Patterns

Time to Evict the Mind Monsters

By Sylvia Lafair | February 19, 2020 |

What are those whispered words that haunt you even when no one is talking? These words show up at the most annoying times. They’re the ones that live in your head, like uninvited guests you can’t get rid of. Each of you, yes, you, and you, and you, have certain stuck phrases. And no matter…

How Super Achievers Can Listen to Themselves and Others

By Sylvia Lafair | February 11, 2020 |

Before super achievers can listen to themselves or others, they need to know how they got to be so exhausting, annoying, and demanding in the first place.   Here’s how the super-achiever pattern was addressed with a new coaching client, Dan, a Senior VP in a large marketing company that offers leadership development courses for senior executives.  He said this about himself, which much initial pride, “Hey, I always have to be…

Are you an avoider or initiator at work?

By Sylvia Lafair | February 7, 2020 |

Are you (or someone you know) an avoider?  You know…when there is conflict, contention, carrying-on in a nasty way that doesn’t stop, do you ever think “I gotta get outta here?†We all have that feeling at some time. However, when it happens over and over it’s a powerful behavior pattern…the avoider. Avoiders often grew…

Time for New Resolutions

By Sylvia Lafair | December 30, 2019 |

It’s that time for new resolutions. Right? You know, the ones that usually become old in a week and absolutely stale by the end of the month. “Change,†I hear you say, “change is tough.†And it is.   EXCEPT There is one new resolution you can make that will reap tons and tons of rewards.…

Letting Go of Behavior Patterns That We Developed During Childhood

By Sylvia Lafair | December 17, 2019 |

Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a glorious day even though everything seems overwhelmed and rushed, and we can’t move fast enough, and we can’t please everybody but nonetheless we just keep persevering, right? Except, sometimes we feel submissive compliant filled with self-doubt, create self-sabotage. Those days, everybody does it and what happens is, it…

Thanksgiving Dinner Game

By Sylvia Lafair | November 25, 2019 |

There’s a great game… Whoops! All right, I got it all set now. There’s a great game that you can play at Thanksgiving dinner. It’s called, “Connect the dots.†So, here’s how it works: Sit there and as you listen to people, think about who do they remind you of… there’s your uncle sitting there.…

Are You Ready to Stop Self-Sabotaging?

By Sylvia Lafair | October 8, 2019 |

Summary: Self-doubt is like an infection that only has one cure. That means you must change your mindset, until you, through your own free will, can release the nagging thoughts and be both strong and capable of leading with clarity and passion. Dear All, Recently, I received many emails from women executives plagued with self-doubt.…

Is being a leader a good idea?

By Sylvia Lafair | June 12, 2019 |

Have you ever wondered if being a leader is such a good idea? Or, if you are in a strong leadership position, have you ever wondered if you made the right choice. Leadership sounds so great. However, it’s not the ‘piece of cake’ so many people think it is. Recently I got an email from…

How to break through the patterns holding you back

By Sylvia Lafair | June 6, 2019 |

I want to talk to you about how to break through the patterns that are holding you back. Get a rubber band. Well, you can wait till you read why you need one. A rubber band around your wrist (any color you want is fine) can help you breakthrough the annoying outdated behavior patterns that…

Are you a maximizer or a satisfier…take this simple test

By Sylvia Lafair | April 24, 2019 |

How do you decide what to decide? There is a great line in the play Into the Woods that we have used in our Total Leadership connections program that shows how so many of us wait to let others make decisions while we stand on the sidelines waiting for a signal for our next move. Picture Cinderella…