The Real Beauty, Self Esteem & NOT having it all together Stretch of life
Stretch Marks Podcast S7 Ep1: Genevieve Turley
The Pod is BACK! And straight into NO1.
Kindly supported by Dove Advanced Care Body Wash.
Funny, observational, exists in the realms of reality - Genevieve is a make up artist for the rational women amongst us with a healthy dose of aspirational, “you're doing great as you are babe” vibe.
In other words - I love her.
She combines her wit with her natural beauty, her comfort with who she is and how she looks with informative, kind and hilarious content.
She is doing us ALL a favour - and if you're not following her yet I encourage you to do so immediately.
She is a mum of 2 in her 30's and we talk about growing to accept ourselves, getting excited about our 40's, ignoring the weight of expectation for how we are to look 24/7 and some really kind honest advice on how to stop bashing ourselves.
Of the many (MANY) gems Genevieve shared in the pod, some hit me hard. Like the concept of having it all.
She reframes this so beautifully that really many of us do have it all.
I am living the life I always imagined.
A home, a partner who is strong and kind, two healthy children, a career I love and a giant bear of Bernese. There is nothing MORE I need to graduate into the “Having it all” category of living.
BUT!!!
While I have it all,
I do not have it all together.
And I don’t know any woman that does.
And herein lies the excessive expectations we place on ourselves on a daily basis to have all parts of ourselves humming at full speed.
To give oxygen to one area, depletes another.
When work is roaring, my home is in shite.
When my kids need me, my self care erodes into a pit of unwashed snot shoulders.
When my kids are happy and well - the same applies but with less snot.
When my self worth is riding high it’s usually accompanied by a whack of guilt as I have been enforcing boundaries, saying no. doing less than my service says I should and having the audacity to care for my OWN needs.
How dare I indeed.
I have it all.
Which comes with a great privilege. Great gratitude. And a great cost.
As something somewhere is being neglected and draining the “I’m good enough” battery to new critical levels of depletion.
You know it’s true.
You are sitting here - reading this, while also thinking you must immediately jump back into the next life task before anyone notices you were doing something for you.
There is a wash to hang out.
A meeting to prepare for.
A new wrinkle to get down about.
A card that you wrote 2 weeks away that STILL has NOT been placed into the postbox and into the hands of the person you love.
It’s a stretch.
But then there’s women like Genevieve who in a past life was a critical burns nurse who witnessed people without this privilege of having it all and she no longer sweats the small stuff. She no longer shames her body for how it looks but for what it does for her.
She no longer listens to the external or internal critical voice, she sees the real beauty in herself, her clients and women. She chooses to NOT take on the excessive demand on us all to stay a size our bodies don’t want to be. Or do all the treatments to fight ageing. Or be the CEO when you want to be at baby massage.
We have permission to curate what having it all looks like for us all as individuals. My ALL is not yours. And your ALL is not mine.
So take back the power to define what you having it all means to you.
And whatever you do - in the pursuit/maintenance of having it all NEVER expect yourself to be able to have it all together.
Much love x
And thank you again for all the listens, shares and kindness.
You are what makes this pod the success it is.
About me:
Hi I'm Sinead O’Moore.
I’m the creator of the award winning podcast Stretch Marks and founder of the brand consultancy - the brand story.
I am a mother of two little women, trying to ease the stretch of modern motherhood in a world losing it’s mind.
You can connect with me here, on Instagram and listen to Stretch Marks.
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