How to Deal With Change

By Lana Medina  |  Originally published on KUTV SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) Summer vacation is almost here - end of school, graduation. This is also the time of year when everything changes - home sales increase, vacations, temperature, even how you dress! But not all change is good news. Whether the change is welcome or not, it can be difficult to transition. Life coach Trigena Halley joined Fresh Living today to help us learn how to deal with change. “Much like life, nature doesn’t give us a choice in change, it happens whether we are ready or not! Watching the mountains change with the seasons made me think how the mountains don’t necessarily change but the seasons themselves change the look of mountains. Much like us, who we are generally stays the same, how we approach the “seasons of life” are what changes and grows,” Halley explained. Halley advises following the words of William Bridges, author and expert on change leadership, who makes a distinction between change and transition. According to Bridges, “change is external and tied to a certain situation, transition is the internal, emotional process of how you respond and come to terms with that change.” The understanding between change and transition is key to working with change and helping others navigate change successfully. William Bridges following perspective: • The Ending (Change Occurs) • Neutral Zone (Evaluation Time) • New Beginning (New Normal) “Whether good, bad or indifferent, driven by us or happened upon us, change requires a new pattern of doing, thinking and behaving,” Halley says. Here are some things to think about if you find...

Emotional Hijacks for a Positive 2017

Originally published by Melanie Kennedy on KUTV. Salt Lake City — (KUTV) Life Coach Trigena Halley visited Fresh Living with Emotional Hijacks to help you enjoy a positive 2017. How to Keep Your Cool! Daniel Goleman, a pioneer in the field of Emotional Intelligence coined the term Emotional Hijack. Emotional hijacking occurs when our thoughts and perceptions (cognitions) are overpowered by our emotions. Emotional hijacking is usually referred to in the context of aggression or fearfulness, and can cause us to lose our cool, explode with emotions and attack another person verbally. Our brain processes information through labeling and ordering. The brain labels information coming in - pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Then the brain orders a behavioral response - approach, avoid, or ignore. These are continual processes to the stimuli in our world: Am I safe or not? What should I do? If you are stressed, feel tension about something or have “under the surface” anger the chance of an emotional hijack during situations of stress or distress is high. Past or unresolved negativity can also build up and trigger a sudden emotional outburst. Emotional hijacking follows a specific process in the brain. Our thoughts and perceptions in emotionally charged situations first go through a part of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala is the seat of all emotions in the brain, when activated the amygdala takes over the prefrontal cortex and basically stops its functioning. Activation of the amygdala triggers the autonomic and behavior responses of fight, flight or freeze. The prefrontal cortex controls our executive functions – problem solving, decision-making, processing complex emotions, reasoning, personality expression,...

Effort and a Growth Mindset

Originally published by Melanie Kennedy on KUTV. Salt Lake City — (KUTV) Life Coach Trigena Halley visited Fresh Living with a great discussion on how Mindset Matters. Mindset Matters! It’s all about Effort and a Growth Mindset Your mindset - what you think and believe about yourself impacts how you perform. And, effort, matters just as much, if not more, than talent. That second sentence will likely spark a conversation from those in my circle who are teachers, parents, leaders and athletic coaches! But, hear me out, there is some very solid (and cool) researcher on this topic. According to Carol Dweck, one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation and a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, she has found mindset to be very important to success. Her research focuses on why people succeed and how to foster success. Her work has been featured in such publications as The New Yorker, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, and she has appeared on Today and 20/20. Your minds are constantly monitoring and interpreting what is happening in your world, you form beliefs and assumptions based on your interpretations. There are times, however, when the interpretation process goes awry and you form limiting beliefs and false assumptions and then act in accordance with those (limiting) beliefs and (false) assumptions. When this occurs, it usually causes you to react inaccurately with feelings of anxiety, depression, anger and/or superiority. Your mindset frames up what is taking place in your head, it guides the whole interpretation process. According to Dweck, a Fixed Mindset creates...

Why Personality Matters

Originally published by Melanie Kennedy on KUTV. Salt Lake City — (KUTV) Life Coach Trigena Halley visited Fresh Living to discuss Why Personality Matters and share results of Debbie and Casey’s personal assessments. What makes a good team - collaboration, leadership, compromise, effective communication, trust? All of those skills and traits are important, but equally important is our personality. To be effective in working with others we need to understand both what we need to perform well and also what others need from us to perform at their best. So many times when working with others - be it a spouse, co-worker, child or friend - we misinterpret the needs of others or we take others actions as a personal threat when in reality they are simply trying to get the information or perspective needed from their viewpoint to take action or make a good decision. A great way to learn about your unique personality strengths and preferences this is through a self report assessment call the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI is a self-report questionnaire designed to help individuals identify their strengths and preferences. The MBTI is a positive way to understand differences between people in both work and personal situations. This assessment is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types, which explains behavior differences in people. Although each individual is unique, these differences fall into patterns for how we prefer to relate to others, where we go to get energy, how we perceive information and how we come to conclusions or make judgments. An abundance of research supports the use of the MBTI. No other...

Taking In Information: Sensing and Intuition

Originally published by Melanie Kennedy on KUTV. Salt Lake City — (KUTV) Life Coach Trigena Halley visited Fresh Living to discuss how we all take in information. Are you a sensor or an intuitive? Taking in Information – Sensing and Intuition! When we think about taking in information, we tend to think in terms of gathering information, disseminating information and the process of sifting through information. An important factor for the flow of information is how we take in and what we consider as it relates to information. For instance, do you see information more literally and through your five senses – see, touch, smell, taste, hear - or do you look for patterns and connections and use more of a “gut feel” and theoretical approach as you consider information. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - one of the most widely used personality assessments in the world - there are two ways in which we take in information – as a Sensor or an Intuitive. According to the MBTI, individuals who take in information and look for what is real and tangible, are observant about specifics and are interested in practical realities of the situation are Sensors. Intuitives, on the other hand, take in information and look for the big picture, consider the relationships and connections between the facts and are especially interested in seeing possibilities. Sensors and Intuitives can gather and synthesize information similarly – the difference is what they perceive in the information. For Sensors, key words are facts, specifics and details. When working with information, they value experience, the practical application of the information...

Making Decisions – Feeling vs. Thinking!

When we think about making decisions, we tend to think in terms of the situation or problem we need to address, information we need to process the decisions and how we implement that decision. Very rarely do we consider the process we naturally utilize to make that decision – such as are we more inclined to be subjective or objective in our process, are we task or people focused and is our approach “tough minded” or “tender hearted”. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - one of the most widely used personality assessments in the world - there are two ways in which we make decisions – as a Thinker or a Feeler. When most of us hear Thinker or Feeler we might generally think of the common following definitions: Thinkers – think a lot, in our “head” Feelers – lots of feelings, proceed with a “heart” approach According to the MBTI, when it comes to our personality we have a slightly different definition of Thinkers and Feelers. Individuals who make decisions looking at the logical consequences of a choice or action and objectively examine the pros and cons of a situation are likely to be Thinkers. Feelers, on the other hand, are defined by considering what is important to them and others involved and mentally place themselves in the situations and make decisions based on their values and honoring others. Thinkers and Feelers both want the same general outcome – the difference is what they focus on as they make their decision. For Thinkers, key words are logic, objectivity and fairness. When working to solve a problem...