August 6, 2021

A Successful Mindset, with Erin Jewell Gerst

Episode 152:

A successful mindset can help you achieve more. Guest expert Erin Jewell Gerst shares the effects of stress, our subconscious, and mindfulness. Hear insights about:

  • Why Erin’s coaching is focused on sharing a message that inspires, empowers and uplifts other women in business
  • Why Erin chose to focus on working with women leaders and the general challenges they face in their careers
  • How Erin’s speaking work in the past year has focused on cultural diversity, and why she has a passion for mindfulness and mindset work
  • Why the unprecedented real estate market is causing many professionals to question themselves, and what advice Erin would share with anyone who feels out of alignment
  • Why high-performing achievers often overlook the importance of stress management, and why our biology needs a restful period outside the fight-or-flight response
  • How our “good stress events” often slip into negative stress because we aren’t allowing ourselves healthy pauses to rest and reset
  • Why the very different lessons boys and girls are taught in childhood can often hold us back from success in adulthood
  • Why asking for help can be so difficult for entrepreneurs, and why “putting your hand up” even when it feels awkward is important

A Successful Mindset

I know you’ve heard me talk about the importance of mindset many times before… and that’s because it really does make a huge difference in how much you can achieve! A successful mindset can empower you to more easily reach your goals, minimize stress in your life, and overcome your own fears and limiting beliefs.

In this week’s episode of Pursuing Freedom, I’m joined by my friend Erin Jewell Gerst. Erin is anExecutive Mindset and Growth Coach, an International Speaker and a Professor of Leadership at Villanova University. She was named a Top 10 Coach of 2021 by Thrive Global for her extraordinary work, and her clients are primarily women in leadership in many different fields.

During our conversation, Erin shares how being “always on” and not giving yourself time to rest and release your stress can have a cascading effect on your life and the quality of your work… and it can even turn positive stressors (exciting news and changes) into negative ones. However, if you do the work to master the successful mindset, you can reduce your stress and achieve more with less effort and headache.

A Successful Mindset Needs a Stress-Relief Valve

As Erin explained during our conversation, humans evolved a fight-or-flight response for a reason: it’s supposed to help us out in big, dangerous situations. However, in our modern lives we don’t have to fight sabertooth tigers or run from predators, and many of us have become stuck in that “always on” fight-or-flight mode.

The problem is, we need periods of rest and calm to “reset” our responses to stressful situations. Our systems were designed to give us a temporary burst of adrenaline but weren’t designed to live in a constant state of go-go-go. Never taking a break from the stress and pressure has all kinds of negative effects on our sleep, our physical and hormonal health, and on our mindset. It’s important to take a period step back and let our systems reset to a calm state to achieve a truly successful mindset!

Unlearning Early Lessons

One of the other big points Erin brought up in our discussion is how, from a very early age, boys and girls are taught to handle things differently. Little girls are often given the message that “you’re such a great helper” while boys are taught “you can push harder and get better”. These lessons often chase us into adulthood, where women are left to feel that they must always be good at everything and they’re less likely to apply for jobs they believe themselves to be underqualified for. Meanwhile, men have internalized the message that “I can figure this out as I go”.

The worst part is, both groups are left with this nagging doubt and a resistance to asking for help for fear of seeming incompetent! But there should never be any shame associated with asking for help when you need it! Let’s face it, we’re always going to be our own worst critics. Learning to ask for help even when it feels uncomfortable to do so is so important. Recognizing your own limits and owning your strengths AND your weaknesses isn’t “admitting failure”, it’s showing that you’re self-aware. And that empowerment can truly unlock a successful mindset that will help you achieve your goals!

If you would like to learn more about the incredible Erin Jewell Gerst, or if you’re interested in finding out more about her coaching work and other resources, please visit her website at https://erinjewellconsulting.com/.

Successful Mindset

About Erin Jewell Gerst

From a young age, Erin Jewell Gerst was raised with the belief that she could do anything. With a degree from Villanova and a wildly optimistic outlook, she found success early in sales leadership positions in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries (Pfizer, Boston Scientific, Medtronic). From a first-year MVP at Pfizer to many accolades later, Erin earned a top role in medical devices. She jumped four positions to a global director of 3 business lines, 80 million in revenue, 200 direct and indirect reports. After 15 years in the healthcare sector, she decided that it was time to take a big leap and Co-Founded her own healthcare start-up that built online wellness platforms.

Today, Erin is an Executive Mindset and Growth Coach, an International Speaker and a Professor of Leadership at Villanova University. She was named a Top 10 Coach of 2021 by Thrive Global. As a Coach, Erin works with team leaders to make the most out of their teams so they can become more effective leaders.

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