Dancing in the Discomfort Zone with Anne Bonney Anne Bonney

In this fascinating episode, Britt Frank (www.scienceofstuck.com) speaker, trauma therapist, circus performer and trauma survivor shares her personal experiences of overcoming childhood and adult abuse, drug addiction, unhealthy adult patterns, and how she pushed past comfort zones through admitting where she was and....circus performing! She highlights the value of embracing discomfort and using language and humor and play to navigate uncomfortable situations.
 
We talk about
The importance of vulnerability and embracing shame to move towardsa a more healthy futureRealizing her child sexual abuse in her 20s, and all the challenging patterns that created, and she eventually overcameThe value of dancing in the discomfort zone in actually rewiring your brainEmbracing her discomfort in a large metal hoop 20 feet in the air in a purple sparkly circus outfit!  ( https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rmhu38yitr10xqz5x41tk/IMG_1356.mov?rlkey=37tkxkfrvbpd7ez0tp0si4ws9&e=1&dl=0 ) 
Want more from Britt?
Website : www.scienceofstuck.com
Insta @brittfrank
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittfrankmsw/
And of course, the video of her HOOP PERFORMANCE!   https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rmhu38yitr10xqz5x41tk/IMG_1356.mov?rlkey=37tkxkfrvbpd7ez0tp0si4ws9&e=1&dl=0 

Britt Frank, LSCSW, SEP is a recovering mess of a human-turned-psychotherapist. She’s the author of The Science of Stuck and The Getting Unstuck  (Penguin Random House), named by SHRM, Esquire, New York Magazine, and The Next Big Idea Club as a must-read. Britt received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her master’s degree from the University of Kansas, where she later became an award-winning adjunct instructor. Britt is a contributing writer to Psychology Today and her work has been featured in Forbes, NPR, The New York Times, Fast Company, Psych Central, SELF, and Thrive Global. She also likes to do circus acrobat things because life’s too short not to play. 

The situation in Ukraine fills the media with terrible news, but hearing the story from someone who was directly impacted brings an increased level of intensity.  This week's guest Olesia Sinkova (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100018842642011) fled Ukraine 2 years ago with her 3 children, her husband and 2 backpacks.  They left behind their lives, their jobs, family, friends and their 2 beloved cats to find a safer life in Germany.  In this episode, she tells her story, and how she has brought herself and her children through the horrors happening in Ukraine.

We talk about
The experience in her village, 15 miles from where the main bombardments were happening.How she spoke to her children about all the loud noises of war they could hear while playing in the woods near their houseHow she got through her anxiety and depressionHow she's helping her fellow Ukrainians in Cologne, Germany to deal with their feelings of escaping their homelandFor more from Olesia,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100018842642011
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olesia-sinkova-speaker/

Olesia Sinkova is a Ukrainian refugee living in Germany, a motivational speaker and an author. Knowing that tomorrow is not guaranteed made her a spiritual warrior, cutting through anxiety and despair with the tools she has gained along her own spiritual journey. Sharing this with others became her true purpose.

Courage!  If we ever expect to Dance in the Discomfort Zone of life, we have to have courage, so today I welcome Kris McGuigan, Speaker, Author and Courage Coach to talk about her 3 Cs of Courage; Clarity, Conviction and Constancy!  She goes into great detail to help us build our courage muscles and achieve the things we want in our lives.
We talk about
·        How to find clarity on what you really want to go after, and the challenges that all the messaging in the world creates.
·        How to strengthen your decision by developing your conviction
·        The difference between consistency and constancy, and why CONSTANCY is the way to go
·        Failure.  The definition and how it’s merely a learning opportunity rather than a stopping point!
If you want more from Kris, here are all the links in one happy link!  https://linktr.ee/krismcguigan
 
Kris McGuigan is the founder and principal owner of Professional Courage. As a board-certified, executive coach, keynote speaker and corporate trainer for the nation’s most prominent Fortune 500 companies, Kris has helped countless leaders step up and stand out in the marketplace. Her first book, The Requisite Courage: How to Make Brave Decisions in Business & Life, is a science-based approach to fear management that helps you overcome self-doubt, take more risks and get results.

