Latest / The FEEL Podcast: Women’s Empowerment, Emotional Wellness and Self-Leadership with Melissa Crook / Building Boundaries & Balanced Living with Coach Kay: Bringing Intimacy Back & Self-Care for Women
Transcript
- 0:00It was naturally in me, which I think honestly is naturally in
- 0:04everyone. I am just OK with blocking the
- 0:06system. I'm OK with whatever, whatever
- 0:09was told. Like, do you want to others if
- 0:12you have them do unto you? I don't want to.
- 0:14I want to treat people the way I see that they want to be treated
- 0:21because I'm going to present myself and walk how I know I
- 0:24deserve to be treated. So I expect that from others.
- 0:28Hello and welcome back to The Field Podcast Today.
- 0:31I'm your host, Melissa, correct? You are correct if you're
- 0:34watching me on YouTube, no glasses here, which means I am
- 0:38blurry eyed and thrilled to be here with my friend Coach K
- 0:42Today Coach K and I met actually I got to be with her first on
- 0:47her show and we'll talk more about that as we go through.
- 0:51She's going to get to share that at the end.
- 0:55I can't talk either, apparently when I can't see or I can't
- 0:57talk. We're heading for a fun show
- 0:59today, but Coach K is a seasoned veteran at this.
- 1:02She knows how to do this. So I'm in good hands with her as
- 1:05a guest. Like I said, you and I had a
- 1:07great conversation and I knew I wanted to have her come over on
- 1:11on my side of things and get to role reversal with her and have
- 1:15her as my guest. She's going to have so much to
- 1:17share with us today. She and our missions are very In
- 1:21Sync, but we have our own ways of doing it and which is what I
- 1:24love because you need as many women as possible in this
- 1:27conversation. We all have a role to play.
- 1:30There's all of you out here have different people you're going to
- 1:33connect with. And I really see it as our job
- 1:37to bring you as many women as possible so you can find that
- 1:40person that connects with you on this journey of feel, finding
- 1:45empowerment, embracing layers. So we're going to get into this
- 1:47conversation with Coach K today. She describes herself as laid
- 1:52back, funny. She's a serial entrepreneur your
- 1:56and and she has many roles in her life along with that that
- 2:00she feels as partner in a mom. So all the things are in play
- 2:03here for her. And so I think humor is a good
- 2:07piece to have in that you got to have sometimes you got to laugh,
- 2:10otherwise you might cry. So it's good to coach K.
- 2:15Welcome to the Field podcast. So thank you.
- 2:18Thank you so much. I'm super excited to be a part
- 2:22of this. I'm super excited to have you
- 2:24here. Well, let's get right into it,
- 2:26all right? Talk to me about prioritizing
- 2:30self-care in your life and what that looks like for you.
- 2:32We've already talked about you got a lot of hats and roles and
- 2:35all those things that are happening here.
- 2:38So talk to me about your journey with self-care.
- 2:43Absolutely. Having five children and a
- 2:46husband, so kind of 6:00-ish children to.
- 2:50Have. For sure to have at least yes,
- 2:53it can become extremely easy to get further and further down the
- 2:59children pole. But I think that I learned
- 3:02pretty early on that if I don't want to become an ostrich and
- 3:07just bury my head in the sand and come up the air and see that
- 3:11the sky is falling, that I have to just sit back and watch it
- 3:17all unfold and decide where I fit in.
- 3:22So for me, when it comes to self-care, it's recognizing
- 3:25where my body is, getting to a place where it will shut down.
- 3:29And before that happens, I will sit, I will get on my iPad, I
- 3:35will play Monopoly, go for hours.
- 3:38And then when I run out of Shields to play dice, I switch
- 3:43over to fish them. And I just, I played those while
- 3:48one of the cooking shows is on TV.
- 3:50And so keeping multiple stimulants going that are not
- 3:55that don't make me fake right? Mindless activities are big for
- 4:01me when it comes to self-care. I don't need to go anywhere, get
- 4:04anything done. I I can I create my peace inside
- 4:09wherever I am? I love that.
- 4:12That's a great tip because I think sometimes we have, we
- 4:15think I've got to spend all this time or this money.
- 4:17No, no, no, no. You can learn how to create
- 4:20peace right where you are, I think and especially when you're
- 4:23a busy partner, mom, entrepreneur, you got a lot of
- 4:27things going on that when you can keep it simple, means it
- 4:32won't get kicked off your calendar.
- 4:34Also, there's, you know, it's room for it, it's accommodating.
- 4:38You're not stressed about the self-care you're trying to
- 4:42create for. Yourself right and and that
- 4:45becomes so easy to do is like OK myself care Sunday is coming up.
- 4:49Did I make the appointment? Well I actually have to go out
- 4:52of the house. I think it's going to rain.
- 4:54Who's going to do this? Nope.
- 4:57Just sit in peace and and decide where I want to be.
- 5:01Yeah. Exactly, exactly, so good.
