Laura Stone: Finding Your Purpose
The first NWiS meeting was a success! We had great turnout from women in a wide range of sports. It was great to see everyone’s faces. The first meeting was a talk from Sophie’s (co-president) mom, Laura Stone. Laura is the founder and CEO of the strategic consulting firm Purpose Stone. She has over 30 years of experience in the field and specializes in coaching executives harness their purpose to create results. We were thrilled to have her speak to us as women leaders entering the post-college world.
Before the meeting, we asked everyone to answer the question: what do you think are the biggest challenges facing you as you look ahead in your personal and professional life? Some of the common themes that Laura pointed out were competing with men and imposter syndrome. She brought up a way to think about mindset: the headlight strategy. We do not have to have it all figured out and we are not alone in this. We should keep focused on what is in front of us and take advantage of every step in the journey instead of only looking at the big goals.
Laura also introduced the model of BE -> DO -> HAVE. If we focus on doing, change happens 30% of the time, whereas if we start thinking and feeling we can make changes 70-80% of the time. Our thoughts (BE) rule us, so we need to be kind and understanding to ourselves. This is how we can get into the zone, or the flow state. In this state, we are not focusing on doing, instead our unconscious competence comes through. When we are in the flow state, we are at our Center. We are not judging or feeling judged. Using the chat, we discussed how we know when we are off Center by what our inner critic is saying. To get back to Center, Laura brought up the PACT strategy. Pause, Aware, Choices, and To. We first have to stop, then become aware of our imbalances, realize that we have choices and power, and go to a decision.
Overall, the biggest takeaways were that we are all strong and worthy. We have worked incredibly hard to get where we are, and we deserve it. Laura’s talk was a great reminder for all us, and now we all have the tools to coach ourselves back into the zone.
Quick and Dirty Guides by Laura Stone: