There is something powerful that happens when a woman finally decides she is no longer thinking. When she stops apologizing for taking up space, when she lets herself be seen fully and unapologetically, even when it makes others uncomfortable. And here’s the truth most women were never told. The moment you begin to claim your worth, someone somewhere is going to have an opinion about it. Someone is going to feel triggered. Someone is going to whisper, judge, or protect their own unhealed stories onto your confidence. I have lived this over and over again. I have posted online a thought, a win, a swimsuit photo, and the reactions tell me more about the inner world than mine about their inner world. But I refuse to dim my light to protect someone else’s shadows. Because showing up is not vanity. It is not always attention seeking. It is a declaration of self trust, self leadership and self worth. It is a model for every woman who has ever been told she is too loud, too proud, too much.
My mission is simple. I want women to stop playing small. I want them to realize that shining is not something you earn after perfection. It is the pack to becoming who you were meant to be. And when one woman steps into her life, she gives others the permission to do the same. So if this message resonates with you, my friend, please share this podcast episode. Pass it along, because you never know which woman needs the reminder that her voice, her presence and her power are not only allowed, they are needed. Listen in to this podcast episode. I’m Kim Strobel and this is she Finds Joy.
Hello my lovely friends. Today’s podcast episode is going to be short and sweet, but it’s something that came up recently and it reminds me that especially we women really struggle to own our self worth, to show up in big ways to show ourselves to the world. I was out with three of my girlfriends recently. We call ourselves the Board of Directors. We are three ladies who get together at least once a month. We even have an agenda that we keep on our iPhone of topics that we want to discuss, challenges that we’re having, wins that we want to celebrate. And we get together usually at a pizza joint for about two or three hours of nonstop chatter. And one of my friends had said, you know what Kim, I think that some people get really agitated because you make a Facebook post almost daily. And I said, you’re exactly right. I have people who are like showing up on my post, commenting like crazy saying, kim, this is exactly what I needed to see today. But there’s also a group of women who get very triggered by my posting I know that someone I even love close to me recently said, like, how much time do you spend on Facebook a day? And I’m like, it takes me two minutes to do a post. And I do show up for my people Monday through Friday because my platform is a mission. It is how I want to show up and pour into the people that I care about. It’s how I inspire and influence others.
But there’s something that sometimes gets triggered when a woman specifically decides to show up. And. And so I’ve had a couple other instances where one of my good friends said, you know, my. My mom, she always gets really rattled when you post a picture of yourself once or twice a year when you and your husband travel. She’s like, why does Kim have to post a picture of herself in a swimsuit? And what’s really interesting, my friends, is my feed is full of people in their swimsuits on beaches showing the world, this is me on vacation. But there’s something about why when Kim Str. Strobel does it, that gets people in a tizzy. And so I recently thought, this is something we need to talk about, because my board of directors, my wonderful friends Mary, Sarah, and Dixie said, you know, I wonder if it would be helpful if you told people why you show up and post on social media. And I thought, you know what? I like that idea. And so I was thinking about this.
Why does Kim Strobel post? And I think I post for a number of reasons. And this is going to be relatable to you because I know some of you listening, you even struggle just to make a post or just to take a selfie, because, you know, generations of women have been taught that we are to not show ourselves, that we are to cover ourselves up, that we are not really to have an opinion, or if we have an opinion or we share that we think differently, then we come across as being grouchy or the B word or whatever. And it really comes down to generations of women who were taught their whole life that you need to play small, that you need to take a backseat to others. And so when I post or share to my social media channels, I’m not sharing because I have it all figured out. I’m posting because as a woman, I’ve spent years trying to stop shrinking myself. I have tried to learn how to claim my bigness in the world and how to let my light shine and be seen even when life is messy and hard. As many of you have followed me on my journey, I know what it feels like to struggle I’ve had unfairness, I’ve had adversities, I’ve had struggles that I do not understand, I’ve had mistreatment, I’ve done things wrong myself. Like I understand the struggle and I know what it feels like to lose yourself to this thing called life or to lose yourself to being a wife, being a mother, being a daughter, being a friend.
