Latest / Create The Best Me / Midlife Transformations: Uncovering Wisdom with Janet Zavala and The Nature of Transformation
Transcript
- 0:00Carmen Hecox: Welcome to Create the Best Me.
- 0:02Carmen Hecox: I am Carmen Hecox, a personal development coach, and I am so excited to be connecting with you today.
- 0:09Carmen Hecox: Whether you're listening to the podcast or joining us on YouTube, my goal is to help women navigate through midlife challenges with compassion, inspiration, and empowering conversations.
- 0:21Carmen Hecox: Each week we'll dive into thought-provoking topics, designed to build self-confidence, overcome invisible women's syndrome, and find the courage to create the best version of yourself.
- 0:34Carmen Hecox: I'll also be joined by expert guest who will share the wisdom and insights, so make yourself comfortable and let's embark on this journey together.
- 0:44Carmen Hecox: Well, hello there, fearless midlife trailblazers! If you are new here to the show, welcome.
- 0:50Carmen Hecox: I'm so thrilled to have you join us.
- 0:53Carmen Hecox: Don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you don't miss out on any episodes.
- 0:57Carmen Hecox: If you're returning listener, welcome back to Create The Best Me, where we encourage and empower midlife women to pursue their dreams and live their life to their fullest potential.
- 1:09Carmen Hecox: I am Carmen Hecox, your host and personal development coach, and today we have the incredible Janet Zavala, bestselling author, midlife mentor, and transformational life coach joining us! Janet recently launched her inspiring book, The Nature of Transformation, and she can't wait to share the story behind it as we'll dive deeper into exclusive teachings found within the pages.
- 1:35Carmen Hecox: Be sure to stay with us through the entire episode because Janet has some fantastic gifts just for you, our cherished listeners.
- 1:46Carmen Hecox: So, settle in and let's jump into today's episode together.
- 1:50Carmen Hecox: Hello and welcome back Janet Zavala to the show.
- 1:54Carmen Hecox: I am so excited to have you on.
- 1:57Janet Zavala: I am so excited to be here.
- 1:59Janet Zavala: This is so much fun.
- 2:00Janet Zavala: I think we should do this like every week.
- 2:02Carmen Hecox: We should, we should.
- 2:03Carmen Hecox: You know what?
- 2:04Carmen Hecox: And the audience just absolutely loves you.
- 2:06Carmen Hecox: So, we might have to do that.
- 2:08Janet Zavala: Great.
- 2:10Carmen Hecox: So, the reason why I have you on this show this time, well, before we go into that, Janet, for the people that maybe did not listen to episode 004, of createthebestme.com/ep004 tell the audience who you are.
- 2:28Janet Zavala: I am Janet Zavala, I'm a transformational life coach, focusing on being a midlife mentor for those women in the age group where they're looking to transform their lives and really reinvent themselves.
- 2:42Janet Zavala: So really guiding women through that process from where they are to being empowered and living their dreams and going after what they want in life, and using those skills and abilities that we've developed and honed all of this time in the most impactful way that they can.
- 3:00Janet Zavala: So, working with women in midlife is really my passion in helping women, bring their greatness to the world.
- 3:07Janet Zavala: And also, I am a bestselling author of the Nature of Transformation.
- 3:13Carmen Hecox: Yay.
- 3:16Carmen Hecox: I have my copy, and I must say, Janet, I could not put this down.
- 3:21Carmen Hecox: I read it on the plane on my way.
- 3:23Carmen Hecox: I was on vacation a couple weeks ago, and I read it while I was on the plane, and I read it while I was on the beach.
- 3:29Carmen Hecox: Believe it or not, I mean, most people would sit there and say, you're crazy.
- 3:33Carmen Hecox: Take in that beautiful beach.
- 3:35Carmen Hecox: But I could not put this book down and, uh, highlighted it and I told myself, I need to have Janet on the show.
- 3:43Carmen Hecox: There's so much goodness in here.
- 3:45Carmen Hecox: I mean, this is like having, or this is just my little personal opinion, for whatever value that has.
- 3:52Carmen Hecox: But this book is like having a personal coach in your hands.
- 3:58Carmen Hecox: Because you go through a bunch of little nuggets of challenges that people could go through and you go through step by step and breathing or meditation exercises and oils and just so much value in such a small book.
- 4:16Carmen Hecox: To imagine, people can have you instead of the book,
- 4:19Janet Zavala: Oh,
- 4:21Carmen Hecox: You know, by going to janetzavalacoaching.com
- 4:25Janet Zavala: That's right.
- 4:26Janet Zavala: That's right.
- 4:26Carmen Hecox: So, Janet, the title of the book, the Nature of Transformation, what does that mean to you?
- 4:34Janet Zavala: I have always been a nature lover.
- 4:37Janet Zavala: I am just so fascinated by nature and its transformation and its adaptability.
- 4:43Janet Zavala: And then of course, like I said, I've always kind of inspired by people's transformations and looking at the transformation of life that we must.
- 4:52Janet Zavala: All undergo and just kind of melding those two and seeing the similarities in nature's transformation along with our human transformation.
- 5:02Janet Zavala: You know, there's no way to get around the requirement of transformation and change in our lives.
- 5:07Janet Zavala: It's going to happen, you know, and nature does it so seemingly effortlessly that it transforms, and we have to transform as well.
- 5:16Janet Zavala: And I think that transformation comes with a lot of fear and anticipation of loss and losing things.
- 5:25Janet Zavala: But I want people to understand that it can be an exciting time.
- 5:28Janet Zavala: It can be something that we look forward to, and it's something that's required.
- 5:32Janet Zavala: And if you resist the transformation often, that is where the discomfort and the pain lies.
- 5:38Janet Zavala: So, easing into your transformation and understanding it's a natural part of life.
- 5:43Janet Zavala: So that's kind of the, um, where the title, the Nature of Transformation came from.
- 5:48Carmen Hecox: So, tell me what inspired you to write such an amazing jewel here.
- 5:53Janet Zavala: Oh, thank you so much.
- 5:55Janet Zavala: You know, I, I was inspired by my own journey, my own transformation, and also the transformation and the journey that I hear from a lot of the clients and a lot of the women I speak to and we all experience.
