Lead more Courageously by asking Yourself This Powerful Question

by Shawn Fink | Nov 8, 2021 | Brave Yes CEO, Brave Yes Mindset, Recent

“Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything.” — Alexander Hamilton

Silence is violence, we say.

Speak up and let your voice be heard, we say.

These days we tend to wear our hearts on our sleeves and what we believe, what we stand for and what we are all about is everywhere.

But it’s also a result of following what others are saying, what others are doing.

I want to dive into this a bit more because choosing is hard — and essential.

And it’s essential if you want to lead more courageously — and make a bigger impact.

And do you even have to choose?

Listen to this podcast now or read the main points below.

What do you stand for?

Take a moment to really think about that question.

• If you are an entrepreneur or small biz owner like I am — knowing what you stand for is essential and will impact your business. But you should also know what you don’t stand for so you don’t end up chasing too many shiny objects. I always work with my female founder clients on the art of saying no — so we can make room for the Brave yeses. We have to clear the field — our energy field and life field — to make space for what we do stand for.
• If you are a leader or changemaker in your industry and you have had some ideas of what you stand for but don’t know what to do with it because corporate or government culture is getting in your way … know that you have so much more power than you think. Living your purpose and letting what you stand for doesn’t have to be a flaming hot cheeto in the room. You can be quiet and subtle — unless you are ready to uplevel and do something bigger in your life or career. Then that’s where good career coaching or life coaching can help you. Quiet and powerful is possible.
• If you are a creative person who wants to put your creative passion on the front burner of your life and you aren’t sure what that looks like yet … then I encourage you to play with your purpose and your passion in creative ways. The best artists and writers and creatives aren’t overthinking and putting too much time into planning. They are just doing the messy work of being imperfect.

What it Means to Lead more Courageously

When I started my first real blog — Awesomely Awake — my mission then — as is my mission now — was to help the world wake up. It has since fallen so asleep I’ve lost hope on what is possible for true mindfulness and presence practices — which I still use very much in my coaching work because I am a forever fan.

My life word is in fact AWAKE. But the purpose behind the blog and the coaching work I did back then was to wake people up. I was so tired of seeing people walking around like zombies on their phones and not engaging in the world around them.

Now it’s just the way it is for so many but I am still very much all about this — even if over the past year and a half has meant a reliance on tech in a bigger way than ever.

We are also seeing a movement for many to use tech less — so maybe there is hope yet. Peloton’s sales are dropping because people are going back to gyms. I stood for waking people up and that’s what I began to write about.

The movement and followers came along with me.

That eventually led to mindfulness and well-being programs for moms and the abundant mama project, which was rooted in mindfulness and spiritual practices to navigate the hardships of motherhood.

I think that by being here, listening to me, you too are awake — and maybe you are also tired.

• Tired of hustling.
• Tired of the daily grind of keeping up.
• Tired of doing the same things over and over that aren’t working.
• Tired of not thriving or flourishing but rather feeling like you are drowning in not enoughness and to-do lists that serve others best interest.

Now I stand for something else — well, lots of things — but mainly this — we need a diverse body of women — including you — to be at all the tables where decisions are being made, in the rooms where policy is being shaped, leaning in and not leaning out. We need women to show up, be seen and let their brilliance be known.

The world is very broken and awake women like you need to save us — to lead more courageously.

Once you know, you know. It’s like the gates of heaven opening up.

The sun rising.

The cloudy skies clearing.

It’s magical and energizing.

We don’t always know. We aren’t always able to get to clarity on our own. So find a partner to discuss this with. Share ideas. Be honest with each other. And if you don’t have a trusted partner for this exercise, try it with a mentor, coach or therapist, even.

Because .. doing something with what you stand for is likely the very key to your own well-being and happiness.

Perhaps you’re thinking … well, crap, I stand for a lot and I can’t choose and I get overwhelmed and I don’t even know how to move forward and actually DO something and take action because of that — and if that’s true, you’re not alone.