- 5:03Thank you so much for that. All right, and this goes nicely
- 5:06with confidently setting boundaries.
- 5:08You've created some boundaries around your time of I will do
- 5:12this. I also not going to over ask of
- 5:14myself in creating this space. I'm going to keep it simple and
- 5:19accessible for me so that I know that I can jump into it without
- 5:24about, you know, violating another boundary of more time,
- 5:28more stress, you know, doing things I don't want to do to get
- 5:32to what I want to do. I'm going to keep it really
- 5:34simple and build this space for myself.
- 5:38Oh yeah, competently setting your own boundaries is so
- 5:42important. And the, the first one that I
- 5:47really said was with me and my children, and I'm talking about
- 5:52as young as two to three years old.
- 5:56You know, I've, I've, I've been fortunate never to experience
- 6:00the whole kids just kind of walking in the room when the
- 6:02doors close because I understand pretty early on, Hey, if a door
- 6:07is closed, you're not. And being able to set that up at
- 6:112 and three years old, as they get older, other boundaries are
- 6:14super easy. Like if I bring anything into
- 6:18the household, especially candy or ice cream, everyone, everyone
- 6:23in this house knows ask before touching.
- 6:26Because if mom gets to that place where she did not regulate
- 6:30her anxiety and it is it is flared, everyone's gonna catch
- 6:36it. Yes, so true.
- 6:41So that's a, you know, being able to set that my children and
- 6:47my husband, my business, they all know that I come first.
- 6:51That is my, my biggest boundary is I don't care what's going on.
- 6:55You know, it's easy to say, you know, death changes things.
- 7:00If someone passed in the family. Well, hey, if I'm at an anxiety
- 7:03state, that's not, don't bring it into my space right now.
- 7:07My boundary is when when I am inside of this comfort place
- 7:12that I need to be, just leave me alone.
- 7:16Yeah, that's just yeah. And, and I'm OK with.
- 7:18And I think all the people in my environment, they understand it
- 7:23because I'm one of those you either you follow along or you
- 7:27fall off. And I'm cool either way.
- 7:32I love that you you communication is kind and this
- 7:36has come up before in these conversations.
- 7:38You can set all the beautiful boundaries in your brain that
- 7:42you want to, but if you don't communicate them or release the
- 7:46fear that comes around because we as women and girls get a lot
- 7:50of narratives about what's OK and not OK very young.
- 7:53And we have to dismantle some of those things as we get older and
- 7:56look back. I'm like, you know what?
- 7:58The way the generations before me operated, that didn't seem to
- 8:02work out so well for them. And so, you know, so I think I,
- 8:05so I, you know, I'm moving forward.
- 8:07I'm not going to carry those narratives with me.
- 8:10I'm going to communicate and you set the expectation and we'll
- 8:13get to expectations down the road That's they're all tied
- 8:16together. You set the expectation, you
- 8:18communicated it. And you're absolutely right.
- 8:20No one wins when we are at up here and, and trying to operate
- 8:27from up here. Nobody wins.
- 8:28There is the collateral damage is a domino effect.
- 8:32And so he's like, and I love that little thing where you
- 8:35know, when kids are old enough to understand knock on the door.
- 8:40It's, you know, it just knock on the door.
- 8:42And if you don't knock on the door, then you get what you get.
- 8:46You know, whatever's going to happen and whatever you walk
- 8:49into, but knock on the door and and and when the when the you
- 8:54know, the things that come into the house, the candy, the ice
- 8:56cream, make sure you ask, make, you know, don't just go in and
- 8:59grab, you know, get knock on the door.
- 9:02I mean, it's just like setting that simple and communicating
- 9:06that everyone's on the same page.
- 9:08There's no misunderstanding and it's I think you clear as kind.
- 9:12So thank you so much for sharing that.
- 9:14I think that when did you realize that was necessary?
- 9:17Was there a like a point in life you're like, I'm not doing this,
- 9:21I got to do this? Or was that a natural thing for
- 9:24you to fall into? It it was naturally in me, which
- 9:29I think honestly is naturally in everyone.
- 9:31I am just OK with bucking the system.
- 9:34I'm OK with whatever, whatever was told.
- 9:37Like, do you want to others if you have them do unto you?
- 9:40I don't want to. I want to treat people the way I
- 9:45see that they want to be treated because I'm going to present
- 9:49myself and walk how I know I deserve to be treated.
- 9:52So I expect that from others. So it was naturally in me.
- 9:56But when I realized, hey, I need to actually live it.
- 10:01Sure. When I I think it was around kid
- 10:04number three, yeah. When you it was no longer man to
- 10:09man defense, you go to zones. Exactly.
- 10:13And then by the time kid #3 came around, like marriage came
- 10:18around. So I'm like, all right, it's
- 10:20time, but let's set it up so that we're we're I don't get
- 10:24overwhelmed because when I'm no good, everyone else, like you
- 10:28said, the domino effect, no one's any good.
