It takes courage to do our work and look at the stuff that scares us, and I believe we all need encouragement and inspiration along the way. And the story I have for you today is SO inspiring! I got to know Susan Gorey as part of The Adult Chair® Coaching Certification Program. From the beginning, I could feel Susan’s strength and her fearlessness around speaking up for what she felt was right. But I also witnessed her unconsciously causing others to feel uncomfortable and unsafe around her. Susan called it putting off a feeling of “broken glass” — a sharpne...
It takes courage to do our work and look at the stuff that scares us, and I believe we all need encouragement and inspiration along the way. And the story I have for you today is SO inspiring!
I got to know Susan Gorey as part of The Adult Chair® Coaching Certification Program. From the beginning, I could feel Susan’s strength and her fearlessness around speaking up for what she felt was right. But I also witnessed her unconsciously causing others to feel uncomfortable and unsafe around her. Susan called it putting off a feeling of “broken glass” — a sharpness or sense of conflict or that would sometimes come out in communication. During the certification program, she faced this “broken glass” and some of her deepest fears. This caused her to go through an incredible and fast transformation…and I know it’s real, because it’s stuck!
In this episode, Susan shares what it was like growing up in an environment filled with criticism and conflict and how that childhood wounding caused her to show up later in life — looking for love through masks, feeling like she had to be bold and strong and not always self-regulating her approach to conflict and relationships.
Then she shares how she used The Adult Chair and our work together to drop the cement suitcase she was carrying from childhood, go deep into the shadow beliefs she carried and transform from within so her wounding stopped running the show. This is a raw and real episode that shows what truly is possible on this journey of healing!
Listen to discover:
- Susan’s story of transformation using The Adult Chair model
- How she broke a generational cycle of criticism and judgment
- Her journey of dropping the cement suitcase and no longer living from her wounding
- How we worked together to bring an experiential shift into her life
- The changes she has seen in herself and her relationships since her transformation
At the end of the episode, I share a very special surprise for Susan that might leave you a little teary-eyed (at least she and I were!).
I love Susan’s story so much because it’s a beautiful example of how we don’t have to change who we are when we transform…we actually reveal who we really are. Susan’s strength and tenacity are beautiful qualities — and now she and everyone around her gets to experience them from her Adult self instead of the wounded self.
Doing our work isn’t easy, but as Susan shows, when we’re willing to go into the darkness and shadows and walk through them, we can stop living in them and instead find new life on the other side!
“We have to clean our slate...because we can only take people as far as we have gone.” - Michelle Chalfant
“I brought light to my shadowy areas.” - Susan Gorey
“We all live from our childhood wounding. We all get covered up. That true self gets covered up by all these masks.” - Michelle Chalfant
“In The Adult Chair, we become conscious of who we are and our wounding.” - Michelle Chalfant
“What I realized is my wounding, my childhood, my sadness and all of those masks...I didn’t have to carry it anymore.” - Susan Gorey
“We get signs of who we are all the time.” - Michelle Chalfant
“When we look at our stuff that scares us the most, we come out as transformed people.” - Michelle Chalfant
Resources
Susan Gorey Website
https://forwardtogethercoaching.com/
The Adult Chair® Membership (May Theme: “I Own.”)
https://theadultchair.com/membership/
The Adult Chair® Coaching Certification Program
https://theadultchair.com/certification-program/
P&G Hair Food
https://hairfood.com/
Or find at Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, Target or Walmart
More Adult Chair
The Adult Chair® Website
https://theadultchair.com
The Adult Chair® Membership
https://theadultchair.com/membership/
The Adult Chair® Workshop
https://theadultchair.com/events/
The Adult Chair® Coaching Certification Program
https://theadultchair.com/certification-program/
TAC Circles®
https://theadultchair.com/taccircles/
Stay Connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle.chalfant
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleChalfantFanPage/
The Adult Chair® Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theadultchair/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Michellechalfant
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EPISODE CREDITS:
If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.
He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.
Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com