- 6:10Janet Zavala: I haven't met a woman who hasn't, but I'm sure there, there might be somebody out there in your audience who hasn't felt this yet, but that nagging feeling that time in their lives where they've kind of met all the expectations that they were supposed to.
- 6:25Janet Zavala: They've done any combination of going to school, getting degrees, starting their career, having children, they've taken care of parents and children, and now they're sitting in this time of their lives.
- 6:38Janet Zavala: And there might be a sense of unmet expectations, unfulfilled ambitions, and it is kind of like a nagging feeling, like the, sometimes you can't articulate it and you don't know what it is, and you feel the sense of maybe a little bit of dissatisfaction.
- 6:55Janet Zavala: Not that you're unhappy with the life that you built, but you're looking at what else is there?
- 7:00Janet Zavala: What more meaning can I glean from life?
- 7:03Janet Zavala: And how can I take the things that I've learned, the things that I've developed, and the skills that I have, and now turn them into an empowering, way to approach life and try new things so that, that was probably the major inspiration.
- 7:19Janet Zavala: But like you said, I wanted to create a comprehensive life coaching system.
- 7:24Janet Zavala: Something that took you from all aspects of your life, mind, body, and spirit.
- 7:29Janet Zavala: So, if you're feeling challenged in any of the areas, it's kind of evergreen, right?
- 7:34Janet Zavala: You might be able to go back to it, you know, in a couple years and go, oh, I'm struggling in this area.
- 7:39Janet Zavala: And go back to that.
- 7:40Janet Zavala: You might have been okay, previously, but now you have this system that you can go back to say, okay, how do I evaluate what's keeping me stuck and how do I move past those barriers to heal and be more at ease with yourself.
- 7:55Janet Zavala: So that is, that was the inspiration for writing the book, really to be able to provide a coaching resource that I use with my clients to people who, who might be reticent or not yet ready for the coaching process to have this in their hands.
- 8:12Carmen Hecox: This is such an amazing treasure that you're putting out in the world.
- 8:16Carmen Hecox: I must say, Janet,
- 8:18Janet Zavala: Thank you.
- 8:18Janet Zavala: Thank you so much.
- 8:20Carmen Hecox: When I read this book, you shared a lot of your childhood and adult trauma.
- 8:25Janet Zavala: Hmm.
- 8:25Carmen Hecox: Can I ask why you were so vulnerable to share this experiences with your readers?
- 8:34Janet Zavala: Sure.
- 8:34Janet Zavala: So, when I wrote it out as, A healing mechanism for myself, right?
- 8:40Janet Zavala: I found myself at a certain point in my life where these things had happened, these things I had gone through all of these challenges that I write about in the book, but I was still holding on to some of those remnants.
- 8:51Janet Zavala: I was still holding onto some of the negative beliefs and negative thought patterns, and just feelings of not being worthy.
- 8:58Janet Zavala: So, I'm still holding on to the effects of the trauma.
- 9:01Janet Zavala: So, I really did it as a therapeutic type of activity to get through some of that stuff.
- 9:07Janet Zavala: And I think that's why writing is so powerful, writing it down.
- 9:10Janet Zavala: You certainly don't need to publish in a book.
- 9:13Janet Zavala: I don't think that when I wrote it, I anticipated putting it in a book.
- 9:17Janet Zavala: I was really doing it for my own healing.
- 9:20Janet Zavala: But I also found when I wrote it that there were linkages between what happened and the behaviors that I had, and that really helps you identify.
- 9:32Janet Zavala: Why you still hold onto some of these negative beliefs that you have, and understanding the source helps you deconstruct it and kind of purge yourself of those beliefs.
- 9:44Janet Zavala: So, you know it.
- 9:46Janet Zavala: But the most important thing that I found when I wrote this out is that by going through these experiences, you know, it created weaknesses and fears and challenges.
- 9:56Janet Zavala: But these experiences created strengths in me that I hadn't really owned or tapped into.
- 10:03Janet Zavala: You know, it, the, these experiences that I had are a direct reason why I coach people and coach women, and the reason why I write, because I can take those experiences and what I learned and put them out into the world in a helpful, hopefully helpful.
- 10:20Janet Zavala: And, um, Therapeutic way for other people.
- 10:24Janet Zavala: So, by owning your strengths, you're also starting to deconstruct the hold that those negative experiences had on you, that you can shift your perspective from the negative things that came out of it to the positive things that you have.
- 10:40Janet Zavala: So I, I think that was really why I wanted to show and tell the reader my experiences so they can tap into their own vulnerability as well.
- 10:50Janet Zavala: And then the last thing I'll say is that, when we hold onto these experiences and we don't express them, sometimes there's a lot of shame in that we hold onto a lot of shame and we think, what was it about me?
- 11:01Janet Zavala: Or how did I cause these things?
- 11:03Janet Zavala: And the shame is the killer of everything good.
- 11:06Janet Zavala: And, if you read any of Brene Brown's books, we know a lot about shame and how it's just such a detrimental feeling that we can have.
- 11:15Janet Zavala: So, I wanted to make sure that people understood that there's no shame in our experiences.
- 11:22Janet Zavala: It's how we learn from them.
- 11:23Janet Zavala: It's how we evolve from them and how we transform our lives.
- 11:27Carmen Hecox: Exactly.
- 11:28Carmen Hecox: Yeah.
- 11:29Carmen Hecox: And I know, there was a section in the book where you talked about unhealthy patterns and self-esteem.
- 11:34Carmen Hecox: Can you talk more about why people fall into these traps of living solely to make others happy?
- 11:42Janet Zavala: Yeah, I think it's a complicated issue and I think that for everybody it might be, the source might be a little bit different as to why they focus on other people's happiness rather than their own.
- 11:54Janet Zavala: And for me it was a trauma response, right?
- 11:58Janet Zavala: It was a trauma response because I witnessed a lot of bad behavior and trauma activities when I was younger.
- 12:08Janet Zavala: And so, it was something that I gravitated to, right?
- 12:11Janet Zavala: You gravitate towards the things that you need to heal in your life.
- 12:14Janet Zavala: So, I really gravitated towards that.