This week I'm joined by Chris West (http://videonarrative.com) as he shares his  journey of embracing discomfort to live a fulfilling life. Chris has committed to facing fears, uncomfortable situations and fully exploring life which has led to more fulfillment and a life well lived. Chris struggled with personal issues like low self-worth and a need to care for others, which led to feelings of hopelessness, but after many years of personal growth work, he found deeper joy and fulfillment by prioritizing self-care and his own self-love. Chris did this not only in his personal life, but when he recently shifted his business model in a huge way, gaining more freedom for himself and his kids while expanding their capabilities for his clients. BINGO!  He emphasizes taking responsibility for one's own well-being and choices, rather than relying on others or external factors for happiness.

Chris West is the founder of Video Narrative, a brand design firm that specializes in growing speaking businesses through brand clarity, speaker demo reels, and website design.   Before working with leading speakers around the world, Chris developed his approach for stories in his graduate work in Narrative Therapy.  

Today Chris works alongside thought-leaders to increase their message, clarity, and impact through powerful narratives.   When not telling stories, Chris is out backpacking with his three children, and attending an exhaustive amount of personal development retreats. 

Creativity is one of those thing that many people think they don’t have, but according to this week’s guest Nina Meehan (https://ninameehan.com/), any time you bring something new into the world, you’re being creative!  It’s not the big scary, talent-required, elusive thing.  You are creative, and should practice your creativity because it’s a great stress booster too!!
Want to know more about Nina, here are the links!
https://www.instagram.com/nmeehan/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninameehan/ https://ninameehan.com/ and here’s my glorious dog!  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/x51x0dbtimir89t2qd7lr/Nina-Pod-Dog.png?rlkey=2kykemcei0cqtalb8ei47h4o2&dl=0
and the e-mail for free books that I mentioned at the end is admin@annebonney.com (also a great place to send podcast topic requests or guest nominations!!)
A creativity expert, Nina Meehan inspires the broader community as a skilled theatre producer, award-winning director, and dedicated arts educator, with expertise in youth development. Her work focuses on nurturing innovation and connecting people in our increasingly digital world.
Nina’s award-winning theatrical work for young people as CEO of Bay Area Children's Theatre has reached more than 700,000 kids and adults and has toured nationally and internationally. 
Her unique style of storytelling appeals to kids and kids-at-heart alike!  
As president of the board of directors of TYA/USA, the national organization of theatres for young audiences, she actively engages in outreach on behalf of the profession and the issues it embraces--from anti-racism to support for theatre as a vital national industry to artistic innovation in response to the pandemic. 
Nina speaks and writes frequently about creativity, nonprofit management, and theatre for young audiences (TYA). She writes an invited column on creativity, empathy and art, and family connection, and is regularly published in on-line magazines.
Her work has been spotlighted in the Los Angeles Times, American Theatre Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Barron’s, NBC News, and CBS News. 
Nina holds a BS in theatre from Northwestern University and a Master's of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco. She is also a certified yoga instructor. 
 

Humans make mistakes!  It’s just one of the undeniable truths about being humans.  Sometimes they’re big mistakes, sometimes they’re small, but whatever the case, shame is a dark and moist bedfellow (ew!) of those mistakes, and in this episode, Dr Andrea Hollingsworth (www.hollingsworthconsulting.com) and I talk about how to own up to your mistakes, and how to move through them with strength and compassion for the damage we may have done, and compassion for ourselves as we recover from those mistakes and learn and grow from them so we don’t repeat unhealthy and destructive patterns.
We talk about
Weak times that lead to weak responsesHow embracing the “Brutiful truth” (thank you Rachel Hollis) can help you build self compassionThe 3 level structure of her self-compassion scaffoldParenting, and how great intent can turn into another mistake we need to recover from Want more from Dr Andrea Hollinsworth?  Here you go!
Website: www.hollingsworthconsulting.com
Vimeo https://vimeo.com/904573133?share=copy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-hollingsworth-ph-d-0644058b/

The Alcohol Experiment by Annie Grace https://thisnakedmind.com/the-alcohol-experiment/
Dr. Andrea Hollingsworth is a speaker, researcher, and seasoned psychotherapist who has spent decades studying the transformative power of compassion and self-compassion in life and leadership. Andrea’s articles on the science and spirituality of compassion have been published more than a dozen times in peer-reviewed journals, and she’s taught at prestigious institutions like Princeton and Boston University. Today, she spends most of her time helping leaders use her Compassion Advantage framework to boost emotional wellbeing, fight shame and perfectionism, increase resilience, and solve workplace problems. She lives with her family in Minneapolis, Minnesota.