I’m prepping for the encore of the Productive Creativity Workshop today and I was thinking of Monday’s class and some of the things that came up. What really touched me was as the workshop went on and the women shared their visions and their fears, this incredible feeling came over the group. Women could see their own struggles and fears in each other.
They went from feeling alone to feeling like their fears were normal.
This is the power of community.
I was talking to a business coach friend of mine and she was talking about her 1-on-1 coaching programs. I told her, everything I do has a community component. I believe true transformation happens in connection, not in isolation.
Here’s the thing: Many creatives describe themselves as introverts and many driven, ambitious women believe its better to get it done themselves than ask for help. But even with all that, they still long for connection.
I LOVE myself some quiet. If I have a choice between a party and staying home, I’ll choose home all day long AND at the same time, I miss the connection. I long for it in my heart. So even when I want to stay home, I’ll say yes because this other part of me wants to feel belonging.
One of the powers of connection is what I mentioned from the workshop… not feeling like you’re a freak or the only one who feels the way you do… Once you really get talking to people, you find out you’re not the only one that feels that way.
When my mom died of cancer I turned inwards. I shut off all my emotions. I closed my heart and focused on what I knew to do… work hard. This was my pattern for the next 14 years until strolling through the aisles of Barnes and Nobles, a book fell off the shelf at my feet, Motherless Daughters. Written by a woman who had lost her own mom, it shared her research of girls who had lost their mothers and how it had effected them.
I went from feeling alone to feeling like my grief was totally natural… the morbid mortality thoughts, the way I cut myself off from my feelings, the strange but loving relationship with my Dad, the way I rebelled… it was there in the experiences of other girls who had lost their moms young.
We ALL do it.
Find community who is vulnerable and transparent.
Here are several options…
For creatives (or wanna bes), join us today for the encore of the Productive Creativity Workshop. I’m running this LIVE again so we can interact with each other and connect. Today I’ll stick around again for Q&A. Join me here
For moms, check out the Mama Truth Podcast brain child of Amy Ahlers, best-selling author and previous Woman Unleashed Retreat guide. We talk all things motherhood and debunk some of those mama myths that keep you in mama guilt.
For women who feel disconnected (or unloving) about their bodies, check out Nia. It is a mind-body movement class all about PLEASURE. There are classes all over the world. You can find one close to you here: www.nianow.com
For women looking for connection, check out Woman Within. They have circles all over the world. My circle is one of the most powerful groups in my life.
The best, and often the scariest way to find others who feel the way you do is by sharing how you feel, voicing those thoughts.
In the book Daring Greatly, author Brené Brown says, We simply can’t learn to be more vulnerable and courageous on our own. Sometimes our first and greatest dare is asking for support.
So where do you need to find community? Where are you hardest on yourself? Share below. For extra (brownie) points share with our community here in our Woman Unleashed Circle Facebook Group.
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