90. Visioning our Collective Future (& Moving Through Related Overwhelm)
For the first episode of 2024 we are letting things get real messy. This episode is all about sparking curiosity and moving forward even in the messiness.
It’s about getting curious and imagining what’s possible (not just for ourselves, but for our collective future).I talk about:
The argument from Naomi Klein’s latest book that I can’t get out of my head
The thing I’m (maybe… likely) doing wrong in my coaching
Moving through collective-future-related overwhelm
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INTERESTED IN MORE SUPPORT?
Coaching spots for 2024 are open. If you are feeling called to make a shift in your life (even if you don’t know what it is yet!), I’d love to support you.
Coaching clients regularly share how much they get out of the structured environment which not only helps them find a whole lot of clarity, but encourages them to stay in momentum as they bring their vision to life.
Hear more about the experiences of past clients here: meghanjohnston.com/praise
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GET IN TOUCHDid this episode spark an interesting reflection or a question stirring in your heart? I love hearing from you!
Instagram: @meghanljohnston
Email: hello@meghanjohnston.com
Website: meghanjohnston.com
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00]
Welcome my friend, the first episode of 2024. This one has stumped me a little bit. I've been sitting with what the topic would be for this first episode for weeks now. And there were little glimmers of ideas and, and then I don't know, they just, they would come and they would go and then they wouldn't feel as resonant anymore. And so last night I was laying in bed, and I was asking myself, like so often I ask myself this question of what is something that someone else maybe needs to hear? And the question I decided to ask myself was what is it that I need to hear? What is it that I need to hear? And as I was sitting with that question again this morning. What was flowing through me. Is what we're going to talk about. But, um, I don't know that it's the most coherent yet. But it feels true. And it feels like it is so representative of where I am [00:02:00] at in this moment of life. But I think it will also resonate with you. So. Here's where I'm at. If you listened to the last episode. Um, it was the last one of 2023.
And I shared in that episode questions to reflect on the year that was 2023. I also shared one of the biggest surprises for me about 2023, which you can listen to that episode for more, but, but so much of it was just really about the way in which these like little moments of reconnection with self.
Really just brought me alive again. So I won't say any more. Well, what I will say is that. And kind of like sitting with and reflecting and just like, I often think of the snow globe and uh, you know, you shake a snow globe and there's this flurry of snow. And eventually it settles, but I feel like I am still in my reflections on 2023, the snow has not settled yet.
It's still that big flurry, that big swirl of thoughts and ideas moving around and I was realizing that one of the big things that I am still reflecting on from 2023. Is truly just the intensity.
Of my own emotion around the state of the world. And the state of our planet. Um, And really our relationship with mother earth, our relationship with one another, in addition to our relationship with ourselves. But so much, I think we are [00:04:00] focused on the individual. On our relationship with ourselves. And, and so there's this kind of question for me of, what does it mean?
Especially as somebody who works in. In this field that we could call personal development. Like, what does it mean to hold space? Not just for that relationship with self, but to really carve out conversations for relationship with others and with the planet, with our collective wellbeing and our collective future. So I wanted to share one of the last books that I read in 2023 was Doppelganger by Naomi Klein. And oh my goodness this book was wild. It's a nonfiction book that is, um, it's so hard to describe, but there's a lot of political and cultural analysis of the moment we find ourselves in. It is such a rich tapestry of, questions to sit with and. Um, if there is a theme for today's episode, it is absolutely this theme of curiosity and where can we bring more curiosity? Uh, to, to how we show up for ourselves and how we show up for others. But there's so many parts of the book that have been, have kind of like woven their way into my, my skin. And, that I'm sitting with, but there's this one that, that keeps coming up for me.
And it is just a small little section. It's so small, but, but, but really, really hit me. When she was talking about how one of the challenges used to be, to kind of show and educate, and even like, in some ways, like convince people that clothes were being [00:06:00] manufactured in ways that were really harmful for others.
And they, you know, human rights violations, the conditions of. Sweat shops just that the product supply chain and the way in which things were manufactured was deeply harmful. And she said, now the challenge we have is that. Everybody knows that that's the case. But seemingly they don't care. Because we continue to shop at all of these places where we know there are harmful practices. And, um, of course that's like a blanket statement of you may be listening and perhaps, perhaps you don't engage in, in those behaviors or perhaps you do.
And. And I know a lot of people do and have a lot of justifications for, for why. And so this is absolutely not meant to, to shame anyone at all? At all. But I thought the question there I was really interesting. Like what do we do when we know that there's so much. Then it was hurting the planet. But there is. In so many cases like collective exhaustion or reasons why we are not engaging. In efforts to try and make the world different. and of course we may also be engaging in some efforts to try and make the world different. Um, But really
I'm sitting with this question of like, how do we have. A vision for our collective future. And one in which we aren't sitting with the overwhelm. And it made me think about a few things and relationship to the coaching work that I'm so lucky to have been able to be doing these last few years. And, um, [00:08:00] It made me think of two things in particular. So the first is this thing around overwhelm, and I've mentioned this on the podcast before, but when things feel overwhelming, it's just because we need to make them smaller. It's because we're trying to do too much. We're expecting too much of ourselves. And so, so much of the work that I do with people one-on-one is absolutely like working through the overwhelm and building. Capacity and strength and our momentum by tipping away, little bit by little bit. Um, I was helping my mom actually, uh, clean and sort out her office over the holiday season.
And just the other day she was sharing that. Now she just is in so much momentum. Because we were chipping away at it. And then now it's gotten to the point where the overwhelm isn't there anymore. She just needed to start. And so to me, That feels important. But the other thing that I've been reflecting on and really just sitting with. That is still like, not resolved for me, but I've been thinking about. Maybe something that I'm doing wrong. And oftentimes when I am working with people, I will do an exercise. Where it's sort of like a visioning for the future envisioning for what you want your life to look like. And a lot of actually the process when we're setting goals is around this idea of like, like what is that future that you are working towards? And I'll be really honest.
These conversations are very grounded. In the self. In, the individual. And one of the things that I've been thinking about is the ways in which. [00:10:00] It might be really important to weave in. Some kind of question around what is your vision for the world? Or for your community?
What is the vision? It isn't just about you, but it's about others. And that again, it's not to say that in conversations about an individual vision, like of course things come up all of the time about community and the world. But it just strikes me as again. Uh, sitting with this tension as somebody who is in this space of personal development, that is so grounded in the individual. But how do we open that up? So that the conversations are, are about our relationship with self, but also about our bigger vision. Four. The collective.
And when I say this, you don't mean in that sort of like trickle down way. That is so often talked about, about, you know, how. And this is absolutely true. Like when, when we are in better places, we do show up for others in our communities and in our relationships differently that is 100% true.
But, but what I mean is like, beyond that kind of like trickle down, affect. How are we opening up conversations about moving through the overwhelm associated with changing our actions? And and advocating taking action for the type of world that we want to live in. Beyond just taking responsibility for our own emotional wellbeing.
I wanted to share this today because,
It [00:12:00] seems like it's going to be a question that I'm exploring in the year ahead. And because I know that so many of the incredible people who come into my ecosystem. And this very well is likely you listening right now.
It's people who care deeply. People who really do. Want to be showing up, not just for themselves, but showing up for others. And I think there's a lot of messaging we've been getting around, like, you know, take care of yourself first. Show up for yourself and then you will be able to show up for others. And there's so much truth in that.
Absolutely. And also it feels equally true just knowing that we can. We can be working on our own. growth and healing and transformation forever. It is a never ending journey. And so if that is a never ending journey, And we're waiting to get to some certain point before we start. To take little, little actions. And then maybe slightly bigger actions. To really contribute to our collective future. There's the possibility that you will get stuck, just working. On on yourself.
In a truly, truly do believe that the overwhelm that we feel around the goals and visions that we might have for our own life, things like. You know, changing our relationship with our health or moving forward in our careers or attracting love or all of these different, beautiful goals that they'll have that kind of overwhelm.
that [00:14:00] often we see it like a return on our investment for working through. I truly do believe that the overwhelm we feel when it comes to our collective future. Is just as worthy of our time and attention. For working through. I believe that with like every cell of my being.
And. And weave in the first book that I finished reading of 2024. We've got a little bookend here. One of the last books I read in 2023 and the first book in 2024. But there was this line in, in this book, What Wild Women Do, which is a novel by Karma Brown.
there was this line that kept coming up that, often it's not as complicated as we think it is. And I know that this is true for so many of the things that I feel so overwhelming. And then when I find the support and the skills and the tools to work through them, I realized I was making it to be way more complicated than it needed to be. And you wonder the ways in which this is also true of, of that overwhelm that we might feel when we, when we do think about creating. A different world. One that is more just. And equitable. And kind. Which is not to dismiss the complexities, because there are so many complexities. So many systems of oppression there is, is like there are real things that make this work difficult. And also. To me, it feels like there are still opportunities and possibilities. [00:16:00] For creativity and courage and compassion. But those possibilities can only be accessed by moving into the messiness rather than sitting on the sidelines.
And waiting for the right time.
So I mentioned all of this today. Just to be so transparent. With the fact that I'm sitting in this messiness right now. And also as an invitation to get curious, To let yourself explore. Without shame or judgment, but with a whole lot of compassion, like a whole lot of compassion. And courage. I know one of the biggest things that I've learned over the last few years is. Is, I can be somebody who gets so fixated on one thing. And I've been really trying to practice, like how can I move forward? In multiple places at once in ways that are gentle and kind, and don't overwhelm me. Um, Or don't like expend way too much energy.
And I move beyond my capacity and it's, it has not been easy and it continues to not be. Um, but for instance, like how can I. I'll be working on, on, you know, um, like decluttering and making my home feel more,
of a sanctuary for, for my wellbeing and inviting and nourishing for others. Like working on that at the same time as something with my health or something in my work, like it takes a lot of practice to be able to hold space for moving forward in multiple places at the same time. Um, But I'm really sitting with this question of
how can I be moving forward? In terms of my vision for my future. As well as. In my vision of our [00:18:00] collective future. And I do think that there's a way that we can hold both at the same time. But I am still figuring that out. I would love to hear how this episode landed with you today. Um, as always, I am here to be in the conversations with you. And I'm here to support you in anything that you are trying to bring to life.
I always like do a little happy dance when I get an email or a DM, so never hesitate to reach out. Or of course, if you're looking for more of a chance for that one-on-one support and moving through the overwhelm, that can be around. Our vision and actions that are necessary to bring that vision to life.
we can always chat
About working together in a coaching capacity as well. You can find me on Instagram @meghanljohnston or send me an email hello@meganjohnston.com.
I am so excited. For the year ahead to sit with these questions and to bring more of these questions onto the podcast as well. I've already recorded a few episodes for the coming months. I'm so excited to share them with you.
Until next time. I keep living With Heart and Wonder.