Episode 340: Self-help and social activism

Before we jump into this week's episode, I want to direct your attention to what I mention in the first few minutes of the show. If you've followed me for some time, you know that I have a firm belief that as a white person, it's not okay to teach personal development and wellness without addressing and breaking down your own unconscious biases, as well as speaking up about it. No one is free until we are all free and we must use our privilege for good.  I want to make it clear what I believe in both personally and professionally, where I'm at right now, and what's in store here at YKAL. The email I mention that's coming has already been written and you can find it HERE.

Have you ever considered the deeper meaning behind personal development and the self-help industry as a whole? This episode with guest Andréa Ranae is guaranteed to get you thinking (and talking), and what she talks about affects everyone, not just coaches or someone in the self-help industry.

Andréa is a coach herself who wrote a blog post last summer titled, Why the Self-Help Industry Isn’t Changing The World, which went viral and has been shared thousands of times since. She believes there is a disconnect between our own industry and the work of social justice, and even offers a Coaching As Activism Program to her clients.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Why did her post really strike a nerve with coaches and healers alike? (5 minutes and 15 seconds)
•  The reasons why the work of changing the world doesn’t stop at an individual (8:15)
• Why the lessons of the Law of Attraction are laden with privilege - if you are not systematically oppressed (8:51)
• Why focus on your identity but not how we have been impacted by dehumanizing messages about women? (16:39)
• How limiting beliefs are instilled in you and why you have to “name it to tame it!” (19:46)

As Andréa shares, “do-gooders” of the world often don’t want to bring “politics” and the stuff that’s happening around us into their work, but it’s something we can hide from. Her opinion is that self-love and self-care will not change the world, and I’m interested to hear from you about your thoughts on our conversation!

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