*This is an adult conversation, so please be aware of who may be listening with you.
A Special Passage for Lisa
“I am worthy. You were born worthy. You don’t have to do anything to make yourself worthy. You are a superhero born into this world, and being you is all you need to do. Express yourself, and don’t believe the hype that says you need to be anything more than your amazing self. I used to believe I wasn’t deserving of great things, but when I began declaring my worth, my life changed for the better.” - from the soon-to-be best-seller, I AM...: A Girl’s Guide to Harnessing SuperPowers.
The “I AM” Initiative
Even though we live in the same area, the universe wanted Lisa Van Ahn and me to meet in Florida. We both have made it our mission to propagate the “I AM” habits. As a listener of my podcast, you are aware of how I broadcast the message. Lisa spreads the message by empowering 3rd to 8th-grade girls with superpowers and the three rules of self-defense. She teaches them that the right action is the action you take when you love yourself, you trust who you are, and you trust what you feel.
Lisa often encounters young girls bombarded with “this is who you are” and “this is who you need to be” directives. In her workshops and retreats, girls discover they can freely say “No. I know who I am.”
Lisa’s Journey
The common thread that is woven through Lisa’s past life is one of feeling unworthy. She succumbed to playing the part of the victim until a final “push” made her reconsider her role in her own life. She says, “Your path and your journey begin with what you believe about yourself, which moves into creating your experiences. I truly do believe anything is possible. If you set yourself on the course you want to be on, you will get there with the consistent behaviors of self-love, self-care, self-responsibility, and self-compassion. When you bring these things into your life, anything is possible.” Lisa loves sharing these experiences because it gives her bright light a chance to shine.
“The truth is, to heal, we all need to tell our stories and have them witnessed.” from The Dance of the Dissident Daughter - Sue Monk Kidd.
Lisa knew she needed to pay forward the kindness she received from the two owners of the kickboxing studio she went to every day after she started living her life with love, forgiveness, and gratitude. She decided to share, with young girls, the encouragement she so desperately needed when she was young and couldn’t calculate her value.
So, Lisa is Perfect Now, Right?
Even though she adds practices to her life to reach a state of mindfulness, Lisa admits she has much further to go. It’s not like you make one decision and everything is instantly accessible. A tendency towards self-sabotage is a fierce dragon that is hard to slay. The ego lives, and so do collective expectations of success. Lisa says that when a self-defeating thought takes over, she thinks about things that she loves, things that need to be forgiven, and things she is grateful for, so it becomes easier to cope with the trap of “I’ll love myself when.”
The Shadow Dance
There is light and dark in all of us. The dark will come, and there is no avoiding it and accepting yourself exactly as you allow you to release the craving for what you desire. It is the craving to make something last that creates suffering. If you release your desire before it arrives, you are given the joy of having it. No one thing is easy or hard for people to release. It’s based on the individual; for Lisa, it’s her business. She says, “it’s a crunchy I can’t get rid of.”
Her advice to those of us stuck in our cravings, whether to be in a relationship or to find forgiveness for those who may have hurt us, is to take a deep breath and then go out and do something that will feel good today. It will bring completeness, wholeness, and happiness.
Learn How to Get SuperPowers of Your Own
To stay in touch with Lisa and get weekly updates about her new book, her “I AM” initiative, and her confidence coaching, enlist at Lisavanahn.com. Her latest book, I AM...: A Girl’s Guide to Harnessing SuperPowers, and accompanying cards will be available very soon.
You are Not the Only One, and You Are Not Crazy Either
If you found value in this podcast, please share it. If you need someone to talk safely and privately with, email me at [email protected]. This email is confidential, so you can feel secure knowing that your truth is safe with me. The more support we all have and can give, the better our community will be. If you want to connect socially, you can find me on social media at @iamannpeck.