- 12:18Janet Zavala: And I think that another thing for me is that I've probably been a coach in training, and a healer my whole life.
- 12:27Janet Zavala: But before I was able to heal myself, it was expressed in an unhealthy way, right?
- 12:34Janet Zavala: It, it was an attachment to people who had gone through things when I wasn't able to help them because I hadn't helped myself.
- 12:43Janet Zavala: So, it's really this unhealthy attachment.
- 12:46Janet Zavala: So, I'll be really vulnerable here.
- 12:48Janet Zavala: I think that another reason why I focused on other people's issues and trying to make them happy was it was a way for me to avoid my own healing.
- 13:01Janet Zavala: It was a way for me to defer the work that I needed to do on myself and another kind of inherited trait that I've been working towards my whole life and deconstructing is kind of that martyr, type of, approach to life.
- 13:18Janet Zavala: You know, my mom often had some martyr, personality traits and, I used to show up when I was unhealed through this, is that I would focus on other people's hurt rather than my own.
- 13:32Janet Zavala: So, it would make me feel better about myself.
- 13:34Janet Zavala: So, it's all really a trauma response, but as I write in the book, everybody's healing journey is their own.
- 13:43Janet Zavala: You can't take responsibility or make other people happy.
- 13:48Janet Zavala: It's a solo sport.
- 13:49Janet Zavala: We need to do it ourselves.
- 13:52Carmen Hecox: Yes.
- 13:52Carmen Hecox: And I know in the book you also talked about playing small.
- 13:55Carmen Hecox: How does plain small in one's life, either to make others feel better about themselves due to lack of self-worth, impact your own self-esteem?
- 14:06Carmen Hecox: What steps can be taken to ensure that one's treatment of themselves is consistent with their treatment of others?
- 14:15Janet Zavala: Yeah, I think people play small in their lives and they don't take the chance and they, don't make themselves a priority because it's often familiar.
- 14:25Janet Zavala: Right.
- 14:26Janet Zavala: It's typical, it's familiar and it's safe, right?
- 14:29Janet Zavala: Because when you have to step out and when you have to use your voice or take action to be a little bit more out front and visible, it feels risky.
- 14:40Janet Zavala: It feels vulnerable.
- 14:41Janet Zavala: We've talked about vulnerability.
- 14:43Janet Zavala: Like it's hard to have that attention on you and to take a chance.
- 14:48Janet Zavala: So, I think that playing small is, it will never result in kind of a satisfying life, right?
- 14:58Janet Zavala: Because you are abdicating everything about yourself to fit into a mold or to fit into a pattern, or to make somebody else happy.
- 15:06Janet Zavala: It's just always going to feel dissatisfying.
- 15:11Janet Zavala: So, I think some of the things that you can do is own your own strength and your own ambition, right?
- 15:16Janet Zavala: I think especially for women, I think this is a message that women get a lot, is that if you say, I'm a good coach and I'm a good writer, that doesn't make me arrogant.
- 15:27Janet Zavala: It doesn't imply that I'm better than anybody else, but I'm owning my strengths.
- 15:32Janet Zavala: So, I think that it's a process, right?
- 15:34Janet Zavala: If you had asked me two years ago or three years ago to have said that I probably couldn't have said that, right?
- 15:39Janet Zavala: But it's a process over time to own your strengths, step into what you're good at, clearly identify them.
- 15:46Janet Zavala: That's a theme throughout the book that I have is that I want people to really own their strengths.
- 15:52Janet Zavala: It doesn't make you arrogant.
- 15:54Janet Zavala: So, and I think that we need to make sure when we're working on self-esteem, that our treatment of others is, consistent with how we would want to be treated and how we would want our children to be treated.
- 16:09Janet Zavala: I am reminded of a chapter in Glennon Doyle's book,"Untamed." I loved what she said in that book when she was contemplating if she should end her marriage, and she thought about her daughters and she thought, would I want this life, this half-lived life, this life of, unsatisfaction this life of not feeling that true love?
- 16:34Janet Zavala: Would she want that life for her daughter?
- 16:37Janet Zavala: So, we tend to accept a life for ourselves that we wouldn't want for somebody who is closest to us that we love most.
- 16:46Janet Zavala: So, whether you have children or your closest person.
- 16:50Janet Zavala: So, I think that's something to think about when you're thinking about the quality of your life and how you're showing up into life and as your authentic self.
- 17:00Janet Zavala: Would you give that same advice of how you're living your life to your child?
- 17:06Carmen Hecox: Something interesting to think about.
- 17:08Janet Zavala: Mm-hmm.
- 17:09Carmen Hecox: I'm gonna quote a section of the book that I really liked, and I'll do that a couple times.
- 17:15Carmen Hecox: If you have ventured away from your comfort zone, your self-confidence may not be high, but your self-esteem could remain consistent.
- 17:25Carmen Hecox: Just keep plugging along, get some wins under your belt.
- 17:30Carmen Hecox: I think you pretty much covered that in what you just said.
- 17:33Janet Zavala: Yeah.
- 17:34Janet Zavala: Yeah, and I think that it's important to understand for everybody to understand that confidence doesn't show up.
- 17:41Janet Zavala: It's built over time.
- 17:43Janet Zavala: So, you can probably talk about the first time you did your first podcast, you probably didn't feel confident, right No.
- 17:49Janet Zavala: you don't feel confident, but you do it anyways.
- 17:52Janet Zavala: Right?
- 17:53Janet Zavala: But your self-esteem is intact, right?
- 17:56Janet Zavala: Because your self-esteem is not built on the outcome of whatever you do, right?
- 18:01Janet Zavala: If you have strong self-esteem, it shouldn't be contingent on a certain outcome, but self-confidence comes over time.
- 18:10Janet Zavala: I've developed my self-confidence over time.
- 18:12Janet Zavala: My confidence as a writer, my confidence as a coach, I've certainly not been confident, this whole time none of us are.
- 18:19Janet Zavala: So even when you see people who show up and they look super confident, understand that they've either done it hundreds of times before, so they're able to have that confidence now, or they're just really good at masking it or they've practiced or, all of those things.
- 18:34Janet Zavala: But I want people to understand that trying something new, you're never gonna feel confident out of the gate.
