In this powerful episode of The Empowered Team Podcast, Kari Schneider explores how to find happiness and contentment in every moment, even when life feels difficult or overwhelming. Drawing from her own experience overcoming a painful back injury that disrupted her ability to de-stress and enjoy life, Kari discusses the essential mindset shift that allows us to love the moment no matter the circumstances. With insights inspired by Byron Katie’s transformative approach to questioning limiting beliefs, Kari walks listeners through practical ways to turn any situation into one of growth and self-compassion. Learn three essential questions that can help you dissolve stress, enhance emotional intelligence, and bring a deep sense of calm into daily life—especially helpful during the holiday season when expectations can lead to stress and frustration. Key Takeaways: How to transform negative thoughts and see challenging moments with a new perspective Practical applications of mindfulness and self-compassion in leadership and personal life A simple three-question framework to help you find inner peace, no matter the external pressures Join Kari in exploring the real power of embracing each moment, and discover how mastering this skill can elevate your leadership, improve relationships, and bring joy to everyday life.

In this episode of The Empowered Team Podcast, host Kari Schneider explores the Fresh Start Effect, a psychological phenomenon that pushes us to take action on our goals during key milestones like New Year’s, birthdays, or even a change of seasons. Through research-backed insights from scholars like Hengchen Dai and Katherine Milkman, Kari explains how these temporal landmarks help disassociate from past failures and motivate a clean slate mindset. She shares a relatable personal story about her daughter’s friends experiencing a “fresh start” in high school and provides 3 actionable tips to help you capitalize on your fresh starts for lasting success.

Key Takeaways:

• How temporal landmarks create psychological momentum.
• How to harness the fresh start effect for new goals or long-term projects.
• The importance of planning beyond the initial motivation to maintain consistency.

Whether you're planning for the New Year or your next personal milestone, this episode offers the tools to make those fresh starts work for you.

In this episode of The Empowered Team Podcast, host Kari Schneider shares her personal experience recovering from COVID and offers a practical guide to easing back into work after illness.

Kari explains the dangers of rushing back into a full workload, citing research showing that over 80% of people recovering from COVID experience lingering fatigue and cognitive issues, which can affect both productivity and long-term health.

Listeners will walk away with actionable steps to ensure a gradual and thoughtful return to their routines, including starting with lower stress loads, staying hydrated, and keeping open communication with their teams.

Kari emphasizes the importance of self-care and pacing recovery to avoid severe relapses, using personal stories to illustrate each point. This episode is a must-listen for anyone coming back from illness or other setbacks.

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t rush! Start with half-days or lighter workloads.
• Hydration and proper nutrition are essential for recovery.
• Communicate with your team and set clear boundaries.
• Celebrate small wins to maintain motivation during recovery.