Episode 73: Burnout Battle Plan for Talent Development Leaders with Erin Coupe
Welcome back, Improve it! Fam. We have some questions for you to ponder: How do you work? What is it that makes you tick? What is it that sets you off or brings you down? Are you mindful of this?
In today’s episode, you’ll be hearing double! We have a guest whose name is also Erin and she’s going to rock your socks when it comes to battling burnout.
Get ready to hear some juicy insight on...
Setting boundaries in your business
Respecting and honoring yourself at work
Protecting your mindset, and more!
Take out your notes, press play, and jot down three action items you can implement to create a burnout battle plan for yourself. Enjoy!
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Connect with Erin Coupe:
Website: http://www.erincoupe.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-coupe
Instagram: @authenticallyEC
Email: erin@erincoupe.com
Connect with Erin Diehl:
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Connect with Erin:
Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We can’t wait to connect with you online!
Episode 73 Transcription
Erin D (00:01):
Hello improve it! Family. I hope that makes you want to keep listening or I hope it doesn't deter you, but I'm going to keep singing at the beginning. So thanks for staying with me. So improve it! Fam we have another Erin on this show today, just when you think you couldn't handle any more Erin you get another one and she is going to rock your socks when it comes to battling burnout. So let's just do a little deep dive into Miss Erin. Erin Coupe is a writer, facilitator and an executive who enriches the human experience by guiding people to actualize their best self. Here is how my girl Erin is improving it. So as the founder of authentically EC, Erin Coupe is a writer, facilitator and executive whose passion is to help people lead better lives by guiding them to self actualization. And you will hear a lot about that in today's show.
Erin D (01:04):
So her clients range from high powered corporate executives to members of global associations, to staff and athletics at major universities. So Erin's 17 plus years and three global corporations, including years at Goldman Sachs brings a grounded, credible, pragmatic approach to guiding people forward. Now, her progressive studies and neuroscience for business, human energetics and transformational inner work, thoughtfully provokes and inspires audiences to cultivate a deeper relationship inward. Through storytelling, unique insights and real life application of her learning and wisdom, Erin shares the possibilities of better ways of being and leading in the modern world. Now as a widely recognized thought leader of whole well-being and authentic leadership, Erin's positive impact on people, culture and collective mindset is welcomed by organizations the low buddy. So whether she's tailoring and facilitating leadership programs, delivering workshops, keynote speaking, or writing, Erin empowers people to develop emotional awareness, mental agility, and up level their inner game.
Erin D (02:22):
She is the perfect person to talk to us all about battling burnout as a leader of talent. So in today's show, you're going to hear so much juicy insight. She is an empath. She talks to us about being a woman in a man's world, but not being a woman in a man's world, being a person in a people's world. She talks to us all about setting boundaries in your business. She does things like no meeting Mondays, where she focuses on creating versus meetings. She talks all about respecting and honoring yourself in work and what it means to connect, to flow and be in a flow state. She talks about protecting her own mindset and how you can do it too. And then she's going to give you three action items that you can implement to create a burnout battle plan for yourself. It is so good.
Erin D (03:21):
All right, let's get to improving it with Erin Coupe. Are you a leader or change maker inside of your business, organization or corporation? Are you looking for new innovative ways to drive morale through the roof? Are you looking for fun and exciting icebreakers team-building exercises and activities that will foster team growth, friendships, loyalty, and completely transform your organization from the inside out? Have you been searching for a fun and unique way to create change instead of this same old dry, boring leadership books and icebreakers that aren't actually working? Hi, I'm Erin Diehl, business improv edutainer fail fluid ser and professional zombie who is ready to help you improve it. My mission in life is to help you develop teams and leaders through play, improv and experiential learning. And this podcast, we will deep dive into professional development, team building, effective communication, networking, presentation, skills, leadership training, how to think more quickly on your feet and everything in between. We have helped everyone from fortune 500 companies to small mom and pop shops transform their business, their leadership, and their people through play. So grab your chicken hat. We are about to have some fun, welcome to improve it! The podcast.
Erin D (04:53):
Erin Coupe, oh my gosh. Okay. This is a long time coming. So first and foremost, the improve it! Fam knows a little bit about you. I just, you know, bragged about you before the show started. So what is a fun fact that we couldn't find on your bio, your LinkedIn profile, your website about Erin Coupe? What's a fun fact?