- 10:30Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, yeah, I think that's, I think
- 10:34you have that kind of have that moment when those things are
- 10:37coming or like, oh boy, this is not sustainable.
- 10:41So we're going to have to make some shifts here to make sure
- 10:45that I'm good for the long haul and everybody else around me
- 10:47too. Because again and you and again,
- 10:50it's not modeling, you know, modeling what you, what you, you
- 10:53know, they people remember what they see your words.
- 10:57If your words and actions aren't lining up, they're going to
- 10:59remember the actions and the words aren't going to be empty.
- 11:02So yeah, absolutely living that out.
- 11:04So important. You've talked about this
- 11:06already. I understand this so well.
- 11:08I myself, I have a good buddy called Anxiety that has lived
- 11:12with me as long as I can remember.
- 11:16And that for me, I, you know, it really came to that realization,
- 11:20you know, when I turned 50, it all kind of came crashing down
- 11:24because I wasn't dealing with all, I was living out of one
- 11:27primary emotional state and everything else was getting
- 11:30shoved aside. And whenever I was confronted
- 11:34with that, my husband would be like, I think you might have,
- 11:38you seem a little anxious. I'm not anxious.
- 11:40I'm not anxious. Now, the world's a scary place.
- 11:43We've got a lot going on. We've got jobs and kids and
- 11:46college and stuff and people and war.
- 11:49And I mean, obviously, like, I'm not anxious.
- 11:51And he's just like, so, but it kind of all came crashing down
- 11:58and it really made me stop. And I had to pay attention to
- 12:02the connection between my mental, emotional, physical,
- 12:07spiritual health. I had to pay attention to that.
- 12:10Talk to me about your journey with that and understanding that
- 12:13and kind of figuring out how to manage.
- 12:15That I saw and watch my mom try to go to all of the things, you
- 12:26know, she was that person that everyone knew her around town.
- 12:29If there was a cookout, she went, we were in tow.
- 12:32So we also got dragged around, but we got to go home with mom
- 12:38at in the evening and listen to well, I'm stressed out because I
- 12:45don't have this and who there's no one to call.
- 12:50There's no one to come to her rescue.
- 12:52And I was like, Oh my gosh, people and like that.
- 12:55I'm not going to live like that because I never want to
- 12:58experience that type of anxiety. And so when #1 a lot of us don't
- 13:03understand or even recognize that we have anxiety and, or we
- 13:08ignore it because there's such this big negative connotation
- 13:12around anxiety. That's a natural thing or
- 13:16emotion that's in our body. It's how we are able to move it
- 13:21around so that it doesn't get so big and out of control that
- 13:26everyone's looking at you like, oh, that, that that big old
- 13:29angry girl over there. There she goes again when when
- 13:33she's not angry, she's tired, she's frustrated.
- 13:37She might just be hungry like this little thing.
- 13:42And so for me, when I started to feel the same feeling over and
- 13:47over when put in specific situations, I had to pick up on
- 13:52the pattern, OK, I know what I'm faced with having to go to all
- 13:57of these things that I know I want to be at home.
- 14:01So I just started for almost 10 years, I only showed up to
- 14:07family events that I wanted to. And sometimes it was decided the
- 14:14morning of, like me, my husband and I, my children, we pulled up
- 14:19to a wedding. We parked the car in the parking
- 14:22lot and I looked at my husband. He looked at me.
- 14:25We had the look. I was like, yeah, we can go
- 14:28home. He was like, cool.
- 14:30We turned the car around and went back home.
- 14:34I love that. Not today.
- 14:39And it and, and I was and I felt I was OK with it.
- 14:43Yeah. And you know, by this time, you
- 14:46know, family, you know, they're gonna talk.
- 14:47Oh, she don't come to anything. And I just answered.
- 14:50You're absolutely right. I'm not gonna deny it.
- 14:54Like so now you have nothing to talk about 'cause I own it.
- 14:57Right, exactly. It's not the big mystery.
- 15:00It's not, Oh my gosh. You know, she's like, yeah,
- 15:02acknowledge it, own it, fine with it.
- 15:05Because you're not abandoning yourself.
- 15:08And I think when you're not abandoning yourself, you can be
- 15:11just fine. What everyone else around you
- 15:14swirling about is theirs and really more about them than you,
- 15:19because probably secretly they wish they could do that too.
- 15:22And they can is just being willing to make the decisions
- 15:26and have the conversations to make that shift and change how
- 15:30they show up and and have, you know, and because when you make
- 15:34those shifts, it's just like you're seeing, not everybody's
- 15:37going to love it. They're going to chat about it.
- 15:38They might be upset about it. And then you just being like,
- 15:42you know what? I know what it's like to abandon
- 15:44myself. And I'm not going to do that
- 15:46anymore. I, I know what that looks like.
- 15:48And I will not, I will not dishonor myself or my or my
- 15:52family that way. Yeah.
- 15:55That's just what it is there. There are plenty of times when
- 15:57my husband showed up to the kids like track meets for a whole
- 16:02year he went by stuff and I was like, I just don't want to go.
