DeepSummary
Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of the prestigious nonprofits Girls Who Code and Mums First, shares her unflinchingly candid story of her struggles with fertility and how she learned to stop suppressing her emotions and allow herself to grieve and feel the pain of her multiple miscarriages. She reveals how she was brought up to be tough, always pushing through difficulties and not showing vulnerability.
Saujani describes several pivotal moments where she had to put on a brave face despite her immense grief, like introducing President Obama at a fundraiser just days after a devastating miscarriage. Over time, as the losses mounted, she realized the toll of bottling up her emotions and began opening up to her team, allowing herself to be vulnerable.
Eventually, Saujani learned to express her grief openly, realizing there is power in showing emotion and compassion in the workplace. She no longer felt shame for crying in front of colleagues and encouraged others to take time to properly grieve losses instead of powering through the pain. Her journey taught her the importance of loosening her grip on needing to always appear in control.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Suppressing emotions and grief can take a heavy toll, both mentally and physically.
- There is power and strength in being vulnerable and openly expressing pain, rather than bottling it up.
- Showing emotion and compassion in the workplace can foster empathy and stronger connections.
- Grieving losses and allowing yourself to feel the pain is important, rather than powering through difficulties.
- Our cultural and societal conditioning often discourages vulnerability, especially for women in leadership roles.
- Being open about struggles can inspire others to embrace vulnerability and compassion as well.
- Finding a balance between professionalism and authentic emotional expression is key.
- Unresolved grief can manifest as anger or detachment if not properly processed.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I feel like there's something wrong with me. Not because I can't get pregnant, but because I can somehow get this news, get on a flight, and stand up in front of hundreds of people as if nothing is wrong. This can't keep happening. I don't want to be this person anymore.“ by Reshma Saujani
- “There's power in being open about our pain open about how much we care, how much we hurt, how much we love. We build empathy and compassion for one another only when we see what each of us is going through when we loosen that grip and let the tears fall where they may.“ by Reshma Saujani
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Episode Information
Meditative Story
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4/30/24
Reshma Saujani, activist and founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, prides herself on being in control. She’s always been the one to say “I got this.” But after years of struggling to achieve her lifelong goal of being a mother, the weight of powering through the pain gets to be too much. In this week’s story, Reshma learns that instead of white knuckling through life’s unexpected changes, she can allow herself the time and space to properly feel them.
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Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
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