#137 Meaningful Acts of Resistance

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Hey, this is Melissa Parsons, and you are listening to the Your Favorite You Podcast. I'm a certified life coach with an advanced certification in deep dive coaching. The purpose of this podcast is to help brilliant women like you with beautiful brains create the life you've been dreaming of with intentions. My goal is to help you find your favorite version of you by teaching you how to treat yourself as your own best friend.

If this sounds incredible to you and you want practical tips on changing up how you treat yourself, then you're in the right place. Just so you know, I'm a huge fan of using all of the words available to me in the English language, so please proceed with caution if young ears are around.

Hello and welcome back to Your Favorite You. I'm so glad you're here with me today. I want to start by acknowledging what many of us are feeling right now. There is a heaviness in the air. Many of us are feeling that the world, particularly here in the United States, is moving in a direction that challenges our deepest values. 

I hear from so many of you who feel overwhelmed, angry, and sometimes even hopeless about what's happening around us. I see you, I feel it too, and I also see something else in our community, a quiet determination, a refusal to surrender to despair, and a deep desire to act in alignment with our values, even when it feels like swimming against the current. 

I know what it feels like. I too am a tiny blue dot in a sea of red where I live. So today, I want to talk about resistance. Not just the kind that involves marching in the streets, though certainly that has its place today and every day we see injustice, but the everyday moment-by-moment choices we make that can become powerful acts of resistance in their own right. 

I want to talk about following your intuition as an act of political and personal courage. I want to talk about how the small actions you take in your corner of the world matter more than you might realize. 

When we think about resistance movements throughout history, we often focus on the dramatic moments, the marches, the speeches, the confrontations. Behind every visible movement are thousands of small, often invisible acts that create the foundation for change. 

Rosa Parks didn't just decide one day to refuse to give up her seat on the bus. She had been trained in nonviolent resistance, and she was part of a community of people making daily choices to resist injustice. 

Her momentous act was built on countless smaller ones. Another example, my friend and colleague, Kelly Casperson, a urologist, is another fabulous example. Her activism began when she had a personal moment in her medical practice, when a woman was crying in her office, and Dr. Casperson realized that she lacked the tools to help her patient with her sexual health concerns. This led her to do a deep dive on sex and hormones because her medical education hadn't prepared her for what she called the wave of women and desperate for help in education. Her resistance to the status quo in medical education and practice began with helping individual patients, but has grown into a movement to transform how women's sexual health and menopause is approached in medicine. 

She is such an inspiration to me and to many other women. So while some are called to visible leadership roles or public activism, many more of us are called to resist in our daily lives in ways that might seem smaller but collectively create the conditions to create larger change. 

These small acts might include having difficult conversations with family members when harmful views are expressed. It might involve intentionally supporting businesses owned by people from marginalized communities. 

It might involve teaching children to question harmful norms and embrace empathy and justice. It also might involve creating art that challenges dominant and harmful narratives. And then it may involve building community care networks that model the world we want to see. 

What makes these acts powerful isn't their size but their authenticity. They come from a place of genuine alignment with your values and your unique gifts. And this is where intuition comes in. In a world that constantly tells us what to think, how to feel, and who to be, following your inner wisdom itself is a radical act. 

Valuing your inner wisdom itself is a radical act. I can't say that enough times. We live in a culture that values analytical thinking over intuition, particularly for women. We're taught to doubt our inner knowing, to defer to external authorities, to silence that quiet voice in our brain that says, this isn't right, or there has to be another way. 

Your intuition is a powerful compass. It's not just some mystical concept. It's your body and your mind processing information at levels deeper than conscious thought. It's actually generations of wisdom speaking through you. It's your authentic self trying to emerge. It's your favorite you trying to emerge. When you honor that intuition, when you listen to what your body and soul and spirit are telling you needs to be done, you're engaging in a fundamental act of resistance against systems that profit and benefit from your disconnection from yourself. 

This intuitive resistance happens in countless ways. It might surface as questioning an educational curriculum that erases certain histories, speaking up in a meeting when harmful ideas go unchallenged, or recognizing when a community need isn't being met and taking the first step to address it. 

