The Steward Project

Nicole Steward, MSW
  • 5.0 (21)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

Welcome to The Steward Project, a space to discuss the intersections of service, social justice, spirituality & self-care. Each one an important aspect for helpers, healers & change makers to stay healthy, happy, and effective in the work we do.

  1. Episode 21: Students & The Pandemic

    09/25/2023

    Episode 21: Students & The Pandemic

    Hi friends! In this episode I'm expanding on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student well-being and academics. There is a lot of fear mongering about this topic, so I'm bringing some calm to the chaos. Le me know what you think!

    34 min
  2. Episode 20: Back After the Pandemic

    09/03/2023

    Episode 20: Back After the Pandemic

    Hi Friends! It's been a minute since I've dropped an episode of the podcast...and by a minute, I mean 3 years! As a solo social worker in a school district working through the pandemic, it's been a challenge to do anything extra. But now I'm back! Thank you to those of you who kept asking about the podcast and gently pushed me to get things moving again. If you were an "essential worker" during the pandemic, I'd love to know how this episode resonates for you (and THANK YOU for your service). If you were a student during the pandemic, please share how the pandemic impacted you (and if I missed anything). Most of all, THANK YOU for being here and for how you show up in the world. xo Nicole

    31 min

  3. 04/01/2020

    Episode 19: Global Pandemic as Opportunity

    Hi Friends!  In this moment, we are all in some form of shelter-in-place/lockdown/quarantine as we try to navigate this global pandemic.  COVID-19 has taken over our lives.  And for some of us, it's created some dysregulation and feelings of instability.   The truth is, we are experiencing a global TRAUMA.  And many of us are experiencing the stages of grief and loss as we have lost our routines, our jobs, and for some of us, the loss of "busy-ness" may be creating a sort of identity crisis.  For those of us who identified with our work as Helpers, Healers, and Changemakers...this transition is hard. We may even be having an existential crisis. BUT...many of you have been pulling into your Radical Self-Care practice.  This RSC practice has given us some level of resilience.  And while we are experiencing a global trauma, we are also witnessing global RESILIENCE.  Some of us are ready to focus on the future, considering the ways we want to change our systems, our patterns, and our personal habits.  This pandemic is creating a beautiful opportunity for us to create new ways of being and doing and working! My call to action: Join me on a ZOOM call Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 4pm PST/7pm EST.  We will discuss how we want to shift how we show up in this new world we are about to create!

    20 min

  4. 11/02/2019

    Episode 18: Radical Self-Care & Remembering

    Radical Self-Care for Helpers, Healers & Change-makers includes the regular practice of REMEMBERING. As our work gets more challenging and our world gets more chaotic, it’s vital to pull back into our WHY. Work with other humans is messy...so why THIS work? Remembering who we are, at the core of our being, helps us gain an understanding of the ways we are drawn to the work of helping, healing & making change.  Once we remember who we are & why we do this work, we begin to understand how our passion is used (or abused) to keep us overworked & underpaid. We begin to unravel the root causes of our stress and overwhelm when we take time in the space of Remembering. Then we’re able to use the power of remembering our WHY & our PASSION so that we can reignite that fire to keep us sustained in this amazing work we love...the work of Helping, Healing & Making Change!

    28 min

  5. 06/10/2019

    Episode 17: Guided Meditation-Expanding Our Container

    In this episode of The Steward Project podcast, I'm offering something a little different. This episode, I'm offering a guided meditation to help us expand our containers in order to thrive in a challenging world as we do radical work.  When I was in Mexico for my yoga retreat, I made sure to sneak down to the beach and record this guided meditation for you!   This is one of my personal Radical Self-Care practices...whenever I'm in nature (whether it's the ocean, a lake, the redwoods, or a warm summer night with crickets singing), I record a minute or two of the sounds.  Then I listen to the sounds again in a moment when I need a break.  I highly recommend this practice. Another way to ground ourselves in the midst of chaos. After you listen to this 11 minute guided meditation, I'd love to know how it was for you!  Leave me a comment or come to the blog to share your experience!  For more information, visit https://www.radical-tendencies.com/blog.