- 18:41Carmen Hecox: Yeah, or like some people say fake it till you make it.
- 18:44Janet Zavala: Absolutely.
- 18:46Janet Zavala: Absolutely.
- 18:47Carmen Hecox: In your book you talked a lot about forgiveness, resilience, and authenticity.
- 18:52Carmen Hecox: Can you discuss the interconnections of forgiveness, resilience, and authentic growth, particularly in the context of your journey with your mother?
- 19:03Carmen Hecox: How letting go of anger and embracing change can contribute to one's personal transformation.
- 19:11Janet Zavala: Sure, of course.
- 19:12Janet Zavala: And I wrote about the resiliency formula of forgiveness, acceptance, and service.
- 19:19Janet Zavala: But I knew that a certain point in my life, I realized that I was still holding on to anger and a lot of resentment in my mind, body, and spirit.
- 19:29Janet Zavala: It was just, all throughout that I had realized the need to evolve past that, I couldn't hold onto that anymore.
- 19:38Janet Zavala: It was really, and something that I've said throughout my life when I've been in a situation that hasn't been particularly good, that hasn't been particularly healthy, that it's changing the person that I am.
- 19:52Janet Zavala: So, when I cannot show up authentically because I'm holding onto so much anger and resentment, that's when I know I need to do some work.
- 20:02Janet Zavala: I need to change something because that angry, resentful person is not the person that I am naturally or who I want to be and continue throughout my life.
- 20:14Janet Zavala: Cuz it's just an ugly feeling.
- 20:15Janet Zavala: So, I write about forgiveness and, I was concerned writing about forgiveness because everybody's forgiveness journey is different and I don't want to be so brazen as to say that everybody has to forgive, right?
- 20:32Janet Zavala: Because it's a difficult process.
- 20:33Janet Zavala: So, I, I used to go to a yoga class where the yoga teacher used to say, as she was getting us into a new position, if it's available to you.
- 20:44Janet Zavala: So, practice forgiveness, if it's available to you, if it's right for you at this time, and hopefully you can get there overtime.
- 20:55Janet Zavala: But I don't want people to feel bad cuz I'm really vocal about not having toxic positivity where everybody just says, you need to do this and then if you can't do it, then you feel bad about yourself.
- 21:06Janet Zavala: I am really against kind of that approach to self-development.
- 21:12Janet Zavala: So, if forgiveness is available to you, it's understanding that and that's where acceptance comes in.
- 21:18Janet Zavala: So, the second piece of the resiliency formula is acceptance.
- 21:22Janet Zavala: So, what I mean by acceptance is that, if something was done to you, you need to start accepting that that behavior was not because of you.
- 21:30Janet Zavala: It was not something that you did.
- 21:32Janet Zavala: It was not something that you deserved.
- 21:33Janet Zavala: It wasn't because you were unlovable or unworthy, right?
- 21:36Janet Zavala: Somebody else was, enacting their own trauma responses onto you.
- 21:40Janet Zavala: So, they had experienced trauma, hurt people, hurt people, so you were the recipient of it.
- 21:46Janet Zavala: So, understanding that you weren't the cause of it, even if you were the recipient of it, and that you deserve to be happy and to be fulfilled even though these experiences happen to you and have caused discomfort and dis-ease within you.
- 22:02Janet Zavala: And so, the last piece of the resiliency formula is service.
- 22:06Janet Zavala: And that's kind of what I'm doing here.
- 22:08Janet Zavala: Probably what a lot of people are doing is that you experience something, and you turn it out to the world to help other people.
- 22:14Janet Zavala: So you take a piece of what you've learned and how you've grown and how you've developed and put it out to the world.
- 22:20Janet Zavala: So, there's a famous quote by Aung San Suu Kyi that says, if you're feeling helpless, help somebody.
- 22:29Janet Zavala: So, I think that this part of the resiliency formula is that if you cannot get to the point where you are able to forgive and you are working through the acceptance piece of it, help somebody, if you're feeling helpless, turn that out into the world and try to help somebody else.
- 22:45Janet Zavala: So, all of those steps will help you be resilient and start to heal yourself from the trauma experiences that you had in the past.
- 22:57Carmen Hecox: Here's another quote from the book.
- 22:59Carmen Hecox: Without self-love and acceptance, how can you find someone to love you for who you truly are when you don't love who you truly are?
- 23:09Carmen Hecox: Can you elaborate on that?
- 23:11Janet Zavala: Yeah, I, I write in the book that it, I think in my twenties and I'm not sure if it was the self-help catch phrase at the time that you need to love yourself before you love anybody else.
- 23:22Janet Zavala: And that really, in my twenties, that wasn't available to me.
- 23:25Janet Zavala: You know, it, that, that self-love piece, I didn't get it.
- 23:29Janet Zavala: I, I just really didn't understand it.
- 23:31Janet Zavala: And I think as I've gotten older and gone through the healing journey, is that I work on actively every day loving and accepting myself, right?
- 23:41Janet Zavala: And, and it's not, you don't arrive at loving yourself.
- 23:45Janet Zavala: Its love is an action, love is a practice.
- 23:49Janet Zavala: And when you are able to love yourself authentically for who you are.
- 23:54Janet Zavala: All of your strengths and all of your weaknesses and everything that you've been through, you are able to show up into the world more authentically.
- 24:04Janet Zavala: You're not trying to hide, you're not putting on a mask, you're not, showing a side of you that isn't authentically you because you just, you accept yourself.
- 24:13Janet Zavala: Self-acceptance is so important along this healing journey, and like I said, I think it is a continuum.
- 24:21Janet Zavala: It's a struggle for a lot of people and a lot of women and we get a lot of messages out there in the media and everywhere else that convinces us that there are a lot of things that we shouldn't love about ourselves, right?
- 24:33Janet Zavala: We need to change the way we look and the way we grow old, and the way we do our hair, and the way we dress, and the way we put on our makeup, and do all the things that feel good for you.
- 24:44Janet Zavala: But I think that when we absorb these messages, it really is detrimental.
- 24:50Janet Zavala: So, it really is a constant effort and constant work for us to show up authentically in this world.
- 25:00Janet Zavala: And I think that it's the way to go through your healing journey is to really accept everything about yourself.