Erin C (05:28):
Oh, well, that's a fun one. A fun fact is I, oh, I know what I'll share with you. I put myself through college and I literally you know, had a lot of scholarship money, but also had to borrow money, you know, student loans to get through school. And the semester that I studied abroad in Madrid, I could borrow $10,000 in one semester. And so that's the only semester I borrowed that much money. That is the best $10,000 I ever spent my entire life.
Erin D (05:59):
That's amazing. So you studied abroad in Madrid. Okay. So first and foremost, how long were you there?
Erin C (06:04):
Six months.
Erin D (06:05):
Oh my God.
Erin C (06:06):
It was such an experience. I was 18 years old.
Erin D (06:09):
Oh my God. Okay. Brave, brave. Okay. Follow up question. What's the coolest place you've ever traveled? Cause I've, Erin I did some Erin coupe research. I've I've read some stories right now. So what's the coolest place you've ever traveled.
Erin C (06:21):
You know, that's tough. There are so many but I would say probably the absolute coolest was Mendoza in Argentina. It's like wine country, so cool.
Erin D (06:34):
Oh my God. Okay. We're going to have to have, that's another podcast, today we're talking about burnout then we're going to talk about vacations. So I'm so excited to have you here. And I literally mean that. So improve it! Fam, that's what we call our audience. I want you to know I've known Erin for a while and I'll never forget how we met. So we were sitting next to each other at an event for HR leaders or talent development leaders. I remember this. Do you remember this Erin?
Erin C (07:04):
I do!
Erin D (07:04):
Okay. At the top of the Willis tower, no big deal. And we realized in that time that we knew a lot of the same people, we scheduled a lunch and I'll never forget that much. We were in river north and I was at the time really struggling with my infertility. And it's like, we sat down to lunch and you like saw deep into my soul and we just met.
Erin D (07:33):
And then we started just spilling our life stories to each other. And I, I will say, I, you were more of a giver and that conversation I take, I took a lot air. Cause you were given me just a lot, but I will say you were just so lovely. And since then, I've just watched you continue to grow your business and go out on your own completely. But I was just will never forget that moment. And here's a followup question to that. Do you feel like people, when they meet you, they tend to pour their life story on to you? They, you feel like people just kind of spill because you're such an open loving person?
Erin C (08:10):
You know, often. Yes. But it's not in a way where it feels like overbearing for me. I think what it is is that I have a talent for yeah like truly seeing people. And a lot of that has to do with being very empathic and actually feeling what they're feeling, even if they don't know what they're feeling, I can really sense it and it is a gift of mine. And so you know, for a long time, especially while I was still, you know, in an executive role at a fortune 500 company, I really felt like it was so fulfilling and rewarding for me each day to be able to give that to people because otherwise I was in a role that was quite transactional and was absolutely not, you know, it was not my identity. It was not who I was. You know, what I really was was that person that was the person that, you know, connected deeply and, you know, shared and listened. And and that's, that's just my that's who I am authentically. So yeah.
Erin D (09:10):
That you were authentic, Erin Coupe, I will say that you really are. Her tagline stands corrected. She really is. Like I said, I'll never forget Erin. I looked at you and I was like, she sees into my soul and.
Erin C (09:24):
For some people though, it can be quite triggering for them, you know? Cause they're kind of like, they're like look at me and they see my eyes like look in their eyes and they're like, whoa, I feel something. And I don't know what it is.
Erin D (09:34):
No, it was wonderful. And I remember, okay, this is another just silly fact, but I remember it. And I remember I have brown eyes. I've never, my son has beautiful blue eyes where those came from no idea and real eyelashes, which I have you know, I glue mine on. So I was like looking at you and you were like, your eyes are so light. And I was like, I, I have dark brown eyes, Erin. I've never heard anyone say that. And that just, that stuck with me for so long. And you have this incredible gift to make people feel heard and special. So I'm so honored to have this time with you today. And I know that this is we're going to talk about this later on, but this is a no meeting Monday for Erin improve it! Fam, which is something we're going to get into, but she is taking this meetings slash call slash podcast with me.
Erin D (10:28):
So I am so grateful and anytime I get to chat with you, it's a gift. So thank you for giving that to us today.
Erin C (10:35):
Absolutely.
