Change Wired

What truly determines success in creating lasting change? Contrary to popular belief, it's not motivation, willpower, or even your inherent abilities. The research reveals something far more fundamental: your ecosystem shapes your outcomes far more than your genetic makeup.  Your zipcode matters more than your genetic code.  How do we shape ecosystems that bring the best in us?  From Silicon Valley entrepreneurial ecosystems to Blue Zones where centenarians thrive. The social dimension of change proves particularly powerful, with studies showing proximity to high performers can boost your productivity by 15%, while nearby low performers can decrease it by 30%.  When designing for sustainable change – whether for yourself, your team, or your organization – we often focus on motivation and clear communication. But what happens when energy wanes, time disappears, and routines get disrupted? This episode introduces the critical concept of "guardrails" – systems designed specifically to prevent failure when people are at their worst.  Ready to transform how you approach change?  Discover why social accountability outperforms willpower, how to design ecosystems that naturally encourage positive behaviors, and practical strategies for creating guardrails that catch people when they fall. Whether you're a leader driving organizational transformation or someone committed to personal growth, these research-backed tools will fundamentally change how you approach the change process. Listen now to build systems that make change stick – even when the going gets tough.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Is this feeling of never catching up normal? What if nobody, not even that person you admire who seems to have everything together, has actually figured it all out?  This episode introduces a powerful 3-step Frustration List Technique that transforms how we handle the anxiety of unfinished tasks and unrealized potential.  Drawing from well-researched strategies in stress management, wellness, and productivity science, this approach creates immediate relief and sustainable progress.  The freedom comes not from completing everything, but from making peace with the unfinished nature of life while focusing your energy where it matters most.  Your brain doesn't need you to finish everything, it simply craves progress and attention on what's important. By implementing this technique, you'll experience more presence, joy, and fulfillment, even with a long list of things still undone.  Ready to stop feeling like you're always behind?  Listen now to discover how writing it down, sorting what matters, and taking small actions can transform your relationship with your to-do list and ultimately, with yourself.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Ever catch yourself frustrated by a lack of progress despite feeling like you're working hard? You're not alone. It's the most common reason for quitting ... early.  The disconnect between effort and results often comes down to a simple truth: we expect extraordinary outcomes from ordinary input.  Looking at myself in the gym mirror recently, I realized something powerful. I've achieved better physical results than most gym-goers not because I've obsessively chased fitness goals, but because I've consistently shown up for an hour every day.  This pattern holds true across all domains of achievement, whether building a business, advancing a career, or mastering a skill.  When my consulting clients express disappointment with their progress, I ask them one critical question: "Is it reasonable to expect the results you want from the work you've put in?"  Objectively?  There's a profound difference between subjective effort (how hard something feels) and objective effort (what's actually required).  To bridge this gap between action and achievement, I've developed a 3-step system that prioritizes repetitions done right over goal-fixation. More hard work won't get you there. More work with strategy will!  Ready to transform your approach to achievement?  Tune in!    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Ever wonder why thousands of people willingly sign up for grueling marathons and obstacle courses, yet struggle to maintain basic health habits?  Games!  The answer lies not in the level of difficulty, but in how our brains perceive challenges when they're framed as games rather than obligations.  In this fascinating exploration of gamification, we decode the psychological techniques that companies like Facebook use to keep you hooked, and how you can harness these same powerful tools to achieve your personal and professional goals. When you transform mundane tasks into compelling quests with clear win states, visible progress, and milestone celebrations, you tap into the brain's natural motivation systems.  The most disciplined people don't actually rely on discipline at all!  They craft personal missions that generate intrinsic motivation, making hard work feel like play.  Whether you're building healthier habits, developing professional skills, or pursuing ambitious personal goals, these gamification techniques can transform your approach to change.  Ready to level up your life?😉🏆  Listen now to discover how to turn your biggest challenges into your most rewarding adventures.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Have you ever felt that nagging impatience when working toward an important goal? That almost physical itch wondering why success isn't happening faster?  You're not alone.  The truth is that transformative change rarely feels significant in the moment. While we expect to see daily improvement, real progress accumulates invisibly, only revealing itself after consistent effort over extended periods.  What do you do while waiting for progress to show up? How do you stay consistent? How do you know it's working?...  When we examine the journeys of those we admire—whether entrepreneurs, authors, or leaders—their success appears almost magical. What we don't see are the countless hours of imperceptible progress, the years of showing up when results weren't evident. Their "overnight" success typically represents decades of incremental improvement that went unnoticed by the world and sometimes even by themselves.  The answer?  Setting up better systems for tracking "the invisible" progress.  And that's not all!  Often, when pursuing goals that take decades, we decide to "entertain" ourselves with many other goals, just in case" this one doesn't work out.  Often, stealing that success we desire so much.  The episode also tackles another critical obstacle to achievement: our tendency to spread ourselves too thin. Much like trying to prepare a feast with only enough ingredients for one good meal, we dilute our impact when we distribute our finite resources—attention, energy, and time—across too many objectives. Research confirms that focusing on just one habit change dramatically increases success probability, while attempting multiple changes simultaneously often leads to complete failure. This explains why many people remain perpetually busy yet never achieve their most meaningful goals.  Ready to transform your approach to growth?  Listen now to discover practical strategies for tracking progress, maintaining motivation through invisible growth phases, and focusing your resources where they'll create the most significant impact.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