- 25:08Carmen Hecox: I agree.
- 25:09Carmen Hecox: Here's another quote from the book cuz I just can't stop quoting about the book.
- 25:12Carmen Hecox: There's just so much good stuff in here.
- 25:15Carmen Hecox: If you spend a lot of time with people who criticize you and others, you will never feel like you're showing up authentically.
- 25:25Janet Zavala: I think that sometimes if we're attracted to people who might be negative or critical, because it mirrors what we experienced throughout our lives, right?
- 25:37Janet Zavala: So, we just gravitate towards those people.
- 25:40Janet Zavala: But having that kind of negative criticism, throughout the world or through other people, it's really detrimental to our spirit.
- 25:50Janet Zavala: So, I think when you live in an environment that is full of critical treatment of others and of yourself, it's really important to identify the source and where those kind of behaviors came from.
- 26:07Janet Zavala: I'm always a proponent of developing awareness of where things come from so you can get to an understanding of why they're showing up for you in your life and deconstruct them.
- 26:18Janet Zavala: So, I know that for me, another vulnerability alert is that, when I've been most critical of others, it's because I see in them something that either I don't like about myself or I'm afraid of.
- 26:33Janet Zavala: Right?
- 26:33Janet Zavala: So, when we're critical of others, it is really showing our sense of fear and a sense of self-worth that is pretty low, right?
- 26:45Janet Zavala: We're feeling a low sense of self-worth, so we're criticizing others and I believe that if you are, sitting in a place where you're surrounding yourself with critical people and they're critical of you and you're critical of others, it really has this effect on your self-esteem that is detrimental.
- 27:06Janet Zavala: You really need to find your tribe that is supportive and building you up and lifting you up and showing you how amazing you are because I don't think that criticism is good for helping you improve in your life.
- 27:23Janet Zavala: I used to know somebody who was like, oh, I like tough love, tell me how it is, and tell me, in a rough way.
- 27:28Janet Zavala: And I'm like, I know and as a leader in corporate America for 30 some years, is that people do their best when they feel good about themselves.
- 27:38Janet Zavala: So, you will do your best when you feel good about yourself, and you won't feel good about yourself.
- 27:44Janet Zavala: If you're criticizing other people, you will not feel good about yourself if other people are criticizing you.
- 27:50Janet Zavala: If you are not setting up that boundary to not take on other people's criticism, then I think that your self-esteem will have a hard time recovering from that.
- 28:00Janet Zavala: So, distancing yourself from that pattern is so important to your healing.
- 28:07Carmen Hecox: Good point.
- 28:08Carmen Hecox: Yes.
- 28:08Carmen Hecox: And your book also talked about self-care and personal development.
- 28:13Carmen Hecox: How can women in midlife overcome the feeling of guilt related to self-care, personal development?
- 28:20Carmen Hecox: And why is it critical to embrace these aspects in our life to pursue our hopes and dreams?
- 28:29Janet Zavala: I'm not sure where the guilt comes from.
- 28:32Janet Zavala: I'm not sure who it comes from.
- 28:34Janet Zavala: I think that oftentimes we live in an either-or world when it's a both and right.
- 28:41Janet Zavala: We can take care of our families and meet our obligations and practice self-care.
- 28:47Janet Zavala: So, I think that, if we are stuck in some sort of, martyrdom that makes it seem like we are forever providing to others and not accepting ourselves, I think that is a dangerous pattern to be in.
- 29:04Janet Zavala: But I think that feeling the guilt is really detrimental and it will not serve.
- 29:11Janet Zavala: I think sometimes we're also looking for people to come in going, no, it's okay, cuz we're looking for validation as well.
- 29:18Janet Zavala: So, I think that guilt is a very dangerous component of self-care and self-love.
- 29:26Janet Zavala: So, whether it's self-imposed where you're thinking that you shouldn't be doing this because you have other obligations to meet, or if somebody is putting this kind of pressure on you that you need to prioritize their version of what self-care is or their, expectations, then, somebody is being selfish in that scenario, and it's not you.
- 29:50Janet Zavala: They're asking you to prioritize their needs over your own, and it's the old saying is that you need to put the mask on yourself so you can show up the best version of you and do all the things that we need to do in life.
- 30:03Janet Zavala: All the work and all the caretaking and all the things that we do is that we need to make sure that we are fully functioning, fully rested people who can show up into the world, more effectively.
- 30:15Carmen Hecox: Yeah, and that's very true cuz I always tell my mom this cuz my mom's a widower.
- 30:19Carmen Hecox: Mom, you need to take care of yourself because if you don't take care of yourself, nobody's gonna take care of you.
- 30:25Janet Zavala: Yeah.
- 30:25Janet Zavala: It is truly up to us.
- 30:27Janet Zavala: It is truly up to us, so making sure that we're focusing on that.
- 30:31Janet Zavala: I focus on my sleep.
- 30:32Janet Zavala: My sleep is one of my most important things that I focus on.
- 30:35Janet Zavala: Sleep is one of the top self-care things that you can do is to make sure that you are getting as much sleep as you can, getting really good restful sleep, seven to nine hours, I know that's hard for a lot of women, but make it a priority.
- 30:51Janet Zavala: I have a section in the book, and I talk about a quote from Sean Stevenson and Sleep Smarter, he says, you'll never, ever, ever have the life that you desire if you're not getting good sleep.
- 31:03Janet Zavala: So, Yeah, so I think all of, all of the things between self-development and take, taking care of your body and taking care of your spirituality and your mental health, all of those things are key components to be able to achieve what we want to achieve.
- 31:17Janet Zavala: Because we're talking mostly to and about midlife women who really have desires to do a lot of things in their lives.
- 31:26Janet Zavala: I know that we've talked, and we've got big ambitions that we, things that we want to do, and if we're don't have our self-care and self-development dialed in, and that if we're not focusing on that, we're not able to be effective in those things that we want to accomplish.
- 31:43Carmen Hecox: Exactly.
- 31:44Carmen Hecox: And I just wanna plug in here, the reason why I tell my mom to take care of herself is cuz she lives 300 miles away from me.
- 31:49Carmen Hecox: I don't want people to think you're a bad daughter, you should be taking care of your mom.
