We are back from our summer vacation and I am SO PUMPED to get back to the Living in Sunshine podcast for the fall and the rest of 2023! There are so many purposeful changes coming to the podcast over the next few months and I cannot wait for you to hear and enjoy all the changes coming to this space!
For today’s new episode, we are digging into the topic of community and why we all need to have a community in our lives ASAP. Community is quickly being added to the list of essential things humans need to survive is something we ALL need. If you are struggling to find a community though, tune into today’s episode to hear some of my favorite places to find your people. I hope you love today’s new episode and are excited for the show to be back, I know I am!
Loving the show?! Then leave it a review!
Every time you leave a written review or rating on Apple Podcasts, it helps the show GROW and reach more women just like you. To leave a review, head to our show page on Apple Podcasts, scroll down to ‘Ratings & Reviews’ then click ‘See All’, then click ‘Write a Review’! When you do this, you are not only supporting the show’s growth, but you’re also sending me a virtual high five, which I love to get!
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
JOIN THE SUNSHINE SQUAD COMMUNITY!
https://livingnsunshine.podia.com/membership
DISCOVER YOUR SECRET SUPERPOWER!
https://livingnsunshine.com/survey/
FIND ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/livingnsunshine/
FIND ME ON FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/livingnsunshine
|EPISODE TRANSCRIPT|
Hey, bestie, and welcome to the living in sunshine podcast. I’m your host, Maddy fry. And around here we are all about encouraging, inspiring, and giving you the tough love that you need to hear to get out there and live as your best self. Each and every Wednesday, you can expect to learn tangible tips to help you find your bigger purpose. be given simple action steps that you can take in order to make progress toward your biggest dreams. And hear how you can purposely pursue joy on the daily. So sit down, grab your favorite drink. And let’s have a girl chat. This is the living in sunshine podcast. Good morning. Good morning, my dude. And welcome back to the living and sunshine podcast. I will be the first to tell you this. I missed you. Did you miss me? I hope so at least a little bit. We in case you are like what the heck are you talking about? We recently took the summer off and did some revamping and realigning of the podcast and it felt honestly. So good to put this project down put this put this, you know thing that I do down for a few months, really think about it and sit in the marination that needed to happen around the show. In case you are new here in case this is the first episode that you’ve ever listened to. I have been doing the living in sunshine podcast now for over two years, we are getting closer and closer to our 200th episode, which is wild. And it just got to the point where I had a lot going on this summer, I launched a group coaching program I was really taking on focusing on that group coaching program and my membership, the sunshine squad community. And this podcast was really starting to kind of feel like another thing to do. And in my life and the way that I want to live my life, I never want to do something just because it feels like something I have to do, or like something that feels like something that is another thing to do you know what I mean? And so I really thought and I talked to a trusted friend about how to how to address that and really how to approach that feeling. And she gave me the idea of actually taking a little break a short little vacation is what I’m calling it from the podcast. And that’s exactly what I did. And it felt honestly really good. The entire month of July and the entire month of August, I really focused in on other things that I was doing. Like I mentioned my group coaching program, which is now closed, and my community, the sunshine squad community. And it felt really good. And the other thing that I did was it made space for me to get creative, and re spark that creative insight. When it came to the podcast, I did a lot of research and what was kind of popular now I did a lot of soul searching and asking you guys what you wanted on the podcast, I got feedback from you guys who listened to the show as to what you wanted to be added or taken away from the podcast. And I did a lot of work behind the scenes over the last eight weeks. And I am not only so excited to be back, but also feeling that purpose and that passion towards podcasting again, which never really left, I just feel like that fire kind of dwindled a little bit. But now that we’re back, I am ready to go feeling super inspired and motivated and creative, and how we are going to be producing and creating podcast content for you guys going forward. So I’m really excited to be back, I’m super excited to share that going forward, we are no longer going to have set themes for the month, I introduced doing themes on the podcast maybe a year and a half ago. And while it’s been really great, it was starting to feel like a restriction. And when it comes to things that you do, if you’re in charge of what you do, which you almost always are, you don’t have to set restrictions or limitations on yourself if you don’t want to and the podcast themes while I loved them. And I think that you guys really enjoyed doing that deep dive into a specific theme or topic. They were starting to feel kind of restrictive, there were times where I was like, Oh, I wish I could record this. But I’m doing this theme and they don’t connect, or oh, I have this really great idea. But I’m not going to be talking about that topic for a few months. And so I’m not sure if it’s going to be relevant then. And so I just decided to say, this is your podcast, you own this thing. You do this and you can do whatever the hell you want. And so that’s what we’re going to be doing. So moving forward, I just want you to know that the topics that we talk about here, and the episodes that you hear week after week, the show is still going to come out on Wednesdays, they’re not all going to fit in the same connecting theme or topic like they have been. But I feel really inspired and really