The Power of Becoming Self-Aware with Caroline Ferguson

Hi, welcome back to Humans Leading! Today, I’m sharing a special guest episode of my podcast because it features fellow Substacker

Caroline Ferguson

.

I met Caroline through

Claire Venus

's Substack publication, Sparkle on Substack. A few months ago, Claire did a post about collaborating, and Caroline replied to a comment I made.

From there, we set up a preliminary chat, and I had such a great time that I knew I had to bring her on so you could all learn more from her. I could’ve spent hours talking to her, but I tried to reign myself in.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Self-Awareness, which Caroline describes as the ability to “know ourselves deeply and being able to hear what’s going on with our self-talk"

• The number of thoughts we experience each day (including the stories we tell ourselves!) and why it’s important to recognize them

• The importance of tuning into your thoughts and how it’s like tuning into your “inner radio

• The “world’s most important question” to ask yourself as you’re learning to navigate tuning into your thoughts and feelings

• Carolines PACES tool 

• The importance of tuning in when you’re feeling good (not just when you’re feeling bad)

• How the stories we tell ourselves lead to our emotions

• How to tune into what you’re feeling in order to make a conscious choice about what to do next

• Emotions as data

• The importance of responding instead of reacting

• Caroline’s “emotional ladder” metaphor

• “When we have a ‘must’ we have an ‘or else’”

•  Messages around self-worth

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording and editing it. If you have an idea for a future podcast or are interested in pitching yourself as a guest, feel free to reach out via DM on Substack or through my website (see below).

Where to find Caroline:

• Substack: Something More

You can find out more about coaching with me at my website: Jillian Bybee, MD- Physician Leader, Coach, Speaker (jillianbybeemd.com)

Join me for more over on social media:
LinkedIn: Jillian Bybee, MD | LinkedIn
Instagram: Jillian Bybee, MD (@lifeandpicu) • Instagram photos and videos
X: Jillian Bybee, MD (she/her) (@LifeandPICU) / X