- 31:53Carmen Hecox: But my mom is she's not as old as her age, says.
- 31:57Carmen Hecox: My mom's hot.
- 31:59Janet Zavala: That's awesome.
- 32:01Janet Zavala: That's awesome.
- 32:01Carmen Hecox: Let's talk about an action plan and support.
- 32:04Carmen Hecox: How can women in midlife effectively create a long-term action plan such as a five-year vision and can you break it down into manageable milestones?
- 32:14Carmen Hecox: So that they can track their progress and so that they can achieve their personal and professional goals?
- 32:19Carmen Hecox: I know you talked about that in the book.
- 32:21Janet Zavala: Yes.
- 32:22Janet Zavala: Yes, and in the book, I'm really into the spiritual side of things and the personal development and working through your limiting beliefs and your experiences and all those things.
- 32:33Janet Zavala: But the thing at the end of the book, it's like, okay, let's get to work, right?
- 32:36Janet Zavala: let's put this into play.
- 32:38Janet Zavala: We've kind of massaged and looked at all the things that are holding us back, but now let's start planning for the future.
- 32:45Janet Zavala: And the thing about making a vision for your future, developing a long-term vision is it really trains your brain for action.
- 32:54Janet Zavala: So, when you create this vision for where you want to be in five years, what do you want to accomplish?
- 33:01Janet Zavala: What kind of life do you want to live?
- 33:03Janet Zavala: When you train your brain to create a vision, you're also eliminating the focus that you are putting on kind of the negative aspects of your life.
- 33:13Janet Zavala: So, you're reprogramming your brain for positive thinking and future excitement and all those things.
- 33:18Janet Zavala: So, when you create a vision for your future, I want people to not be realistic.
- 33:25Janet Zavala: I don't want them to put logic to it.
- 33:26Janet Zavala: I want five years as a long enough period of time away that you can really state anything.
- 33:33Janet Zavala: So, if I had a five-year vision, like I want to be a New York Times bestselling author with three bestselling books.
- 33:42Janet Zavala: So that could be my five-year vision where, and then also that I am a keynote speaker at certain wellness events, right?
- 33:51Janet Zavala: So that could be my five-year vision.
- 33:52Janet Zavala: So that's what I want people to do.
- 33:55Janet Zavala: Do not put logic to it.
- 33:56Janet Zavala: Like really be aspirational, what they want to do, how they want to show up in the world and it really clarifies what you want as well.
- 34:05Janet Zavala: So, when things are just swimming around in your brain, there's no clarity around it.
- 34:10Janet Zavala: So, I really want people to develop that vision, that aspirational vision in five years without any sort of limitations on themselves.
- 34:20Janet Zavala: But then we look at, if I wanna achieve that in five years, where do I need to be in three years?
- 34:26Janet Zavala: Right?
- 34:27Janet Zavala: So now you're like, what are my goals for my three-year goals?
- 34:31Janet Zavala: Where do I wanna be in three years?
- 34:33Janet Zavala: So, developing your goals and identifying well, what skills and abilities do I need to have?
- 34:41Janet Zavala: And, just identifying all of those different things that I will have available as a free offer to this group.
- 34:50Janet Zavala: It'll be a visioning workbook, but it will be a five-year vision.
- 34:54Janet Zavala: You can't even see that.
- 34:55Janet Zavala: So, it'll be a five-year vision.
- 34:57Janet Zavala: It will identify three reasons why this is important for you to do this, and then the skills and abilities that you need to develop to get there.
- 35:05Janet Zavala: So, it not only provides this aspirational vision, but it provides a roadmap on how to get there.
- 35:11Janet Zavala: So, I have talked to a couple of people.
- 35:15Janet Zavala: I've done this exercise in front of hundreds of people and I've talked to people, just recently actually, and she's like, you know what, I was looking back at that vision that I did with you, and this was pre pandemic when we could all get together, and big groups and now we can again.
- 35:30Janet Zavala: But before that and, she's like, everything that I wrote down on that I've achieved.
- 35:36Janet Zavala: So, it's really effective, it's a really effective process to get clear about what you want, to develop that aspirational vision, and then get tactical on how you're going to get there.
- 35:47Janet Zavala: So that will be available for this audience and for anybody to get this workbook so you can work through it.
- 35:53Janet Zavala: And then by the end of May, I will be hosting a workshop where I'll be walking people through this process because one of the important pieces of this process is accountability.
- 36:06Janet Zavala: And I want people to incorporate accountability into their goal in visioning planning.
- 36:13Janet Zavala: I had, in order to publish this book, I had three methods of accountability that were critical in.
- 36:21Janet Zavala: Helping me achieve getting to this point of being a published author.
- 36:26Janet Zavala: I have a weekly accountability partner.
- 36:28Janet Zavala: I speak with her every week.
- 36:30Janet Zavala: Sometimes there are mastermind groups that you can be part of, but this was a dedicated accountability partner.
- 36:37Janet Zavala: We meet every week, and we talk about what we want to achieve in the next week.
- 36:41Janet Zavala: But we also provide each other grounding and reality checks when both of us are like, I have 50 things on my to-do list for the next week.
- 36:49Janet Zavala: And we're like, you're not gonna get it done, focus on three.
- 36:52Janet Zavala: We're often too hard on ourselves, and then when we get to that point, we're like, oh, I felt like I haven't done anything.
- 36:56Janet Zavala: And we also have that mirror back going, look at all that you've done, all that you've accomplished.
- 37:01Janet Zavala: So having that partner that is really helping you through it is so key.
- 37:07Janet Zavala: And then the second piece of accountability that I had was I hired a coach.
- 37:11Janet Zavala: I was dedicated to making my dream and vision come true.
- 37:15Janet Zavala: And this is where having an impartial coach, where somebody is trained to ask you those pointed questions and use their listening skills to identify where your blocks and all those internal fears that are coming out and preventing you from doing things.
- 37:31Janet Zavala: So that's where our coach is really trained to identify those things and help you bust through them.
- 37:37Janet Zavala: And then the other thing is that, through this visioning process and through delivering it to hundreds of people.
- 37:44Janet Zavala: I told people about my dream.