excited about that. And I hope you do as well. The other thing that you can expect coming to the podcast each and every month is a new interview with women and people who inspire and motivate me and I know will inspire and motivate you as well. So each and every month we’re going to have a brand new interview who is someone who I am totally obsessed with and I cannot wait to share those with you and interviews Something that you guys asked for in the feedback form that I sent out over the summer. And I hope you are excited to listen and hear and tune into these episodes is kind of behind the scenes, girl chats that I’m planning on having with these people, because they are so good. The people who I have lined up for the next couple of months are insane, and I cannot wait to share them with you. Okay, so I think those are all of the updates that I needed you to hear before diving in and relaunching the living in sunshine podcast after a little short vacation. So let’s go ahead and dive in into our episode today, which is a hive girl chat, I could not have picked a better episode, you know, type to do as a comeback, right? I’m so going to be keeping those episode labels, storytime, education tips and tricks, hype hype girl chat all those things, because I think that those are really nice to have as a listener. And I hope that you agree. And I could not have picked a better episode to come back with that HIePRO chat, you know what I mean. And for our hype girl chat today, we are going to be talking about why you need a community in your life as soon as frickin possible. Because community and connection have been things that I have been really digging into and actually researching this summer, due to my group coaching program that I launched, called the six week to you accelerator. I also did a recorded training session for a summer summit that someone invited me to do, which was amazing. And I talked about the idea of community and how community directly impacts and leads to more or less joy in your life, depending on the community that you have around you. And something that I wanted to share with you that I thought was really fascinating. Because I’m a nerd. And I research these things, I see these connections. And I see these kind of weaving lines in between things that I talked about. And I researched those. And as I was researching these topics and these ideas of community and connection and contentment and all of these different things, I noticed that a lot of these positive words right community connection, all started with the similar same three letters, c o m, and c o n. And again, being the nerd that I am I actually Googled, I looked it up, what does the prefix or the root word or whatever the proper grammar term is for like the first few letters of a word, right? The Entomology of that word. What does that mean? And when you look it up the meaning of the three letters, the sound, the little nano chunk of the word calm or con, right, actually means togetherness, which I thought was amazing. And I love the fact that the word community is built on that initial meaning of c o m, or c o m n, sometimes two M’s means togetherness, right? That’s why that word community is connected to the idea of being together with other people. And I am finding and I am seeing the power of community every single day, both within my membership, the sunshine squad community, it’s why we call it a community within my online Instagram community, right all of you people who follow me over on Instagram, and also within my group coaching program that I just launched and completed this summer in something that I need you to know. And something that I encourage you to do over the next few weeks is to audit your community. Do you have a true community? What does your community look like? And what does that word mean to you? What does that feel like to you that word community. And the reason why we need community is because literally on a biological,
neurological level, jump all the way down to our roots, right? We as human beings are social creatures. And we must have that connection we need and we desire a community so that we we feel like we belong. So that way we feel safe, secure, seen and supported, right. And it’s so often I hear from people from women, that they feel like they don’t have a community, or they feel like they don’t have the kinds of connections that they want in real life or online that they so desire to have. And I think the reason for this is because we live in a society that is becoming inherently disconnected. Even though we have all of these tools and technology that make connections so easy. We are starting to rely on this technology in order to build those connections. When in reality in real life or even just within our own selves. We struggle to make those connections to build a community but I can tell you right now, if you are struggling to find a community or you feel like the community that you are in because of proximity, or your job or where you live or whatever it might be if that community doesn’t support you, or make you feel seen, supported, heard all those good things, that it’s not going to support you and living a life that you love. And if you are someone who’s currently going without a solid foundation of a community, I am going to push you to try to seek those people out. Because again, on a biological level, we need community, we need connection, we need to have that sense of togetherness with other humans in order to feel content, and happy and joyful. And like we have what we need, again, in my little research that I was doing, and I will link some of the things down below just in case you’re a nerd like me and you want to learn. I actually found that scientists, behavioral scientists and people who look at you know, anthropologist, all these types of people who look at how humans thrive and grow, and all of these things prosper, are actually starting to say that connection and community is one of the essential things that we need to live right. For the longest time it was food, water shelter, they’re now starting to say it’s food, water, shelter, and community, right community or connection, they’re kind of using those words interchangeably, which is fine. But isn’t that fascinating. In order to thrive? On