Episode 24 - The Importance of Community
Who makes up your community? On this episode of Broke PhD Podcast, I talk about the importance of community and how it is crucial to surround yourself with individuals who will uplift you as you navigate along your life journey.
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Here is a transcription of Episode 24:
0:17: Hello and welcome to the Broke PhD Podcast where we build relationships or kindle emotions with every episode! I'm your host. Dr. G!
0:26: On this episode of Broke PhD Podcast, I talk about the importance of community and how important it is to surround yourself with individuals who will cheer you on as you navigate along your life journey.
0:38: The topic of community is something that has been on my mind and in my thoughts a lot lately. And I think about when I was going through my educational program, how important it was to have a solid community that I could lean on and that would cheer me on as I was going through that program. And then outside of just navigating an educational program, I think about how important it is to have a community that will support you through navigating your own life journey. And each of us are gonna have different goals and different achievements that we're working towards. And while in those moments, it may feel like an individual project and it may be lonely and you may feel all alone while going through it, there will be those around you who make up your community, whether you recognize it or not.
1:28: Sometimes communities only stereotypically viewed as being your family or a familial unit, whether it be your parents or your spouse or your children or your extended relatives. But personally, I like to think of your community as being what you want it to be and made up of the individuals whom you want to be in it. When I was going through my educational program, for example, it was all online and so I couldn't have that in-person interaction with a lot of my peers or colleagues that others have who are going through an in person brick and mortar program. And so I had to create my community online. Additionally, in life right now, I am navigating the space of becoming a content creator and so I am creating an online community composed of individuals who share similar interest in the various niches that I'm also interested in and they are becoming my online FAM or my online community. And even now just as I'm talking to you, the listener, you are also a part of my online virtual FAM and my online community. So I really want you to pause and take a moment to reflect on who is a part of your community?
2:36: Life is a rocky road and it will be filled of ups and downs and moments that will make you want to pull your hair out. And so holding all of that in is not healthy and we need to be able to let it go. And not to say that your community is a replacement for therapy because it should not be. Again, if therapy is a road you to go with, talk to a professional and get that emotions and those experiences out in a healthy manner. Nonetheless, the community can aid you through those moments and provide you with some of that external strength that oftentimes we have a hard time recognizing within ourselves. And so I sat here and I thought about my own community and the experiences that I've gone through, how fortunate I am to have a very solid community both in person and online. And that's not always the case. That there definitely was moments that people who were in my community did not always have my best interests. And sometimes you figure that out that those that are closest to you or that are supporting you or have a mentor role of sorts, that you think they have your best interests, but the truth is that they might have their own agenda or they're too blinded by their own biases to recognize that the path you want to take is your own and that's OK that it looks differently from what they're used to. I had to learn that personally going through various educational programs that sometimes those mentors that are put in your life while initially they are great, that sometimes they become the biggest roadblocks to you achieving your goals. And while you don't want that to be the case, sometimes that happens and you figure out how to navigate through it and others in your community will step up and aid you in coming to those realizations that hey, while, you don't want a bunch of yes-men or yes-women in your community, you don't want people who are purposely trying to make your life more difficult and who are purposefully putting down all of the good things that you see as being opportunities or as being a pathway forward.
4:38: And so I say all of this to just kind of act as a reminder for you, listeners out there really take inventory of who is a part of your community. And again, whether that community is in person, in the flesh, or virtually, online, who are the ones that are there showing up for you and that are there cheering you on and that have an open ear when you need someone to talk to and have that shoulder that you can cry on or have that perspective or those thoughts that you never thought of that aid you in seeing a different way forward. Again, life is not always a straight path forward and oftentimes it's not about the destination, as they say, it's about the journey along the way. And so why not have the journey be filled with individuals who make it that much more exciting and who allow you and aid you with becoming the best version of yourself. And ideally you do that for them too. That your community should not just be a one way street, but you yourself also need to reciprocate that same energy to those who are a part of your community and who want you as a part of theirs.
5:48: Again, this idea of community was just something I was thinking about and I really just wanted to share it with you, the listeners so I hope you were able to resonate with something that I shared in this brief time, but I really just wanted to extend that reminder to take inventory of who's in your community and whether or not your community is supporting you in a positive manner or are they creating more barriers, whether they recognize it or not? Because that might be something that you have to take into consideration. So again, the people you surround yourself, can make or break the success in your journey, and so I encourage you all to surround yourself with those individuals who are also on a pathway forward and are also striving to achieve their own goals so that you all can support one another in a positive manner together.
6:38: I'm wishing you all, all the best along your journeys and again I hope that what I shared in this episode resonated with you all out there. So thank you for listening! Well, that concludes this episode but I am so excited to go on this journey with you. And if you've loved this episode and you want to hear more episodes from Broke PhD Podcast, then please check out the website – brokephdpodcast.com – to continue to follow along. Wherever you are in your own journey. I'm wishing you all the best and remember, YOU GOT THIS! Again, I'm your host, Dr. G, and I hope you have a wonderful day!