TUNE IN TO LEARN:  How to you practically become a better you?  You got your Enneagram, or results of StrengthsFinder, what's now? How do you develop new habits of being you... just different you?  This episode explores the disconnect between how we approach career development versus character development, and why that gap keeps us from becoming who we truly want to be.  What if the same systems that helped you excel professionally could transform your character?  Drawing from coaching experience with high-performing leaders, this episode unpacks a practical framework for developing traits like courage and discipline. You'll discover why most character development fails (hint: it's not your psychology) and how to create effective feedback loops that drive measurable growth.  You'll learn why focusing on just one character trait dramatically increases your chances of success. Rather than overwhelming yourself with multiple improvement areas, this targeted approach creates momentum that can transform how you show up in every aspect of life. Whether you're feeling stuck in patterns that limit your potential or simply ready to grow beyond your expertise into wisdom, this episode provides the roadmap for meaningful personal evolution.  Ready to finally make progress on becoming the person you aspire to be? Schedule that meeting with yourself today and work on your character development plan with this strategy.  Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in a loop, making the same decisions day after day despite your best intentions to change?You're not alone.  In this episode we'll explore this fascinating fact how 75% of our daily thoughts are nearly identical to yesterday's, creating a cycle that keeps us living in our past rather than growing into our future.  Discover groundbreaking research that shows people with a close, friendship-like relationship with their future self make demonstrably better decisions today. Brain scans reveal that different neural pathways activate when we think about our future self as a friend rather than a stranger. This connection translates into healthier eating, better financial choices, and greater life satisfaction. I share insights from John Sonney's powerful "The Bridge" meditation technique that helps strengthen this crucial connection between your present and future selves.  The key to meaningful change, bringing our future selves into the present sooner lies in understanding the psychology of habit formation.  Whether you're struggling with health goals, productivity habits, or leadership development, these evidence-based techniques will help you bring your future self into your present reality much faster.  Ready to break free from recycling your past and start embodying who you're truly meant to become? Listen now and share this episode with someone who needs to hear this message.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