- 37:45Janet Zavala: I said, I'm going to publish a book.
- 37:47Janet Zavala: And you would be surprised at how many people came up to me after I published this book and said, I remember when you said that.
- 37:54Janet Zavala: I remember when you told me, and you did it.
- 37:57Janet Zavala: And so those are my three pieces of accountability.
- 37:59Janet Zavala: And so, I'll be providing information on the workbook that is free to everybody here who's listening, who wants to get that, through the link and everything that we provide.
- 38:10Carmen Hecox: Yeah, and I will make sure that all of the resources that you are going to, be giving away or have available are on my show notes.
- 38:19Carmen Hecox: So, people don't worry about having to write things down.
- 38:21Carmen Hecox: You don't have to write it down.
- 38:23Carmen Hecox: You can go to my website and all of the notes will be there.
- 38:27Carmen Hecox: Wow, that is so generous of you to do that.
- 38:30Carmen Hecox: So, Janet, I know you probably, already uncovered this question, but just in case you didn't, what are you working on next?
- 38:39Janet Zavala: Sure.
- 38:39Janet Zavala: So, I'll be having the workshop in May, which I'm excited about.
- 38:44Janet Zavala: Then I'm also looking at developing more in-depth courses around the nature of transformation.
- 38:51Janet Zavala: I want to build this out into some more in-depth courses and workshops.
- 38:56Janet Zavala: So those will be, those are under development throughout the year.
- 39:00Janet Zavala: The best way to find out when things are released is to sign up for my email list at janetzavalacoaching.com.
- 39:06Janet Zavala: So, all of those things are coming up.
- 39:08Janet Zavala: I just love doing like, intimate groups and workshops and one-on-one coaching where I can really connect with somebody and really help them feel empowered.
- 39:18Janet Zavala: You know, that is where my true love lies, is working one-on-one with folks.
- 39:23Janet Zavala: and a whole bunch of things I'm working on, outlining my next book and making just more resources available to people so they can, start to uncover the power that they have and start living their best lives.
- 39:38Carmen Hecox: And I just wanted to add in here, you are a life coach or transformational coach, and you talked about in your action plan.
- 39:45Carmen Hecox: Planning and support that even coaches need a coach.
- 39:49Janet Zavala: Absolutely, absolutely.
- 39:51Janet Zavala: I mean, just like therapists need therapists and doctors need doctors, right?
- 39:55Janet Zavala: I mean, we all need the support.
- 39:57Janet Zavala: And I think coaching can be used for a lot of different reasons.
- 40:02Janet Zavala: You don't need to be at a place where you're kind of rock bottom where you need to, get a coach.
- 40:09Janet Zavala: I was making pretty good progress with what I was doing, but I needed to fine tune some of the things that I was doing to make sure I accomplish my goal.
- 40:17Janet Zavala: So, coaches are good for where you are in a lot of stages of your life.
- 40:22Janet Zavala: If you're just kind of starting to go through that healing process and you're kind of wondering, what do I need to do with the rest of my life?
- 40:28Janet Zavala: Where am I gonna find the satisfaction?
- 40:30Janet Zavala: And things like that.
- 40:31Janet Zavala: Or if you're further down and you're like, I'm here, but I just need to make progress and go to that next level.
- 40:37Janet Zavala: So, I think that I'm a fan of the coaching process.
- 40:40Carmen Hecox: Yeah, and for some people that are kind of exploring the opportunity or flirting a little bit with the idea, do I need a coach?
- 40:49Carmen Hecox: I've already seen a therapist before, or I don't believe in that stuff, I strongly recommend getting this book.
- 40:56Carmen Hecox: Because there's so much good stuff in here that, like I said, you talk about, different, hurdles that we could be facing.
- 41:04Carmen Hecox: And I, what I like about it is that you chip away at it.
- 41:10Carmen Hecox: Maybe, maybe just very surface, because it's not like actually meeting with you one-on-one, and then going through the process, but you kind of chip away and it gives the reader a perspective of where to start to, chip away at that.
- 41:25Janet Zavala: Yeah, absolutely.
- 41:27Janet Zavala: I think it's all a process, right?
- 41:28Janet Zavala: I think that our healing journeys are all a process and that's why I wanted to write the book and provide this comprehensive look at people who have not gotten to that point where they want to hire a coach is that they can get this book and they can say, okay, let me go through this see how this can be beneficial.
- 41:44Janet Zavala: But really, it should be thought of as a tool to use.
- 41:49Janet Zavala: But also, if you need that extra support, you need that personal touch sounding board find yourself a coach, whether it's me or somebody else, like coaches are really effective in helping you drive progress in your life.
- 42:03Carmen Hecox: Yeah.
- 42:03Carmen Hecox: And I heard that, um, you have a couple of copies of this book for particular people.
- 42:11Carmen Hecox: Do you wanna share a little bit about that?
- 42:12Janet Zavala: For certain people people in the month of May, I am going to select five random winners of The Nature Of Transformation.
- 42:21Janet Zavala: I'll sign it for you, and I'll send it to you.
- 42:23Janet Zavala: So, sign up for my email list, so I can get your information and I will select five random winners and I will send you out a copy of the book with my signature on it.
- 42:33Carmen Hecox: Oh my gosh.
- 42:34Carmen Hecox: That is like such a big giveaway.
- 42:37Carmen Hecox: So, people, people listening, watching on YouTube or on your favorite podcast platform, tell anybody and everybody about what you heard on this recording and tell them to sign up.
- 42:49Carmen Hecox: They need a free book.
- 42:52Carmen Hecox: I thought you were doing something else with the workshop.
- 42:54Carmen Hecox: I don't know, maybe a little birdie told me that There was some kind of like freebie with the workshop too.
- 43:00Janet Zavala: There, there was.
- 43:01Janet Zavala: Hmm.
- 43:01Janet Zavala: What were no.
- 43:02Janet Zavala: Yes.
- 43:02Janet Zavala: So, with the workshop that I'm going to be holding at the end of May, I will also have available and give away free coaching sessions through that.
- 43:12Janet Zavala: So, randomly I'll select winners to get free coaching sessions.
- 43:16Janet Zavala: So, stay tuned for that information.