What often begins as a feeling, as a whisper, an intuitive sense that something is missing or wrong, can evolve into concrete action that affects how people understand and engage with the world around them. 

Of course, following your intuition doesn't mean acting on every impulse or emotion. Discernment is key and definitely should be taken into account when you're trying to follow your intuition. Here are some questions I invite you to sit with when you're trying to discover your own authentic path of resistance. 

First, what unique gifts, skills, and perspectives do I bring to this moment? Where do I feel most alive and energized when contributing? What issues consistently capture my attention and concern? Where might I have leverage or influence that others may not? And then finally, what feels sustainable for me in the long term? I invite you to really listen to your answers. You can journal about them. You can discuss them with trusted friends. Look for patterns. 

Of course, you can always bring them to a coaching relationship with me, and I will help you figure out how you want to move forward in a way that feels most like your favorite you. Remember that effective resistance isn't about doing everything. That is simply not possible. It's about fighting. Finding where your unique contribution meets the world's needs. Many of us are trapped in all or nothing thinking here, and it keeps us stuck. Just because you can't do everything doesn't mean that you can't find something meaningful to you that will make a difference, however large or small. 

This might manifest in education, creating spaces where young people can develop critical thinking skills and compassion. It might appear in healthcare, ensuring people receive dignity-affirming care. It could emerge through art, technology, community organizing, or simply being the person in your family who consistently speaks up against harmful comments. There is no single right way to resist. There's only your authentic path, the one that aligns with who you are and what you can sustainably offer. 

I want to share some meaningful forms of resistance that are happening in communities across the country. These aren't meant to be prescriptive, but to spark your imagination about what's possible in your own context. 

In education, we see teachers creating space for critical thinking despite standardized testing pressures. This might look like supplemental lessons that fill historical gaps, classroom discussions that encourage questioning power structures, or creative projects that allow students to explore social issues that matter to them. 

In corporate settings, small acts of resistance appear when employees advocate for inclusive language in company materials, pushing for ethical sourcing, or creating more humane workplace policies. These shifts, while sometimes subtle, challenge the status quo from within institutions. 

I will never forget when the place where I did my residency put out a flyer with images of all white male doctors throughout. My friends and I all saw it around the same time, and you should have seen the text thread. What the fuck is this? This is not at all representative of the colors and ages and genders of the pediatricians at this institution. My friend Mary Lynn drafted a letter to the powers that be at the hospital, which we collectively signed. 

This garnered a meeting with the physician at the top of the org chart, who, surprise, surprise, happened to be an older white man. And to their credit, subsequent promotional materials have had images and graphics more in line with actual reality. 

So that act of resistance by us worked well. Another example is that mutual aid networks have researched in recent years with neighbors creating systems to share resources, to support vulnerable community members, and to reduce dependency on systems that often fail those most in need. 

These networks demonstrate alternative ways of meeting human needs outside. of traditional power structures. Artists are using their crafts, whether quilting, embroidery, painting, music, or poetry, to tell stories that mainstream narratives often exclude. 

This creative work helps make abstract issues tangible and reaches people on an emotional level that statistics alone cannot. My friend Amber, a fully functioning adult who was diagnosed with autism in her late 30s. Guys, she went on enough dates to get married, wipes her own butt, and has been paying taxes for decades now. I know it's unbelievable, right? Anyway, I digress on my hatred of RFK Jr. Amber has a small business called a Crafty B. Just the letter B, you can interpret it however you want. She embroiders and sells the most amazing and beautiful pieces of art that are helping to power the resistance. You can check her business out on IG. 

There are so many others in the world using their creativity and artistic expression as acts of resistance. Of course, this is nothing new as it has been going on for centuries. Families are creating intentional spaces for civic engagement from dinner table discussions about current events to involving their kids in community service that addresses root causes rather than symptoms of social problems. 

What's powerful about these forms of resistance is they don't require special credentials or platforms. They start with ordinary people paying attention to what isn't working, imagining alternatives, and taking action within their spheres of influence. 

None of these actions alone will transform our entire society overnight. But together, they create a cultural substrate that makes larger changes possible. They help us practice the skills of democracy and justice in our everyday lives. 

Let me share just a few more simple acts of resistance that can be woven into everyday life. First, intentionally redirecting your resources. This could be as simple as moving your money to a local credit union instead of a large bank that funds projects harmful to communities or the environment. Or it could mean committing to spending 10% of your monthly shopping budget at businesses owned by people from marginalized communities. These small financial choices multiplied across many people can shift power in meaningful ways, shopping local and supporting businesses like Costco and Trader Joe's and others that are not cow chowing to the bullies. 

Second, another act of resistance is creating space for difficult conversations. This might look like hosting a monthly gathering where friends can discuss current events with nuance and compassion. Or it could be as simple as preparing yourself with factual information and practice responses for when harmful narratives at family gatherings. 

Breaking the silence around important issues challenges the normalization of injustice. Third, tending to a small piece of the commons. This could mean adopting a local park or green space to care for, sharing a community garden or starting a community garden that provides food for neighbors, or organizing a regular cleanup of a watershed. 

These acts reconnect us with the physical places we inhabit and remind us that we have both the right and responsibility to care for shared resources. It could be as simple as taking a garbage bag on your daily walk and picking up any trash that you see along your route. 

You could also remove any invasive plants you have in your yard and replace them with native ones. These actions might seem small, but they represent a fundamental shift from passive consumption to active creation in the world we want to inhabit. 

They help us practice living as if the future we desire is already emerging through our choices today. Resistance isn't a sprint. It is definitely a marathon. Perhaps it's even a relay race that spans generations. 

This means we need to approach it with sustainability in mind. The systems we're working to change count on our exhaustion and despair. They benefit when we burn out. True resistance, therefore, includes caring for ourselves and each other. 

This means setting boundaries around how and when you engage with news and social media, celebrating small victories rather than focusing only on what remains to be done, finding joy and pleasure as acts of resistance themselves. 

I will repeat this one. Finding joy and pleasure as acts of resistance. Any time you are enjoying your body and finding pleasure in it, it is an act of resistance. You can shout, long live the resistance or fuck the patriarchy when you finish. 

It's fun. Trust me. Try it next time. Build community with others who share your values. Resting when you need to without guilt. I want to repeat this one too. You all need to hear it. Resting when you need to or want to without guilt and remembering that you don't have to carry everything. 

There is a beautiful quote from my favorite Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that I return to often. She said, fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you. This speaks to both the importance of standing for your values and the collaborative nature of effective resistance. She also reminded us that quote, real change, enduring change happens one step at a time. End quote. This perspective helps me maintain patience when progress seems slow. Remembering that each small action contributes a larger transformation that we seek. As we wrap up today, I want to leave you with this thought. 

Your resistance matters. The small choices you make each day to live according to your values, to follow your intuition, to create little pockets of justice and care in your corner of the world. These are not separate from the larger movement for change. 

They are its foundation. In times like these, it's easy to feel small and powerless. But remember that throughout history, lasting change has come from ordinary people making extraordinary choices to live differently, to challenge what's accepted as inevitable, to imagine another way forward. 

I invite you this week to pay attention to your intuition. Notice what it's whispering to you, what it's telling you about where and how you're called to resist. Trust that inner knowing. Take one small step in that direction. 

And please share with our community what emerges for you. We need other stories and inspiration. Until next time, remember, in a world that tries to disconnect you from your power, following your intuition is a revolutionary act. 

Thank you for listening. If you found today's episode valuable, please consider sharing it with someone who might need these words right now. You can find resources mentioned in today's show in the show notes. 

And remember to follow along on IG or Facebook where we can support each other in these small acts of resistance and share our journeys. Take care of yourselves, and I'll be back next week. 

Hey - It’s still me. Since you are listening to this podcast, you very likely have followed all the rules and ticked off all the boxes but you still feel like something's missing! If you're ready to learn the skills and gain the tools you need to tiptoe into putting yourself first and treating yourself as you would your own best friend, I'm here to support you. As a general life coach for women, I provide a safe space, compassionate guidance, and practical tools to help you navigate life's challenges as you start to get to know and embrace your authentic self.

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