Erin D (10:36):
Oh girl. Okay. Well, let, let's get into it because I know you're a mom. You have two cute little boys too. I just found out in kindergarten and first grade. And I want to just kind of start in to the conversation with something I read on your website, which I thought was fantastic. So you talked about in an article, how you turned being a woman into a man's world to being a person in a people's world. What inspired that? Can you give the improve it! Fam a little insight and we will link to this blog and the show notes, but just give a little insight into why that was such an important topic for you?
Erin C (11:17):
Yeah, so, you know, when I wrote that article, I was still in the executive role at CVRE and I've always been in my corporate career, which was for 17 and a half years before I left to start my own business. I was always in male dominant fields. So finance technology, commercial real estate, and I observed so much and it's so many people confided in me about how hard that is and how competitive that is and how stressful and just sort of a lot of angst and anxiety that comes along with not only being in a, a role that is in a male dominant field, but sort of the, I guess like the culture or the sometimes perceived toxicity that can be a part of that. And for me, while I did experience certain things that, you know, certainly were very difficult to move through and, or bosses that I've reported to over the years that were toxic, there was, there was those things that happened for sure, but I never looked at being a victim in anything that I was in because I was choosing to be there.
Erin C (12:23):
You know? And so when people played victim, it just never resonated with me. And it was really hard for me to be, I could be compassionate with those people, but I would almost kind of be that person that was like, well, could you reframe it and look at it this way? And so that's what inspired that article. I wanted to put that out there so that it could help more people just shift their mindset and be a little bit more open-minded or growth oriented and how they're looking at being in a male dominant field. And you know, so many fields are and have been, and that is slowly changing. Right. But you know, we can't play victim to it every day because we're just losing our innate power if we do that.
Erin D (13:04):
Erin. Yeah. I love the way you see the world. And that is so inspiring. Number one, and number two, I think why you are the perfect guest for this show. And I wanted to start off with that because I don't think that you're falling victim at all to what is happening in our world today. Even though there's a lot going on, this is probably one of the most tumultuous times I've ever lived through as an adult, as a human who can understand what is going on around her. And I just love the piece and the perspective that you bring to your work, to your leadership, to your parenting. So I wanted to talk with you and give some insight to the improve it! Fam today about burnout. So I think you're an expert in mindfulness. I'm going to give you that. And I literally just, I remember thinking when I came up with this show title, I said, okay, who is the perfect guest? And then Erin Coupe in all bold font came into my mind. Okay. So when I mentioned this earlier, but you mentioned that you hold things like no meeting Mondays on your calendar and you have a lot of boundaries that you've set in place when it comes to your news consumption. So why are boundaries so important in your business? And then can you tell us a little bit more about some of the boundaries you've placed in your own business to make you more effective?
Erin C (14:42):
Yeah. You know, one of the things for me first off, I wasn't always good with setting boundaries. It was a learned practice. It took time, it took effort. It took literally practicing it daily to make it work. But one of the things that really occurred for me was back when I started this in February of 2020 is officially launched this business. I realized pretty quickly how easy I can get bounced around each day by requests, by just feeling the need to feel accomplished and a very early stage business. So doing things like just check things off the to-do list really fast or respond to the emails really fast, like that kind of stuff. And I realized like if I look back on a given week or given month, wow, I didn't actually get that much done on kind of the bigger stuff I wanted to do.
Erin C (15:35):
So that's one of the main reasons I started to set a boundary, like a no meeting Monday, you know, in my business so that I can really just focus on creation on that day. I'm not the kind of person that can go from doing my accounting work to working in operations, in my business, to working in marketing, to then sitting down and creating, you know, some like amazing blog post or newsletter or new content for a leadership program. It's just, I don't work that way. And so part of it is about respecting myself and honoring myself and how I work and when I connect to flow, which I need to be creative. And when I don't and really getting clear with myself around around that and then I would say another thing, it's just protecting my own mindset, you know, because all the years I spent in corporate, I mean, I was literally half the time.
Erin C (16:28):
I feel like I was just at the mercy of like whoever needed me, where they needed me. And I didn't really feel like I had that much power over any of that and over my work. And so, you know, feeling like I am in like a power mindset where don't get this confused with ego, cause it's not external power, but it's standing in my power as, how can I be most impactful today? How can I be most aligned today? You know? And it's, it's really a daily practice of setting those boundaries. Some are more hardcore, like the no meeting Mondays and others are, you know, in a given hour, what is it that I want to achieve?
