Girls Night #168: What to do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed by all the Bad News in the World
IN THIS PODCAST EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
How to process your feelings and emotions when the whole world feels like one big ball of bad news.
How to identify the cause or mission that is your thing.
What to do with everything else happening in the world once you figure out what your mission is (how to care about other things happening without losing focus on the thing that is your thing).
How to figure out what to say, when you should speak out, and how to do it.
How to get through the fear that you’re going to say the wrong thing.
(You can also listen right here!👇)
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Hey friends! Welcome to Girls’ Night!
I don’t think I’m telling you anything new when I say that there have been a lot of hard things happening in our country and in our world recently. It seems like bad news hits us and before we can even take a breath or process what just happened, it hits us again.
And if I’m honest, this has been weighing really really heavily on my mind and my heart lately. It’s something my family and friends and I have all been talking about a lot — we’ve all just been feeling heavy, and tired, and at times even a little bit hopeless about the state of things.
(Side note: If you’re wondering what I’m referring to, I don’t have a specific event in mind from this week’s headlines. I’m actually recording this two weeks in advance — so I have no clue what’s happening in the news on the day this comes out. But so much has happened in the last few months and last few years, I’m just feeling the weight of it overall.)
And I figured that if I’m feeling this way, and my friends and family are feeling this way, that you might be feeling this way too.
And that’s why I’m excited about today’s episode.
When I’m trying to process bad news in the world, I always find myself thinking back to one of our Girls Night episodes. It’s the conversation I had with Danielle Coke back in Season 13 of the podcast. Dani has a way of taking really important, really complex issues and making them more digestible and helping us figure out what to do with them. And so today I’m actually going to be re-sharing the conversation I had with her, because I have a feeling we could all use these reminders today.
Here are just a few of the things I ask Dani in this episode:
When the whole world feels like one big ball of bad news, how do we process this? How do we care about the people who are hurting in the world without getting so overwhelmed by the hurt in the world that we just shut down?
How do we identify the cause or mission that is our thing? How do we figure out where and how we can help and actually make a difference?
Once we figure out what our mission is, what do we do with everything else? When something crazy or hard or heartbreaking happens in the world, how do we process it? How do we both care and help without losing focus on the thing that is our thing?
How do you figure out what to say, when you should speak out, and how to do it? And I asked her about how to get through the fear that you’re going to say the wrong thing. (Does anyone else have that fear? Is that just me?)
Friends, if you’re feeling discouraged by all of the bad news or tragic events happening in our world, I’m right there with you, but there is hope! This episode is seriously life-giving and has practical advice on how we can process our feelings and make a difference in our world and community today!
I can’t wait to share it with you.
PIN ME!
LINKS FROM THE SHOW
Steph’s book, The Lipstick Gospel (here’s a paperback copy and here’s a free digital download!)
Steph’s prayer journals, Every Single Moment and The Between Places
Do Good Daily Notepad mentioned
Danielle’s Instagram graphics & art
Quotes Mentioned:
"I'm not supposed to hold it all" - Danielle
"I can't solve everything, but I do have a responsibility to do what I can with what I have and to stay alert and aware to as much as I'm able" - Danielle
"Don't let the fear of getting it wrong hold you back." - Danielle
"Perfection is not a prerequisite to participation" - Danielle
"It shouldn't have to happen to you to matter to you" - Danielle
"Apathy is the opposite of love, and love is what we all need" - Danielle
"Even when it gets difficult, we're not driven by performative activism, we're driven by the need to love one another and do that real work" - Danielle
"You don't have to be perfect to participate in this" - Danielle
CONNECT WITH DANIELLE
Website // Instagram // Facebook
CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE
WE LOVE OUR SPONSORS!
Our sponsor for today’s episode is Green Chef. Go to GreenChef.com/GIRLSNIGHT135 and use code GIRLSNIGHT135 to get $135 off across five boxes, plus free shipping on your first box!
WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT
here’s another resource I know you’ll love!
Every Single Moment
A 100-day prayer journal to help you savor the present and prepare for the future!