Higher Vibes Coaching Blog
Stop Asking Me to Fit In: A Love Letter to the Brave Weirdos at Work
It takes courage to examine what “belonging” actually looks and feels like, so it becomes accessible to more people. Learn how relational leadership and brave authenticity transform workplaces into spaces of trust, repair, and innovation.
What Mamdani’s Win — and How Cuomo and Trump Reacted — Reveal About Power, Safety, and Change
As fear escalates under Trump’s second term, trauma-informed leadership offers an antidote. Through the lens of Zohran Mamdani’s historic NYC win, we explore how nervous-system awareness, regulation, and ethical power can transform fear-based leadership into connection-based change.
Performance Improvement Plans are Biased. Now What?
Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are the illusion of fairness. If you’re on one—or giving one—read this before you cause or endure more harm. This deep dive exposes how PIPs damage mental health, reinforce bias, and ignore ADA protections—and includes checklists for employees, managers, and HR. Plus, a glimpse at what comes next: the Human Development Plan.
Decolonizing the Coaching Industry: Power, Patriarchy, and the Myth of Neutrality
The coaching industry promises liberation—but too often reproduces colonial and patriarchal power. This article explores how neutrality, credential culture, and “professionalism” sustain dominance, and offers practical steps toward a decolonized coaching ecosystem built for everyone.
Neutrality Is Not Silence: How Coaches and Leaders Can Honor Identity, Inclusion, and Psychological Safety
Explore why “neutrality” in coaching and leadership often becomes a tool of erasure. This in-depth article reframes neutrality as emotional maturity—not avoidance—and offers new research, inclusive frameworks, and self-reflection tools to help leaders, coaches, and teams build real psychological safety.
The ADHD / AuDHD Recovery Loop: Why You Burn Out After Every Comeback
ADHD burnout isn’t just exhaustion — it’s chemistry, culture, and chaos colliding. This deep dive unpacks how ADHD and AuDHD brains self-medicate with stimulants and sedatives: caffeine, Adderall, nicotine, THC, alcohol, and anti-anxiety meds. Discover why dopamine spikes, sensory overload, and masking create a perfect storm of overdrive and collapse. You’ll learn how the ADHD recovery loop really works — from hyperfocus highs to emotional hangovers — and why it’s not addiction but adaptation.
When People Police You: Their Reactions Say More About Them Than You
When people correct your tone, shrink your expression, or accuse you of being “too much,” it’s not about your behavior — it’s about their discomfort. This article explores the psychology of tone policing, projection, and envy in personal and professional spaces. Learn why people react defensively to authenticity, how silence enables control, and what it means to stand in your power without apologizing for it.
Adapting the GROW Model with AI for Neurodivergent Clients
Integrating AI with the GROW model enhances adaptability, inclusivity, and personalization for neurodivergent individuals, empowering them with greater self-agency. By leveraging AI for insights, flexible goal-setting, and accountability, ND clients can overcome executive dysfunction, improve brainstorming, and develop action plans that align with their unique thinking styles, while human coaches provide essential emotional depth and ethical guidance for sustainable growth.
20 Things to Say to Bros To Take Your Power Back
Sometimes, you don’t want to debate a “bro”—you want to shut him down and keep it moving. Whether it’s at work, on a date, or just existing in the world, here’s how to shut that s**t down. And also, a lady can be a “bro” too…and that’s extra messed up!
10 Truths About Recovery Every Coach and Client Should Know
Coaching someone in recovery—or coaching yourself—requires more than tools and credentials. These 10 truths cover harm reduction, relapse, identity shifts, and the deep impact of trauma and systemic oppression. If you’re a life coach, wellness practitioner, or trauma survivor learning to lead yourself, this guide lays the foundation for recovery-oriented, trauma-informed coaching that actually supports healing.
Hot Seat Therapy and 360° Reviews Are the Same Bullsh*t
Too many internal coaches and managers still measure growth by how well you conform to other people’s expectations—especially if you’re neurodivergent, BIPOC, queer, or disabled. The result? More masking. More burnout. Less truth. This post offers a radical reframe of feedback. We’ll also dig into why the beloved 360° review process often mirrors a shady group therapy tactic called hot seat therapy—and how both can go off the rails without care, consent, and context.
BIPOC Managers: Lead Without Losing Yourself
Being a BIPOC manager means balancing leadership, mentorship, and unspoken expectations—often at the expense of your well-being. Here, we break down the unique challenges, burnout risks, and systemic barriers BIPOC leaders navigate, backed by data, with actionable insights on how to lead without sacrificing yourself.
Marisol’s Story: Choosing Herself in a World That Won’t Stop Questioning Her
Marisol, a recent college grad, struggles with modern dating pressures, cultural misunderstandings, and so-called progressive men who don’t respect her boundaries. They even went as far as to call her racist for wanting to date within her culture. Through coaching, she learns to trust herself, set firm limits, and embrace dating on her own terms. Read her story.
ICF Ethics & Identity in Coaching: Why “I Can Coach Anyone” Is a Red Flag
Some coaches dismiss identity in coaching, violating ICF ethics and DEIB principles while gaslighting clients and peers. Learn why erasing identity isn’t neutrality—it’s unethical coaching that fails to create truly inclusive spaces.
The Myth of “I Can Coach Anyone”: How Lily Zheng’s FAIR Framework Elevates Coaching
Discover why the belief that “I can coach anyone” can be harmful to clients and the coaching profession in this eye-opening case study. Learn how Lily Zheng’s FAIR Framework (Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation) can help coaches develop cultural competence and create truly equitable, client-centered coaching experiences.
10 Tips to Help ADHD Students Stay on Track When Home Life is Chaotic
When there’s a lot going on at home—whether it’s loud siblings, family stress, or constant distractions—staying focused can feel impossible, especially for students with ADHD. But with the right strategies, you can create a sense of control and structure, even in a busy environment. Here are 10 practical tips to help ADHD students stay on track. Not every tip will be a perfect fit, so experiment and see what helps the most. ADHD brains thrive with structure, movement, and rewards, so keep things simple, flexible, and fun!
Coaches: Using the Narrative Coaching Model Through an Intersectional Lens
Traditional narrative coaching often focuses on individual mindset shifts without addressing systemic oppression. An intersectional approach helps clients reframe their stories while acknowledging external barriers, validating lived experiences, and fostering both personal and collective empowerment.
Coaches: Make the Be-Do-Have Model More Intersectional
The Be-Do-Have Model is often framed in a way that assumes everyone has equal access to the same opportunities, but that’s not the reality for people navigating systemic barriers due to race, gender, disability, class, or other intersectional factors. If coaches want to make it more intersectionality-friendly, we need to acknowledge privilege and structural challenges and redefine success beyond dominant narratives.
Three Easy Ways for Teens with ADHD to Stay Organized
If you identify with ADHD, staying on top of school projects and goals can feel impossible. Long to-do lists get overwhelming, deadlines sneak up, and sometimes, your brain just doesn’t want to start. But don’t worry—you don’t need a complicated planner or strict schedule. You just need a system that works for your brain. Here are three simple and ADHD-friendly ways to stay organized for short-term, mid-term, and long-term projects.
How Coaching Helped Arjun Break Free from Family Expectations
Arjun, a high-earning Indian tech executive, spent years seeking his parents’ approval—until coaching helped him break the cycle. At a high-stakes family dinner, he finally asserts his independence, proving success isn’t just about legacy—it’s about choice.