Well friends, today marks the last Monday together for a little while. I asked you if there was anything you’d like to hear about before this season ends, and something that came up more than once was about transitions and transformations. 

So today, for the last official episode in the first season, we are going to dig into the seasons, versions, chapters of your own life - of your SELF and ways to support the transition into what/who comes next.

We discuss:

-  The ways we can get to know the past versions of ourselves, and spend some time getting to know the version that comes next.

- What roles you cast yourself in, and how it impacts how you showed up in life. 

- An exercise by Dr. Alexandra Solomon’s to get familiar with the story you tell of your life.

- How our values can serve as grounding pillars amongst the change.

- The power of imagination and tapping into our own internal reality

… and more.

Today’s exercises: We will uncover the chapters of your life, your core values and end with a light ‘future self’ visualisation.

Stay connected with Lauren: https://www.instagram.com/laurenaisharc/

Email Lauren: laurenaisharc@outlook.com 

I am so excited to be back with another guest in the kitchen, and not just any guest but the incredible Dr Alexandra Sedlovskaya  - my Professor from the Self and Identity course I studied at Harvard Extension school at the beginning of this year.

It feels like a pretty monumental conversation for a number of reasons, but one being that it was this course and a conversation we had, that pushed this podcast from an abstract idea to a solidified plan, so to be here today recording an episode for it feels amazing.

We discuss:

- What brought her to Harvard and why she chose to study self and identity.

- Tips on the ability to create safe spaces for people to explore these important topics. 

- What is meant by the term concealable stigmatized identities, some examples and the difference between those and stigmatized identities

- The psychological impact on concealing a stigmatized identity.

- The propensity to create a divided self when you feel you can only be yourself in certain rooms. 

… and more.

Today’s exercise: Practice those tough conversations, and practice creating safe spaces for people in our lives.

Stay connected with Lauren: https://www.instagram.com/laurenaisharc/

Email Lauren: laurenaisharc@outlook.com 

Learn more about Dr. Alexandra Sedlovskaya’s Harvard course: https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/self-and-identity?delta=0 

The last couple episodes leaned more into that individualistic impact on identity, the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make up who we are - the ways we can shape and mould that in a pursuit to show up as our favourite selves. 

This week on the other hand - comes back to the parallel truth that a lot of our identity is also reliant on our relational self, our collective self, the impact others have on who we are understood to be, both by others and ourselves.

Today we are focusing on the power and role of groups

 
We discuss:

- How human groups lie at the heart of social life.

- The divide between social identity and personal identity.

- The concept of stereotypes. 

- How self uncertainty is at the core of many of these ideas. 

- De-individualisation - when we lose our identity completely to the group. 

… and more.

Today’s exercise: Reflecting on the last 7 weeks, questions to ask yourself:

What has shifted over the last 2 months for me?

Are there parts of myself I am starting to lean into more?

Are there parts or identities I am outgrowing or abandoning?

What thoughts, feelings, behaviours or patterns have I become more aware of?

What does belonging to myself look like?

How can I practice this?

Stay connected with Lauren: https://www.instagram.com/laurenaisharc/

Email Lauren: laurenaisharc@outlook.com