Sara Wachter-Boettcher (pronounced Walk-ter Bett-cher – sorry, Sara!) 

The power of vulnerability , TED talk by Brené Brown

New Ventures West, Whitney's coaching program

#5: No Means Yes

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 Why do we allow distractions to divert our attention and fragment our time, keeping us away from doing what really matters to us? In this episode, Paul and Whitney discuss what it means to concentrate, to pay attention, to focus–which always requires saying no to ourselves and others. When does a desire for productivity begin to diminish the quality of our lives? And is technology to blame or is it just human nature?

Links and References in this Episode  (yep, just one this week) :

  The Power of a Positive No by William Ury

#4: Good Enough

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In this episode, Whitney and Paul talk about balance. Can one ever achieve balance? Is it something that one can obtain over time? Is it ever permanent? And are Gummy vitamins a form of balance? (Spoiler: they are!)

Links and References in this Episode:  

4-Hour Body

Seinfeld Calendar

Lift app

CrowdVine 

Things app

Gummy multivitamins

Essential Spirituality by Roger Walsh

Ganesha, Hindu god

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

#3: Getting to Know You

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Becoming aware of yourself, your body, your surroundings... it's tough stuff. In this episode, Whitney and Paul talk about how they've succeeded and faltered with self-awareness through their lives. Also: empathy for others and for one's self.

Links and References in this Episode:  

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

The Power of a Positive No  by William Ury

Synecdoche New York: Amazon | iTunes

New Ventures West

Whitney's entry, "How We Pose Shapes How We Feel":

The funny thing about self-awareness though is that we all think we have it. We feel so tapped into our own motivations and desires, the modern, intellectual people that we are. But our concept of self-awareness is grossly limited.

 

Paul's entry, "Head First":

These are the small moves we can make, the small adjustments, that may seem trivial or even nonsensical but really can change our whole selves.

 

Bodywork / mirror work: Paul referenced bodywork but really meant mirror work , and this entry at Blessing Manifesting is pretty great: "Self Care: Mirror, Mirror":

 

One of my favorite exercises in [Louise L. Hay's book You Can Heal Your Life is] The Mirror. You take a mirror, look into it, looking at your reflection and you say "I love and accept you exactly as you are."

#2: Too Much Future

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Fear!

In this episode Paul and Whitney talk about one of their favorite topics - no, really - fear. What holds you back, and what keeps you up at night? How do you get past a sleepless night? From there, they discuss living in the future - which may be the genesis of our fear.

 

References in this episode: 

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment  by Eckhart Toile

 Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind  by Shunryu Suzuki and David Chadwick

Monkey mind: "... a Buddhist term meaning 'unsettled; restless; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable'."

Merlin Mann's talk "Scared Shitless"

Your Hosts:

@whitneyhess and @paulmcaleer



#1: The Hamster Wheel

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You've got to start somewhere. 

In the inaugural episode of Designing Yourself, Whitney & Paul talk about the separation of one's self. We allow parts of ourselves to post things in various mediums, but does that give a picture of who we are, fully? Can it?

They also talk about to do lists, starting things, and selflessness versus selfishness.

Link to MP3 version 
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NEW: Full transcript of this episode

References in this episode: 

Whitney's essay, "A New Way to Be": "Just being here."

Paul's 1999 website About page: "...the experiment is: how much of this is 'real'? What defines 'real' anyway? That's a question that will be continually stressed and pressed by this site and your visits to it."

Your Hosts:

@whitneyhess and @paulmcaleer