007 | I Control My Destiny AND So Does "The Universe"

07/14/20 • 12 min

Does “The Universe” control your destiny...or do you? That is a question pondering the minds of many people from all walks of life. I don’t know about you, but if I sat on my laurels and chose to let "The Universe" take the reigns over my life and business - nothing would happen. However, If I took complete and total responsibility and accountability over my destiny - I also know that leaves me fully accountable for all of my failures. It means I would probably beat myself up over things that I truly had no control over.

So how do you walk the fine line between gaining control of your life and letting things be? How do you balance controlling your destiny and letting “The Universe" do the heavy lifting?

In today’s episode, I discuss how you can control your own destiny while still trusting that “The Universe” will provide. I discuss the impact of leaning too heavily on "The Universe" to fulfill your destiny and explain the Locus of Control concept in psychology. I discuss how taking too much control and accountability over your life can lead to negative effects, like stress and anxiety. I also share strategies to help you strike a balance between trusting in "The Universe" to provide what you need to succeed while also taking control of your destiny.

“The Universe IS the wave. We don’t know where The Universe is going - but we DO have control of how we surf it.” - Erin Baker

This week on Life in the AND:

The Locus of Control concept and the impact of having a high internal Locus of Control
The difference between people with high Internal Locus of Control versus high External Locus of Control
The pros and cons of Internal and External Locus’ of Control
Finding a balance between letting "The Universe" control your destiny while taking control of your life and business trajectory
Balancing high intentions with low attachments to the final outcomes
Getting clear on what you’re truly responsible for
Why frequently trying to prepare for the worst is a mistake many high-performing leaders make

Resources Mentioned:

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection by Michael A. Singer

Embrace Life in the AND

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Life in the AND, the podcast helping you embrace the AND in your life to cultivate more authenticity, creativity, inclusiveness, and love in every area of the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe to the show and leave a review.

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So how do you walk the fine line between gaining control of your life and letting things be? How do you balance controlling your destiny and letting “The Universe" do the heavy lifting?

“The Universe IS the wave. We don’t know where The Universe is going - but we DO have control of how we surf it.” - Erin Baker

This week on Life in the AND:

The Locus of Control concept and the impact of having a high internal Locus of Control
The difference between people with high Internal Locus of Control versus high External Locus of Control
The pros and cons of Internal and External Locus’ of Control
Finding a balance between letting "The Universe" control your destiny while taking control of your life and business trajectory
Balancing high intentions with low attachments to the final outcomes
Getting clear on what you’re truly responsible for
Why frequently trying to prepare for the worst is a mistake many high-performing leaders make

Resources Mentioned:

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection by Michael A. Singer

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.

Previous Episode

006 | Leadership in the Middle: Bridging Your Culture AND Corporate Culture with Kanchan Prinsloo

Kanchan Prinsloo is the founder of KAPri Consulting Inc., an executive coaching and leadership development company based in Toronto, Canada, specifically for women of color in leadership roles. Kanchan is a trusted advisor, executive coach, and consultant to diverse C-Suite Executives, senior managers, and high-performance leaders. Specialized in coaching and facilitating events on topics related to diversity and inclusion, team development, communication, and executive presence, Kanchan has worked with local and global organizations, including Marriott International, Bell, and Manulife. She holds a Master’s degree in Leadership, a Certificate of Executive Coaching, and accreditation with the International Coaching Federation.

Kanchan joins me today to share her journey of Life in the And, and becoming a leader of diversity and inclusion. She explains how she helps organizations and leaders bridge the gap between individual culture and corporate culture and how she helps women of color own their power. She explains what it means to ‘bring your whole self to work,’ what it looks like, and why it is often challenging to live up to this mantra. She also explains her concept of “Leading from the Middle” and why the primary “and” she stands for is to maintain fluidity instead of rigidity.

“It’s very easy to want to adapt to what’s expected of you - to the point where we lose who we are because adapting is going to get us to where we think we want to be.” - Kanchan Prinsloo

This week on Life in the AND:

Kanchan’s journey to becoming a leader of diversity and inclusion
How she helps organizations bridge the gap between corporate culture and individual culture
Why it’s critical for leaders to be crystal clear about who they are
How organizations can tap into the diverse experiences of their employees to cultivate and enrich their company culture
What it means to ‘bring your whole self to work’
What Kanchan believes is still missing from corporate training on diversity and inclusion
Kanchan’s concept of Leading from the Middle
Identifying when to say ‘no’
Why Kanchan believes staying in the flow of life is the most important “and” in her life

Connect with Kanchan Prinsloo:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.

Next Episode

009 | The Secret to Liberating A Billion Souls: Trust AND Surrender with Shelley Paxton

Shelley Paxton is internationally recognized as The Burnout Fighter and Fire Re-igniter. She is the Chicago-based author of Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel’s Guide to Finding Your Best Life, a book where she shares her journey from working in Corporate America as the CMO of Harley-Davidson to becoming the Chief Soul Officer of her life and career.

Shelley has spent over 25 years in the corporate world as a highly regarded marketing and advertising executive with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Visa, McDonald’s, and AOL. Her work has been recognized and featured in multiple media publications including Thrive Global, Forbes, PBS, and CBS. Since taking her Soulbbatical in 2016 and launching her company, Shelley has been on a mission to liberate a billion souls by inspiring them to embrace their greatest truth, purpose, and possibility.

Shelley joins me today to share all of the “Ands” in her life and career. She discusses her ballsy move to liberate a billion souls by creating a title wave of change in people’s lives and organizations. She discusses the magic that can happen when you trust AND surrender to your soul’s process instead of the corporate process or the process of others. She discusses how you can trust, surrender, and follow your soul’s desires while working in the corporate environment and why the first step to reconnecting to your soul is to get reacquainted with yourself and your personal values. She also explains the difference between rebelling for something versus rebelling against something and why she believes, deep down, everyone has a rebel soul.

“You have to know where you’re heading, and you first have to know yourself because getting reconnected with your soul really is getting reconnected with your GPS system.” - Shelley Paxton

This week on Life in the AND:

Shelley’s big, audacious goal of liberating a billion souls - one soul at a time
How Shelley stays grounded in holding onto her big, overarching goal while liberating one individual soul at a time
The magic that happens when you trust AND surrender to your soul’s process
Bridging the gap between working in the corporate world while following your soul’s desires
Getting reacquainted with yourself and your values and why it’s the first step to reconnecting to your soul
Choosing to believe that crisis always comes as a gift to teach us a lesson
Why Shelley believes everyone has a rebel soul
How your ‘ands’ are the lego pieces of your life
Using fear as fuel to get to where you want to go
Why Shelley believes trusting and surrendering to your soul’s desires is the “And” everyone should stand for

Resources Mentioned:

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Connect with Shelley Paxton:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.