Ascend Training Innovations

02/20/2025

Why self-love is the greatest gift you can give to the world:

Many high performers encounter a common challenge: trying to be all things for all people.

Most of your day is spent serving others, whether taking on extra responsibilities at work or running around making sure your family and home are taken care of. You are constantly operating at a high level, and it’s hard to turn it off.

Part of your success is due to your drive, but that same drive involves you putting unrealistically high expectations on yourself. When you fail to meet them, you become overly self-critical. Small mistakes become massive setbacks – at least from your perspective.

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05/10/2024

Do your actions match your values?

Most people would claim they value their mental and physical health, their relationships with their family, and quality time with their kids. However, despite positive intentions, our behavior sometimes doesn’t match our intent.

One night, after dinner, I was playing games with my kids. I had a lot on my mind and was in a bit of a down mood. I was trying to plan out the week, juggling kids’ activities and work, and feeling anxious about everything that needed doing. As a result, I was distracted and disengaged from the game we were playing.

As I watched my kids laughing and joking with each other, I noticed a stark contrast between their level of fun and my being glum and quiet. I realized I was being a wet blanket, and my behavior wasn’t matching my values. Despite my “playing games” with them, I wasn’t present. I could have been in another room, and they probably wouldn’t have even noticed—given my level of engagement.

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05/09/2024

Fostering a Growth Mindset:

A growth mindset is central to embracing challenges, overcoming hardship, and growing through adversity. It’s recognizing that you can become more than your hardships – and taking action toward your growth.

A fixed mindset approach to adversity involves rejecting ownership and placing blame outside yourself. It gives your power away and makes you a victim of your circumstances. “I can’t help feeling this way – life dealt me a bad hand. It’s not my fault. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m stuck, and I can’t get better.”

Although there are times in life when we must be patient with ourselves, there comes a point when we must take ownership to finally overcome our obstacles. What happened to you might not be your fault, but what will you do about it? That’s where a growth mindset comes into play.

People with a growth mindset recognize that they have the power to change their circumstances. They embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. They know their limitations are created internally, and the key to their success and well-being lies in focusing on what they can control.

Here are five ways you can help foster a growth mindset to increase your resilience and ability to overcome hardship:

1. Embrace Challenges: View obstacles as opportunities to learn and grow, not as threats to avoid. Avoidance prevents healing, whereas embracing struggle promotes growth.
2. Learn from Feedback: Feedback can come in many forms, both internally and externally. Instead of feeling defensive about criticism, see it as a valuable resource. What can you learn from it that will help you improve?
3. Celebrate Effort, Not Just Results: Focus on the progress you make and the effort you put in rather than just the outcome. The process is more important than the goal.
4. Change Your Inner Dialogue: Shift your self-talk from "I can't do this" to "I am working on this." This slight shift acknowledges that improvement is possible with time and practice.
5. Seek Inspiration: Surround yourself with stories and people that inspire you. Learn from their journeys and let them encourage you to keep pushing forward.

External events will always affect your life, and there will always be adversity. However, your mindset dictates how you handle those situations. Choosing to adopt a growth mindset will aid in performance, growth, and healing.

05/07/2024

Create a "Win List" to Boost Your Confidence and Feelings of Well-being:

When it comes to mental health and resilience, it’s easy to focus on what’s “wrong” with you. We see all the negatives, the times when we stumbled, or the challenges we faced. This can lead to a negative spiral where we become fixated on our issues.

Instead, create a “Win List” of your successes and strengths to give yourself a balanced perspective. Spend a few minutes writing down personal achievements, positive feedback from others, or small victories you’ve accomplished recently.

You can review this list regularly and add new items as they come up. If you are feeling down, this Win List can remind you what’s also going “right” in your life.

A version of this Win List is part of my daily journaling routine. I always start with my wins to force myself to actively look for the things that went well with my day. Usually, it’s my positive coping mechanisms – quality time with my kids, exercising, small accomplishments, etc.

Challenge: Create your Win List today and make it a habit to reflect on your wins each week.

05/06/2024

What to do when you feel disengaged as a first responder:

Why did you become a first responder?

When I joined the Canadian Forces in 2006, I was driven by a desire to serve. I was somewhat aware of the global issues after 9/11 and wanted to do my part for Canada. I wasn’t serving purely to help the people of Afghanistan, and I don’t think I was driven by a patriotic duty for my country either. The way I saw it was that if other Canadians were risking their lives, I wanted to help as well.

I deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and quickly saw my innocent motives change in the face of the harsh realities of war. Initially, I thought we were truly helping the Afghans and was excited to do my part. But after losing several friends to combat – and nearly dying several times – my perspective changed.

Read the full article by following the link in the comments below.

05/03/2024

How to Stop Being a Victim of Your Circumstances:

Sometimes life forces you on a painful path through trauma, mental illness, or loss. You feel out of control of your life and it can lead to a victim mindset. A key to improving your mental well-being is regaining your sense of control. This means moving from a “poor me” state to one where you believe in your ability to heal and recover. In this article, I will share why “choosing your pain” is effective in regaining your sense of control.

One day, when my daughter was 5, she played barefoot on our wood deck while I did yard work. She suddenly started crying, and when I looked to see what the issue was, she pointed to a humongous splinter lodged in her foot. It was almost an inch long and buried deep under her skin.

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05/02/2024

If you feel stuck in life, ask yourself, what are you doing about it?

Whether you are struggling with your mental health or simply feeling a bit burned out, growth is key for healing and improvement. Your current state reflects your knowledge and experiences up to this point. If you’re in a rut, there’s a lack somewhere.

• Struggling: If you're struggling with mental health, are you going to therapy and following their advice? Are you learning about your specific issues? Pursuing growth will provide valuable context, validation of feelings, and healing strategies.
• Burned out and disengaged: If you're dissatisfied with your life situation, what are you doing to change it? Are you learning and applying strategies to move you in the right direction? These can come in the form of books, podcasts, educational videos, and courses.

The pursuit of self-mastery requires you to take ownership of your journey. If you complete each day learning something new and applying it… you will make progress. But it’s up to you to take that step.

05/01/2024

What Becoming a Widower and Solo Parent Taught Me About Self-Care:

Losing my wife to cancer was a devastating experience. In the days after she passed, I knew I faced a long journey to learn how to thrive again, and self-care would be crucial to healing. As a caregiver, I had proudly put aside my needs so that I could spend our remaining time together, focusing on her comfort. However, I knew that neglecting my self-care would come at a cost.

In the days that followed, I recognized that if I didn’t take action toward healing, the pain, distress, and fallout were only going to get worse. At my lowest point, I only wanted to curl into a ball and give up. I was desperate for something to get me moving again. And that “something” came in the form of purpose.

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04/30/2024

Tuesday’s Tip: Practicing Positive Reflection

Today's Tip: Take a minute each day to note three positive things that happened. It could be as simple as a great cup of coffee, a compliment from a colleague, or a moment of calm during a busy shift.

Why It Helps: We are conditioned to pay attention to the negatives in our day as a survival mechanism. Regularly acknowledging the positive can rewire your brain to notice the good, reducing stress and boosting your overall mood.

Try This: Set a daily alarm as a reminder to pause and reflect. Jot these moments down in a notebook or on your phone to look back on when you need a lift. Just like you wouldn’t expect to do one workout and suddenly be more muscular, these habits take practice to experience the full benefits.

04/29/2024

You exercise to stay fit for duty, but what do you do to stay mentally fit?

I’ve been training for an ultramarathon later this summer. It’s a grueling 50-kilometer race through the mountains, with about 2400 meters of elevation gain. One of the reasons I chose this challenge was to experience having to shape my entire lifestyle around a singular focus. My diet, sleep, exercise, and daily habits must align for me to succeed. However, I’ve hit a snag...

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04/26/2024

When was the last time you took a break? I'm not referring to a day off work or a quick pause between the hectic parts of your day. I mean a break that's entirely for you—time to let go of responsibilities, unwind, and recharge.

If you think, “I don’t really get breaks,” you're not alone. I was recently asked that same question. My initial reaction was to ironically chuckle and say, "I don't." Reflecting on my responsibilities, especially with my kids, work, and relationship, I realized how much of my schedule is consumed by what I consider "productive" activities. My dedicated “me” time mostly consists of training for an ultramarathon – although mentally uplifting, it is not the most recharging.

Read the whole blog post by clicking the link in the comments below.

04/25/2024

We are often our own harshest critics, focusing more on our faults than our strengths. Surround yourself with people who reflect the best in you, and remember to be that person for others as well.

