We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Desiree Petrich a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Desiree , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
In 2022, my son was born during a Minnesota Blizzard, and wasn’t able to get to a NICU because of the weather. 15 hours later, he was finally flown to the nearest NICU and lived his first month of life hooked up to wires.
24 hours after we brought him home from the NICU to meet his big sister, I got a call that my mom had a stroke, and was being air-lifted to the hospital. So I packed up my one month old and my two year old to go see her.
There were still COVID restrictions in place at the time, and I wasn’t allowed to be in the ICU with my newborn, so I was only able to see my mom 3 times before she passed away from a second stroke 2 months later.
Before February 22nd of 2022, I could have said that nothing bad had ever happened to me. I could no longer say that.
Six months after she passed away, I was sitting on the floor, stretching, just as I had done every day for 3 years, and the question popped into my head. “Why do I still want to stretch? Why do I still want to read, and workout and journal?
Why am I okay?
My mom was my best friend. She was the person I talked to everyday, the person I told everything to, and yet, I was still finding happiness and gratitude in my day. I still wanted to stay healthy and work on building my relationships. I still wanted to do a good job at work, and keep my house clean.
Why wasn’t I broken? In a way, I wanted to be broken.
But, that’s when it occurred to me.
I had built up a really strong foundation of habits prior to any of these events happening.
When I was managing a dementia facility during the pandemic, I started to read personal development books in an attempt to take back a small amount of control from a world where it felt like everything was out of my control. One book turned to two, which turned to averaging around 50 personal development books a year, and my life hasn’t been the same since.
I built a really strong Foundation of Self (this is the framework my book centers around). The Frameworks centers around our three topics, Self-Engagement (habits), Self-Worth (belief), and Self-awareness (trust and leadership).
When my son got sick, and my mom passed away, I didn’t have to start over from scratch, I didn’t have to try to pick up the pieces by myself. I had built a foundation that allowed me to still find happiness, gratitude and appreciation in every day.
I believe this is where my resilience comes from.
I didn’t wait for a sign to change my life for the better. I made an intentional choice to try changing my life, and it snowballed for the better into a life that I designed. One that saved me through an impossible time that should have broken me.
Working on myself when nothing else was on the line, and there were no other obstacles in my way (other than my own resistance), meant that when hard times came, I was prepared with everything that I had, to keep moving forward.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I founded Intentional Action, a leadership development company dedicated to unlocking the full potential of individuals and teams within companies. Intentional Action offers a diverse range of services including teambuilding activities and retreats, emerging leader programs, high-level masterminds, workshops, keynotes, and breakout sessions, we empower organizations to cultivate strong cultures with strong leadership at the forefront. Whether you’re looking to instill confidence and an executive presence in your leaders, or build a team around trust and a common goal, we ensure tailored solutions that will have your team excited to learn and grow together.
I am also a best-selling author of Taking Intentional Action, speaker, and host of the Lead With Confidence podcast. My mission is to help you build a life you love by taking control of what you can control. I love sharing my story of love, loss and leadership to inspire and encourage you to take responsibility of unlocking your full potential. I fully believes that you are entitled to a fulfilled life, you just have to choose it!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Physical fitness – I started my personal development journey in an attempt to lose weight after it occurred to me that being overweight in jr. high was a choice. Then again after I had my daughter and I didn’t feel like myself. (and again after my son was born and my mom passed away).
Advice –> Your health is your number one asset. Don’t take it for granted!
2. Personal Development – My life changed after I stopped playing the victim and took control of the things that I could control. Self-awareness is the ultimate goal, and intentional personal development will get you there the fastest!
Advice –> Don’t force it. Find a podcast or an author you really like and practice implementing the tools they suggest. The love for it, and the pursuit of it will come later. “Act the way you want to feel!”
3. Personality Profiling – Understanding what makes you tick will help you to implement those strategies a lot more easily than if you are attempting a free-for-all approach. If you can then begin to understand others personalities and behaviors based on their profile, communicating and building trust becomes a lot easier, and I would even say enjoyable!
Advice –> Take Gretchen Rubin’s free Four Tendencies quiz. This was the first one I did, and it changed my entire outlook on the way I approach my goals and habits!
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Finish by Jon Acuff was the very first personal development book I read.
It was an easy read filled with a lot of humor, and it was short (this was a must).
The number one thing I take from this book every time I read it is that we are oftentimes our own worst enemy. We try to implement strategies we think we should, without considering which ones will actually work for us.
We have to begin individualizing ourselves, and getting to know ourselves better, so we can show up to the rest of our lives with confidence!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://desireepetrich.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desireepetrich/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desiree-petrich/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
