ICF and National Board Certified Holistic Life & Wellness Coach
Compassion. The above image has been circulating around social media this pride month (only without the “compassion” part). Yikes. I suppose in some ways it’s funny, but in other ways, maybe not. I’m wondering: How is this really helping the conversation about inclusion and equity?…
How to cultivate a better culture? Jeff Krasno from One Commune asks: “What type of oak will grow from an acorn planted in polluted soil?” I believe (like most Americans) that so much needs to be done in our country to solve the problem of…
Being brave and courageous. What does that even mean, to “be brave”?
I’m not talking about being ballsy or throwing all caution to the wind. To explain the difference, a little story for you.
I was recently in a situation at work with someone who was clearly out of their element. This person was struggling due to previously being in an abusive work situation. This affected their performance with us and resulted in a lot of mistakes that, in turn, affected not only those of us who worked closely with this person but also the entire company.
It was a difficult situation all around.
And yet, this person did nothing. Just cruised along as if everything was OK.
Pretty ballsy, but is that the same as being brave? or courageous?
Being brave requires a lot of inner work. A lot of work to figure out who and what your authentic self is. A lot of work to be honest with yourself – and with others.
This can take time. Years.
I look at this image of the lion, above, wearing St. Patrick’s Day attire. Despite the ridiculousness of it all, he seems quite calm. His courage still shines through.
On a personal level, I think about my journey with music. I could relate to the person in the story above because I had a horrible time at the conservatory where I studied, where I had an emotionally and verbally abusive professor. I was too young to understand what was going on, I didn’t know what I wanted and didn’t have the courage to leave and move on.
My music-making suffered greatly, but I staunchly stayed on at the conservatory. I thought I was being brave.
After 4 years of that, I stepped away from music completely and moved my life to New York City. Which was a pretty bold move, looking back. Pretty courageous.
Or maybe I was just running away from my troubles.
Moving from one city to another certainly gave me space physically. It wasn’t until years later that I acquired space mentally from that traumatic time in my life – and how important that mental space is.
A lot of hard inner work (yes, there I go again with the “inner work”) with the help of therapy and coaching allowed me to create that space.
When one has that space, choices appear. Different paths become available. And this is a beautiful thing because then we can make the choice to empower ourselves – and to be brave in those choices.
Here are a few pointers on tapping into your courageous, inner self:
• Get back in touch with your intuition. This may require slowing down. A lot. What does it look like to just sit with yourself and notice what is going on with your body? Are your thoughts all-consuming that you have no idea what you are feeling emotionally or physically?
Slow down. Get present. Get back in touch with your body. Breathwork, yoga, Tai Chi, QiGong are all wonderful tools to help get that mind-body connection back online.
Understanding what the body is doing helps us work with something tangible, and gets us out of our heads.
• Be honest. I mean really, REALLY honest. Being brave means being authentic. With yourself and with others. What would your authentic self say or do in situations where you are feeling fear or anxiety? I invite you to get still and listen carefully. Looking into the future may help: what would your “future self” say regarding your actions or lack thereof? A day, week, month, or year from now?
Be kind to yourself as emotions arise. Just notice them, without judgment.
• Get ready for the guilt and shame monsters to move in. Going to cut to the chase and quote the fabulous Karla Mclaren here (from her website):
“Shame is the natural emotional consequence of guilt and wrongdoing. When your shame is working well in your psyche, its powerful heat and intensity will restore your boundaries when you’ve broken them yourself. However, most of us don’t welcome shame into our lives; we obscure it by saying “I feel guilty” instead of “I feel ashamed,” which speaks volumes about our current inability to identify and acknowledge our guilt, channel our appropriate shame, and make amends.
“This is the real shame, because when we don’t welcome and honor our necessary shame, we cannot manage our own behavior. We’ll continually do things we know are wrong – and we won’t have the strength to stop ourselves. In our never-ending shamelessness, we’ll offend and offend and offend – we’ll always be guilty – because nothing will wake us to our effect on the world.”
Know that shame is real, and it’s ok. Again, no judgment. Shame is there to tell you to reassess. It means that the hard work you’re doing on your inner self is paying off, and that now you have choices as to how to move forward.
Some may say staying in an unsavory situation takes courage. I disagree, but I would say that it does take balls.
Being ballsy does not require looking into your gut to listen to what your authentic self is saying.
Being ballsy usually means that emotions are pushed aside and overlooked in favor of “staying safe”.
When you think about courage in your own life, what comes forward for you? Some things that have appeared in my coaching sessions relating to being brave are:
• Finding the courage to leave a family doctor and find someone to help with your health instead of dismissing you. If this has happened to you, what do you feel in your body as you remember this time in your life?
• Being brave enough to tell friends and loved ones about the changes in your diet, despite it being seen as “a fad” or “high maintenance” or “no fun” to them. If this resonates with you, what have you said to these people in those moments?
• Having the strength to say NO. No to certain foods, no to going out, no to having a drink, no to sugar. No to a gig that is not a good fit at the time. What is courageous – or not – about saying no?
I think about my co-worker who somehow mustered up the strength to make it through the season at work. They had strength, but like the cowardly lion, not a lot of courage.
This person is quite young, so I have hopes for them. They seem aware of the work they have to do and are already on that path. Awareness is the first step.
Looking back, I believe they are further along than I ever was at that age. I envision them rising up to the challenge and figuring it all out. In some ways, I am envious of their youthful awareness (even if it is just a twinkling at this point), and I even admire them for their ballsiness. I like to think that someday that ballsy nature will morph into true courage.
Then, in the future, when a silly St. Patrick’s day outfit is handed to them, they can just say no.
Or they can be brave enough to wear it with pride, knowing they’ve done the work and have the space to deal with whatever comes their way and be honest about it all.
Until next time, I wish all of you strength as you go about your day and hope that you have the space to be still, to listen, and to make courageous choices.
If you ever want to talk about how to create more courage or work through any fears you may be experiencing, click here to learn how I may be of support.
Sandy
Sandy Swanson is an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), a Certified Functional Health Coach (A-CFHC), and a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). You can learn more about her here and more about what coaching is here.
Shame and guilt. Have you met these evil twins? Yeah, they’re good friends of mine. Yours too? Huh, what are the chances! A lot of shame comes up for me around the holidays. I become ashamed thinking: I’m not doing enough. Or I feel guilty…
Overcoming fear. This is a common topic in my coaching sessions, which usually elicits this question from me: What are you afraid of? or, after some waffling from clients on that question, What are you *really* afraid of? Sometimes the answer is clear: Death, dying. …
The road to healing while experiencing illness can be long and lonely. As a National Board Certified and Holistic Life & Wellness Coach, I walk alongside my clients and help them untangle the web of confusion, frustration, and overwhelm surrounding autoimmune and chronic health issues.
I take my clients past the usual tangible goal-setting. You can set goals on your own, so why do you need me to help you write down things in your calendar?
In other words:
What is it about your current situation that is requiring the help of a coach? What is holding you back from moving forward on your own accord?
Usually, there are seemingly harmless thoughts or beliefs lurking beneath the surface of actionable, tangible goal setting. Perhaps there is a conflict of values – when what society and culture demand of us doesn’t align with what we hold dear to our hearts. Sometimes there are strong emotions holding us back – emotions that need to be fully processed before we can move forward.
These thoughts, beliefs, values, and emotions are just some of what we will uncover and address in our work together. My clients and I often also talk about the power of choice, language, how intuition and faith can impact our healing, and the concepts of awareness and acceptance
This type of transformational coaching helps you not just in one part of your life; all parts of your life will be improved as a result of our work together.
To hear more about how I work, I invite you to read the posts in the links above.
I look forward to meeting you!
Sandy Swanson
ACC, NBC-HWC, A-CFHC
“Sandy brings a higher level of compassion and empathy to her service because she’s suffered through the low points of poor health and understands the emotional and mental toll that autoimmune disease can take on a person. I would absolutely trust her sanguine advice with my physical and mental health.” – Tamra Westberry, Co-Founder Hashimoto’s 411
“Sandy has an amazing gift as a listener, healer, and coach. She provided me with tools and techniques that allowed me to get to the heart of what I truly needed to thrive. Working with her opened up a new and empowering avenue to how I viewed and approached my life and health.” – Luanne Sawatzky, homeschooling mom
“Sandy is not only a brilliant, compassionate, deeply engaging and skilled coach, but her knowledge and expertise of Hashimoto’s is also vastly comprehensive. She understands the mental, emotional, and lifestyle side of Hashimoto’s and how it can affect women’s overall health, wellness, and quality of life.” – Kelli Saginak, EdD, A-CFHC, NBC-HWC
I offer a free Assessment and Complimentary Session to all prospective clients. During this session, we’ll discuss what brings you to coaching and I’ll answer any questions you may have about me or the coaching process. We’ll also see how we “fit” together – we may not have good chemistry, which is important to establishing trust and an open client-coach relationship. I am always happy to refer out to a colleague who may be a better fit for your needs.
NOTE: While my coach training gave me an excellent education in terms of functional medicine, chronic illness, and autoimmune disease, I am not a doctor. I do not give medical advice. I simply speak the language, I do not teach it.
I am also not a nutritionist or dietician. I do not do meal plans. I invite you to seek the help of these professionals if this is the type of help you are looking for.
Please see this page for more on what coaching is – and isn’t.
“Sandy is not only insightful, thoughtful, and supportive but she also has a wonderful sense of humor. I would absolutely recommend Sandy to anyone who is struggling with Hashimoto’s and looking for a way forward where you feel heard and cared for.” – Will Welch, Board-Certified Health and Leadership Coach
“Coaching isn’t about finding someone who will tell you what to do. However, if you are looking for a compassionate, clear-headed, inspirational partner in your journey of self-discovery, whose talent lies in helping reflect your best self back to you as you find your path to freedom and self-acceptance, then you are absolutely in the right place!” – Kristina M., professional musician, Luxembourg
“As a highly sensitive being, Sandy brings compassion, love, and gentleness to her coaching sessions along with the strength to stand by the client. Sandy will listen to you with a depth of a musician and the heart of a lover. If you are looking to be understood, cared for, and transformed, Sandy is your coach.” – Tijen Genco, MCC, NBC-HWC
I coach via phone or video; Zoom is the platform I use for video calls. Just let me know what you prefer when you book and I’ll send along a link and password to my Zoom meeting room.
If you do not receive an email from Practice Better regarding this booking by the end of the day, please check your spam/junk folder. I will need you to confirm your session via the green button in that initial email; links to Zoom and my phone number will be sent the day before our session – these will also be sent through Practice Better. Check your spam folder!
If you have changed your mind about meeting me, I appreciate the courtesy of canceling 24 hours prior to your session if this is possible.
If you are more than 5 minutes late to this session I will consider this session forfeited; please reschedule if you are still interested in working together.
If booking below gives you trouble (scroll down to see all booking options), please visit my booking portal at Practice Better.
I look forward to working with you!
Join me for my 6 week LIVE online course, Reimagining Hashimoto’s. Read what former students are saying about this transformational course below!
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If you have any questions about Hashimoto’s I cannot recommend this course enough! The road to health can be a long and complicated one but now I feel that I’m equipped with a good roadmap. Every aspect of the course was relevant and important. You will also find a highly supportive group of people that are on the same ride with you – the deep exchange in content, feelings, thoughts, and even recipes lets you know that you are not alone. If you are on the fence about this course, do it because you will be better for it! – Amy Palacios, Administrative Specialist at Public Health
Whether you are diagnosed with Hashimoto’s or not, anyone who’s ready and willing to make positive changes in their life and health should definitely take this course! Each Module left me with a lot of useful information to learn from and it helped me get a better understanding of my current condition as well as new tools to slowly start moving forward. The knowledge and perspective I gained has allowed me to create a more balanced approach in all areas of my life. – Mariana Osuna, Independent Filmmaker
The camaraderie among the Reimagining Hashimoto’s group was amazing! Sandy was a great leader who created a safe environment so we could all share and benefit from each others’ knowledge and experience. I highly recommend this course to anyone seeking information and encouragement as they navigate forward from their Hashimoto’s diagnosis, regardless of where they are in their journey! – Diane Corey, Realtor and Multi-Million Dollar Producer
I didn’t expect how beautifully and completely presented this course would be. Sandy is a consummate professional and everything she presented in this course was relatable, useful, fascinating, enriching, and deeper than I could ever have imagined. Her research was in-depth, and the links she added in the resources section was fantastic. I have gone on more “deep dives” into subjects I never anticipated were related. I HIGHLY recommend participation in this course, and working with Sandy in any capacity you are able to. She is wonderful. – KC Still, Professional Musician and Suzuki Instructor
