The Freedom From Empty Podcast

Listening

We hear a lot about listening to our teams, co-workers, and perhaps even our kids. But what about listening to ourselves?

When we listen well, to the messages our body is sending to us, we have the opportunity to support ourselves in a way that builds our health, strength, resilience, and ultimately, performance. When we listen well, we build connections (as opposed to barriers and disconnect). What do missed opportunities for listening look like? And what is the cost?

If we do not listen to, and care for, our basic physical needs, our well-being suffers. We can even create disconnects that are difficult to bridge--an inability to "hear" what our body is trying to tell us over time. Over time, this failure to listen leads to chronic illness and disease. Learning to listen, and (re)building physical wellness and resilience, begins with the basics. In this episode, I share some of the ways I have learned to recognize, and respond to, the signals that my body is sending to me.    

Hold Space for Healing

Our human capacity for denial is a survival mechanism that sometimes serves us well; holding unimaginable pain or seemingly unbearable things somewhere away from our hearts and minds until we are able to process them safely. And yet, unprocessed emotions also make us sick--physically and mentally ill.

In a world where we are taught to fear the "other" and in fact encouraged to do so by people who seek power and influence, our inability to recognize our shared humanity--to deny the human experience--is making us, our families, our communities, our country and the world very, very ill. 

This episode explores a simple, yet powerful practice that allows for healing to begin.

References: 

https://www.yhtimbo.org/

https://besselvanderkolk.net/the-body-keeps-the-score.html

https://drgabormate.com/book/when-the-body-says-no/

 

Permission to Ask the Question

We may have a sneaking suspicion that something in our lives isn’t working for us, and yet we are afraid to ask ourselves what that might be. We have to give ourselves space to breathe into the question--what in our lives may no longer be serving us? If we aren’t willing to ask that question, we will be unable to identify and create the changes in our lives that will better align the way we live and work with our well-being. We might be able to address some of the symptoms, but not the root causes. In this episode, I explore the beliefs and fears that may cause us to resist even asking ourselves this life-giving question.

Never Enough

Many of us are operating from a space of feeling like we are never enough--not good enough, or worthy enough, or that we haven’t “earned” the right to be loved and valued by others. These beliefs are often ingrained in us from a very early age. The fear of never being enough can drive us to push ourselves to the point that we are Running on Empty; trying to fill a bucket that has holes in the bottom. Taking the time to recognize and re-frame these beliefs allows us to begin to make decisions that are rooted in our inherent value and well-being.

The Crash

Many of us don’t make major changes in our lives until we are faced with a “wake-up call.” Before the wake-up call, there are often red flags that we miss or we may see, but ignore (or just fail to adequately address) along the way.  In this episode, I share the story of my personal crash, together with some of the red flags that I now understand were warning signs. This story fuels my passion for the work I now do with clients.