- 16:04And he understands that's just who I am because I can go.
- 16:08And the whole time I'm just like thinking about 20,000 things
- 16:11that I could be doing at home, even though when I'm at home I'm
- 16:14not going to do them, what I'm going to think about them.
- 16:18Yeah, exactly. And you're not president in
- 16:20anyway, right? You know, you know, it was
- 16:23spent. I was talking to Suzanne
- 16:26Kohlberg about this and she she's been a guest on my
- 16:30podcast. I've been a guest on hers as
- 16:31well. And she talked about the fact
- 16:33her daughter, she lives in Australia.
- 16:35Her daughter plays, I think she plays Australian rules football
- 16:39or soccer or rugby. One of those things, I'm not
- 16:42remembering the sport right now, but it's one of those things
- 16:44she's like, I can only really engage and be present for a, for
- 16:491/2 of that I am not. So I learned like rather than
- 16:53going to the whole thing, I'll go to 1/2 and be really engaged
- 16:57and be really supportive and I'm not going to feel guilty about
- 17:00it because I'm actually present there when I'm, you know, that
- 17:04half. So I think figuring out what
- 17:05works for you, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be all
- 17:09the things to everybody. And if it comes down to the
- 17:12habit, who am I doing this for if I'm not present, you know, am
- 17:17I? And does it even feel supportive
- 17:19to my kid? You know, if I'm here as an
- 17:22obligation? I mean, you know, really
- 17:24weighing those things and having those conversations and knowing
- 17:28that when I do show up, I'm present and I'm supportive and
- 17:31I'm honoring myself and honoring them.
- 17:34Yes, yeah, so good. Everything just showing up is
- 17:38not enough. I love that.
- 17:40Yeah, yeah, because they sense it too, you know, I mean, you
- 17:44know, absolutely. OK, Talk to me about how we
- 17:49support ourselves and other women in living
- 17:51unapologetically. For me personally at this is
- 17:55where your work really shows up. I mean, this is, this is really
- 18:00you show up. You've learned how to show up
- 18:01for yourself and apologetically. Now you're providing
- 18:03conversations and resources to support others in doing so.
- 18:07Talk to me about how you got to that point of realizing like,
- 18:11wait a minute, not only is this working for me, I can help other
- 18:15women with this too. When when you become the the go
- 18:22to that everyone calls with the problem, right, And I'm not just
- 18:25talking about the problem that they never won't solve.
- 18:31You're, you're watching your friends and family put these
- 18:35things and actions like, Oh my God, that see, see.
- 18:38And so I recognize that, you know, I can do this for other
- 18:42women because there's somebody out there that's just waiting
- 18:45for permission, permission to look in the mirror and said, you
- 18:50can say no to everyone else. Because when you do that, you
- 18:54say yes to you. And that is when I recognize
- 18:58that, you know, 1 or 1000, if I touch one other woman that
- 19:04recognizes that no to you is yes to me, then I've done my job
- 19:09because she is going to pass it along, whether it be to her
- 19:12child or children or to another friend or family member.
- 19:16And that's where that community is built through.
- 19:22It starts at home, you know, practicing what you preach.
- 19:25And I actively, I try my hardest, but for the most part,
- 19:29I practice it all day long. And I know it's easier said than
- 19:33done. So it's more than just telling
- 19:36them, it's giving them the tools to do it.
- 19:42And I'm like super visual and there's a boot camp that I
- 19:46created. And one of the practices is how
- 19:50many layers of you are you actually working through?
- 19:54And so I love that that activity involves them putting on for
- 19:59every role that they play in their life.
- 20:02Yeah. They have to put on either
- 20:04another pair of another pair of pants or another shirt and for
- 20:09two days they have to wear this. They even have to shower in it.
- 20:14And then I oh, wow, yeah, 'cause it's like, what does that feel
- 20:17like? Because we, we're visual.
- 20:20We won't remember. I had to wear 25 shirts and get
- 20:24it soaking wet. Is that really the heaviness
- 20:26that I walk around with every day?
- 20:28Yes, yes it is. So true, so true.
- 20:36I love that so much. That's so smart.
- 20:39And that again, that gets our attention.
- 20:41It's like, oh, because I won't. You know, when you do start
- 20:45doing the work and you start unpacking the layers, which
- 20:48we're going to get to in a minute, when things get
- 20:51processed and moved through and released, or you simply start
- 20:54saying no or passing on a task to someone else who could
- 20:59totally handle it, you feel audibly lighter.
- 21:03Like physically lighter. I mean, when you take that off
- 21:07and you don't even realize you were carrying it until you're
- 21:09like, wait a minute, I feel 10 lbs lighter today.
- 21:14And so giving that visual that sticks with you and then you've
- 21:18got that metaphor. If you start doing it again or
- 21:21falling into an old pattern, you're going back to that 24 wet
- 21:24shirts and you're like, uh, uh, Nope, Nope, we are not doing
- 21:29that. I'd love that.
