In this coaching session, I have the great pleasure of sitting down with Ryan to explore the weight he's been carrying for over 16 years in his pursuit of performance and achievement.
And what was quietly underneath it all was a deep yearning to be seen. To know that he matters and that he is important.
Early in our session, Ryan began dropping into the exhaustion and pain of no longer being able to carry the mask he'd built to protect himself from a young age.
What we uncovered traced back to Ryan being 15 years old, when he was cut from his football team.
Beneath that experience was a deep fear that his father's love was conditional on him remaining the football star.
From this event, which left him in shock, he developed a need to perform, chase attention, and prove that he was good enough.
His sense of worth became increasingly dependent on being seen, being significant, and being impressive.
And while this strategy had served him since he was a teenager, we could clearly see how the protectors we develop early in life eventually become masks that drain us and prevent us from fully being ourselves.
Throughout this session, you'll witness the raw and vulnerable experience of Ryan beginning to let go of his mask as I support him on that journey.
Here, you see the beautiful and insightful experience of a man dropping the masks that are no longer serving him, stepping into deeper self-leadership, and bringing the different parts of himself into relationship.
It was an incredible honour to witness Ryan over this period.
In this coaching session, we explore:
- Why Ryan has felt the need to perform and chase attention for over 16 years
- The day he was cut from his football team at 15, and the impact that experience had on him
- The moment his fiancée told him he loved attention more than money, and what that revealed for him
- The two parts inside of him: the performer who longs to impress, and the dreamer who needed to escape his pain
- How the fear of not being good enough can make it difficult to ever relax into ourselves
- The role of shame, and how allowing ourselves to stay present with it can actually bring us closer to connection rather than pushing us away from it
- What it now looks like for Ryan to stop trying to earn his worth and simply allow himself to be
- What came up for him during the breathwork journey at the end of the session
I was deeply touched by Ryan's capacity to step so fully and deeply into the session, offering a powerful example of the courage it takes to allow ourselves to be truly seen.
If you've ever struggled to show up fully as yourself, or found yourself caught in the exhausting pursuit of proving your worth, I believe this session will absolutely be for you.
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Connect with Alex:
◼ Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co
◼ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_/
◼ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast
◼ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478
◼ Email: alexlehmanncoaching@gmail.com
◼ Think we might be a good fit to work together? Schedule a free connection call: https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP
