Coffee Break
Join Dianne Whitford from Coffee, Grit and Inspiration for brief thoughts on leadership, personal growth and development, and self-improvement! Topics range anywhere from emotional intelligence to militant authenticity to work/life balance and more. Come take a quick coffee break and have a listen!
Episodes
31 episodes
S4E2: Personal Growth Isn't Trivial...And Other Topics
This is an episode we recorded back in July 2020 before the election madness. It's about how things like working on yourself, personal growth, and other seemingly "trivial" things can help you find a little balance amidst the craziness. Along w...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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24:54
S4E1: It Matters - Even Though It's Uncomfortable
Back from what some might consider a vacation, but I just consider a ton of WORK. This episode is one that Carter and I felt we needed to do, even though it felt weird, and a little awkward. Like many of you, we're trying to be better. Come joi...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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22:19
S3E9: Being Yourself At Work: Pros, Cons, and Patent Leather Pants
Today I'm joined by my friend Carter and we're continuing in the same vein of militant authenticity talked about in Season 3 Episode 6. Listen in as we discuss being an authentic jerk, how you may be defining yourself, and how - perhaps - paten...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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28:41
S3E8: How Multitasking Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be
Multitasking is kind of one of those things where you might feel like you SHOULD be doing it, or maybe you think you should be doing it better. The reality is though, multitasking prevents you from doing an individual task well, it prevents you...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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31:17
S3E7: Self-Care and Self-Compassion Even When Stuck At Home
Even in the best of times, self-care and self-compassion are so very important. In these times, it becomes even more critical to safeguard your mental and physical wellbeing. Even though you may be locked down right now, there are things you ca...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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18:53
S3E6: Militant Authenticity: Getting Out of Your Own Way
Militant authenticity is when you have such a strong allegiance to "you being you" that you get in your own way. Or worse, you have a negative impact on those around you or their respect for you. I have always been a strong advocate for people ...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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14:21
S3E5: Creating Unity in Your Community
Coffee Break Podcast: making personal development accessible and helping people grow. One episode at a time.Communities are powerful when they pull together. In times like these, the strength of a community will help people come out the ...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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25:40
S3E4: Advice from Veteran Remote Workers to Those Newly Remote
If you're one of the millions of people being asked to work from home, you might be struggling with some of the challenges that working remotely can present. Or maybe you're just looking for some tips to make your work-from-home life a little b...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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39:21
S3E3: Emotionally Hijacked! 3 Ways To Take Back Control
The world is going crazy right now. Our personal worlds are turned inside out, upside down. In situations like this, it's easy for our emotions to jump in, take control, and ruin our ability to make rational decisions about what's happening. We...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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15:08
S3E2: Getting Rid of the "But"
This week I'm talking about what happens when we use "but" to say something and then immediately negate it, or when we start our sentences with "no", "but", or "however". This seemingly harmless habit can cause our communications to break down,...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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14:06
S3 E1: How to be a "Learn-It-All"
Instead of being a "know-it-all", be a "learn-it-all"! People that cultivate curiosity about the world around them experience greater levels of satisfaction with their lives, are more innovative, have better ideas, and are more engaged. You can...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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19:53
S2E10: Listening With Respect and Engagement
Active listening is much more than just inserting "yeah" or "okay" at regular intervals in a conversation. Active listening also means listening with respect, with engagement, and listening with your whole body. Thinking before you speak. Creat...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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20:19
S2E9: Over-Apologizing and Minimizing Yourself
It's amazing what comes out of your own mouth, and at times, how much of what you say seems designed to "make yourself small" - to minimize yourself and what you're saying. In today's episode, I am joined by my dear friend and long-time coworke...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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21:14
S2E8: Feedback is Your Friend
Last week we talked about when you get feedback, to say thank you and then shut up. Feedback itself is a whole other topic! There is an art to giving feedback, and a perspective that, if you can develop it, will help you implement feedback in w...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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18:08
S2E7: Three Times You Should Just Say Thank You and Then Shut Up
"Thank you" is such a versatile phrase! After bingeing on several personal development books over the last week that have to do with behavioral changes and forming and ending habits, it occurred to me that there are three situations (at least) ...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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10:48
S2E6: Stress: Responding vs Reacting, and Ways to Manage It
Stress is a pervasive, unavoidable part of life. For better or worse, it happens, and it's a good idea for us to get better at managing it. The more resilient we can be in response to negative events, the more we can respond to rather than reac...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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15:09
S2E5: Helping Others Shine
This week's episode was inspired by a presentation I heard last month about helping others shine, and the comment that "helping others shine doesn't decrease your own shine." Sometimes we get our egos tied up with our contributions, and it can ...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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15:05
S2E4: What's In Your Backpack?
Happy 2020! The new year is here and in an effort to stretch ourselves this year, we're looking at what's in our backpacks that we want to unload. From family relationships to failed relationships, there's a lot we have to let go of if we're go...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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14:59
S2E3: Keeping Track of Your Emotional Wake (Plus Amazing Bob Ross Christmas T-Shirt)
In today's episode, I am talking about emotional wake: how people feel once you leave a room. Is it positive or negative? What do you do to control it and clean it up if you need to? How blinding IS my Bob Ross Christmas T-Shirt? You might have...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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8:00
S2E2: Counting Your Contributions
Counting your contributions - your wins - can have a huge impact on your emotional resilience, your confidence, and your sense of self worth. Show yourself some self-compassion and spend a few minutes each day writing down a win, something you'...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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11:42
S2E1: Why You Should Care About Critical Thinking - and What It Actually Means
We're back from hiatus with episode 1 of season 2! Today we're talking about critical thinking - what it is and why it's important, even outside of the workplace. Critical thinking is not necessarily disbelieving everything you hear - it's more...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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16:57
E11: Recognizing Effort Vs Talent (And It Doesn't Mean Giving "Participation Awards")
Today I'm talking about effort vs talent again, and how important it is to recognize the effort and hard work someone put into something vs their innate talents. Don't dismiss hard work as "talent" - recognize the perseverance, persistence, and...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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13:57
E10: The Importance of Pursuing Your Passions
In this episode, I reflect on a Quora question I came across the other day. It made me think about how as individuals, pursuing our passions with intention and effort, and as parents, supporting our kids in doing the same, can make all the diff...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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11:50
E9: Whatever Happens - I Will Handle It
Sometimes life can be pretty crappy, and it seems like there's so much fear and anxiety about what will happen next. In this episode, I'm talking about something that gives me comfort when I'm freaking out about what will happen next. Whatever ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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9:34
E8: Five Tips to Build Stronger Relationships
Relationships - not necessarily the ones you have with your significant other - are hard! They have a huge influence on our success at work and in life. I try to learn everything I can about how to build stronger, more meaningful relationships ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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13:17