Erin D (17:07):
I love it so much. And I, you, you probably improve it fam listening to this, you can hear in Erin's voice that she is a spiritual being who is working in, in today's world. And I love it. You have brought some of those aspects of spirituality. Cause you mentioned getting into flow, which I want you to. Can you tell the improve it! Fam what you mean when you say getting into flow? Because I, that is so important when it comes to communicating to yourself and communicating what you want out into the world, you need to be in a flow. So how do you define flow and how do you get into that by these boundaries?
Erin C (17:47):
Yeah. Great question. So for me, being in a flow state is where I am not in a state of overthinking or over analyzing or fixating or grasping. I believe that those are the call them qualities or character traits of us as humans that really leads us to pain and suffering. So if I find myself really ruminating on something where it's taking me down a spiral of emotion, or if I find myself over analyzing something to the nth degree, because I need to perfect it, I really am mindful of that. And I'm able to kind of take a step back, look at myself as the observer and say, Erin, like this, this doesn't matter this much. Like it's okay, move on. Right. So I think that that's a huge thing. That's what flow state is being able to sort of feel your way through it, observe it from another angle and realize that you don't have to let the mind control you.
Erin C (18:44):
You don't have to let that part of you lead you and take over there is this other part of us, this authentic part of us, that's more so kind of felt. And it's, you know, located call it in the center or the heart area of us. But if we let that part of us lead more often, then we are more in flow and it's really just being clear, being open and really understanding yourself, like, how do you work? What is it that, you know, that makes you tick? What is it that sort of sets you off or brings you down and being mindful of all of that?
Erin D (19:21):
Yeah. Have you read the book the year of yes, by Shonda Rhimes. Okay. It's like her hum. You know, and I, I, after I read that book, I started to recognize that hum. So we'll link to that in the show notes too, but that's the flow state is so important. And can I just say this to you? And I I'm sure people who listened to the show are feeling it. Like you bring this sense of, of peace. You bring this sense of like you are present and you are in flow even when you communicate outwardly. So I need that. I need that. Give me that, because you also mentioned perfectionism in there and longtime listeners of the show, we used to call it the failed it! Podcast. And I'm going to tell you, I may recovering perfectionist, Erin, and that resonated with me because that's exactly what it is. It's, you're not in that flow state. You're in that sort of analytical state about your own work, your own self. And I think that working from a place of flow can allow us to overcome those perfectionist qualities. Would you agree with that? Or what are your thoughts?
Erin C (20:36):
Yeah, I totally agree. I, you know, I think unfortunately people in corporate settings, a lot of times feel like they literally are at the mercy of everybody else and they feel like they are powerless. And that is in my experience. What was one of the, I would say the biggest deterrence for, for people in corporate positions over time that really led them to burn out because feeling powerless and feeling like, for example, you can't really be in a flow state, you are a victim to your surroundings or to your role. You can't set healthy boundaries for yourself because it would, you know, upset others like that kind of mentality that people get pretty stuck in. It is literally what has led people to this burnout point where they're like, oh, I can't do this anymore. Right. And so, you know, when it comes to things like perfectionism, when it comes to things like over-analyzing, self-sabotage like I'm a recovering, you know, clean up that like when it comes to those things, it's really just a cry for changing things up.
Erin C (21:43):
It's this inward knowing that whatever it is you're doing, it's not working. It's not aligned with your authenticity. It's not aligned with your soul. So it's assigned to say, okay, well this is not going how I would like this to go. And rather than be all crazy about it, I'm going to just kind of switch my mindset or I'm going to switch over to this other thing right now and just go from there. You know, I mean, I think a lot of people ignore those cries and they get really upset and full of anxiety and stress. And that does not serve anybody.
Erin D (22:19):
No. Oh, this is so good. I'm literally picture a picturing of somebody in the improve it! Family right now in their car, listening to the show and going, aha, that's me. So that spoke to me, Erin. I know it's speaking to the members of the improve it! Fam here. And speaking of the improvement fam, we have quite a great family of talent leaders who are juggling things like the Delta variant, their kids being in school, zoom fatigue, anxiety fatigue. And I, like I said, did some digging on the Eric Coupe site. And I saw that you took a recent trip to Bali to just take a break from it all by yourself on a mastermind retreat. Well, I guess not by yourself, but with a retreat, no kids, no hubs. Can you tell us about that? And then what inspired you to take that trip?
