Hello and welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman.
It’s funny. In the last episode I talked about inspiration and motivation. Well hell. I am staring at my microphone not sure what I want to talk about today! I am motivated! I’m sitting here ready to go…head set on… dogs and cats locked away… but the inspiration of what to talk about today is just not sparking! So I am going to try what I told all of you to do in the last podcast. Just start! Then let’s see what happens! See if by sitting here I can brilliantly come up with the topic for today! Funny. I talk about being our genuine selves. Yet on my podcast for 51 weeks I have NOT allowed my listeners to see me scratching for inspiration! Searching for my own answers. Next week is one year since I launched the first version of this podcast. And it’s hysterical that here I am on my last week and I cannot pull a topic out of my brain.
So, do you know what I’m going to do today? I’m allowing for the possibility that no inspiration may come! Now there is a novel idea! For me it’s been a crazy month between the holidays, inauguration, trying to stay covid safe, seeing clients virtually, recording podcasts, creating memes, getting my travel business up to speed again. Oh and that emotional last week of bringing in rescued collies from China. Maybe just maybe I need a break from thinking!
Hmmmm…..So here is what I think I’m going to do! Once in a while you have to just break the mold and try something new to find inspiration. Normally for my podcasts I would always pick a topic I wanted to share…look up quotes I wanted to add and then go for it. Well, today I’m just going to break my format! I’m going to start with quotes and see where they take me… I have a list of quotes that I have been saving. So I am just going with the flow and going to talk about a few of them!
OK. This is one from Brene Brown:
“I now see how owning our own story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
Wait…What? How perfect is this for this moment! I swear I just looked at my quotes and this is the first one on the list . This is exactly where I am today.
OWNING my own story! I say so often that we show different sides of ourselves to different people. In a professional world we show one side of ourselves. With our family and friends we show another. We wear different masks for different people and places! It’s normal. In one way it is how we conform to certain social norms. But have you ever asked yourself if there is a piece of you that you are not showing… that you want to show? Like right now I am sharing with my clients who listen and my podcast listeners that I am always not so profound! I don’t always have the answer.
Of course don’t tell my husband that I said that.
So let’s go back to that Brene Brown Quote again.
“I now see how owning our own story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
Can you ask yourself right now is there a part of your story just for today, or this week or your life that you have not yet owned? A mask you want to take off? Are you even aware of it? Think for a moment. Is there any part of you that you are pushing down just to get through the day, week or year?
A place where you are not being genuine to yourself?
Remember for me… it was that I was trying to ignore my total inability to be inspired today. And to keep up the mask to all of you that I am such a profound healer with so much wisdom to share. Ha Busted!
Here is another quote, This one by Rita Mae Brown. Gotta love those Brown women!
I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself.
Now your turn. Think for a moment. But more importantly… feel. What feelings may you have that you are not honoring. And can you be brave enough to honor them? And what would happen if you did?
The most important part of this quote are the words loving yourself through that process. The truth is that we cannot be genuine to our selves…or our STORY if we don’t see ourselves with loving eyes.
It’s by looking at ourselves with loving eyes and a loving heart that we empower ourselves to do what we have to do for our true happiness. Whether it is a small thing we are doing or a large one, It is through the love for ourselves that we become strong enough… brave enough to make those changes. When we love ourselves enough to take off the masks and show the gorgeous being underneath it.
So…what in this moment…or in your life… would honor “your story” if you were brave enough to let it? Yours may be small. Or it may be large and profound. But I want you to think about it for a moment. Check in with yourself… take a moment of self awareness and think about it…
Well here we are now and I have been talking away. When I thought I had no inspiration. It’s funny because this episode kind of touched on a few things I have spoken about in so many of the episodes this year. Just last week’s episode on creativity and motivation that said motivation comes from action. And that’s what happened. I just started this podcast and the rest flowed. Then I shared my love of quotes to inspire me! I hope when I share them they inspire you. Then there is my favorite topic of all, genuine self! And lastly the most important thing of all in the journey to self awareness. SELF LOVE.
“Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Your story… your true home. Wonderful images of all that I dream of for my listeners. To share with the world your story and rest in so much peace and happiness in your home within.
Oh I hope this episode brought you permission to NOT try to be perfect in every moment.
I hope you have the most wonderful week! Drink lots of water, eat nourishing foods, surround yourself with loving beings. Ones that love you when the mask is off!
Thank you for letting me into your life this week and I look forward to popping back in again…next week!
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED…
• A Journey to Awareness Podcast: All Episodes
• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com
WHEN DOES IT AIR…
February 30, 2021