Coaching as Benevolence

L' Shawn and Eryn explore the concept of seasons as metaphors for personal growth and ways of being. They discuss how different seasons represent various life stages and emotional states, with L' Shawn sharing how she identifies with spring in her career transition and Eryn connecting seasonal imagery to personal rhythms and preferences. The conversation explores how individual ways of being can sometimes conflict with environmental expectations, particularly around L' Shawn's natural tendency to slow down in winter months while her career demands increased activity during those seasons. They conclude by discussing the value of deep reflection with journaling prompts and the benefit of sharing these explorations with trusted others to gain new perspectives.

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Eryn and L' Shawn discuss prompt number seven from their guided journal's "Inspire" section, which explores how to lean into authenticity amidst fear. They examine the concept through a dinner party metaphor, where authenticity, fear, and growth are represented as different beings at the table. The conversation includes creative visualizations of these concepts as animals (squirrel for fear, swan for authenticity, elephant for growth) and explores how fear often dominates the conversation. They discuss the prompt's connection to family constellations and suggest journaling exercises including dialogues between these concepts and considering how they might move in an interpretive dance.

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L' Shawn and Eryn explore joy and its role in their lives. They discuss how joy can coexist with difficult emotions, using L' Shawn's experience at her in-laws' 60th wedding anniversary as an example of finding joy even in moments of grief. The conversation includes a brainstorming exercise where they list words associated with joy, including appreciation, connection, happiness, and playfulness.

Purchase Coaching Nuggets of Wisdom to Inspire. Explore. Act. Flourish: A Guided Journal to Live Your Best Life here: https://a.co/d/0eUW2GtI

Eryn and L' Shawn discuss prompt 5 of their guided journal about surrender. They explore the concept of surrendering to higher powers, processes, and situations beyond personal control, using metaphors like floating in an ocean current. L' Shawn shares insights about surrender in coaching and how it involves trusting the process rather than focusing on specific outcomes. They discuss how shame can prevent surrender and the importance of seeking support and disruption when facing difficult emotions.

Purchase "Coaching Nuggets of Wisdom to Inspire. Explore. Act. Flourish: A Guided Journal to Live Your Best Life" here" : https://a.co/d/09uRR8Eu

L' Shawn and Eryn discuss the fourth prompt in their guided journal about "The paradox of change," exploring how contradictions and complexities show up during life transitions. Eryn shares insights about how paradox serves as a container for holding both difficult and hopeful aspects of change, while L' Shawn connects the concept to the fluid nature of human existence and the challenges of embracing uncertainty. They examine how the ego can create expectations of simplicity and predictability that conflict with the natural complexity of change, using Eryn's personal example of being embarrassed by a store tag still on her jacket during a work meeting as an illustration of this concept.

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Eryn and L'Shawn discuss the third prompt in their guided journal: Coaching Nuggets of Wisdom: A Guided Journal to Live Your Best Life. Eryn reads the prompt out loud and shares insights into the prompt including reading some definitions of "congruence." Eryn and L' Shawn discuss how congruence shows up in different aspects of their lives, and how congruence has a sense of fluidity and ease. They also discuss how we can experience congruence at different times of our lives, and that congruence can come and go in our day to day lives.

Eryn and L' Shawn discuss Prompt 2 from their guided journal "Coaching Nuggets of Wisdom to Inspire, Explore. Act, Flourish," focusing on growth and challenges. L' Shawn shares how she's experiencing multiple life changes simultaneously, including professional responsibilities and family dynamics with aging parents and in-laws. Eryn reflects on how her perspective has evolved from seeking control over challenges to embracing growth and learning from difficulties. They explore the concept of "bringing it on" as an empowering approach to facing challenges rather than avoiding them. The discussion highlights how this prompt encourages reflection on growth across different life phases and various circumstances, from challenges to contentment to wins.

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This first episode of Season 8 focuses on L' Shawn and Eryn's new guided journal titled "Coaching Nuggets of Wisdom to Inspire, Explore, Act and Flourish." They discuss how wisdom and insights often come from unexpected sources, including friends, family, and strangers, rather than just professionals, and how emotional connections help these nuggets stick with people. The episode centers on the journal's first prompt about "turning a new page," exploring how this concept relates to new beginnings and using past lessons as building blocks for future action. L' Shawn shares how this prompt resonates with her recent career transition from assistant director to executive director, while Eryn discusses her ongoing process of prioritization and learning to let go of certain things.

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Eryn and L' Shawn reflect on Season 7 of their podcast, discussing highlights, themes, and key episodes. They note how the season was bookended by guests with different approaches to coaching and life organization, and identify themes around agency, conflict engagement, and the balance of joy and grief. The hosts highlight the importance of process throughout the season, including topics like letting go and letting in, and emphasize the value of both having agency while experiencing stress and finding connection during conflict. They also discuss their upcoming Season 8, which will incorporate their newly published guided journal to help listeners engage more intentionally with the podcast content.

Purchase the journal here: https://a.co/d/0hXGPBAx

The podcast episode features Rachel Zurer, founder of Wild Genius Coaching, discussing her journey from magazine editing to coaching and her integration of body awareness and spiritual practices into her work. Rachel explains how she helps clients connect with their "wild genius" through body awareness techniques and presence-based coaching, emphasizing the importance of state before strategy. She shared her approach to coaching, which combines elements of Big Leap coaching and biodynamic craniosacral therapy, and describes her upcoming projects including new training and content creation.

Visit https://wildgenius.com/ for more information about Rachel and Wild Genius Coaching