339 Help Is Not A One Way Street

Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will

339 Help Is Not A One Way Street

Our personal narratives and clutter can take up a lot of mental bandwidth, often leading us to hold on to the stories and labels that no longer serve us and keep us living in the past with a version of ourselves that has changed drastically. It’s incredibly important to take time to assess what in your life no longer serves you, thanking it for the time it did serve you, and letting go.

In this episode Sarah Elkins reminisces on her backpacking trip to Utah and how it inspired her to give and accept help, as well as how organizing her family’s collection of books inspired her to take a long hard look at the other stories she still carries with her.

Highlights

• Less clutter, more calm.

• Offering and accepting help does not change how mighty you are.

• You have to share vulnerability with people you trust in order to build and strengthen relationships.

Quotes

“We all need to declutter, especially our stories that no longer serve us.”

“When we say yes to someone that wants to help, we strengthen our relationship with them. When we consistently say ‘No thank you’, we make it less likely someone will ask us for help or to accept what we offer.” “To truly deepen relationships, we also have to be able to receive.”

Dear Listeners it is now your turn,

What are you holding on to that maybe it’s time to discard or reframe? What new labels and stories will you choose? I know some of mine; Badass, strong, outdoorsy, receptive to receive.

And, as always, thank you for listening.

About Sarah

"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."

In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.

My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.

The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!

Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.

Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!