Hi friend!
Normally this post would have a video attached, but I am out of town spending time with family this weekend, so it’s just a quick post! I will be posting an additional surprise video this month to make up for it 🤗
Now! On to the main event.
I decided today to focus a bit on introducing and explaining my approach and mindset surrounding content creation. The reason being, I have begun to embrace the fact that I’m not a typical therapist content creator on these platforms.
I don’t bother with trends. I occasionally (but rarely) dabble in lifestyle content. I am not focused on therapeutic modalities, or teaching about specific diagnoses or symptoms. Those elements are at times interwoven into my content, but rarely the main player.
This is because every single piece of content I make is in pursuit of one thing: uplifting and empowering women.
That’s it. That’s all I care about. This is across my social channels, the podcast, and this Substack. It’s the factor that plays into every single brainstorm/planning/development session I have.
Over the course of my career, I’ve realized that lack of confidence/self doubt/insecurity/etc was the common denominator to a woman feeling stuck, discouraged, overwhelmed, dissatisfied, and resentful of herself. It’s the element that stops women dead in their tracks and at times stops them from even contemplating the actions they would like to take. They can’t even get to nuance and because nuance feels too big.
Confidence isn’t just a personality trait. It’s the entire foundation your life is built on. It’s the key to feeling that you have what it takes to make the bold and uncertain moves required to live a life you feel proud of. It’s the foundation that helps us minimize the risk of feeling filled with quiet resentment or stifled potential. It’s the base that propels you forward every single day.
Now I am also the first to say that there are MANY layers to the equation of someone’s life. There are socioeconomic uncertainties, history of abuse, neglect, and/or trauma, unsupportive partners, lack of social supports, systemic oppression, and other elements that makes change and stepping up incredibly challenging and complex. All of these things and more can come together and make living a full, empowered life feel completely out of reach. However, I always remind my clients that when we’re starting to shift something, we start as small as possible. We meet ourselves right where we’re at and take stock of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we want to go. That’s why when I talk about confidence, I’m not speaking about changing the whole world. I’m speaking about the personal, internal changes and shifts that need to occur in order to move through the inevitable hurdles.
With that said, the first thing I process with my clients when we’re talking about repairing and rebuilding confidence is the concept of trusting yourself. I’m not talking surface level. I’m talking about the kind of inner trust that makes it possible to take bold, terrifying, beautiful steps toward the life you actually want. The kind that whispers, ‘you know you have what it takes. You know you’re capable. You know that all of the voices in your head telling you that you can’t more often than not belong to the memory of those who have been cruelest to why, why do I need to keep listening to them?’
Trusting yourself allows you space to take bold, uncertain steps because even though you may not know what the outcome may be, you trust yourself to know you can manage it.
As I write these words, I am thinking of just how life altering these ideas can be. These are the concepts that inspire women to care for themselves authentically.
These are the concepts that empower the person who needs to find the will to leave an abusive relationship.
Or the woman who’s ready to take control of her finances and stop apologizing for wanting more.
Or the one who is holding her abuser accountable, even when it costs her everything.
Or the woman who’s ready to walk away from a toxic job that’s been slowly draining her spirit.
So in that vein, I make all of my content with the hope that it’s empowering to you. That it gives you the insight you need to live your life fully.
I make this content for the woman who looks in the mirror and cringes—and needs one sentence, one idea, one breath of mental reprieve.
I make this content for the woman who’s sick of settling and needs to hear that any choice is possible, even if it’s uncomfortable.
I make it for the woman who’s holding it all together and needs someone to say, you can set it down—and if something breaks, let it break.
I make it for the woman who thinks she’s made too many mistakes to start over.
I make it for the woman aging like fine wine but convinced she looks like spoiled milk—because she is an icon and a legend, and she deserves to know it.
I stand on the shoulders of every woman who clawed her way through impossible circumstances so that I could stand here and say these words freely. And I know this: if women collectively chose to uplift and empower one another instead of compete or tear down—we could change the state of the world by tomorrow.
Confidence isn’t about being fearless. It’s about being brave enough to act while afraid.
We have a long road ahead. But I’m walking it with you.
I’m really grateful you’re here, and your support means the world. Now go out there and live your bold, fearless, fulfilled life!
Love,
Sam
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