- 21:31That's such a great visual. That's so smart.
- 21:33Thank you so much for that. At what moment in time did you
- 21:36decide to become this resource? Was there an epiphany moment, or
- 21:41did this kind of organically just unfold over time?
- 21:46I think it organically unfolded over time and then I was forced
- 21:51to do it full time. So my background is human
- 21:55resources. I've I've always loved I'm, I'm
- 21:57third generation knows me. So I love to know all of the
- 22:02business. Like I don't, I don't want to be
- 22:06in the business, but I want to know the business.
- 22:09So going into HRI was able to have, I'm a whopper.
- 22:13Like I knew everyone's business. And when I worked in this call
- 22:18center, we had a lot of young, young people working their 20s
- 22:22and they were coming to the HR office, but it was really about
- 22:27the job itself versus what was happening at home that was
- 22:31causing them not to be able to do the job.
- 22:34And so and talking to so many young women, especially and
- 22:38young men, I'm like, Oh my gosh. OK.
- 22:43So the the business I was kind of doing like as a side hustle
- 22:47over there because like human resources clinical psychologist,
- 22:50how does that mesh, right? Where does the bridge here?
- 22:59And so I was fortunate enough in May 2020, I think it was May 5th
- 23:03or May 7th. Never forget that date when
- 23:06COVID really became rampant. My job, I knew like 3 hours
- 23:12before it was going to happen. I told everybody the job, hey, I
- 23:15think they're going to let me go today.
- 23:17You know, it was nice working with you.
- 23:18They was like, Oh no, no, no. So when they called, I was like,
- 23:21cool, when can I turn on my computer?
- 23:24Because I knew that that was my son to just go and just do the
- 23:30thing that you were doing for someone else in a different
- 23:34capacity. Just go and do it for you.
- 23:37And that way you can, you can touch more people and, and, and
- 23:41help more people. So it was gradual and then that
- 23:44that push. Yeah, yeah, I know.
- 23:48And I mean, we, I cannot tell you COVID is such a complex time
- 23:53because obviously horrible pandemic so much in that it also
- 23:59forced a lot of us to take a really hard look at our lives.
- 24:04And you know, when you're confronted with this kind of
- 24:07scary thing that you don't know how or if it's going to affect
- 24:10you, you all of a sudden start taking stock of your life and
- 24:15and be like, huh, how do we want to move forward in this
- 24:18situation in a way that I actually can look back on and be
- 24:23like, you know, I'm glad I did that.
- 24:25I honored myself in that. I started listening to that
- 24:28nudge. I responded to that call.
- 24:31And you're a little more willing to take some risk because you
- 24:33realize life is a little more tenuous than we tend to live it
- 24:37as day-to-day. I'm in so I think that, you
- 24:40know, time and time again I hear these stories.
- 24:43I, I, I love that. Thank you for sharing that.
- 24:46And this goes nicely into living, you know, discovering
- 24:50your why and your values and how you apply that in your life.
- 24:53This was really a turning point moment for you to be like, I'm
- 24:57going to truly start honoring my why and my values across the
- 25:01board and how I'm showing up and moving this direction, doing
- 25:05this work that I know I'm called to.
- 25:07You've already spoken about it, how you communicate your
- 25:10boundaries so clearly with your family.
- 25:12You're now living it out in all parts of your life.
- 25:14Would you say that? Was that like, Oh yeah, now I'm
- 25:17real. I get like my why?
- 25:19Because I mean, I we laughed earlier about the HR PS And you
- 25:22there was definitely a part of your why that was in that, you
- 25:26know, it's funny as it was, but also too like this other thing
- 25:29that I'm already doing anyway, you know, and really honoring
- 25:34yourself did was that kind of a moment where you were able to
- 25:37kind of Oh yeah, this really is an alignment now.
- 25:41It really was, especially when you have some of the previous
- 25:46employees here we are, you know, five years later and they still
- 25:52contact me. Hey, I have this interview
- 25:54coming up. How do you think I should say
- 25:57this or what do you think about this?
- 25:58Or can you read over my resume or you know, I'm having this
- 26:02issue at work. How do I handle it so when I can
- 26:05still get contact even with people who have terminated
- 26:08because if I terminated somebody, trust me, they got a
- 26:11good going away speech that was short for the next career.
- 26:17And so getting getting those folks to still, you know, DM me.
- 26:22Hey, this is what's happening or seeing seeing the folks, the
- 26:28young people starting to grow their families.
- 26:31You know, that all, all of those things are are they mean
- 26:36something to me when someone else is successful, whatever it
- 26:40looks like, that's a win for me if I had any part of where they
- 26:45are. Yeah, yeah.
- 26:48I love what you said about for even the people that you let go,
- 26:52you had a conversation with them and talk to them about why and
- 26:59had given some insight on how you can move forward from this.
- 27:03It wasn't just a you treat it. That's a theory treating them as
- 27:07a human, treating them as a person, like you aren't just a
- 27:10thing or an object or a doing that we're letting go.
- 27:14I'm going to we're going to do this, but I want you to know
- 27:16why, because this needs to be a learning it.
- 27:18Hopefully you embrace this as a learning experience moving
- 27:21forward. So thank you.
- 27:22I think that's such a such an important piece that we don't
- 27:26always see enough in that world. You know, of HR that the human
- 27:31piece of it. So thanks so much for that.
- 27:32That was really good. It speaks to who you are as a
- 27:35person accepting oh, whoops, hold on.
- 27:38I'm jumping ahead. Living out of your own
- 27:40expectations versus others. The you, you have laid that out
- 27:44very well. You are one that lives out of
- 27:46your own expectations. Unapologetically talk to me
- 27:50about and, and that impacts and though you know, expectations
- 27:54and why and values and boundaries are all right.
- 27:57They all run together and they all play off of each other.
- 28:01And having a handle on one helps you to determine how to put the
- 28:05other in place and communicate and who it needs to be
- 28:08communicated to and all those things.
- 28:11Talk to me about your expectations, journey and really
- 28:13that that point of where you knew you were always.
- 28:17It was important to not only live out of your own, but
- 28:19communicate that to others the way you do Boundaries.
- 28:24That comes from my my wife. Thanks.
- 28:27I'm a wise person. I need to understand why and
- 28:32when you start putting the ball back in other People's Court,
- 28:36you recognize that they don't know how to dribble this ball.
- 28:39They just handed you the ball and said dribble and make these
- 28:42points for us. And I'm a hand it back and said,
- 28:45tell me why. Why do we need this?
- 28:47And when I I recognize that they can't tell me why I need to do
- 28:52something to for them, then why in the world am I busting my
- 28:57butt trying to figure it out? So I'm like, no, what do I
- 29:02expect of me? The only person that I can
- 29:06expect to do a thing that I've asked or that I want is me.
- 29:13The only I can only ask of other people.
- 29:16I cannot expect. The expectation will always come
- 29:19with some or some form of disappointment, frustration or
- 29:24being upset. Yeah.
- 29:26So all you can do is ask. I don't expect.
- 29:29I expect people to be who they are.
- 29:31That's it. And you and, and, and, and when
- 29:36you treat people like that, you're more likely to get that
- 29:39in return as well. I mean, you're sending a
- 29:42message, you're laying the groundwork.
- 29:44I think that's so good. Thank you so much for that.
- 29:46All right, we talked about layers earlier and wearing the,
- 29:50you know, getting in the shower with the 24 shirts and such a
- 29:52great metaphor to talk to me about your journey of accepting
- 29:57the layered aspects of yourself, the parts and pieces that you
- 30:01love, that you don't love, that need shedding, that that need
- 30:05work, that need processing, all those things.
- 30:08Talk to me about your layers journey and when you realize
- 30:11this was an uncomfort important component of your well-being.
- 30:17I think when I started to, my body started to shut down
- 30:20physically. I went to a place it was I don't
- 30:24know how many years ago where my legs gave out.
- 30:28Like, I used to get excruciating pain that would shoot down one
- 30:33leg. And, yeah, you know, it could be
- 30:35sciatica. But they couldn't find anything.
- 30:37I would get the Mris couldn't find anything.
- 30:40I'm walking out of the hospital and literally, my legs just gave
- 30:43out. I could not walk.
- 30:45And so I recognized that my body was telling me stop.
- 30:51I I cannot go on anymore with the level of stress that you're
- 30:55putting on me. And so until you treat me
- 30:59better, I will not operate for you.
- 31:02And so I said, OK self, because that's the only way I can still
- 31:06live is through you. I'm going to start treating you
- 31:09a little bit better. And that was my my pivotal
- 31:13point. When I hear women have pain and
- 31:16they want to go grab an aspirin, I said, hold on.
- 31:19What's what's happening in your life right now?
- 31:22And if they can list me 25 things and out of the 2520 don't
- 31:27belong to them, I will say pull those off and tell me about this
- 31:32headache in about a week. And that's what I started doing
- 31:35for myself is understanding that my mental will diminish my
- 31:41physical completely the same way that my physical will diminish
- 31:46my mental. So I have to keep them balanced
- 31:48if I want to get to and stay in a better place, yeah.
- 31:53And you just tie beautifully together the mental, emotional,
- 31:56physical health and layers. This is all In Sync, you know,
- 32:00this framework that we talked through.
- 32:01All the parts and pieces feed off the other.
- 32:04If one's not being tended to, another one's going to feel the
- 32:08repercussions of that. I think that's so important.
- 32:11I talk about that all the time. You know, when I was unpacking
- 32:14all my stuff when I first started and let like where my
- 32:19nervous system was really feeling safe enough to kind of
- 32:21start moving through and processing all the things I've
- 32:24stuffed all those years. I have these areas of numbness
- 32:27and pain that no one could explain.