I’ve been there. Most of my clients have been there. Many times.

I call people like you — and myself — multipossibilitarians.

If only we could do it all! If this is you let’s chat. I am a master at helping you discover your strengths to match your potential.

OR, If the answer lights you up. — what are you going to do about it?

I work with creator, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are ready to uplevel or make a pivot in your life, work or business. Perhaps YOU are looking for a coach to help you design your Brave Yes around this very question is what you need for the new year. Let’s chat. I offer complimentary coaching sessions with women interested in coaching with me so we can see if we’re a good fit. Learn more here.

On Designing a Foundation of Resilience In Order to Be a Changemaker and Leader

by Shawn Fink | Aug 4, 2021 | Brave Yes CEO, Brave Yes Mindset, Recent

When life and business are precariously stacked to work against each other, the best thing we can do is restack it all again and again.

On a retreat in October 2019, I began studying resilience and stumbled into a metaphor for a more resilient life.

Rock cairns — a group of stones carefully and often precariously piled on top of each other to create a tower.

I had heard of rock cairns and even stumbled upon a few randomly in my hikes along creeks. But it wasn’t until this several day retreat and sitting in silent meditation that I realized that our lives can be designed as a foundation of resilience just like these beautiful rock towers.

Designing a Foundation of Resilience is essential for living and leading more boldly and bravely. If we want to change systems and disrupt the status quo — as we should all be doing — we need to have the emotional resilience and physical energy to do so. 

But designing a foundation of resilience is not something we’re taught. We often figure it out too late — once a storm has hit.

In my work as a coach, I have created a foundation of resilience model that works like a charm. And the model reminds me of the rock cairns — towers that when built right are strong enough to handle anything. But when they are built incorrectly, they don’t stand a chance. 

When just one rock is misplaced, it can throw off the balance of everything else and our lives  — or our mindset — can fall apart.

When the wrong rock is chosen, we can feel less confident, and less sure of ourselves.

But when the just-right rocks are selected and stacked just right a solid foundation that can endure nearly any storm is created. 

When we can build a life with the wrong tools we can feel out of alignment. We feel shaky. Wobbly. Out of sorts. 

But when we build our lives — and businesses — based on intentional, purposeful decisions, our foundation is solid. We feel grounded and firm in who we are and what we are about, we feel strong and we can handle any storm that comes our way.

Rather than choose the wrong rocks that won’t create the right foundation, we must be intentional with each and every rock we put into our lives that create the ground we stand on each day.

What are 3 Elements to Consider when Designing a Foundation of Resilience?

JOYFULNESS

Every rock you choose should bring you joy. If it doesn’t, your foundation will be out of alignment and not stable. Rocks of negative energy will disrupt your flow and your creativity. If joy is at the root of every decision you make, you can’t help but create a foundation of resilience.

MINDFULNESS

The rocks of your life should bring more presence than drama, more calm than chaos, more relaxation than stress. Rocks that bring too much friction and choppiness will always cause shaky ground. Operating with mindfulness at the heart and soul of everything you do will create radical presence so you can listen and learn about what is working in your life.

STRENGTHS AND VALUES

The rocks of your foundation should be based thoroughly on your deepest, strongest values and strengths. As long as you always come back to what drives you and reflects your most moral obligations, you will always feel aligned. As long as you operate in flow and in your zone of genius, you will feel aligned and resilient.

Shawn Fink (she/hers) is a coach for creators & changemakers ready quit self-sabotaging & take up more space in your life, creativity and business. Host of The Brave Yes Show podcast. Learn more here.

When You’re Tired of Being Strong as an Entrepreneur Juggling Family and Earning an Income

by Shawn Fink | Jun 28, 2021 | Brave Yes CEO, Brave Yes Mindset, Recent

Do you ever feel so utterly tired of being strong as an entrepreneur and a mom that all you want to do is collapse under all the weight you are carrying and free yourself of everything?