04/23/2024

Why Avoidance Is the Enemy in Trauma Recovery

I used to have a dog. Like most dogs, it preferred our backyard for its bathroom activities. Although I usually stayed on top of cleaning up, for whatever reason – one winter – I wasn’t as diligent as I should have been. It was a year with lots of snow, and I seemed to always be able to find an excuse to avoid going outside to clean up after him. “It’s too cold today. Oh, it just snowed. I’m busy today. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

It didn’t help that I was deep in the throes of my PTSD and depression – which sometimes made even the most basic of tasks nearly impossible to do. That winter, I kept kicking the can down the road until springtime. Once the warm weather started melting the snow, I saw the results of my avoidance. My backyard was like a minefield – it was a catastrophe!

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04/19/2024

You’ve probably heard of the importance of purpose before, but have you really thought about how to leverage it in your life? Harnessing the power of purpose can help you achieve your goals, whether overcoming personal tragedy or traumas, battling day-to-day challenges, or simply seeking a more meaningful life.

After I lost my wife to cancer, I was in the darkest place in my life. My whole life had been devastated, and I had lost the purpose I had been carrying for the last eight months as a caregiver. I was grieving hard, struggling with my traumas, and trying to keep it together for my two kids.

One day, I was sitting on my couch, reeling from what had happened. I felt scared, alone, and lost. I was hurting, and I couldn’t see the path forward. I felt like a failure—like I had let my family down. I knew I couldn’t give in because people still counted on me. I just didn’t know how to bring myself out of my mental slump. How could I find the inner strength to take action?

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04/17/2024

Stress is Neither Good nor Bad – Until You Label It.

Have you ever considered that your biggest challenge in managing stress is not the stress itself but how you perceive it?

Years ago, I struggled with a panic disorder. The panic attacks were debilitating. It would start with a tight feeling in my stomach, my heart pounding, and my mind spooling up anxious thoughts. I would fight against my stress response, futilely trying to control what was happening. Left unchecked, my mind would escalate those stressful feelings until they became full-blown panic. Ironically, it was fear of stress and my attempts to control it that would ultimately lead to the panic attack.

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04/15/2024

Have you ever noticed that when you purchase a new (to you) vehicle, you start to see how many of the same cars are driving around? It’s not that your vehicle suddenly became more popular. The difference is in your perception and what your subconscious is paying attention to.

The reason is quite fascinating. Your brain is like a computer, and you have your conscious and subconscious minds. Your conscious mind is what you focus your attention on, whether it’s a conversation, a book you are reading, or a task you are completing. Although you only focus on one thing at a time, your senses still take in information from your environment – and your subconscious is processing that information.

Read more: https://www.ascendtraining.ca/blog/how-to-feel-more-fulfilled-with-one-simple-habit

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It's easy to focus on the negatives in our lives. However, the key to feeling more fulfilled and improving your quality of life hinges on a simple concept.

04/12/2024

I would argue that there isn’t a first responder out there who would intentionally want to alienate and belittle those who struggle with their mental health. However, what if it’s not malicious actions creating stigma but our everyday actions and words?

I wish I could say I have always been accepting and nonjudgmental, but I’ve also been guilty of bias and contributing to stigma. One day, as a junior officer, I was sitting in the report room at the station when another officer told our group about a recent critical incident. I was told one of the involved officers had gone on “stress leave.” I remember thinking, “That call didn’t sound too bad. Why would they be struggling with that one?”

I couldn’t understand why and made assumptions to fill in the gaps. Even though I was struggling with PTSD myself at the time, I was looking at the incident from my perspective – and my false beliefs - about how I would have handled it. I held this attitude for quite some time, (in)secure in my false sense of competence and self-worth.

Read more: https://www.ascendtraining.ca/blog/bias-and-stigma

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Why your hidden biases and attitudes might unknowingly be creating barriers to care for first responders who are struggling with mental health issues.

04/10/2024

This article is for anyone struggling with the effects of PTSD or those of you who are supporting someone who is experiencing it. You may have heard of the term Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), but do you know how important it is in your journey?

I used to think that Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) was just a “feel-good” expression to try and put a silver lining on PTSD. During my recovery from PTSD after my combat deployment to Afghanistan, I had no idea how vital my struggle was to my growth – or what I could do to harness that growth. I thought my PTSD was just an obstacle in my life, and I didn’t realize the transformative potential that existed.

Read More: https://www.ascendtraining.ca/blog/what-is-ptg

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There is a lot of misconceptions about PTSD and Post-Traumatic Growth. Learn what PTG is and how you can find meaning behind your struggles.