Erin C (23:17):
Yeah. That, you know, that's a really sort of pivotal moment in my life. I went on that trip. It was a few years ago. And I was at this point in my life where I really did feel pretty powerless, not to be confused with hopeless, but powerless where I was commuting an hour, each way to, and from work, I was working, you know, 50 to 60 hour weeks at my corporate role. I was building a business within a business. And so, you know, I was a producer essentially was my job to find clients and deliver revenue to the organization. And it was a very high powered role. And and at the time I felt like it was where I was meant to be, even though it didn't really feel like where I was always going to be, if that makes sense. And I was pretty, I would say I was pretty early into my journey of what I call awakening or, you know, sort of waking up to what life really is and to the meaning that it means for me in my life to, to actually live a good life. And I was doing a lot of deep work on myself. And that's what led me to that trip. Now, the crazy thing is I won that trip. It was like a, a two for one package deal with a friend.
Erin C (24:34):
It was kind of hard to say no to, but a lot of parts of me tried to say, no, like a lot of parts of me were doubting that I could actually say yes to this. You know, Erin, how can you leave your kids? How can you leave your husband for a week? How can you leave your clients for a week and go to the other side of the planet? I mean, it wasn't like I was just going somewhere two hours away. So I really tried to say no. And I remember having this battle between my head and my heart, where it was like, you know, those cartoons we watched as kids where there was like a devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. It was literally like that. It was like my dark side and my light side were going at it and literally trying to battle one another over why I should or should not go. And I eventually went with my heart. You know, I think the term follow your heart is out there for a reason. Do you ever hear, follow your mind, follow your ego? Like, no, we don't hear that because that's not our truth. And following my heart to go on that trip was, was pretty life altering.
Erin D (25:46):
Okay. So hopefully there's some, I thought that was more recent than a couple of years ago. I don't know why I thought that, but I'm very happy that you took it. And I'm glad that you kind of went on this mindfulness journey because it's led you to here, which is such a cool place and you help so many leaders daily. So as I mentioned, we've got a ton of leaders out there as part of the improve it! Fam. I'm wondering if you can help us put together a burnout battle plan. So if you could provide three action items to anyone listening that they could implement immediately and their day to day to get started to battling this burnout that they may be feeling in their corporate jobs, what would you say those three action items are?
Erin C (26:35):
Okay. So for one, for me, I gave up news four years ago when I was at a point of sort of that mental anguish, dealing with anxiety, kind of looking at the noise around me every single day and trying to figure out how to not let it get to me how to not let it bring me down. One thing that I've really noticed is that the news was affecting my mood. So on my commute in the morning, and I know not everyone's commuting right now, but I guarantee they're watching it when they wake up and get the kids ready for school and what have you. But that was deterring me from being my best self because I automatically was filling my head. You know, what we, what we consume matters, not just physically, but I was filling my head with just so much negativity, you know, and so much bias.
Erin C (27:24):
And it was just not working for me. So removing that was huge. Now I do read business news, but I can't tell you the last time I watched any mainstream media and I, I highly recommend to people that I work with, that they start to massively reduce it. I mean, you don't have to go cold Turkey, but reduce it, reduce it, reduce it. So that is for sure. One for two, I love here's one thing I love when it comes to inner work on ourselves and creating a better life, like where we actually feel more empowered, ask yourself questions. How often are you going through your life every day on autopilot, where you're completely, I mean, you're, you're not conscious of anything. You're just kind of doing, doing, doing, moving from one thing to the next, like I said earlier, kind of being like ricocheted around or you know, being been maneuvered by everything in your external morals.
Erin C (28:18):
Whereas there's this whole inner landscape that's just waiting to be given attention and waiting to be heard. So a few times a day, you know, it doesn't need to be a lot in the beginning. This will become like a muscle that just starts to exercise itself over time. But if you're in a situation or in a conversation where, you know, something's not feeling right, and you maybe find yourself triggered or you maybe find yourself just not wanting to be there, that kind of thing. As soon as you're done with that, just ask yourself some questions and just say, how did that serve me? How did that situation serve me? What was the lesson for me? What was I meant to learn from that? And on the flip side, the same thing goes when it comes to thinking about or planning for things that you want to bring into your life question why that is like, what is it that I really feel like I'm going to receive from this?