This might look like dreaming of running away.

This might look like hiding under the covers.

This might look like dropping all the balls and leaving them scattered on the floor.

Yes?

I have been there.

And it’s another reason why so many women entrepreneurs and changemakers have been languishing for years.

If you have been following along, I have been exploring the politics of languishing.

It started with our obsession with overworking and overdoing.

And our relentless pursuit of destructive perfectionism and being perfect.

Followed by the root of everything … our desire to be Good Girls.

Now, I am diving into how our strength and desire to be stronger and stronger is exhausting us beyond belief.

Listen to this on the Brave Yes Show now or keep reading below!

When You’re Tired of Being Strong and You Have No Choice

In the several months before the pandemic hit, I was at my peak, physically. I had been going to the gym and doing hot yoga multiple times a week. I had fallen in love with Zumba. I was lifting weights. 

I was strong. 

But as I was building my physical strength after years — a decade, or more of absolute neglect of my body’s muscles and bones — I often felt weak. I felt not enough for being so out of shape. 

There were many times when I needed to give myself a pep talk or two during some pretty intense asanas in yoga class.

I was pushing myself to do some poses my body didn’t like — or rather, that my mind told me I could not do.

You’ll fail. 

You’ll Fall. 

You’ll look weak.

You’ll appear like a newbie. 

And I didn’t dare look weak or lame in yoga class with all the other hot yogis, after two decades of practicing.

And so I did what any Good Girl Yogi would do.

Over and over, I told myself, I am strong as fuck. I am strong as fuck. 

Those words got me through.

Over and over in that class — in my life — I began to utter those words. I even shared that mantra with my membership community at the time, who all loved the mantra so much that they adopted it, too. 

But, like you, I am tired of being strong.

The truth is that being strong and feeling strong is a part of the power system that we are a part of as women and for those who identify as women.

None of us want to be the weak yogi in class or the one with the least amount of weight on their barbell.

None of us want to be too overwhelmed to crawl out of bed each day or unable to meet deadlines because we are overwhelmed by life. 

And yet … that is how many of my clients are feeling when they come to me for Brave Business Coaching.

We are tired of being strong

We are tired of being strong. 

Tired of holding it all together.

Tired of being the ones to shoulder the weight of the world.

Tired of pretending everything is perfect when it’s not always even close.

Working with women entrepreneurs on emotional and spiritual resilience has been the foundation of my coaching during the pandemic. 

If ever there’s been a motto in my life I am happy to pass along, I am strong AF has been it.

Who wants to lay down at the trunk of a tree and rest for a good long time.

Or curl up in someone’s lap and have them cook her a meal or two.

Who wants to be taken care of … care for, nurtured, nourished. 

Strong women are tired of being strong women.

And yet we hold this world together. 

That’s a lot.

This was evident from the reaction of my Instagram post that I wrote for myself and shared with others.

And despite this feeling that we are too tired to be so strong all of the time, we push through, we hustle, we strive, we force, we control and we power through … all of which has added up to create a hurricane of exhaustion and languishing.

Suck it up.

Don’t cry.

Don’t run like a girl.

Don’t be a sheep or a snowflake. 

Don’t worry so much. 

Don’t be a scaredy cat.

When Being a Girl Means Weak and Weak is Bad

Our society’s infatuation with strength and mental toughness is everywhere — so much so that it often feels like some influencers are trying to manipulate humanity by urging us to try their strategies to be superhuman — to be able to fit in more and more and more each day and to be more productive and more efficient and more rich.

Messages like …

• Don’t give up.
• Keep going.
• Don’t stop.
• Only the strong win.

There is no shortage of articles on how to be mentally tough — none of which I actually thought were good by the way, as most are written by men who, as we know, carry a great amount of pressure to be emotionally tough themselves.

And, for most of us, being strong and acting tough is a trauma response.

It is for me.