    20 min

  6. 05/13/2019

    Episode 16: Radical Self-Care Reality Check

    In this episode of The Steward Project podcast, I'm sharing what I call the Radical Self-Care Reality Check.   Rates of burn-out, chronic illness, and death by suicide are on the rise among Helpers, Healers, and Change-makers.  This has long-term impacts on us as human beings but also impacts the outcomes we are trying to achieve for those we serve and for the world on a larger scale.  We must do something to stem this tide and turn it around.   A Radical Self-Care practice is necessary for Helpers, Healers, and Change-makers.  For many of us, the issues/work/professions we are drawn to and become passionate about are deeply personal to us and may speak to a deep wounding we experienced in the past.  This can be a strength and a challenge.  When the work we do in the world requires us to be emotionally engaged with an issue or with individuals, our own wounds can be triggered.  This triggering causes a stress response that can get out of control, causing us to burn-out, get sick, and sometimes can even lead to death either of chronic illness or by suicide. In this episode, I share the data on what's happening now in the world of Helpers, Healers, and Change-makers and what we can do to change this.  When we are doing radical work in the world, we must meet that with Radical Self-Care to keep us sustained and thriving in our work.  For more information, visit https://www.radical-tendencies.com/blog.

    30 min

  7. 03/13/2019

    Episode 15: Cultivating Compassion as an act of Radical Self-Care

    In this episode of The Steward Project podcast, we're exploring the cultivation of compassion as an act of Radical self-care.   Compassion is the foundation of a Radical Self-Care practice.  Without self-compassion, we may not believe that we need or are worthy of the same care we give to others.  We may feel that self-care is selfish or a luxury.  But what we are seeing now is an epidemic of compassion fatigue and burn-out of helpers, healers and change-makers.  If we want to mitigate burn-out, we must cultivate a practice of self-compassion. Compassion means "to have concern for the suffering of others".  The root words are COM (with) and PASSION (suffering) and the Latin origin word "compati" means "to suffer with".  In order to sit with the suffering of others, we must have compassion for them...and in order to sit with the suffering of others without becoming overwhelmed by them, we MUST have self-compassion.  Self-compassion allows us to see life from a different perspective, to commit to deep, courageous self-care practices, to prioritize rest and time off, and allows us the space (time & energy) to be with others' suffering while also tending to our own. Toward the goal of Cultivating Compassion, I'd also like to invite you to a yoga & sound healing retreat April 15-19, 2019 in Puerto Morelos, Mexico.  We will be cultivating compassion through a daily practices of yoga, meditation, sound healing and restorative yoga.  For more information, visit https://www.radical-tendencies.com/retreat.

    29 min

  8. 02/26/2019

    Episode 14: The Truth About Burn-Out

    In this episode of The Steward Project Podcast, I'm getting real about burn-out.  It's a topic that is coming up a lot and there is growing awareness of what burn-out is and how it impacts us.  However, there is a special flavor of burn-out experienced by those of us in the Helping, Healing, or Change-making fields. Join me for this in-depth discussion on the classic signs/symptoms of burn-out, how burn-out impacts us, our work and the outcomes we hope to achieve, and what we can do about it. What are your thoughts on burn-out?  Have you experienced on yet?  What has it taught you and what changes did you make? What's your self-care go-to?  Let me know by posting a comment on my blog: https://www.radical-tendencies.com/my-thoughts

    53 min
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About

Welcome to The Steward Project, a space to discuss the intersections of service, social justice, spirituality & self-care. Each one an important aspect for helpers, healers & change makers to stay healthy, happy, and effective in the work we do.

Information

  • Creator
    Nicole Steward, MSW
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2023
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Nicole Steward, MSW
  • Show Website
    The Steward Project