Erin C (29:14):
And, or like, what's the end goal? What is, what's the point of this achievement or accomplishment? Why am I really after this? And if you can't really say to yourself that that is because of, you know, self-love, or it's not from a place of compassion or kindness for yourself, or, you know, sort of furthering things along in your evolution as a human being, then it's probably more so driven from ego. And that's why we have to question ourselves. The number of times I've said yes to things from a place of ego and not from a place of authenticity. It has led me down a path that was way more painful than life could have been. And I think that that is a huge, huge lesson for people to just be more with themselves, be more present, be more aware and understand your motives. No one can do that for you.
Erin C (30:09):
There's no pill you can take or book you can read, that's going to help you get there. So that would be a huge thing for number two is question yourself. And then the third would be to be present as often as possible. And I know it's really hard for people. No one's ever going to be present all the time. There's no perfect person. I'm far from perfect. Even though, yes, I practice a ton of mindfulness. Everyone gets tripped up, we're all human. We all have a full range of emotion on a daily basis. And that's okay. That's our gift as human beings, we don't need to run from those. If we can be present with our emotions, especially those that we perceive as bad or negative, that is game changing. Your inner game can truly transform if you just give that emotion, call it anger, call it frustration, irritability, whatever, whatever negative emotion you feel like you're experiencing rather than push it away rather than projected onto someone else or try to numb it, be with it. Just allow it to be there. It does not last long. Each emotion will last about 90 seconds, but what causes the pain and suffering is when we do those things. I just said, when we don't allow it to be with us and we try everything we can to get it away, that doesn't work.
Erin D (31:30):
Erin, okay. This is amazing. And I really do think you were that I knew you were the perfect person for the show. I knew it. So, okay. Number one, consume far less news. You don't have to go cold, cold Turkey, but try it. Number two, ask yourself questions. How did that serve me? What was the lesson? Question your motives and three be present as often as humanly possible. I love this. I'm going to, I literally want to write these down on a post-it next to my desk to remind myself in those moments where I'm like, I can't see straight. This is so lovely and why I knew you were the perfect person for the show. So improve it! Fam take that, use it, apply it. Even if it's just starting with one, right? You don't have to do all three, start with one and see where it goes. Now we're big on morning routines here. We talked a lot about it on this show. I'm wondering, do you do anything in the morning that sets you up for the day?
Erin C (32:32):
Yeah. So my favorite thing is I'd like to get up early and I started that a few years back as part of my journey, because especially when my kids were a lot younger, the only time that I could have time and space alone, like before 9:00 PM was at like 5, 15, 5 30 in the morning. And by nine o'clock I'm exhausted. I go to bed. Like I literally am one of those people who like, I like to wind down. I don't just like to like hop in bed and go to sleep. So nine o'clock I that's, that's what I do. But the mornings I love to journal and or meditate just depending on how much time I have before the kids are awake. And that's a huge thing that sets me up for the day, because for one, it allows me to kind of take stock of what I'm feeling right then and there, you know, I mean, did I have a good night's sleep? Did I not? Did I have dreams? I have nightmares. Like, what is it I really feel? And what do I need to sort of work through to be my best that day? Like, that's a, that's a big thing. The other thing is I'm a morning elixir person.
Erin D (33:33):
Say more
Erin C (33:35):
Crack up because it's like, everyone like needs their coffee in the morning on everyone. But most people like love their coffee and I've always been that person. So what I did and I actually started this all through COVID I made my first coffee of the morning, more of an elixir. So it has, I put prebiotics in it. I put collagen in it and then I put MCT oil in it. So I mean, it literally is this delicious, yummy, like cocktail of just amazing supplements that really set me up physically for the day. So I love that. It's a huge, just a huge, like, you know, I guess it's more of like a mindset thing really, but it is a physical game changer as well.
Erin D (34:18):
Okay, Erin, this is amazing. And by the way, I'm going to be like what gives me the collagen and specifically all of the things involved in that elixir. And I think that's so important because it has to set you up and you were one of those people who gives all day long, right? And as a leader, most people listening, they also give all day long. You're a leader, you're a parent, you're running a business. So it's so important to take that time and really fill your kettle so you can fill the cups of other people. Otherwise you just don't have a lot to give as the day goes on. And by 9:00 PM, of course you're going to bed because you've given so much. Right. So I love that. And I love, I love, so you said you wind down in the evenings. What are the, some of the things you do to wind down? Because I think that's important too. When we talk about burnout, just starting the day and ending the day in a way that helps us feel like we're giving to ourselves. So what's something you do in the evening.
