Join Me in Playing With Confidence
I'm thrilled to announce the Playing With Confidence workshop! Playing with Confidence is an all-day workshop for women who are looking to reconnect with themselves to gain a better understanding of how to move forward in achieving their dreams, be it business, family, spirituality, health, hobbies, passions, or a combination of all of it.
The video above is from the workshop's page, but I'd like to share a story with you about the creation of this workshop.
Have you ever not known you were creating something? Then, one day, it all comes together in the most beautiful way...and there's an "A-HA" moment where you realize, "Wait, I've actually been working towards this for a very long time. I just didn't realize it."
I had one of those moments a couple of months ago.
In case you aren't already familiar with my journey over the last three years I'll give you the short(ish) story. This is a difficult story, so bear with me for just a minute, and we will get back to the fun stuff! I think it's important that you know where the workshop Playing With Confidence came from.
I left my position as a professor of sociology three years ago this May and had no idea what was next for me. What I did know was that the diagnosis of my second autoimmune disease (first, endometriosis and then, ulcerative colitis) was a wake up call and I could no longer ignore what my body was telling me.
After leaving academia I moved across the country with Charlie to our new home in Portland. It was the best move we've ever made AND it was very scary. I didn't know who I was; I was lost and I struggled with not being able to put a label on myself anymore. I felt ashamed that I couldn't answer that one awful question most new people ask you..."And, what do you do?" Cringe.
I had no idea three years ago when I left academia that the most difficult part was still ahead of me. I continued to struggle with my health, spending time in the hospital and many doctor's offices over the next few years. I continued to struggle with questions of worth and shame about not having it figured out. The Type A, perfectionist, overachiever in me just couldn't let go of not knowing. On top of all of this I lost two very important people in my life, less than six months apart.
In the summer of 2011 (a little over a year after moving to Portland) I almost died due to complications from ulcerative colitis. I spent the next nine months wrestling with even scarier issues...Would I make it to see 2012? My mind finally did what my body had done nearly two years before...it gave me a wake up call I could no longer ignore. I was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety, and depression. I had to get help.
I'm proud to say that it has been a year now since I said "Hello" to life again. I came through the darkest time of my life and on the other side I am so grateful for what I learned about myself and my relationships during my trial by fire. I still struggle. I doubt myself. I get frustrated about all the stuff that seems to keep me chasing my tail at times. I worry that people won't like me or that the work I do won't matter. I think these are things we all struggle with, so it's important that we face it head on, name it, and learn how we can still show up the way we want in the world.
This is where Playing With Confidence makes an appearance, even if I didn't know it quite yet. I've spent the last year getting closer to that thing that I can't not talk about. That thing that makes you get out of bed in the morning (even during dark, rainy Portland days). That thing that makes you say, "Of course I want to tell everyone about this and share the magic!"
When I was in academia my areas of specialization were in women's wellness, mental health, and family. It all came full circle for me when I discovered that I had a way that I could share this knowledge with a wider audience, infused with the things that we deal with in day-to-day life. Through speaking and media appearances over the past year, conversations over the last ten years with women struggling for balance, writing within this area for years, and facilitating workshops I've discovered that helping women find alignment, balance, and confidence through play is my joy work and what I want to share with the world.
Who says adults can't play?! Pure play, unadulterated fun gets you out of your head and into your heart. It gets you out of your own way so that you can move on and live the life you’ve always dreamed of. That's what we're going to be doing in this workshop. To find out more and register for the Playing With Confidence workshop come on over to our PWC page.
I hope you will invest in yourself by joining me and share this with anyone else you think would like to Play With Confidence.