Freedom Fridays: Flipping the Switch on the Human Experience

**Stacie Baird** (0:08)
Hey, humans. A day of the week change is usually treated as just a logistical matter. And it's really a line in our show notes nobody really reads, but that wastes a big moment for us. We are launching season six in a new way, and it felt like a time for another change. We are looking at how we can have a bigger impact and integrate all the things that we do here on HX together. So this is not just about moving days. This is about how we're going to weave together the work that's in front of us. So starting today, The HX Podcast drops on Friday.
It's something that I wanted to do for a while. The week is busy, but I want to give you some motivation going into the weekend. This is about a promise, about what this day is for. This integrates Freedom Friday, which I've been doing for over five years, hiking, sharing, helping everyone learn how they can reset their body and their mind before they go into the weekend. And what I want to do is pull all of these things together and elevate the human experience at work. And we're talking about our pillars here on HX, the talent engine, our benefits and well-being, design, and then leadership and talent development. But we want to also understand that every one of those things is something we build for other people.
Freedom Friday is about the human experience. You're not practicing or could be practicing or should be practicing for yourself. So I'm building something that I'm hoping to launch. I'm going to launch. I'm just going to say it out loud. I'm going to launch for 2027 And this helps me create a more powerful message for all of you, which is pulling all of these messages together. So it's really important to understand the why behind this. And nothing else is big changing. We're still going to talk about the pillars that we've discussed. We're still going to talk about how this impacts people inside of your organization. And I always want to start with the thought that if we're not taking care of ourselves, no one is taking care of us. So that's the hook. I want to think about that freedom is also really thinking through what that looks like for each of you.
And I'm going to give you an example. So many, many times, I've gone on hikes and done one thing, and I've wrapped up with a video on LinkedIn. And one thing I love doing is, I call it the heart walk. And I do my hike, but I look for everything that I can see.
And when you start to look for it, it always comes to you that looks like a heart. It could be part of a cactus. It could be a rock. It could be anything that you see along the way. And it helps you focus on something other than the noise that's going on in your brain.
And it's a really valuable exercise for me. And that's something that I shared many, many weeks ago, probably months ago at this point, on a walk that I did. So I'm gonna start with something that is based on science and evidence, based on research, that helps us look at our neurology and look at how we can regulate ourselves on a day-to-day basis. And then we're gonna dive into the content of how we also elevate the human experience for everyone else inside of your organization. We design our whole week, we spend our whole week looking at, especially if you have a family and life at home, how do we help to elevate the human experience for everyone else? And I wanna give ourselves the grace, the opportunity, and the calling to give yourself more time on Friday to think about yourself. An actual call to action that asks you to think about that. So with that, my friends, no big deal. We're doing this quick Tuesday drop to give you a 411 on what's coming. And then this Friday, you'll hear one of our first new episodes in this format.
And we really want this to feel like home to you on every Friday that you look forward to it. So more to come, more exciting folks coming on, talking about their own human experience and what they're doing to elevate that inside of their organization, but also focused on you. With that, as always, I want to send you so much love in your day, light on this Tuesday, which is still the beginning of the week for all of us. And I look forward to talking to you again, coming up this Friday and wrapping up your week with something special. Until then, be well.