Erin C (35:13):
Yeah. I, one thing I do not do is scroll on my phone. So I have like a very hard boundary with myself on that. So like nine o'clock if I'm winding down to get in bed. So I do my face routine and, you know, put on my jammies and get in bed. I stop looking at my phone like right before that routine. That is absolutely the first thing. And I actually put my phone on airplane mode. So even if I get a text after nine, I'm not responding until the next morning. That's just a big thing I do. The other thing is I'd like to read at that time. Reading is I don't really have other time in my day for reading. And, you know, even if I read 10 pages, you know, that's, that's great that that's a little bit of, you know, more insight that I'm gleaming. And then at the same time, I just feel like I always have enjoyed reading and it's something I want to get to do more and more and more of. But if I don't make that little time, even if it's so small increments, then, I mean, I have like hundreds and hundreds of books. I'll never get through them, you know? So that's a big one.
Erin D (36:15):
I love the airplane mode. That's a new one for me. I'm going to do that tonight, Erin, because I will tell you what I started reading again in the evenings. And I would just set my time where I'm like, okay, just read for 15 minutes and I'm gaining so much more in those 15 minutes, then any 15 minute scroll on any social platform or any, you know, Amazon's shopping that I don't need.
Erin C (36:39):
That's a good point, Erin, because like, you know, a lot of people will choose the easy distraction because it's way easier to choose distraction than it is to do something that adds value to your life. Unfortunately, that's how our brains are geared. They're geared to like avoid pain, avoid loss, you know, avoid all of the things that we think we might get ourselves into. If we, for example, read something that's more enlightening or if we don't scroll in social media and we sit with ourselves for 10 minutes, you know, our brains aren't really geared towards actualizing our potential or, you know, our growth mindset.
Erin D (37:14):
Airplane mode is happening tonight. Okay. And I'm going to, I'm going to try with the Diehl family. I mean, there's only one other person in my house who has a phone. His name is John's my husband. So we're gonna try, we're gonna try it airplane mode, because I think it's so easy to just like in the day mindlessly, but if you end it purposefully, imagine the growth potential you have even at those end hours. Right. And there's, there's something to that too. Like I even, you know, read all these child books for my son and there's this beautiful time before wakened asleep that they say you can instill a lot of love. And so I always am asking him like, what are you grateful for? Even though he's two, he doesn't really, he's like something, something poop, you know? So that's that conversation, but it's so important to even as adults that time before we can asleep can be mindful. And I love that. So I'm going to thank you for that. Needed it, hashtag needed it. So let me ask you this. So this is the improve it podcast. And we say that, that it can mean so many things, whatever it is that you want to improve. So what would you say is your it that you are put here on this earth to do that you're constantly trying to improve.
Erin C (38:26):
I love that really it's it's to help people be better, you know, like just improve the way that they see their life and see their world as they know it, their reality. I mean, that's what I'm constantly trying to improve for myself. You know, I, I believe that our journey is never over. We don't suddenly get to a certain destination say, oh, I've made it, you know, like that's, that's false. Those that, you know, I think that, especially in the corporate world, those listening and your audience, they know that you don't just get to a certain, you know, title or a certain level of compensation and all of a sudden be like, oh yeah, okay. I'm so happy. And I can do this for the rest of my life. I'm not going to face any hardship and it's great, like wrong, right. How life works. And so, yeah, it's just helping people enrich their experience as a human being, you know, and not be the victim, not be the one who's miserably burnt out, you know, be the person that takes a conscious approach to their life. That makes decisions that are empowering, that, you know, lives in a way that feels good to them and also impacts others in a positive manner.
Erin D (39:43):
Oh, and I see you doing it, girl, you were doing it, you were doing it. And that's truly why I think you were the perfect guest for this show in particular. One thing I want to just touch on that you said that I think is so important. I recently heard this through Abraham Hicks and it was all about the enjoying the journey because when the destination will never completely satisfy us and what you just said resonated with me so much that resonated with me so much because a lot of the times we're going and going. And that's where the burnout happens is in that journey is where, like we got to get to this next destination, we got to get to this next destination. And then we get to the next destination. And you're like, okay, well now I want something else. And it just becomes a re you know, a race to that next thing.
