Earlier this week, as I attempted to squeeze in a bit of exercise while simultaneously catching up on a one of my favorite podcasts, I discovered the compelling scholarship of Dr. Susan David, If you're a slicer and an educator, you must ⏯ pause here and listen to this brief clip about how a teacher's gentle nudge and a 📓 composition notebook changed the trajectory of her life.
🗣 Two-Minute Podcast Clip
Write. Tell the truth. Write like nobody is reading.
There is power in the secret silence of correspondence.
I showed up for myself—my grief. my pain, my regret.
Readers respond in pencil—not in pen.
Writing is a revolutionary act.
Seeing is healthy.
Whew.
Her words forced me pause my walk. I stood still for a moment in the cool morning air. Rewinding the podcast, l listened to this clip again and again. And I knew at some point I needed to write long off these ideas.
And then yesterday, I stumbled across this provocative, mighty tweet.
Damn. This lady is on fire 🔥.
The "courage of gentle acceptance" feels so out of reach for me in this moment. However, the beauty of the idea pulls at my spirit and takes my breath away. I long for the day when I can granularly name each emotion that courses through my body and mind, gently accepting that it is what it is.
I captured a screenshot of this Pyramid of Needs to store on my phone, and I plan to revisit it often. There's work to be done and new practices to embrace. Someday I hope to reach pinnacle of wisdom, fully understanding that life's beauty is inseparable from its fragility.
Until then, I'm going to watch her TED Talks and download Dr. Susan David's book, Emotional Agility. It's possible I have a bit of a girl-crush on this thought leader and emotions researcher. It seems as though her work has been around for several years, so I guess I'm late to the party. Or maybe I'm right on time.
I don't know Susan David's work either, but after reading your post, I'm definitely going to search her out!I took screen shots of the quote you shared, and the tweet, and the pyramid and the list of feelings. Looking for more by her right now! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteTenille, you really have the best breadth of research. When I first started following you on Twitter, I loved the way you distilled learning down in digestible nuggets. In your longer writes, I appreciate hearing the backstory of how you came to each piece of information, what your initial thoughts were, and how you're processing it all. I'm so impressed by you. Thank you for introducing me to Susan David's work!! XX
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