Start by creating powerful conversations within you
Hello you, welcome to THE most important conversation you will have today, an empowering conversation with you. Are you ready to take an inward journey?
Before, you dive in I want to share these insights with you:
- Saying yes to creating powerful, meaningful and empowering conversations is a daily choice. It requires practice, a beginner’s mind (because every day is a new start) and trust (bucket loads of it).
- It requires a curiosity to go deeper than surface chatter and perhaps you are curious about who you are and the meaning of your life?
- A level of understanding of how you show up when you feel empowered and how you behave when you feel triggered is helpful but it doesn’t replace a willingness to keep starting over because that is what an introspective practice looks like. What happened yesterday is technically, old news.
- It requires you to believe in you, to know you are worthy of taking up space and being heard because you have something to contribute. Ultimately, it’s about discovering your inner voice and speaking words that matter to you, these words can be used as a way to connect and disconnect, where need be. You do not need to be part of every conversation, so make your choices clearly and remember, the word “no” is a full sentence.
Why this matters?
If you create the space and tune into your inner voice, all other conversations can flow from this place. It’s easier when you listen deeply to yourself and build in space to check-in. And you can more readily hear the (often unspoken) needs of others.
For example, one of your colleagues volunteers for a new project but you sense that there is a need to lighten her/his load. You fear making an incorrect judgement, what she/he is saying sounds positive and yet, there is an alarm bell ringing. You spend some time reconnecting to yourself and realise that you have a longing to support her/him to see if more work is the true requirement. This is when you take your next step and hold your second powerful conversation).
The more you connect and honour your feelings, the greater the trust between you and you. If you are not in fear then what is possible for you, what quality is available? You can check-in by asking: If I wasn’t experiencing fear right now, what would I do?
When you realise your strength and power, it’s hard to feel compromised by others or situations that are out of your control. It’s also easier to feel connected too. Every time you check in with yourself and choose to unhook from limiting self-talk, it’s a big personal win. Focusing on your inner needs, mental health and wellbeing will support you to express who you are and embody your highest potential.
So I invite you to take five minutes today to tune into your heart and breathe in, and out. Check-in with your feelings at the beginning, midway and end. What are you noticing? Has your mood improved?
Tune into next week’s blog during Mental Health Awareness Week (UK) and I will share my mini roadmap on how to start a powerful inward conversation.
This blog is part of a Powerful Conversations series written by Karen Heras-Kelly, which includes the following articles:
- Building bridges one conversation at a time
- Listen to reconnect
- Now is the time for leaders to recover to self
- When I say Powerful Conversation, you assume?
- Make your dreams bigger than your limiting beliefs
You can catch up on the full series at https://www.atribecalledwoman.com/category/blog/ Karen is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, Leadership facilitator, meditation and creative visualisation expert. Karen is the founder of A Tribe Called Woman and the Breathe Time at work project.
Can we talk about the L(ove) word? Dare I even say it in the workplace? I feel that I must, I’ve coached hundreds of women and some men over the years who have reached the top of their game, and I realise that we all have the same road to trail.
