103: Don’t let Bad Moments Become Bad Days with Michael OBrien

Most of us will never face a major crisis or tragedy, thank goodness. But for the few people who do, they often come out transformed, finding a greater sense of purpose, happiness and capability than they had before. Is it possible for the rest of us to experience such a transformation without the accompanying crisis? Today’s guest is Michael O’Brien. Michael is the Chief Shift Officer at Peloton Coaching and Consulting. He elevates successful corporate leaders by preventing bad moments from turning into bad days. He has shared his inspirational story and transformation from human DOer to human BEing on the TEDx stage, with multiple Fortune 500 companies, Fast Company, Real Simple, ABC, and many wonderful podcasts like The Modern Manager. Michael and I talk about how to show up every day as the leader or manager you want to be. He shares his major wake up call and what he’s learned about how to put an end to having bad days. We get into mindsets and intentionality and building yourself a peloton (tribe).    Read the related blog article: The Two Support Systems Every Manager Needs   Join the Modern Manager community (www.themodernmanager.co/join) to get a discount on Michael’s book My Last Bad Day Shift.    If you work for a nonprofit or government agency, email me at [email protected] for 20% off any membership level.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Nothing has meaning until you give it meaning. Nothing in your life is bad or good until you label it that way. You have a choice in how you look at life and any situation. We all have bad moments. The key is to not let those bad moments gain momentum and turn into bad days. It’s hard to press pause on life to really consider who you are and what you want. This moment of the pandemic is a pause for many of us. Take this time to really reflect on what matters to you and how you want to show up as person, as a leader. Be in the moment. Breath more and connect with your body. Set an intention for every day: How do you want to be? What do you need to do to be that way? What do you want to have in your life? We are in constant conversation with ourselves. If your mindset is holding you back, you need to shift your mindset in order to make real change. The four common mindset blocks are: (1) limiting belief - it can’t happen because it hasn’t happened before; (2) interpretation - we draw conclusions without investigation; (3) the inner critic - we’re just not good enough; (4) assumptions - because it’s happened before, it will happen again.