I know what it’s like to doubt your worth, to dim your light, right? We are taught to dim that light so that we don’t make others feel uncomfortable. And that’s exactly what my posting is doing. When I post, the people who get triggered are the people who get uncomfortable because they are like, who is she to shine her light? Who is she to show the world what she’s doing? And at times that might even be classified as oh, she’s cocky, she’s arrogant, she’s too confident. And it’s again, because there are generations of women who have not been comfortable with women owning their self worth in this world, claiming their bigness in this world, being proud of the mountains they’ve climbed and the achievements that they’ve done, the challenges they’ve overcome. And I just want to say this to you, my she Finds Joy podcast Followers. Followers, the moment changes when you decide I am going to shine my light.
Anyway, hello friends, and thank you for letting me quickly interrupt the she Finds Joy podcast. I have people asking me all the time, how do we get Kim Strobel at our next management conference? How do we get her at our next leadership conference? How do we get her at our next school conference? I just finished 28 flights in six weeks time, folks. And I was speaking at schools, at businesses and in organizations. And I’m mostly speaking about the science of happiness and well being and its direct link to employee engagement, productivity levels, and creativity levels. We now know that when we can teach our employees how to cultivate happiness habits that really prioritize their well being, when we can get their brains to positive, more than negative, neutral, or stressed, when we can get them to shift into purpose and passion in their job, regardless of the adversities and the challenges, we begin a movement that changes how we feel in our work lives and our personal lives.
So if you want to book me, you can head to stroubleducation.com if you’re a school or an educator conference, or if you’re a business or an organization, you can head over to Kim strobel.com or forward this podcast episode to somebody you know that books the speakers. And I would love to meet you all on purpose and come to your next event. I am going to put goodness and positivity and education and teachings and struggles and strife out to the world. That’s why I show up every single day. Yes, it’s part of my brand. It’s part of my mission. My calling is to help inspire and educate others and to remind you as a woman that you can honor your struggles and still step into your power. You can be a work in progress and still be worthy of taking up space. You can shine your light, and in doing so, you give others the permission to maybe start to shine theirs. And so I was talking about this, and I did this Facebook post, and it was this Facebook post of me, like, showing my muscles, right? Because I had a minor surgery and I had to step away from running for. I was supposed to step away for six weeks, but I ended up healing so quickly that I was able to go back to it after four.
But for any of you who know me, you know that I love running. Running is the core of. Of who I am. But I also do weightlifting with that. And so I just decided, you know what? For 29 days, when I can’t run, I’m going to lift and I’m going to lift and I’m going to get this body stronger, and I’m going to get it more powerful. And so I did a post the other day of me posing with my. My noticeably stronger arm muscles. And I thought to myself, oh, great. When I post this, here we go again. You know, like, oh, look at her showing off body, showing off her. Listen, folks, here’s the deal. If there’s one thing that Kim Strobel knows how to do, it’s how to work out. It is deeply embedded practice of who I have been four years now. Do I need to work on my eating habits? You bet I do. But can I not own and be proud of my strong arm muscles? Can I not feel good that I made it through the four weeks of not running and instead focused on getting my body stronger?
And so, again, this just goes back to this whole thing of the onslaught of sometimes negativity that comes when a woman specifically decides to own her worth. When a woman decides she is worthy of celebrating her achievements and owning them. And when a woman decides, decides I’m allowed to feel good about myself? And when I share, when I share and celebrate that with the world, maybe, just maybe, I give one other woman the permission to shine her light, too. Now, friends, if you know another woman who needs to hear this episode, Share it with a friend. Share it with a sister. Share it with a colleague. Share. Because in my opinion, when we women start owning our value and our worth in the world, it’s a game changer. It’s a way to honor who we are in our most authentic, deepest, soulful self. Thank you so much for joining me on the she Finds Joy show today. I’m truly honored that you chose to spend your time here with me.
My dear friend, if this episode brought you encouragement or a fresh perspective, I would be so grateful if you took a moment to leave a review. Just head to Kim strouble.com review and what it does is it helps more people find these important conversations. Don’t forget you can also subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode. Thank you again for listening in. I am so very grateful, my friend, to walk this journey with you. I also want to encourage you to share this episode with everybody in your life you care about. We all need encouragement in real talk. Thank you for listening and watching. I believe in you for being able to create a life that feels good from the inside out. Remember, you are deserving of joy and happiness.