- 43:18Janet Zavala: Really sign up for my email list that is the best way to get information.
- 43:23Janet Zavala: Also going to my social media pages.
- 43:25Janet Zavala: I promote and talk about these things there.
- 43:28Janet Zavala: So, Janet Zavala coaching, it's simple.
- 43:31Janet Zavala: It's Janet Zavala coaching wherever you go.
- 43:33Janet Zavala: So, go to all those places to find out more information.
- 43:36Janet Zavala: But if you really want to figure out if this coaching thing is for you, if it feels right, pick up a copy of the book, but also join the workshop and enter into, to win a free coaching session.
- 43:50Janet Zavala: Also, I wanna say that I have a 30-minute free session available for anybody who is first starting coaching No matter what, no matter what you get 30 minutes free.
- 43:59Janet Zavala: So, it's an assessment that, we figure out if this is a right relationship because just like with therapists or doctors, you need to figure out if that relationship is beneficial and works for you and it's a right fit.
- 44:11Janet Zavala: So, 30 minutes is free to everybody, but then free sessions as part of the visioning and planning workshop.
- 44:19Janet Zavala: You know, lots of, lots of stuff happening.
- 44:21Carmen Hecox: Holy smokes girl.
- 44:22Carmen Hecox: You're just giving stuff away.
- 44:23Carmen Hecox: So, just to make, just to clarify, if people want to sign up for opportunity to win a copy of the nature of transformation, they need to sign up to be on your email list on janetzavala.com.
- 44:40Janet Zavala: Yes,
- 44:40Carmen Hecox: and you will be hosting a workshop.
- 44:44Carmen Hecox: In order to be a part of that workshop, you will have a designated page to where people can sign up for that.
- 44:50Carmen Hecox: And as a bonus, if you sign up for that workshop, you could win a free coaching session.
- 44:57Janet Zavala: That's right.
- 44:58Janet Zavala: That's exactly right.
- 45:00Carmen Hecox: And you also offer a free 30-minute consult.
- 45:05Carmen Hecox: People can go to your website and sign up for a free 30-minute consult to see if you and them are a good fit.
- 45:12Janet Zavala: That's right.
- 45:12Janet Zavala: That's right.
- 45:13Carmen Hecox: But I don't understand how anybody wouldn't be a good fit, cuz you're like totally awesome.
- 45:17Janet Zavala: Aw.
- 45:19Carmen Hecox: So just to summarize, today we talked about unhealthy patterns.
- 45:25Carmen Hecox: We talked about forgiveness and authenticity.
- 45:29Carmen Hecox: We talked about self-care and personal development.
- 45:33Carmen Hecox: Geez, Janet, we covered so much stuff.
- 45:37Janet Zavala: We covered a lot of ground.
- 45:38Janet Zavala: This is good.
- 45:39Carmen Hecox: And so, for anybody who wants to obtain the transcript, you just go to my website, createthebestme.com and you can download the transcript and you can also get all the links so that you can get a hold of Janet and get all her goodness that she is offering.
- 46:01Carmen Hecox: Janet, thank you so much for coming on the show.
- 46:04Carmen Hecox: Oh yeah.
- 46:05Carmen Hecox: I forgot to say if you folks have not heard the first interview the first time Janet was on the show, I recommend that you go to createthebestme.com/ep004 because geez, this is before the release of the book.
- 46:20Carmen Hecox: There was so much stuff, and she did throw a little bit of nuggets as to what you were gonna find on the book.
- 46:25Carmen Hecox: So great place.
- 46:27Carmen Hecox: So, Janet, thank you so much for coming on.
- 46:31Carmen Hecox: Girl, you know you're gonna come back,
- 46:33Janet Zavala: Always, always.
- 46:34Janet Zavala: This is always such a fun conversation.
- 46:36Janet Zavala: I, we could talk for hours.
- 46:37Janet Zavala: We you know, we could,
- 46:39Carmen Hecox: Or text for hours.
- 46:40Janet Zavala: I just love the focus of both of us are focused on women who have so much strength and power to give out into the world and helping them kind of evolve and transform it it's the funnest thing in the world.
- 46:53Carmen Hecox: It certainly is.
- 46:55Carmen Hecox: All right.
- 46:56Carmen Hecox: Thank you.
- 46:57Janet Zavala: Thank you.
- 46:58Carmen Hecox: Wow, ladies.
- 46:59Carmen Hecox: Wasn't that episode truly transformative?
- 47:02Carmen Hecox: I'm already excited for Janet's"Own Your Future" live Interaction workshop on May 31st, 6:00 PM Pacific, and 9:00 PM Eastern for our East Coast people.
- 47:14Carmen Hecox: Don't forget to register for this event by visiting createthebestme.com/ep010 where you'll find the signup link.
- 47:27Carmen Hecox: If you haven't had the chance to read the nature of Transformation yet, now is a great time.
- 47:33Carmen Hecox: Trust me, it is a must read.
- 47:35Carmen Hecox: For an opportunity to win assigned copy, head on over to janetzavalacoaching.com and complete your information in the pop-up form.
- 47:46Carmen Hecox: And remember to claim your free vision planning workbook from Janet.
- 47:50Carmen Hecox: Visit createthebestme.com/ep010 and click on the links so that she can send it directly into your inbox.
- 48:00Carmen Hecox: You can find all the links for today's special offers at createthebestme.com/ep010.
- 48:10Carmen Hecox: A huge thank you to our amazing guest, Janet Zavala, for spending time with us today.
- 48:17Carmen Hecox: We're already eager to have her come back on the show.
- 48:20Carmen Hecox: As always, thank you for tuning in to Create The Best Me.
- 48:24Carmen Hecox: If this episode resonated with you, be sure to hit subscribe and stay updated on the upcoming episodes.
- 48:32Carmen Hecox: Join us next week where we'll dive into personal growth and you won't want to miss it.
- 48:38Carmen Hecox: Until then, keep dreaming big.
- 48:40Carmen Hecox: Take care of yourself and remember your beautiful, strong, and capable of creating the best version of yourself.
- 48:49Carmen Hecox: Thank you for watching.
- 48:50Carmen Hecox: I'll catch you next week, bye for now.