What if could upgrade performance at work, build deep relationships at home and in the workplace, heal loneliness everywhere by communicating 3 simple things?We're facing a crisis that's hiding in plain sight.It's not just loneliness or disengagement - it's what researcher Zach Mercurio calls a "mattering deficit." Despite our hyper-connected world, people simply don't feel seen, heard, and valued in their everyday interactions.The statistics are striking: one-third of people report persistent loneliness, 70% feel emotionally uninvested in their work, and half of students don't believe anyone would notice if they were absent. But Mercurio reveals that these aren't separate problems - they're symptoms of our collective failure to make each other feel significant.Why now?Since the early 2000s, digital communication has allowed us to bypass situations that once developed our human connection skills. We can respond to someone's bad news with a sad emoji rather than sitting with them, truly listening, and showing compassion. Zach Mercurio introduces a powerful framework - Notice, Affirm, Need - that transforms how we interact. Through compelling stories and research, Dr Mercurio demonstrates how small interactions can have profound impacts.A supervisor who keeps notes about team members' lives, a facilities manager who shows his team photos of people enjoying their work, or simply telling someone "if it wasn't for you..." can transform an ordinary exchange into one that fosters significance.Your next great act will happen in your next interaction. Don't overthink it. Instead of searching for the next big program or initiative, focus on optimizing how you notice, affirm, and need the people around you.Join the mattering movement and discover how making others feel significant creates a virtuous cycle that enriches everyone's lives.  _____________________Dr Zach Mercurio: https://www.zachmercurio.com/  Mattering Assessment for leaders and more book resources: https://www.zachmercurio.com/mattering/"The Power of Mattering" book equips leaders to unleash the hidden superpowers in each individual by addressing the fundamental human need to feel significant: https://www.zachmercurio.com/the-power-of-mattering/  Connect with Dr Zach Mercurio on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachmercurio/  More about Dr Zach Mercurio:  Dr Zach Mercurio is an author, researcher, and leadershipdevelopment facilitator specializing in purposeful leadership,mattering, and meaningful work. He advises leaders inorganizations worldwide on practices for building cultures thatpromote well-being, motivation, and performance.  Zach holds a Ph.D. in organizational learning, performance, andchange and serves as one of Simon Sinek’s Optimist Instructors,teaching a top-rated course on creating mattering at work. Hisnew book is "The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create aCulture of Significance." His previous book is "The InvisibleLeader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with ThePower of Authentic Purpose.”  Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

TUNE IN TO LEARN:  Ever noticed how hard it is to make healthy choices when you're feeling sick, tired, or overwhelmed?  That's exactly when self-leadership matters most - and precisely when it feels most challenging.  This episode reveals a research-backed emotional regulation technique that transforms how you care for yourself during difficult times.  Learn the powerful three-step process that helps you make better choices when your energy is low but the stakes are high. By shifting how you talk to yourself (hint: third-person self-talk is scientifically proven to enhance decision-making), you'll discover how to bridge the gap between what feels good momentarily and what truly serves your recovery and wellbeing.  The framework shared isn't just for sick days, it's a versatile approach for improving any self-care habit when motivation wanes. Whether you're struggling with fitness consistency, nutritional choices, sleep discipline, or boundary-setting, this episode provides practical tools to strengthen your self-leadership muscle.   What makes this approach particularly valuable is its simplicity and immediate applicability. You don't need special equipment, extensive preparation, or perfect conditions - just a willingness to engage with yourself differently.  Ready to become better at taking care of yourself, especially when you don't feel like it? Listen now and learn how to lead yourself toward the future you truly want to create. Your future self will thank you.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

TUNE IN TO LEARN:  What if the solution to your productivity struggles isn't found in the next AI tool, but in mastering something you already possess?   This episode explores a simple truth about personal growth and leadership: we've mistakenly believed that better tools, more knowledge, or the perfect system will finally help us get organized and reach our potential. Yet despite having access to all the knowledge we need to live better lives, most of us still struggle with consistency and follow-through.  Why is that?  The real operating system for success isn't external - it's internal.  Drawing from research on emotional regulation and insights from experts and entrepreneurs like Derek Sivers and Yu-kai Chou, we unpack how the most important human problem to "fix" isn't knowledge or access to tools - it's self-leadership.  At the heart of this episode is a practical five-step framework for emotional mastery to unlock self-leadership skills you need to get the most of all the tools and knowledge humanity has to offer - you'll discover how to cultivate your "emotional garden" to drive meaningful change.  Ready to move beyond the endless search for the perfect productivity system?  Join us to learn how emotional mastery creates the foundation for everything else in your life to work successfully.    Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant