MIDDLE with Naomi Hattaway: Tough conversations, enoughness, and hope as a discipline

Julie and Casey chat with activist and community builder Naomi Hattaway about how to reach across political and conversational divides, housing as a human right, and how to cultivate hope. Along the way, they discuss choosing your battles, “leaky boundaries”, and Wednesdays as a metaphor and a reset. (You’ll never look at hump day the same way again.) 

 

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

• Talking to someone you might disagree with? Get curious about their values. What do they care about? Can you connect through that? Also . . . know when to walk away.
• An oft-quoted stat: Women have to be asked to run for office 6 or 7 times. Maybe it’s because they know that what is asked of candidates is nearly impossible . . . rather than begging women to run for office, what can we do to make the SUPPORT SYSTEM BETTER for the right candidates? 
• Hope is a discipline . . . so how do we create the conditions to practice that discipline? Self-care (Naomi has a coffeemaker in her bedroom!) and community care (when you can’t find the light today, I can carry you . . . and vice versa).
• Mini-Lesson: Acknowledging our given circumstances (the who, what, when, where, and why of your scene) and starting where you are, not where you wish you were.
• BONUS: Naomi made us a PLAYLIST!!

 

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Books mentioned:

BURNOUT by Emily and Amelia Nagoski

POWER: A USER'S GUIDE by Julie Diamond, PhD

ONLYNESS by Nilofer Merchant

 

Naomi Hattaway is passionate about community building, diversity, and accessibility in online and physical spaces, and is equally driven by a vision of adequate affordable housing so folks can thrive, not just survive, in the places they call home. Naomi previously served in executive leadership at Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, and consulted with nonprofits and organizations on inclusive program design, mutual aid and housing solutions.  In addition to recently leading the COVID-19 eviction prevention and rental assistance program, and the 2020-2021 Winter Plan non-congregate shelter efforts in Omaha, Naomi is a licensed Realtor, and recently ran for Omaha City Council in West Omaha.

Follow Naomi on Instagram and Twitter, or visit her website.