Embracing Intensity

Now displaying: April, 2020

171: Advocating for Special Education Students with Amy Campbell 0

Apr 27, 2020

We all love that coworker who is filled with positive energy that spills over to everyone they touch. Certain people have a knack for celebrating the wins of others, and even though we all might want to be that person, it takes a specific mindset that most of us lack. It’s an incredible benefit when this person ends up in the field of education, where they can spend their days impacting the lives of students in positive ways.

Amy Campbell is a friend and colleague in my school district. As the 2020 Washington State Teacher of the Year, she is clearly gifted and intense, but she has now become a public figure who is a fierce advocate for her special education students.

Show Highlights:

How Amy is intensely passionate about celebrating human success with her special education students who are moderately to profoundly impacted by their disabilities
Amy’s personal brand of intensity involves profound anxiety around celebrations and wanting others to enjoy life to the fullest
How her intensity made her feel different
Culturally speaking, Amy had a lot of privilege as a white, middle-class woman who was uninhibited
How she’s had to tone down her energy level that is more than most people, and how she “feels like the wrong person” at many times
How we feel too intense in many leadership and gender roles
How Amy uses her fire for good in having a positive presupposition about things and seeing her students with disabilities as assets and cause for celebration
How Amy is a fierce advocate for inclusion
How Amy harnesses the power of her intensity by understanding herself and having time for reflection
How personal habits of organization and running help Amy
How distance learning has affected Amy and the importance of her need for celebrations
The best advice for Amy came from her principal, who told her that she should lead adults in the same ways she leads kids
A recommended book: Fostering Resilient Learners by Kristin Souers
Why Amy’s favorite part of her job is the way she believes that every person needs space for voice and choice’
How Amy loves helping students learn to communicate their needs and wants
Parting advice from Amy: “You are enough. You are amazing. You are great. Look for the joy in this world and have a positive disposition. If you can share that joy, then you’re doing good in the world.”

Resources:

Find Amy on Facebook or Twitter (@the_mrscampbell)

Check Amy out on YouTube

Fostering Resilient Learners by Kristin Souers

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170: Creative Intensity 0

Apr 20, 2020

The last few weeks I dove deep into creative projects including updating a whole bunch of new shirts in my Threadless store, creating 8 new youtube animation videos, launching a workbook and helping my son launch his new activity book, the Notebook of Mass Distraction: Boredom Busters for Busy Brains.

In this episode:

Takeaways from letting myself dive deep into creativity mode.
The importance of accessible content.
How you can support continued accessible content.

Links:

Support my work on Patreon

Embracing Intensity Store

Jenelle Wooodlief's Self Care Revolution Community

Arianna Bradford's NYAM Project Podcast

Embracing Intensity Community

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169: How to Cope in Uncertain Times with AmyLee Westervelt 0

Apr 13, 2020

These last few weeks have been super intense. For those of us who are sensitive, we’ve either wanted to escape into a hole to heal or dive deep into creative projects, which is what I’ve been doing. I hope you’ve found the things that help you cope best in this time of uncertainty. My guest today has wisdom and insights that can help!

AmyLee Westervelt, of Gratitude & Glamour, is a life and business coach for empaths and highly sensitive people. We connected through a mutual friend, and I’m excited to introduce you to her today.

Show Highlights:

Get to know AmyLee, a mom of five kids under eight years of age, who grew up in Boston and now lives in Savannah, Georgia
Why AmyLee is passionate about helping people empower themselves to change their lives
AmyLee’s personal brand of intensity is to put a lot of “oomph” in everything she does, always cultivating a deep connection with others
Why AmyLee felt like a “little dancing bear” as a girl who was paraded around by a narcissistic parent
Growing up in Boston, Amy was always different and always asked “too many questions”
How AmyLee had to tone herself down and tune herself out from overanalyzing everything and being too dramatic
How empaths overthink everything why someone does something
How AmyLee tries to parent her kids according to each child’s energy instead of their gender
When AmyLee’s intensity is out of control if she feels wronged by someone
How AmyLee uses her fire for good and believes deeply in the abilities of people to be resilient
How AmyLee had to reign in her ego and imposter syndrome to harness the power of her intensity
The habits that help AmyLee are meditation, the motherhood experience and seeing life through her kids’ eyes, and being creative in crafting life’s experiences
The best advice came from a life coach, who said, “If it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a NO.”
Books that have helped AmyLee: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein
How AmyLee works as a life and business coach for empaths and highly sensitive people, teaching them to navigate, create healthy boundaries, and practice radical self-care