206: The Strange Sensation of Holding Space for Conflicting Emotions
Accepting Help is an Act of Compassion
When those close to us experience tragedy, we want to step in whether it’s big or small acts of compassion. And yet, sometimes, we feel selfishness or even helplessness when aiding those in need.
Join Sarah Elkins in this latest episode of Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will, as she shares moments in her life that lead to her understanding that sympathy is not selfishness. Sarah also dives into fighting thoughts of powerlessness while watching family and friends suffer through providing comfort.
Tune in to learn more about the incredible gift of giving- as it is without the negative mindset of conflicting emotions.
“I’m realizing more & more that when we allow others to help us in our times of need, it’s an incredible gift of compassion.”
*podcast show notes contributed by Tracy Ackeret
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ABOUT SARAH:
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Episode 61: Grief Isn't the End, It Can Be a Beginning
Shortly after the loss of her son, she went right back to work as a news anchor, a very public life. But shortly after her return, she realized her heart just wasn’t in it anymore. She felt as if she had just been going through the motions, mostly because that was what was expected of her.
Stories of Transition and Growth
Sherrie Dunlevy has had her share of tragedy and grief. Shortly after the loss of her son, she went right back to work as a news anchor, a very public life. But shortly after her return, she realized her heart just wasn’t in it anymore. She felt as if she had just been going through the motions, mostly because that was what was expected of her.
Sherrie wasn’t sure what to do next, broadcast journalism is what she knew, what she was good at, and what people knew her for; it was a huge part of her identity. And though that had shifted to “the woman who lost her son,” she felt like there was something missing in her career.
As she processed her grief, one thing became very clear: People around her didn’t know what to say or what to do to support her. She looked for books to help her not only process what had happened, but to help her friends in their attempts to support her through her loss. She never found a book that fully satisfied what she thought was a big gap in education. Nothing she could find was really relevant to the need she saw in her friends and family.
Sherrie believes that when something keeps coming back up in your life, you were meant to do something with it, whether for yourself, or as a gift to your community. It took her years, and many cues that she MUST write the book she imagined, but she eventually wrote it… and it sat on her shelf for another year before she received another cue from the Universe that it was time to share it.
What cues have you received many times before you finally acted on whatever those cues were trying to tell you? Why did you wait? Do you think waiting made the cues stronger, and that waiting was part of the journey to fulfilling whatever promise the Universe was sending you?
Sherrie and I would love to hear your thoughts, please comment and tell us your story!
A popular media figure for over 30 years. Sherrie Dunlevy hosted her own radio talk show and was a TV news Anchor. Now she has reinvented her life after age 50 as an author, speaker and business owner.
Her book, “How Can I Help- Your Go-to Guide for Helping Loved Ones through Life’s Difficulties,” was written following the death of her son and consequential loss of a few close friends, to help people become their best by reaching out beyond their fears and helping those they love and care about in life.
It has been named as one of the “Top Self Help Books for Men” by Fupping.com and UpJourney.com.
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Here are a few ideas!
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