Over the past year, I've begun exploring whether I might be Autistic as well as ADHD. Last summer, my new (at that point) therapist, who is neurodivergent herself and neurodivergent/trauma-informed, recommended that I get assessed for autism. I’ve…

SUMMARY: If you’re a neurodivergent, “Gifted and Talented” type of human, trying to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes” can be a complicated proposition. You are more likely than a neurotypical person to ascribe a more complex motivation to…

Last week started with two very similar conversations with two different Leadership Coaching clients. Both showed up seeking support navigating fear-based leadership — which was having a significantly destructive effect on (both their own and their…

Today started with two very similar conversations with two different Leadership Coaching clients. Both showed up for their sessions seeking support navigating fear-based leadership, and reducing the negative impact these techniques were having on my…

Ok, so let’s talk about confidence for a minute. What does that word mean to you? When my clients first start working with me, they often define confidence as something close to, “a feeling of liking myself that comes from accomplishing something,…

Our animal brains are wired to focus on the negative - which does not a confident mindset make. The best way to reboot your mindset from negative to *possible* is to practice focusing your attention on the good - the things that are working, the…

Confidence isn’t the outcome of an accomplishment. It’s not about being "productive" or "impressive", or meeting society’s definition of beauty/success. Real, sustainable confidence is an accumulation of daily choices that align with your identity.…

If we want our body machines (and brains) to do stuff for us - help us solve that problem, plan that project, not freak out constantly about the Delta variant - then we have to take care of the bloody things. Just like a car, our body machines…

We are fundamentally, evolutionarily wired to be social creatures. This means that human connection has a massive impact on how we feel about both ourselves and our place in the world. So it makes sense that how connected we feel impacts our…

Written by: Derek C., Private Coaching Client + Unbecoming Foundations Graduate At the lowest point of my life, I decided to make an investment in myself by joining one of Colleen’s cohorts. I went in looking for a clear path to the success I…

Time management is something that I talk about with almost every coaching client (although sometimes we’re calling it “procrastination” or “productivity” - these are all different parts of the same elephant). Last week, one of my brilliant, creative…

This has been a tough week Chez Companioni. My partner, our 2.5 year-old toddler, and I have all Covid, we’re both working from home, and we have a puppy who just started getting all those awesome hormonal cues to hump and pee on everything. Here’s a…

Thanks to Deanna Zandt for a brilliant comic/infographic that shares the best language I’ve ever found to distinguish between (what I talk about as) “feel good/turning off” activities and “feel good about yourself/battery-charging” activities: This…

Ok, listen up with all that "I'm not getting enough done. I'm not writing that novel. I haven't worked out at home 8 days a week. I'm FAILING QUARANTINE" NONSENSE. The state of your brain determines what you are capable of accomplishing on a basic,…

Being able to actually do a job and being able to successfully interview for a job are distinctly separate skills. Understanding this is helpful, because it means it’s something you learn. So instead of thinking “God, I’m shite at interviews. I’m…

As you know, I’m a brain-based coach. So a lot of my tools are organized around learning how your brain actually works in order to make it an asset instead of an obstacle. Here are a few simple applied neuroscience exercises that I find the most…

Are you ready for a little brain-based "HELL YES" this week? As always, I'm happy to oblige. This week, I thought we’d talk BRANDING. This word gets bandied around a lot, but most people don’t really have a clear understanding of what it means. And…

Have you ever found yourself in a super negative headspace, where you are just spiraling into an evil mental rabbit hole of doom and can't seem to get out? Me too. It sucks. The good news is that brain-based coaching has allowed me to develop some…

Heads up: this is a personal post - which, now that I think of it, actually relates really well to the point I want to make today. Don't worry though - it's not all about me. If you relate to my story, there's an activity at the end of the post to…

In the first installment in this series, we explored what changes when you answer the question, "How do YOU define success?" Today, we're going to look at the importance of your human environment - a factor that is both critical to your success, and…