I learned to be tough very early on. I was an only child of teenage parents. I ran the woods as a free spirit. I was tough the second I came out of the womb.

In fact, I have few memories of my father — who I have been estranged from for 40 years — and one of them was when I was crying after my bedtime because my one and only precious aunt had been in a motorcycle accident. I wanted to be at the hospital with her and my mom who had just left to see her. Rather than console me, he locked me in my bedroom and put a fan in front of the door. I remember crying and crying and banging on the door. He never did let me out.

Just be tough.

Be strong AF.

Suck it up.

The pressure and politics of being human forces us to be strong and to work toward being stronger and stronger. 

Because being weak is not acceptable — even when we’re are tired of being strong. 

I even find myself feeling conflicted about this in parenting my own daughters while questioning when they are being too sensitive, too tired, too weak, too unmotivated.

I’ve talked about this line between asking our children to be perfect vs. striving for excellence if we don’t want to raise children who are perfectionists or who feel not enough.

Well, here we are again with a similar conundrum. Do we want to raise strong, resilient kids or do we want to honor their moments of feeling weak and their emotions? 

Of course, it’s a both/and scenario like most things required of us as parents and as human beings.

Every single one of my clients has expressed how in their own childhood they weren’t allowed to be weak or sensitive and how that has influenced their work ethic and their inability to soften and rest and allow themselves to be weak. They’ve shared with me that there was no space for crying. There was no space for emotions. There was certainly no space for being weak, for being soft, for being a feeler.

And they wished there had been. 

While there is a shift happening in gender norms and expectations, there is still a huge emphasis for ALL of us to be strong.

Be stronger, in fact, seems to be the message. Handle more. Carry more. Do more. 

And yet, women, for a long time, have been the definition of weakness. 

As a result, we have been trying to prove our strength. We are working more, earning more, juggling more and trying to look perfect while we do it all. 

To the point of overworking and overdoing.

To the point of perfectionism.

To the point of being Good Girls.

In a Pew Research survey that asked people to use words to describe men and women, the evidence is clear that gender stereotypes affect how we see women — and, as a result, how we see ourselves.

The primary word used to describe women was beautiful. Other words used to describe women more than men? Kind, responsible (ie: good girls), caring and compassionate.

Words used for men: leadership, powerful, ambitious, and strong. In fact, Americans are much more likely to use the word “powerful” in a positive way to describe men (67% positive) than women (92% negative).”

In fact, strength was commonly used for men and was not for women.

So there you go, ladies.

You don’t need to be so strong.

No one’s expecting you to be.

And yet, most women are the strongest people I know.

Permission to Embrace Being Strong AND Soft

When we feel overwhelmed or in over our heads in a project or in our lives, the last thing we want to do is ask for help — or even suggest that we need help. The last thing we want to do is rest, take it easy and chill out and let things go for a while.

This is what it means to be strong AF.

We don’t want to be weak. We don’t want to have to ask for help or rely on others. 

AND

We absolutely don’t want to hold all of this weight of the world, we don’t want to carry all of the load, we don’t want to feel like we have to keep it all together. 

We don’t want the pressure to earn a higher income, get more likes on social media, network with more and more people, attend all the social and political and community events being held, keep a perfect house, raise perfect children, and on and on and on.

We want to be. 

We want to feel joy.

We want to feel alive.

We want meaning, and purpose, and passion.

We want to make an impact and be creative for the sake of just being creative and serving others.

The thing is, though, we are caught up in a system where we are trying desperately to maintain our status. We are clinging tightly so we don’t fall down.

And we are clinging tightly trying to get to the top.

And all we ever really do is feel exhausted from the trying.

What if we just surrendered and allowed ourselves to be weak, to fail, to fall, to mess up, to drop the balls, to not be so fucking liked so much?

Being strong is something we shove down like bad tasting medicine. We just do it because that’s what we do. We have no choice. We are afraid of what’s on the other side.

