Getting Unstuck: Saying "No!" to Adversity – an Interview with Heather Younger
“So the adversity portion of my life was the fuel that drove me. It was “I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough. Yes, I’m good enough. I’m not good enough. Yes. I’m good. enough, I’m better than good enough.”
Most of us encounter adversity of some type during our lives. How we respond to it says a lot about who we are. Heather Younger certainly encountered adversity through a particular set of circumstances. We’ll learn how Heather responded through the remarks she made at the May 2019 Colorado Springs TEDx. The title of her talk was “Transform Adversity into Opportunity with One Simple Technique.”
Heather started her career as a lawyer, but made a dramatic career shift. Now, through her consulting organization, “Customer Fanatix,” she helps organizations focus on employee engagement and retention. She is the author of the best-selling book, The 7 Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty, and she serves as the host of her own highly regarded podcast, “Leadership with Heart.”
As You Listen
• Note, as Heather explains, “the person who kept me out and gave me this kind of outsider-not-good-enough-complex is also the one who pushed me to go to law school” – her grandmother. Heather goes on to explain that she could have responded to that relationship by living with anger only to become an “unhealthy and unhappy human,” but she chose not to. Listen for how she managed her emotions and reframed the situation to approach life differently.
• Heather chose “to accept what it is. It's not positive, it’s not great, but it's truth. And I'm going to live in that space.” As a result of the “bifurcation” she experienced, what is the “gift” she has carried into her personal and work lives?
• Heather notes that her thinking around responsibility and accountability for employee engagement and loyalty has actually shifted from leadership more toward individuals. Why the shift and how did her own experience with accountability influence her here?
“You have a sphere of control: what do you control? You can control your mindset, you can control your choices.”
Listen to Heather’s TEDx talk as she describes her 4-step process for reframing.
Apply It
Think about where you have encountered adversity in your life. What’s your process for working through the situation compared to Heather’s 4-step process of reframing? How have you avoided becoming – and playing – “the victim”?
For More Information
Heather Younger LinkedIn profile
5 Key Steps to Becoming a TEDx Speaker