Posts by Valerie Friedlander
Planting Seeds of Hope: Mindset Strategies for Women Leaders in a Time of Uncertainty
Planting seeds of hope is a radical act of resistance in the face of oppressive systems and during times of uncertainty and upheaval. When fear threatens to paralyze us, hope becomes our most powerful tool. Spring invites us into the sacred work of seeding dreams—not for immediate gratification, but with generational wisdom. We may not…
Read MoreVulnerability and Tending to What Is Important
Vulnerability and tending to what is important is particularly critical in a chaotic time. After my wrapping my interview with Cher Hale, she inquired into my next steps around demanding attention. As listeners who gift me your attention, it seemed appropriate to share with you my own in the moment reflections on attention and what’s…
Read MoreNavigating Change in the New Year
Navigating change in the new year without the overwhelm can feel like a lot—especially when life feels messy, uncertain, or heavy. Real change starts with understanding the waters we swim in (ie the pressures of our social norms) and engaging our internalized patterns as well as the emotions and discomfort of stepping into the unknown.…
Read MoreHealing Our Relationship With Attention
Healing Our Relationship with Attention begins with noticing the ways in which our natural need for attention has been damaged. In a society that commodifies attention and polices who and what is allowed attention, we develop a distorted relationship with a core aspect of how we connect to each other. This disconnection feeds feelings of…
Read MoreResponsive Practices to Create a Supportive Relationship with Your Teen
Responsive practices to create a supportive relationship with your teen starts with learning to stop assuming and start listening. It also involves acknowledging your own inner child’s unhealed wounds so that you can create space in yourself to hold space for another. These wounds often become activated when we see them mirrored in our children’s…
Read MoreNavigating Tough Conversations with Emotional Awareness
Navigating tough conversations with emotional awareness is a critical skill as we are all likely to need to engage difficult dialogues, especially during this time of heightened political and social tensions. These types of conversations can be emotionally taxing, and it’s important we approach them with both strong self-awareness and self-care. Our ability to show…
Read MoreLearning Self-Advocacy to Strengthen Collective Action
Learning self-advocacy to strengthen collective action is a critical component of sustainable social change. Those of us socialized as women are often conditioned to prioritize supporting others, which can make self-advocacy more difficult. However, by connecting to our own value and values, and speaking up for ourselves even when it’s uncomfortable, we lead by example…
Read MoreEmbracing Periods of Reflection
Embracing periods of reflection, introspection, and processing is a crucial but often overlooked and devalued aspect of personal and societal growth and change. To create real shifts in the world’s imbalances, we must first engage with the internalized patterns and conditioning that hold us back. This self-work not only deepens the impact of our efforts,…
Read MoreBeing Intentional with When to Say Yes
Being intentional with when to say yes isn’t just considering yes vs no. Intentionality also involves how you engage internal resistance to what you say you want to do. There are many reasons you might experience tension and resistance even when you want to do something. First, it could highlight an area that needs clarification…
Read MoreSupporting Changes in Your Life
Supporting Changes in your life means reconnecting to your power in your relationship to change. It allows you to transform the patterns that aren’t serving you during the transition period, rather than carrying them with you into a new space. Unfortunately, what often happens is that changes in our life feel in some way like…
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