#165 Inside Group Coaching

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.

Melissa

Hello everyone and welcome back to Your Favorite You. I am so excited. I say that every time, but I truly am excited to have four of my amazing, amazing group coaching participants. We just finished our group coaching cohort and it has taken some scheduling and some doing to get everyone here at, you know, it's 10 a.m. Eastern time on a Wednesday, so I'm very grateful for my belief that the schedule always works out and we are all here together and just so happy to see these four beautiful women who I have had the pleasure of getting to know and getting to help and them getting to help me because coaching really is kind of a two-way street, so everything that I help them with they also help me with, so thank you guys for that. What I'm going to do actually is have you guys go around the room and, you know, we can go in alphabetical order, that means you're first, Colleen, and say tell the listeners, introduce themselves to you by telling them about your favorite version of you in October 2025.

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Colleen

I'm Colleen. I guess I'll give a little history of my work with Dr. Parsons. I started about a year and a half ago. And my first group of sessions included one-on-one and group at the same time, which was really quite amazing. And then this is my second group coaching experience. And my favorite version of myself is being open to connection and not trying to fix things.

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Melissa

Mm. I love that. Amazing, amazing. All right, thank you. Erin, you're next.

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Erin

Hi, I'm Erin. Melissa and I go way back from the beginnings of her coaching days and beyond. But yes, she came into my life at all the right times. But I've been coaching Melissa for gosh, has it been five years now?

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Melissa

Yeah, you are one of my OG clients.

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Erin

You keep taking me back. I really appreciate that.

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Melissa

I keep welcoming you back. Yes, of course.

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Erin

Um, but yeah, so it's been, um, it's been a really long and interesting journey. And so it's, it's kind of interesting to see how the answer to what my favorite you today looks like compared to even six months ago, and certainly five years ago. Um, I think at this point, my favorite version of myself, which I'm not sure that I- it's like, it's always a work in progress, right? Like I don't think I've arrived at that. But, um, my favorite version of myself is compassionate towards herself, and willing to try new things and even willing to kind of like fail at them and not do them well at times in the interest of learning and growing. And, and I think for me, what's even bigger is doing that in the interest of like setting an example for my kids too. So they can watch me do that so that maybe they don't have to use quite so much coaching, but they're good. Um, yeah, I would say that like just open to trying new things and being compassionate about the process of just what like life looks like.

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Melissa

Yeah, I love that. Okay, awesome for you and for everybody that you love. All right, Krystin, you're up.

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Krystin

Um, I'm Krystin and this is my third session of coaching with Melissa. I started with individual, did a group, I think did the OG group and then, um, this, this group. So, um, kind of like Erin, I feel like my favorite version of myself has definitely evolved in the last two or three years. Um, you know, we've added career changes and kiddos to the mix, um, along that journey as well. So, um, the, you know, I think, especially in the last six months, it's really evolved to being somebody who's willing to feel the emotions and, um, really kind of get in touch with an inner, like seven-year-old who, um, buried emotions for a lot of years. And so letting myself feel the feels and teaching my kids to feel the feels, um, and not being ashamed of emotion. I think that that, um, has really been the version of myself that I've been working on.

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Melissa

I love it. I love it. I love it. Especially since that was your goal coming into this group. It makes me so happy. My little heart is so happy to hear that. All right. Last but not least .

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Prerana

Hi, my name is Prerana, and I met Melissa a year ago at a conference and just had the feeling that I knew she was going to be my coach and so signed up for this group and it's been amazing. So thank you, Melissa, and thanks to everybody in the group. My favorite version, you know, has evolved and like Erin said, you know, still work in progress, but really, I think that the things that I've learned from this group, but also just, I would say is taking a pause and really learning to trust my wise voice. And because I know it's there, but I think I have the reactivity has always been a little bit higher. And so just really being compassionate for the emotions that I might feel, but also then knowing that the wise voice is there and pausing enough to listen.

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Melissa

Yeah, getting quiet and getting still enough to be able to hear it, which is hard to do in the society that we live in, and certainly hard to do in each of our first chosen professions. So this group is kind of special because it's my first group that has been all women physicians, and it's been so amazing to have you all. And, you know, for me personally to know how brilliant you are and how amazing and how caring and how compassionate and how good you are at what you do and helping humanity and that type of thing. So I'm curious if you guys have thoughts about how being in a group of all other women physicians has impacted your life, impacted how we handled the group, you know, that type of thing. Does anybody have any thoughts on that?

