Change and resilience keynote
“Just you wait and see! Turning blind determination into limitless resilience”
Just you wait and see!
Turning blind determination into limitless resilience
Giving a solid dose of inspiration to think, feel and act differently, Karen McCarthy will have your people and your organisation advancing in the face of adversity through her five-point methodology:
Centred: Pinpoint your purpose and channel your energy to reach your professional and personal goals no matter what.
Spacious: Leave space for the unexpected and don’t get derailed by your mind’s dire predictions of the future.
Strong: Whether you focus on how you feed, move or rest your body, your mind’s capacity to cope with the stress of change will improve as, bit by bit, you get stronger.
Smart: To advance despite adversity, it’s crucial to get smart about change – learn new skills and habits of mind to adapt to your new reality.
Supported: We all need people to get us through the hard times – whether it’s family, friends, professionals, mentors or trusted colleagues – cultivate the courage to reach out.
After practicing as a lawyer for 15 years, Karen suffered life-threatening complications when surgeons attempted to remove a tumour from her brain. The aftermath left her legally blind and physically incapacitated, while completely devastating her short-term memory. The doctors told her family that she wouldn’t survive – and if she did, she wouldn’t be capable of taking care of herself, let alone her children.
Karen was determined to prove them all wrong and get back to a life aligned with her values. They would just have to wait and see her overcome the odds to achieve her highest level of physical fitness ever; to see her walk independently to collect her kids from school; to travel interstate on her own; to learn the adaptive skills that she needed to return to her job as a lawyer with the state’s top corruption watchdog.
In losing her sight, Karen gained a vision – an actionable blueprint for building resilience through adaption and growth in the face of adversity. A dynamic communicator at heart, she synthesised this vision into an actionable framework based on 5 foundational pillars, “Centred, Spacious, Strong, Smart & Supported”. And, it can be applied to any person, in any organisation.
In her inspiring keynote, she parallels her personal road to resilience with a roadmap to help you and your organisation survive, adapt, and thrive despite acute shocks and long-term stressors - and how to keep the momentum going from there.
Just you wait and see the difference it makes when everyone in your organisation is inspired and motivated to build limitless resilience.
Book this keynote if you want to give your people:
A jolt of inspiration, motivation, and renewed purpose
A dose of perspective on their challenges
Actionable strategies to make positive change in their personal and professional lives
An understanding of how to make the first small step on their big journey towards an energised, engaged, and excellent future
Key Takeaways
“Resource yourself for resiliency. Re-source yourself for resiliency.”
Change changes you. You have a vision of the person you want to be but as circumstances evolve you need to revisit where you get your energy, drive and focus from.
“Don’t believe everything you think.”
Fear is a powerful motivator but it can also send you down rabbit holes of stress and anxiety that keep you stuck. Not buying into your mind’s hype is essential if you’re going to advance in spite of the adversity you are bound to encounter.
“It doesn’t take long to get strong. It just takes persistence.”
Overwhelm and pessimism are thieves of forward motion but if you can just… keep… going, you will find that you reach your destination, stronger than before.
“Even small steps take you on a big journey.”
If you expect to travel a mile in a single step, you will soon give up, discouraged and depressed. In a changing environment, practising patience and persistence is the key to making progress.
“Just because you can’t do it the same doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”
When your world changes, you need to change too. See the possibilities that open up when you are prepared to adapt your thinking and learn new skills for a new reality.
“There’s no point whinging at the wind or screaming at the storm. Save your energy for what promises a pay-off.”
Accept the things you can’t change, then look for the opportunities that are opening amid the turmoil.
“Rigidity ruins resiliency. Loosen your grip. Tighten your connections.”
After years of social distancing and the memories of iso, it’s easy to understand people being reluctant to leave their cocoons of safety and predictability, but research shows again and again that people need people more than ever.
“Courage is contagious. Catch it. Spread it.”
It is possible to act steadily in the face of change and uncertainty and the courage to do so grows exponentially among a supportive group facing the same challenges. Everyone can take responsibility for cultivating a culture of resilience in your organisation.