- 32:30And as I was able to unpack and process and move through, the
- 32:34numbness would dissipate, the pain would go away.
- 32:38And it was such a startling reminder.
- 32:41And also, our bodies are for us, not against us.
- 32:46But they won't give us clues. And they will yell and she will
- 32:50yell and scream if to get our attention if necessary.
- 32:54And so many times, oh, my body's failing me, give me another
- 32:58pill. No, no, no, no, no.
- 33:00Stop the truck for a minute and start getting curious about
- 33:05exactly what you asked. Let's look at your calendar.
- 33:08What's happening here in your calendar?
- 33:11Are you cringing every time you look at your calendar?
- 33:13If you are, you know that's a clue.
- 33:17And then that stress, headache and that back pain and that
- 33:21clenched jaw and all those things that stomach ache,
- 33:24whatever it is, so many of those things are connected to those
- 33:28layers and emotions that need move through processing,
- 33:32acknowledged and just given a little love and attention.
- 33:35Yeah. I love that so much.
- 33:39Thank you. I love how you tie that
- 33:40together. Thank you so much.
- 33:42All right, in living out feel, finding empowerment, embracing
- 33:46layers which you have unfolded really great here for us today.
- 33:50Talk to me about how that has impacted your relationship with
- 33:53yourself as well as your relationship with other people.
- 33:58It's being able to accept well understanding and recognizing
- 34:02that I am complex. I'm not only a woman, I'm not
- 34:07only a mom, not only a wife, I'm a Gemini.
- 34:10And so I just kind of blow with the way which personality is
- 34:14going to show up today. And so I like to approach all of
- 34:17my any relationship that I have like that.
- 34:21So with my husband, we've been knowing each other like 20 plus
- 34:24years and married from 19. I had to really just observe
- 34:28that he really wants to live for me, but I had to let him know
- 34:36that if you live for me, who am I to love?
- 34:40Because then you're not being you.
- 34:43And so I need you to to live for you and allow me to love all of
- 34:49that. That's how we're able to keep
- 34:52that relationship. So I didn't recognize him that
- 34:55he has different layers. He, you know, that's natural.
- 34:59I'm not going anywhere. I don't need you.
- 35:02I don't just need you. I want you.
- 35:04So I want you to understand that I don't want you to need me
- 35:08'cause that's a lot of pressure. Listen, ladies, and and if any
- 35:12guys are listening to this, ladies and gentlemen, let me say
- 35:15this, making someone your entire world is stressful to that
- 35:21person because what you're really saying to them is you're
- 35:25not allowed to be upset any day because I think it's, it's
- 35:30because of me. And so now I can't process
- 35:34myself emotionally or be upset or be hurt or be frustrated
- 35:38about something that has nothing to do with you because you're
- 35:42going to turn it and make it about you because I am your all.
- 35:46I don't want to be, yeah. That's so good and such a great
- 35:53reminder because it takes the pressure off of a relationship
- 35:57to be what it was never meant to be.
- 36:00We were never, you know, we're all responsible for our own
- 36:03happiness. My husband broke up with me at
- 36:06one point in our relationship because he's like, I can't
- 36:11carry. I love you, but I can't carry
- 36:13the weight of, of you needing me.
- 36:18And it was a torturous nine months, but it was the most
- 36:22necessary thing I ever went to because we did end up coming
- 36:26back together, even though I didn't expect it at that point
- 36:30and I didn't need it. I didn't need it.
- 36:33I was, it was. So I'm thank you for sharing
- 36:36that. I think it's something we really
- 36:37have to be conscious of. And it's just a good reminder
- 36:41too, that we're responsible for ourselves.
- 36:43We're responsible for our own happiness, We're not responsible
- 36:47for others, and they're not responsible for ours.
- 36:50And when a relationship feels like something you want and a
- 36:54choice you're making every day, it's so much fuller and more
- 36:58gratifying for both sides. Oh, my gracious jazz I I told my
- 37:03children my oldest is 26, next one is 24.
- 37:07So they're, you know, in the midst of dating the young ones
- 37:10to 18 and 19. But for my 24 year old
- 37:14especially, she is big on showing up for everyone.
- 37:19And so if someone's upset, she automatically thinks, you know,
- 37:23was it me that I do? And I'm teaching her that it if
- 37:27they're upset, if they didn't say that you have done
- 37:31something, that's a them problem you don't worry about.
- 37:35It's not your job to pick up someone who's else's emotions
- 37:38and kind of decipher it. That's not your position.
- 37:42If you know that you haven't done anything intentionally or
- 37:45ill will to that person, let it go and make let them be the
- 37:50responsible party to come to you.
- 37:52But you're not responsible for anyone else's emotional or
- 37:56well-being. Period.
- 37:57But you're all yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
- 38:00The most important lesson I think you can learn and, you
- 38:03know, especially before going into any kind of a partnership,
- 38:06but just period in friendships, everything else, because you set
- 38:11yourself up to be taken advantage of and you set
- 38:14yourself up, you know, to to you're never going to be able to
- 38:18achieve that milestone because we're human and we're not and
- 38:22we're not meant to be carried everybody else's load.
