Welcome Back Friendly Villagers! What a Start to Our New Season.
- msfriendlyvillager
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
On Tuesday, September 1st we held our first Lunch & Meet of the season. It was a full house, with Friendly Villagers eager to hear from Lisa Peterson and her presentation, “The Power of Me.” It was a packed room with many members and new faces in attendance.
Lisa opened by explaining what the title means to her: The power of me is the power of you. It’s the same power. And the reason she tells her own stories is so that, in hearing them, we can recognize our own.
She spoke about why the things we most want to change whether in our health, relationships, work and everyday lives often repeat or “loop.” And, she reminded us, it’s almost never about a lack of discipline.
Lisa’s own health collapse forced her to take a hard look at the patterns she had carried throughout her life. What she discovered brought her greater clarity, connection and freedom and ultimately shaped the work she does today: helping others age audaciously, without needing a collapse to get there.
Lisa explained that most of us are living from subconscious decisions made long ago. She stated, "Something happened, and our younger selves figured out who we needed to be to stay safe and loved. Those decisions became beliefs, the beliefs became an identity, and eventually we simply call it “who I am.”
Lisa introduced six common coping patterns:
The Striver — Reaches the goal, feels strangely flat, then moves the bar higher. “I’m only enough when I’m producing.”
The Soldier — “I’m fine.” “I can do it.” “If I stop, it all falls apart.”
The Seeker — Always looking for the next book, course or piece of information. “I’m not ready yet.”
The Soother — The scroll, snack, second glass or shopping trip used to avoid uncomfortable feelings. “If I let myself feel that, it’ll swallow me.”
The Shamer — Hardest on herself because someone was once hard on her. “Something is wrong with me.”
The Saver — Says yes before checking in with herself and continually gives to others. “If I said no, I’d find out I was only loved for what I give.”
Lisa mentioned, "Most of us are more than one. And these patterns aren't flaws—they are strategies that once worked for us. Each comes with a gift.
We often hear, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” But Lisa asked us to consider: What exactly is being poured?
"Our time. Our energy. Our vitality. Our life force. The things we don't get back.
We make sure our children have coaches, tutors, activities and snacks without blinking at the time or expense. Meanwhile, we may barely nourish ourselves, exercise only after everyone else is taken care of, and view spending time or money on ourselves as an indulgence.
That has to change."
Lisa reminded us that we are the CEOs of our households and our own lives. Her invitation: invest in yourself and consider who sits on your personal board of directors. And Lisa would like to be on it.
Your Friendly Villager Homework
The next time you're irritated, exhausted, overwhelmed or reaching for something at 9 p.m., don't immediately try to fix or judge it.
Observe it.
Then ask yourself: “Which one of these coping patterns just took the wheel?”
Stay Connected with Lisa
Lisa Peterson is a health and life coach offering 1:1 coaching to help clients rewrite, rewire and retrain patterns that may be keeping them stuck in health, fitness, relationships and business. Through www.babegarage.com, she also offers DNA-based health coaching, including a saliva test covering more than 500 genes, a 60+ page report, action plan and two 1:1 review sessions.
Friendly Villagers Member Offer: Through 11 p.m. Thursday, use code FRIENDLY for 20% off DNA testing and coaching. Plus, 10% of every order goes back to the Friendly Villagers.
Follow Lisa on Instagram @lisavp305 and Substack @lisavpeterson.
Comments