The Heart of Resilient Relationships | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Episode 278: The Heart of Resilient Relationships

This is the first time I feel a need to prepare you for an upcoming Guest Mentor. I feel you need to know this person’s international award-winning lifework. She has profoundly changed my understanding of all relationships. From my relationship with food and daily interactions with others to shifting my understanding of society’s invisible systems and how these systems impact all relationships making us violent, unwell, and dysfunctional in how we relate to one another. In today’s solo-episode, I talk about ways to get out of the ‘relational dark ages’ through the heart of relationship resilience: security and connection. Significant disruptions in our connections occur because we lack fundamental relationship education or ‘relational literacy.’ Both terms ‘above’ were coined by Melanie Joy, Ph.D., our Guest Mentor on June 7 and 14, 2021.

I briefly go over eight domains of how we are connected from one of Melanie’s six books (not five like I mention); Getting relationships Right: How to Build Resilience and Thrive in Life, Love, and Work (2020). These domains are organized around three areas to help us understand why we feel the way we do: breadth, depth, and strength of each emotional connection. The eight domains of connection are relationship, intellectual, psychological, sexual, physical, romantic, practical, philosophical, and a potential ninth, spiritual domain, but with a warning to not give your fate away to the stars. You can end up feeling powerless, and that is not an ingredient in a resilient relationship. I then describe an exercise you can use to increase awareness of how you meet universal needs.

To prepare, listen to this solo-episode. Download and complete the WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise (pdf) below. I will have another exercise for you next week. You can do this exercise alone or with significant others and listen to our podcast conversations together or separately and come back together to discuss what stood out for each of you.

The purpose of the WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise is to expand ‘relational literacy’ and facilitate your ability to nurture resilient relationships. We always begin with a self-focus.

Asserting self-leadership puts you in a position to increase your influence with others because you are operating from a place of integrity, a knowingness about yourself. When we know how to meet our needs and enjoy the feelings accompanying those met needs, we are incentivized to regularly meet those needs. And, we can readily identify feelings that surface when needs go unmet. Knowing this empowers us to regularly assert meeting our needs because we like how we feel.

From this self-awareness and place of integrity, others’ needs can be noticed and met. Our proficiency as a leader can be expanded as we accurately encourage others to meet their needs. We become allies for one another and express ourselves with ease. A win-win experience.

Self-knowledge releases the propensity to get our needs met unconsciously or through competitive behaviors. Over time, and with practice, expressing healthy ways of getting our needs met strengthens our connection and security in all relationships. Our sense of emotional safety increases.

“Relational literacy is the ability to understand and express healthy ways of relating: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Our errors are our teachers; they are guides that point us toward greater proficiency and greater awareness, says psychologist, international speaker, and bestselling author, Melanie Joy, Ph.D. In her book, Getting Relationships Right, Dr. Joy writes, “what matters most in this process is how we relate to our mistakes. Even a slight increase in relational literacy can lead to significant improvement.” DOWNLOAD

This WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise is

a step in the right relational direction. Click Here.

Podcast Sponsor

Episode Resources

Melanie Joy, Ph.D.

Melanie Joy

WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise

WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise

Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring

After listening, do the following three C.A.L.M. Activities:

Take this risk or do this adventurous task: Download the WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise pdf. Follow the directions. You can use this exercise to increase your metaconnection. “Metaconnection is the overarching sense of connection that is maintained throughout the cycles.” (melaniejoy.org)
Apply Self-Compassion: After you complete the 20-minute WeMentor exercise, pause. Breathe in and out a few times. Jot down your next step.
Welcome Appreciation: “I appreciate the opportunity to bring you my conversations with Dr. Melanie Joy in June. I appreciate Dr. Joy’s lifework. I appreciate learning the heart of resilient relationships being connection and emotional safety or security. I appreciate growing in my relational literacy. I appreciate you being on this journey to evolve with me. Thank you for tuning in and for completing this WeMentor Universal Human Needs Exercise with me.”
Your Turn. Start with I appreciate…

“Most of the problems in our lives and world are caused by relational dysfunction, a dysfunction in how we relate: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Therefore, developing relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—is essential for personal, social, and ecological transformation.”

—Melanie Joy, psychologist, author, theorist, educator

Learn and practice healthy ways of relating as you reinvent (or evolve) yourself and redesign your business. When WeMentor… your life becomes more meaningful!!! Mentoring WORKS.

Podcast Guest Mentor

Nancy Meyer, M.A. Nancy’s official entrepreneurial work began upon founding WeMentor, inc. in 1992 to evolve the world’s leadership. She started with one emerging entrepreneur, herself. Since then, she has mentored thousands of emerging to experienced entrepreneurial leaders and business owners who reinvent (or evolve) themselves as they redesign their businesses -dual innovation.

WeMentor by offering one-on-one strategic mentoring sessions, Mini LABs, a variety of WeMentor LABs. Set actionable and achievable goals, develop integrated leadership plans, practice new skills with accountability and support in nurturing resilient relationships.

Her real-life education was role modeled by her parents (Bernie and Rosie Meyer). Her parents founded a welding shop and co-owned a tire business with two of her Dad’s brothers. Eventually, Bernie and Rosie bought and remodeled a dilapidated dairy farm with the help of their six children and ran it for over +40 years. Nancy’s parents developed a profitable farming lifestyle taking care of animals, feeding people, and volunteering to better the community. Their idea of retiring after selling the dairy farm meant owning and renting land, managing rental property, and working on projects. Nancy learned from her parents that we are on this earth to engage our unique passion by doing meaningful work to help evolve our planet. The earlier you start, the better.

Acquiring a B.A. in Elementary Education and M.A. in Special Education prepared Nancy to later mentor thousands of entrepreneurs through an expansive and compassionate approach in leadership development. She has a technical understanding of all types of learners. She has even helped entrepreneurial families navigate the educational system with their children in special education.

Keen insight into mental health and well-being are integrated into her mentoring practice to facilitate emotional agility, physical flexibility, and equanimity. Mindfulness yoga and meditation certifications have been added into her toolbox of groundbreaking and centuries-old science-based practices that work as she evolves herself, teaches others, and redesigns WeMentor for today’s entrepreneurs. Nancy believes learning to be present, aware, focused, resilient, and grateful are critical skills in self-leadership mastery and business success in every industry!

Academic roles at two private universities teaching entrepreneurship and small business finance expanded Nancy’s ability to write curriculum and take what she knew about entrepreneurial leadership and shape innovative ideas through the latest research, development, and implementation with students and clients. Her wisdom and agility to adapt content to fit the learner play an instrumental role in mentoring you as you evolve and redesign your venture and your life.

Wherever you are at, whatever the circumstances, Nancy will do what works to help you live a meaningful life and lead a profitable and modern business attuned to your vision, mission, core values, and re-examined beliefs.

WeMentor inc. is an innovative mentoring community for emerging to experienced entrepreneurial leaders and small business owners. We collaborate with you to co-create a self-leadership foundation of mutual human advancement and profitability. When WeMentor, You Design… a better life and an interdependent future:

As an Entrepreneurial Leader (Innovator),
As a Competent Business Owner (Practitioner),
As a Mentor (Role Model), and
As a Spiritual Being and Master of Self!

Start by Subscribing to WeMentor Mondays With Nancy PODCAST. Then, get one-on-one strategic mentoring, or join one of our virtual WeMentor LABs to evolve with your peers!