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Erin

I do.

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Melissa

Let's hear them, Erin.

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Erin

Yeah, I mean, I think for me, you know, before I joined group, this is my first time and all the time I've coached with you that I've decided to join a group cohort. And that felt super just like psychologically unsafe to me in the beginning, which I remember our consult before. And he said, well, of course, that's why you have to do it, then, like, touche. But I think, you know, coming into a group of other women physicians, even though we're all from different, you know, specialty backgrounds and whatnot, and even different phases in like, child rearing and family life and that sort of thing. I think there it created a level of safety for me that I just kind of needed in order to be able to participate and really kind of get everything out of the group that I could and to be able to be part of it in a way that felt good to me. So for me, I think it like, I don't know, whether it's serendipitous, or just, we made it work, I just I feel like for me, it created a level of, of sort of safety that I felt like I could come into and feel a little bit understood already. Because for me, that's something I really have always struggled with is being willing to be vulnerable, especially in front of other women. So yeah, I think just having that commonality, for me helped me to feel like I could kind of dive in rather than spending like, three months warming up and then participate. Yeah.

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Melissa

Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, and I mean, I think it's interesting, right? I don't want people listening to get the idea that I think that you should do things that are unsafe to you, right? I knew that we were gonna be able to create safety in the group rather immediately because that is one of the goals that I have for the group is for everyone to feel safe. So yes, you wanna do things that make you a tinge uncomfortable, right? And I know that you had this belief about struggling to have female friendships and that type of thing. And I was like, oh, this is gonna be exactly what she needs to see because I knew, I mean, I had met Prerana at a dinner at a conference and I knew Colleen and Krystin already, right? And I was like, oh, this is gonna be a great opportunity for Erin to see herself mirrored back in these other people and be able to feel safe.

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Erin

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I guess that I don't want to make anyone think that I was coerced into being part of it. And you know, like, you've known me long enough to completely call me on my bullshit when it happens. And so when I'm like, I don't know, I don't think I can do this with other like women, you're like, well, that's why you have to do it. Like, okay, absolutely. So yeah, no, absolutely. I completely agree.

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Melissa

Yeah. All right. Anyone else have any thoughts about it being all women docs? Yeah.

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Colleen

So as I, well, as I've said before, when I initially started with you, it was my main goal or the biggest area of my life that I wanted to focus on was relationships with my children and my family, connection, that sort of thing. And I think it was really timely to be with other physicians at this point in my life where I am now entering empty nest season and not ready or willing to retire. So it was really nice to hear everyone's professional sides and their professional goals and challenges. And it's helped me kind of return in a way back to my field. And I've kind of put that more on a back burner for the last couple of years and just kind of been on manual cruise control. And so it was really nice for me to think of it, to think of my profession more. And so from that aspect, I really enjoyed hearing everyone's thoughts on their career and what they've done and what they're doing.

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Melissa

So yeah, however, how each of you is navigating different sets of circumstances in different ways and seeing the celebrations every week and, you know, after maybe coaching through some tumultuous times, you know, that type of thing and seeing each of you come out like victorious on the other side is so fun for me personally. So all right. Krystin or Prerana, do you have anything to add? If not, it's not a problem.

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Prerana

Yeah, I mean, I would add that I think for me, it was really helpful to have women in a group who it was easy to kind of take the armor off in the sense of be honest and be vulnerable, because so hearing other people's stories who you know, have been trained the same way you do. So so much of thinking and medicine and how we, you know, process all the things that we do during the day of seeing patients, you know, carries over into our life. And so it was really like empowering and eye opening to hear the stories, even though it wasn't maybe my life, but that there's the similarities were so strong because of the thought processes.

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Melissa

Yeah. Krystin and Colleen, you guys have each been in a group where it wasn't all physicians with me. Can you think of anything that you want to share about that? Because I think that people, from my perspective in the physician coaching community, we are often talking about, is it better to have a group of all doctors or is it better to have people from different walks of life be in the group so that you can see either A, we aren't the only group in the world that is struggling or B, to be able to see just that just because we have this professional thing in common doesn't mean that we can't have other things in common with other women in a different group. Does that make sense?

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Krystin

Yeah, I mean, I think that there were pluses and minuses to both groups. I don't know that I have, I mean, I'm partial to this group. I think I felt the most connection, um, in a group of like all physicians. Um, but I think that, I think you're right, right? Like there was, there was pluses to the other side too of like, yeah, we're people outside of medicine struggle too. And like these challenges that I'm having parenting with my partner, like all of those things are not unique just because I've chosen a career as a physician or in medicine. So I think that that was, that helped maybe my mom guilt for lack of a better word, um, in the other group, um, to kind of realize that that wasn't just unique to like my professional choices, um, that I made for career. Um, but I do think that it was really nice. Like I, I feel like we jumped into this group like from day one with just a little bit of a deeper kind of connection conversation than maybe I remember in the other group.

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Melissa

Yeah, amazing. Okay, thank you so much for sharing. Erin kind of alluded to it, but you guys are all kind of at different stages of life. Some are more toward my stage where it is empty nest and some of you have still kids living at home and still growing your families and that type of thing. I'm wondering if you guys would be willing to share how that helped you find some healing or find some peace or find more connection if you're willing to speak to that.

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Krystin

I think honestly, that was my favorite part of the group. If we didn't get to it, I was going to find a way to say that it was my favorite part of the group. I was going to railroad your conversation. But as the mom of the youngest kids in the group, it was so refreshing that every time we talked about dropping my kiddo off at school for the first time and the crying in the six months and all of that, to hear from the other women of we've been there, we've done that. This is a stage. Wait until you get to the next stage. It's just nearing and having these women as examples of the relationships that I want to build with my kids and then I want to have with my kids when they're teenagers, when they're going off to college, that connection is probably the most valuable part of the group. It was the drive for, OK, I'm doing, I'm putting in the hard work now for a reason, because in 10 years I went to be where Colleen and Prerana and Erin are.

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Melissa

Yeah, so beautiful. So beautiful, so beautiful. Anyone else care to speak to that?

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Erin

Yeah, I mean, I think moving up the parenting ladder, I'm the next oldest kid, the next youngest, I guess, next oldest kids compared to Krystin. So it was interesting to be kind of sandwiched in between and seeing so many of the things that like Melissa, you and I had worked through over the last five years, with my own experience with my kids and my parenting and to see, you know, Krystin go through almost like mirror image of a lot of that of a number of things, not just one, you know, one thing. And it really like, you know, I think there's always that joke in like coaching, like you don't have a corner on the market for broken, like you're not super special extra broken, like everybody has really similar problems. And I think seeing that as much as you hear that, and you tell yourself that in your amazing coach tells you that, I think until you witness other people struggle with the same things that you have worked through, like, okay, maybe it's not just me. Okay, this is common to motherhood in general, right? So I think in watching you coach Krystin through some of her parenting things. You know, that for me was, was really healing in that way. And then looking and watching you coach like Colleen and Prerana through their things, I think helps me to think forward about like being a little more open and accepting of my kids and where they are currently and, and reminding myself that I want to do that on purpose. So it just it was an interesting, like, you know, projection forward and also appreciation and gratitude for kind of where I've been and some healing of some, you know, past stuff too. So it was really, it was an interesting place to be and I love that as well.

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Melissa

Yeah, so beautiful. It was one of my favorite parts of the group too, so just full disclosure.

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Prerana

It was one of my favorite parts of the group, definitely. It was a highlight. And as Krystin and Erin just said, you know, hearing the different stages, like there was, you know, when I would hear about the younger kids, the kindergarten drop off, obviously, there's, you know, things that come up for me. But then really, I think, Melissa, you said it in one of the sessions, you know, it was just about kind of the things that I might be worried about or the self-doubt, or I'm not doing it right, or the mothering. And then, you know, I think you said something to the effect of, you know, the moms that worry they're not doing it right, are usually the ones that are just fine. But that just carried that with me, because then I was like, all that self-doubt that I was also carrying with me, I kind of was able to put it down. And then just hearing everyone else's stories at different stages, and then Colleen's kids, empty nesting, you know, how I'm going to be there in a couple of years, and seeing exactly how that might play out.

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Melissa

Yeah, and trusting yourself when that happens too, to know, you know, what to do and how to handle things and that type of thing. So amazing. All right, Colleen, as the old crone of the group with me and you.

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Colleen

You know, hearing you guys, I've said this a million times, boy, I wish I had done coaching back then. But there's a healing, I think, seeing you guys go through some issues at different stages. It kind of gives me some compassion for myself that I might be holding onto, like some guilt or something. Like it helps, it helped me kind of heal, also to see it from my kids, my adult kids, like how they may have perceived it at a younger age. So it was interesting, the back, the backwards healing coaching that I received from seeing you guys go through, stuff that I've already gone through. And yeah, so I loved it.

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Melissa

Yeah. And then I'm going to add something if it's all right, Colleen. Yeah. Because I've done this work too, of helping me heal my relationship with my mom.

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Colleen

Mm hmm.

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Melissa

And seeing like, okay, like she was a human being a mom for the first time when she was raising me and my sister too. And she still is now, you know, a 70, we won't call her out because I can't do the math, but 70-something-year-old who is, you know, again, doing life for the first time is a 70-year-old. And I'm doing life for the first time as a 52-year-old. Like, just, I think the weave of compassion kind of throughout for our younger versions of ourselves as moms. And yes, of course, I too have had the thought like, oh my gosh, I so wish I had coaching before I even started a family, before I even got into a relationship, like how different would life be had I had all of these tools and skills available to me then. And, you know, the whole idea of, you know, start where you are and, you know, don't, you know, be putting guilt and shame on this other version of yourself that didn't have the skills and the tools that you have now, just like be where you are and start here. And, you know, as long as you are still here and the people that you want to be in relationship with are still here. And even if they're not, I mean, I've shared on the podcast before that, you know, my relationship with my dad who died 13 years ago now is better than it's ever been. Right? Because I continue to do work around our relationship. So yeah.

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Colleen

Absolutely. It's never too late, right? My relationship with my mom has just exploded in a positive way in the last year and a half. We had a great one to begin with, but there's 100% agree with that.

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Melissa

Yeah, so good. Okay. So I should ask, you guys all kind of said, you know, one of your favorite parts of the group was being in relationship in terms of, you know, parenting ages and stages, any other favorite things that you're taking away or any other favorite, you know, aha moments or, you know, that you're, that you want to highlight here, that you're like, Melissa better asked me about it, or else I'm going to have to horn in on the conversation. Take over.

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Colleen

Animals and nature. I loved that, you know Gosh, Krystin has a farm a working farm Erin rides horses Prerana has a beautiful garden and has the whole, California kind of vibe vibe going on like nature outside animals like that was my favorite part and just reminded me that I love that aspect of life as well and Not sure how that's gonna happen, but it's something I want to You know explore more now that I have a little more free time

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Melissa

Yeah, that's beautiful. I love it.

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Erin

Yeah, I was thinking this along the same lines, Colleen, like the just the, the complexity of each of us, right? Like, I think something I feel like I've been working on intentionally growing through is, you know, we come out of high school and you go to college and then you go to medical school and then residency. And they feel like when you have this plan for medicine, it becomes very much your identity really early on. Um, and, and we sort of have to lean into that, like full tilt, right? For a long time. Um, or at least we're told we have to, whether or not that's true, I guess remains to be seen, but, um, I, and then you kind of get to a point where you're like, man, my life is more than medicine. Like I am more than medicine. I'm more than my practice. And as much as I love my practice, I'm more than just that. I'm even more than just a mom and more than a wife. And like, so I think, um, seeing the complexity of everybody else's lives in a good way, not like the chaotic complexity, though that's good to see that we all have to, but just to see that everybody kind of has their own really kind of complex backstory and the things that they enjoy and what they do for leisure and to ground themselves and, and what fills their cup, like, Oh man, like we're all allowed to be a full human. You're right. Like, I just think that's a good reminder, um, to watch other people do that. It almost gives you permission to lean into those parts of yourself that you kind of wish you could, but feel maybe guilty or feel like, Oh, that's not quote unquote productive enough to be doing. Um, so I think just, yeah, all those like little, little bits and pieces of ourselves, I think kind of helps give me permission to be all those things for myself too.

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Melissa

Yeah. I'm hearing you and like being fully human, like I love that. And also I have to coach you because this is how I do. Anything that you're telling yourself is not productive is also something that you must do.

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Erin

Yeah, it's interesting because that I think right towards the end of our of our time together for this cohort like that became I feel like a really strong theme and a number of our coaching sessions for everybody was this idea of striving and being productive and what's a worthy like what's worth our time and you know what's what's a valid use of your time by your own standards versus society standards and so that's been something that's been top of mind for me I think for the last few probably months really because of those conversations and it really is it's interesting to see how it comes up in your day-to-day life where like oh I caught myself thinking that maybe this isn't a good use of my time because it's not you know quote-unquote productive enough.

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Melissa

Yeah. And then you're like, okay, I need to keep doing this right now.

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Erin

Yeah, for sure. Or like, I need to remember that this actually is important to me for a reason, and remind myself of those reasons.

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Melissa

Yeah. Why am choosing to do this? Yeah. So good. Yeah.

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Colleen

I think that's why I like enjoyed it like Erin goes to the to the horse barn you know Krystin goes and vaccinates cows then Prerana I remember you it was just a like just an aside it really wasn't even a big thing but you mentioned like breathwork and I was like she found time to do breathwork and I was so inspired I was like oh my gosh I want to do some breathwork haven't done it yet I did it I did I do it in my bed but but I haven't done an actual class but it's there it's floating you know all these things are kind of floating.

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Melissa

Of course, I have a person for you, Colleen, that I will share.

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Colleen

Ooh, okay, I love it.

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Melissa

Yes. All right. Anything else you guys want to share?

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Prerana

I think similar to what Erin said that hearing like week to week, the evolution of things that would come up and then part of that exactly like of, you know, striving, you know, what should we spend our time on? But then there would also be the times where like, you know, the something that we may have felt we worked on already or like, why is it coming up again? And again, that like, that was important, right of like, oh, and then Melissa, you sharing that like, you've been doing this for years and that oftentimes this what you thought you were like, oh, I thought I really took care of that thought I had coached myself through that, but then it comes right back and it's like, wow. But there's a reason for it.

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Melissa

Hmm. Yeah. It's so interesting. I just had a session yesterday with my IFS therapist and, um, you know, you guys know that one of my things is that I feel like I always have to be right. And I mean, I think that this is something that most physicians, you know, feel is very important. Um, because, you know, if we're not right in medicine, you know, there can be pretty dire consequences, right? And so I was working with my, with my Caitlin and she was helping me see that this idea of me needing to be right all the time actually went all the way back to me being in first grade and one of my classmates being humiliated in class for not being able to pronounce something correctly. And, and I, you know, speaking to the idea of, Oh my gosh, I've worked with little miss can't be wrong for, you know, six years now and trying to figure out like, why is it that I still like have to like have the last word with my husband? Why is it that I have to correct my mom when she says something that it doesn't fricking matter that she's right or she's wrong? Like let it go. And it's like, Oh, this makes complete sense because it's from this wound that I had in this trauma, literally that I sustained in my first-grade classroom. And it makes so much sense, right? So anything that keeps coming back over and over and over again, you know, until you kind of get to the root of it. And I'm not saying that I told my husband last night that I had done this. And I was like, I think I'm healed. And he's like, remains to be seen. Right. And of course it does. And of course, I'm going to have to work with this part of me and, you know, get to know her and, you know, figure out what she needs and all that, you know, going forward. But yeah, anything that keeps coming back, it's like, Oh, this is here for a reason. And can, of course, when I figured out, I'm like, Oh my gosh, it's like six-year-old me. I have so much love and compassion for that little six-year-old version of me. And instead of getting frustrated at 52-year-old me, like, what the fuck? Why do you keep doing this miss? Like, you know, it's like, Oh, it's because this little wounded part in me is, is dying to be seen and to be heard. So, so yeah, thank you for, I'm gonna, I think I'm gonna do a whole podcast episode about it, but it was just kind of top of mind. And you made me think of it. So thanks for that. All right. Anybody else have anything, any favorites that they want to share or anything else that if not, I think the last question that I want to ask you guys is actually, that's not true. It's a second to ask. Are there any skills or beliefs or ideas about yourself that you really want to bring forward with you from this group?

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Krystin

I mean, I think I kind of touched on it at the beginning when we talked about like, you know, the, the favorite version of myself that has kind of evolved, especially in this group. And I think that that's being okay, showing the emotions and sharing the emotions with my kids, with my partner, with my family, and not, not having to have the kind of strong front, right? So yeah, we, we've had a tough week in our house, and there's been a lot of crying, and there's been a lot of crying with all the kids. And a lot of emotions. And I think I used a lot of the tools that I learned in this group. And as I was driving into work today, preparing for this podcast, it was a little bit of like, yeah, that was worth it. Like, how would that have been different six months ago? And I don't know how I would have handled it six months ago. But I know that like, my kids saw me cry, my kids cried with me. And like, that's the relationship that I want to build. And I want to have with my kids.

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Melissa

Yeah. Well, and conversely, they can see you experiencing joy. And they can see you experiencing excitement. And you can celebrate with them when they're having those things too, right? It's, you know, if we, if we're safe to feel the harder emotions, right, sadness, grief, that type of thing, it makes it so much easier to be able to feel the ones that we're all typically striving to feel. Yeah so so beautiful I love that I love that for you all right anyone else have anything they want to share.

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Prerana

Yeah, I think for me, one of the things I'll take away, really take away regarding the whole parenting discussions that we had was the whole relationship kind of rupture and repair cycle, and really, like, I mean, really believing that and that, you know, something to the effect of, you know, it's okay to share with your kids that you don't have everything figured out, like, it's so when, you know, and just being vulnerable and honest with them and, but the, you know, that the best relationships, every great relationship will have ruptures, but that it's kind of the repair, like, what do you do after?

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Melissa

Yeah, that's so beautiful. And showing them, like, having them see that in real time and knowing, of course, then going forward that they don't have to be perfect parents. They don't have to have it all figured out, you know, as they're traversing through their life and having you as that example of what's possible, I think, is going to be so impactful for them, which I just love. All right, Ellie or Erin, do you have anything?

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Erin

I think for me, and this, I guess, kind of answers a little bit of your last question too. I was thinking about there was a session that we did when you had first started doing some parts work and things like that. And we sort of identified this don't mess it up part that is just super dominant in my brain. Yeah. And especially since opening my own practice, the last couple of years, I mean, it has been the dominant voice in my head. And it was something I was not particularly aware of. So when it comes to like some of those aha moments and like things that were, I can put a finger on a meaningful shift, like a moment. I think that session for me opened the door to so many other things that have followed because I can recognize kind of who's talking in my head, right? Who's trying to be the boss there. So that, I mean, that was a huge moment for me. And I like if I could, I could write a dissertation on all the things that have come from that, right? Of all the moments and all the ahas that have come because of that moment, like all the ripples that have happened from there. So then I think that for me, the big, the biggest takeaway or one of the biggest themes that I've left with, like, because of doing this work has really been just a concept of like, I can trust myself. And while I don't, I can't promise that I believe that all the time, it is, it's something that I can genuinely say, I, I believe more than I used to, and I can fall back on way more than I used to. And it's a really stabilizing thought for me when things are crazy at the office or the combination of like my practice and my family life, or just feel like a hot mess. It really is a grounding and stabilizing thought to be able to be like, I trust me to I've gotten myself this far, like I can trust me to keep doing a really great job because I have so far. So that I think the work that we did this six months, for me really helped to reinforce that and to build that belief, which I think is, I mean, that's massive, right? Like, if nothing else.

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Melissa

Yeah, because if you think about the energy of don't mess it up versus the energy of I can trust myself to handle whatever comes up. Even if I mess up. Right like the energy of those two could not be further apart in my at least in my body.

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Erin

Yeah, no, agreed. Agreed. One is anxiety. And one is there's some certainty and a belief that like, no, no, it's gonna even if something happens, I'm completely capable of whether it's salvaging or restoring or repairing whatever it is, I'm super capable of that. And it's okay to be human, like it's okay to make the mistakes. So.

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Melissa

It's a theme, Erin. You get to be human.

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Erin

I'm trying so hard to be human, and I'll laugh myself to be human.

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Melissa

And I mean, here's the thing. Like we all have been sold the bill of goods that we should be superhuman or we should be above humanity or we should be, you know, I don't, and like, I just want to unsubscribe. Like being human is, you know, and it's beautiful. Okay. My last question, and it may be, you may have similar answers, so we'll see what comes of it. What are you excited about going forward?

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Erin

Just to see like just I guess to continue the last like the last part of it like just to see where those doors continue to open because of the work that we did right, being able to identify these little individual parts in me that try to manage me or take control and recognizing them and choosing how much voice to give them. It has already opened so many doors and so I think I'm just excited to see that growth continue you know with and without coaching because some of it it's just interesting on its own to see how much effort marinates for a while to see what manifests with it. And then I mean, you know, we're continuing on. You're stuck with me again, sorry.

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Melissa

No apologies necessary. I love a good fungus.

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Erin

That's what I'm here for, resident fungus. But just to see where that continues to go, to see what's the next evolution. I think I'm at the point where I can be patient with myself a lot better. I don't get so like, why am I not there yet anymore? And so now it can feel genuinely exciting to be like, man, I can't wait to see where does this go next for me? What does this open up for me? What possibilities in my own mind does this open up? So I think that's just a really freeing and expansive thought for me.

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Melissa

Yeah. Well, because when you realize that there is no there there to get to, it's like, oh, this opens wide open the possibilities. Right. And then, you know, from my perspective as a coach, of course I love it when the aha happens, like right on the call and like that your mind is blown and you're like, I never thought of it that way. And that type of thing. But what I really, really love is when I get messages from people that I haven't heard from in years. And they're like, that thing that you said in 2021, like, finally I get it. It like is making sense. Like I've been working my way here. And, you know, I would encourage everyone to have patience and compassion with themselves in this society where we're constantly rushing, you know, to get to the next thing or the next milestone or the next goalpost or whatever we've set up or has been set up for us. So just like everlasting patience, I think is what I want for all of you, of course. Thanks for sharing that. Anybody else care to share what they're excited about?

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Colleen

Yeah, I guess it's very similar to that. It's just an openness, just to see what happens, like Erin said, like, rather than an anxiety-driven kind of mindset, it's more of just an openness. And part of that is just feeling more confident that I can trust myself. And so instead of being anxious about things happening, I'm just like, oh, wow, we'll see, you know what I mean? And how things that I thought were a negative, actually, in the future, you realize, oh, that's, that's exactly how it was supposed to happen, right? So that's always that's really fun to see that. So I'm excited to see what things that have happened that I thought were a negative, how it, it'll make more sense in the future why it happened.

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Melissa

Yeah, I love that. So exciting. I can't wait to see it with you.

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Prerana

I'm excited to be excited, if that makes sense. I'm excited to feel the emotions, feel the feelings. And because exactly the same way of trusting myself that if there is something uncomfortable, that I don't have to necessarily stop there. I don't have to have the anxiety that because I can look back and feel like, well, okay, I've felt this before. So really feeling the feelings right now, right? The whole trust, the journey has a new meaning for me of it is the journey. It's not the endpoint. It is so I'm excited to be excited.

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Melissa

I'm excited for you to be excited. All right, Krystin, last but not least.

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Krystin

Just cosign what everybody else said. I don't have any better words to say than the other three.

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Melissa

I love it. Well, thank you guys so much for coming on and for sharing. I'm sure that the wisdom and the beautiful things that you guys shared will help some other people feel seen and feel understood and that type of thing. And I just thank you so much for being willing to be here. And before we started recording, I said, I will keep our group open. So as things happen and things that you're excited about and you're wanting to share with each other, you know, photos and, you know, promotions and new houses and new boyfriends, more babies, like all the things. It's so funny. I don't think any of us is planning to get rid of our husbands any time soon. But I just want you guys to know that I have loved seeing you all connect and I've loved being a part of it and it's just been such an honor to coach this group and I love y'all. 

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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