- 38:25So Oh yeah, yeah. Good, good job, mom.
- 38:28I mean, that's those are just the important things and so many
- 38:31of those you and you know, on the other side of that as a mom,
- 38:34you can't learn that for her. Like she has to figure that out.
- 38:38You can guide and give the direction and you know, so I
- 38:42think that too sometimes as a mom as you're watching our kids
- 38:45navigate these things, it's just like especially when they become
- 38:48adults because I've got 3 adult children too, 30/28/26 and it's
- 38:53just like, OK, OK, OK. And learning how to like show up
- 38:58in a way that's honoring to them into the way that they want you
- 39:01to show up versus like going in and taking over and solving the
- 39:04situation and the problem. Like, you know that you know.
- 39:07And so I think that's a big thing too.
- 39:09So great example of that. Thank you so much.
- 39:12All right, we are down to the rapid fire.
- 39:14Name 5 activities that nourish you.
- 39:19Mindless games, Mindless shows, running, napping and eating.
- 39:27I know, I know, love me some good food too.
- 39:30I love that and I ran for years until my body screamed at me.
- 39:34I couldn't do that anymore. But I really for that so
- 39:36wholeheartedly. It's such a good release.
- 39:38All right, 5 words on how you want to feel the next six
- 39:41months. Relaxed, free, successful,
- 39:49energized and just joyous. I love that.
- 39:54All right, Coach K share with everybody how they can find you,
- 39:59follow you, listen to you, learn from you, all the things.
- 40:02And all of this will also be on our website, embracinglayers.com
- 40:06listeners on our resources page. Don't you worry, but let people
- 40:10know right now too while they're listening here.
- 40:13Absolutely. My name is Connie Ford.
- 40:15I do go back Coach K and you can find me on every single social
- 40:19media platform at coach K101C OACH Kay 101.
- 40:26You can also hear some of our past podcast episode which is
- 40:31Bringing Intimacy back where I Co host with Doctor April.
- 40:34If you literally go to Bringing Intimacy Back on
- 40:38socialmediaor.com, you can find all of those episodes and any
- 40:43events that I haven't have an annual women's healing
- 40:45conference every October. So feel free to look that up
- 40:48shehealsher.com. And that's SHEHEELSHE r.com
- 40:56'cause we have to heal and our heels ladies and always feel
- 41:03free. I my phone number, my phone is
- 41:05ours. Open 804-967-4551.
- 41:10All right, thank you so much, Doctor K, for all that.
- 41:13Thanks so much for being with me today.
- 41:15Thanks so much for how you show up in the world.
- 41:17It's because I I think that is so important.
- 41:20You have done the work on yourself and now you're able to
- 41:23go out and support others in doing that.
- 41:26The bringing intimacy back thing, you know, wrapping that
- 41:29back into that. What?
- 41:30Remember, listeners, what Doctor K said of Doctor K, you should
- 41:35be a doctor. Coach K said about relationships
- 41:40earlier in the wanting versus the needing.
- 41:44That's going to have an incredible impact, you know, on
- 41:47the intimacy piece as well. So I wanted to kind of bring
- 41:50that all home together because they're so related and connected
- 41:54to those healthy connections that we're searching for.
- 41:57Thanks so much again for being with us today.
- 41:59Any last thoughts for our listeners?
- 42:03For our listeners, the biggest thing that I want you to walk
- 42:06away with is always look yourself in a mirror and stay
- 42:11quiet enough where you can hear what you need to hear from
- 42:15yourself and walk in that when If you've ever heard, walk in my
- 42:20faith, not by sight. Understand what that means, make
- 42:25it your interpretation, and just walk.
- 42:30Oh, listeners, there you go. That's your take away.
- 42:33I'm not going to add any more to that.
- 42:35Thank you so much for being with me today.
- 42:38I appreciate your time so much and how you show up in the
- 42:40world. Thank you for having me.
- 42:43I appreciate you and this platform right here.
- 42:46So thank you for having me and thank you for how you show up
- 42:50for us as your guest and as a guest and what you share.
- 42:56I appreciate you. Thank you so much.
- 42:58All right, ladies, take good care of yourselves.
- 43:00Check out these resources and we'll see you next time here on
- 43:04The Field Podcast. Hello, and thank you so much for
- 43:08being with us today on this episode of the Field Podcast.
- 43:13If you would like more information on how you can apply
- 43:17these talking points that I share with our guests in each
- 43:20episode to your own life, really utilize this field framework.
- 43:26Go to embracing layers dot com, fill out our contact form and
- 43:30let's set up a free 30 minute consultation to talk about how
- 43:35you can start living your most authentic, organic, healthy,
- 43:41feel fueled life. Thanks again for being with us
- 43:44today. We'll be back to you soon with
- 43:46another episode here on the Feel Podcast.