Erin D (40:32):
But if we're present in that moment and enjoy that journey to get to that place, we can be a lot happier. And so, oh, this is so good. Okay. Last thing, erin, you've come to the end. This is a fun one. Okay. So this is called the fail yeah lightning round. Now let me tell you why it's called fail yeah. So we used to be the failed it! Podcast. Now we're the improve it! Podcast. You got to fail to improve, right? And there's this huge tenet of improv, which, you know, improve it is all about, which is there are no mistakes, only gifts. So we celebrate that whole notion that you and I talked about with perfectionism and overcoming our self sabotaging thoughts and just really leaning into this notion. That failure means that we are trying, we are learning. We are growing. So I'm going to ask you a series of questions.
Erin D (41:22):
This is a little bit of improv involved. Okay. And so at the end of each question, I just want you to respond with a one word answer. If you say more than one word, that is totally fine, you cannot fail, but I'm going to give you a big fail yeah and a creepy, creepy voice like that. Like, like you're at a carnival, like fail yeah, so, okay. Are you ready for the failure lightning? Erin, let's do this. Okay. One word to describe your early leadership style.
Erin C (41:55):
Hungry.
Erin D (41:56):
Ooh. One word to describe where your current you're out of your current leadership style.
Erin C (42:01):
Conscious.
Erin D (42:02):
One word to describe your favorite boss.
Erin C (42:06):
Compassionate.
Erin D (42:07):
One word to describe your least favorite boss.
Erin C (42:10):
Toxic.
Erin D (42:11):
Oh, one word to describe your work from home fashion style.
Erin C (42:16):
Comfortable.
Erin D (42:17):
One word to describe your speaking style.
Erin C (42:20):
Articulate.
Erin D (42:21):
Ooh. And one word to describe this interview.
Erin C (42:25):
Fun.
Erin D (42:26):
Yeah. Okay. You nailed it.
Erin C (42:32):
Nailed it didn't fail it.
Erin D (42:33):
That's it. Okay. So tell the improve it! Fam how they can find you. And if they wanted to learn more about your coop and your business, where can they go?
Erin C (42:42):
Yeah, sure. So best place is my website, ErinCoupe.Com. And that is C O U P E for Coupe, FYI, just like the car. And then also on LinkedIn, you can add me Erin Coupe. And then,uyou can email me, erin@erincoupe.com.
Erin D (42:58):
We're going to link to all of that in the show notes. So check her out and prove it fam she is the real deal, even though that's my last name. She really is the real deal. But speaking of names, Erin, first of all, our mothers are geniuses, right? So thanks moms. Second, I can speak for myself and for the improve it! Family. When I say that you inspired the crap out of us today. So I know that burnout is a topic that resonates with so many and improve it! Fam we have been hashtag blessed with the burnout battle best today. So Erin Coupe, thank you so much for number one, being my friend. But number two, thank you so much for being here.
Erin C (43:40):
Thank you. I was so happy to be here. It's a pleasure.
Erin D (43:45):
Oh big hugs! All right.
Erin D (43:55):
Improve it! Fam. If you took anything away from today's show, it is this. You would need a burnout battle plan times are hard. You need to step away from your business, step away from the news. And if you don't take that time to make yourself more mindful and present, your team is not going to follow suit. I'll never forget one of the biggest pieces of feedback I received from members of the improve it! Team in 2020. And this was a three when they said, you know, here's your fee. I gave them feedback. They gave me feedback. And one of the biggest pieces of feedback was that I wasn't taking a vacation. I wasn't showing them that they could step away. So I was at the time burning out truly because I was trying to save our business. We went from completely in-person to completely virtual and I was burning out my team in this process because I, myself was burning out and they were implementing that same strategy in their own life.
Erin D (44:59):
So take time for you, your team, your family, yourself, your sanity will all thank you for it. Now, go out there and keep failing. Keep improving because that world needs that special it that only you can bring. See you next time. Hey friends, thanks for tuning in to improve it. I am so happy you were along for the ride. If you enjoyed this show, head on over to iTunes to leave us a five star review and subscribe to the show. So you never miss an episode. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Now, if you're really feeling today's show and you've improved it even just a little bit, please take a screenshot and tag me at @keepinitrealdiehl on Instagram and share it in your stories. I'll see you next week, but I want to leave you with this thought, what did you improve today and how will that help your future successful self? Think about it. I am rooting for you and the world needs that special it that only you can bring see you next time.