The thing is, though, when we reach out for help it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It’s a way to empower ourselves and free our inner world up for more light, more joy, more freedom.

For a long time, I let my own pillars of strength falter and crumble because I didn’t reach out.

But resentment and loneliness grows in isolation.

And when I am weak, I make the whole system for women weaker. 

Finding a Balance of Strong and Soft

When I work with a woman who is ready to unearth her courage, authenticity and life’s purpose, we always work on building and cultivating what I call unshakeable resilience.

And to do that, we work on her energy balance. 

My Energy Boost Pillars involve a technique that helps you balance your feminine and masculine energies. We do this through helping you figure out where you find flow and understanding what brings you energy and what zaps your energy. 

We do this by helping you be strong AND soft.

This comes from a place of feminine energy, a place of stepping into your inner power and creating a sense of agency around your needs, your feelings, your emotions, your desires.

And, part of it is also being honest about your weaknesses, your vulnerabilities, your challenges.

For truly strong women who are holding it all together this is HARD work.

My Instagram post about being strong that resonated with so many was a sign that we’re all tired of being strong for everyone else — and that we must find another way to power up and power through without feeling like we can’t be soft or ask for help.

We must start focusing on thriving not just surviving and that means we have to be willing to cultivate our strong and soft superpowers.

We won’t want to do hard things — And Yet We Must

I can be heard over and over saying to my clients that there are a lot of things we do not want to do that we must do. 

And that does require a bit of strength to power through.

But it never has to feel so hard and so miserable that we become resentful or lose our sense of self.

When you are feeling exhausted and want to stop being so strong, but you have to power through anyway, here are 3 pieces of wisdom I can offer you.

FIND YOUR BRAVE YES

A Brave Yes isn’t about fixing you — it’s about inspiring you, motivating you, catapulting you to where you want to be — it’s about inspired action to keep going anyway.

In my experience of witnessing Brave Yeses unfold on a weekly basis, there are a handful of types of Brave Yeses that we can use to help us BE who we want to be in our lives and businesses.

What is YOURS?

Here are some questions to help you figure this out …

💟 What has been hanging around in the back of your mind for years but you haven’t made time for?
💜 What is the one thing getting in your way on the daily?
🔮 What does your future self need you to do right now?
☔️ What is raining on your parade over and over and over?
🦄 What is the one thing you want to be known for that you aren’t already known for?

If these don’t help — I have a LOT more where these came from.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH RECIPROCITY

The number one thing you need to know is that you never have to do hard things alone. You may feel like it. You may believe it. But reaching out and reaching up for support, for help, for connection, for relief and respite is VITAL. Look at your strong woman load and see what you can offload and ask for help. Look at your strong woman energy and see where you can use emotional or spiritual support and seek out someone who is going to help fill you up. Surround yourself with people who have a vested interest in lifting you up – and being lifted up themselves. This idea of reciprocity is powerful and creates a stronger energy field for you to bloom and blossom again.

LEARN TO EMBRACE AND CELEBRATE REST — AND MINDFUL PROGRESS

Our addition to over-doing and over-working is directly connected to our pressure to remain strong and be strong. Learn to rest and rest often. Learn to know when your body needs to power through and when your body needs you to give it a break. Relief can come in many forms of rest. Learn to honor what brings you true recovery and healing.

In my coaching program, I have learned to recognize when a client needs a rest vs. needs to take more action. I can see the red flags being staked in the ground and can point them out.

Not everyone has that luxury, I realize.

So learn to notice your own red flags of needing rest. And let your own healing be a priority.

HEY STRONG WOMAN –> I would love to hear from you. Are you a entrepreneur who is tired of being strong and just flat out needs support to get clarity, motivation and some courage to keep going? Who needs to find new ways of creating soul alignment? Reach out to me for a FREE 1:1 Discovery Coaching Call. I will share resources and ideas to move you through your journey to more ease, more courage and more power.