a like, on a basic level, we need to have community, okay. And in case community and building a community is hard for you. I wanted to give you some really easy spaces that you could go find your people right now, in order to start to build those communities. Okay. First and foremost is Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, while we all like to joke that like Facebook is for our moms and our grandmas and our crazy aunt Karen’s, Facebook is actually a great place to find free and connected communities based around a topic or a podcast, maybe or a hobby that you love. Go out there and think about some things that you love. Maybe it’s where you live, maybe it’s a hobby, maybe it’s being a dog, mom, maybe it’s being a first time, mom, whatever it is, go out there on Facebook, because I can promise you, there are groups, and there are communities of people out there with that same similar interests, and throw yourself in the group, put yourself in there, make an introduction post and start to build those connections with those people. Because those groups are most often free to join. And you are easily able to be a fly on the wall in those spaces. And when you find someone that you think you might jive with, send them a message, build that connection, put that connection out there and see what happens you never know, the next place that I encourage you to look for connection, or a community is in a local, you know, gym like a local a local setting, right? Maybe that’s a gym, maybe it’s the why maybe it is a church group or a book club, I encourage you to get out of your house. And I say that with love because I never like to leave my house. I am the same way in case you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like to leave your house. But get out of your house and go and put yourself in a local setting right again, and this can be something maybe you really like reading, maybe you are looking for a new fitness studio, maybe you are wanting to go to a cooking class. But go out to these places, get a little bit uncomfortable, and put yourself out there to seek new connections. You never know when you might connect with your new best friend or your new lover or anyone like that, right? Maybe just a companion. You never know when that can happen. But if you’re always staying home, you’re always cutting yourself off from that new connection. So your first place to find a community are Facebook groups. Your second opportunity to find new connections are local places that you can go cooking classes, YMCA, gyms, whatever. And the third place that you can go to seek a community in case leaving your house or putting yourself out there feels really daunting and overwhelming. And you feel like you need a friend to sort of introduce you to the community is the sunshine squad community right? My online membership for women just like you who listen to the show or follow me on Instagram is the perfect place for you to start to grow a community. And the reason for this is because you already have a friend on the inside me Hello, I am your friend on the inside. So if you are feeling nervous or a little bit anxious or overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to build your own community homegirl I’ve already got one for you. That is the whole point of the sunshine squad community to bring women together and give them a space where they are seen and encouraged and inspired and pushed to live a life that they love. And the best thing about this community that I personally really enjoy is the fact that it’s not on any social media. So you can come in get what you need check in come to a group coaching call or masterclass those happen twice every single month, and then bounce it takes maybe five to 10 minutes each day to check in. And it’s not on social media so you don’t need to feel bombarded by all of the things on your newsfeed The things that you’re crazy and Karen is posting on Facebook in case that’s really overwhelming or triggering to you. And you have this dedicated space that no matter what you do, no matter what you decide to do, you have people in your corner that has the sole intention of this community, and I see it happening. I have people come to me and say, oh my gosh, I’m obsessed with this person. I sent her a message on Instagram, and we talk every single day, right. And again, you never know if you never try. So this is why you need community. Community is one of our essential requirements for living right there, adding that into food, water, shelter, it’s now food, water, shelter, connection or community and you can start to build that community in these small easy steps. So that’s your homework for today. After listening to this episode, go out there, find a community, put yourself in it and see what kind of connections you can bring in over time. I want you to stay in tune with yourself and check in on how those connections are bringing you more joy each and every day. And that is everything that I have for you today in our first episode back after our summer vacation. I hope that after listening today, you go out there and take action and starting to build a community that you are obsessed with. In case you are interested in the sunshine squat community. I will link that down below in the show notes and you can also find it linked over on my Instagram which is at living the letter and sunshine it is always linked over there for whenever you are ready to join and if you do decide to join the community after listening to today’s episode, send me a message and let me know I would love to know that this is the thing that got you to jump in and join it this bomb as community. Until next time, my friend I am sending you all the sunshine good vibes and I hope you make it a great day girlfriend. Thank you so much for listening to today’s new episode. If you loved it, please send it to a friend share it on Instagram and tag me so I can see and consider leaving the show a rating or a review. Ratings and reviews are kind of like sharing or liking a post on Instagram and they really help the show grow and reach new women just like you. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode. And until next week, I am sending you all the sunshine, good vibes and I hope you make it a great day.