In Her Voice Ep. 14: Samantha Livingstone on Lasting Joy
/Samantha Livingstone is an Olympic Gold Medalist, transformational speaker, writer and empowerment coach, mama of four girls and ME-time warrior. She is on a mission to help inspire and empower others to step into their light – to live free, dream big and shine bright. She is the founder and mentor of Inspire & Empower, a team of over 50 entrepreneurs – supporting them as they turn their passion for helping people live healthier and more fulfilling lives into a thriving business.
She was a member of the US National Team, 1999 US Pan Pacific Team and 2000 US Olympic Team. As an 18-years-old, she stood atop the Olympic podium – in Sydney, Australia - after swimming the lead-off leg of the record setting 4 x200 Freestyle Relay. She ended her career as a 7xNCAA All American – closing out her career as the co-captain of the 2005 National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.
She was named the 2005 NCAA Georgia Woman of the Year and a recipient of the 2005 NCAA Top VIII Award given to student-athletes for their success on the fields and courts, in the classroom and in the community. She earned the Joel Eves award at the University of Georgia for earning the highest GPA of all student-athletes in her graduating class. She was a recipient of post-graduate scholarships from the SEC and NCAA.
Samantha resides in Berkshire County, Massachusetts with her husband and four daughters. She’s a mama of multiples and a mama of a heart warrior. The wife of a coach and entrepreneur.
Here are a few of the big topics we talked about:
Her journey from being an olympic gold medalist to understanding who she really was underneath all the titles.
“What's next” syndrome
How to move past perfectionism into worthy now.
Healing through nurturing others
How and when our inner critic shows up
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristen Neff
Our love of all things Brene Brown
Samantha's practice of self-compassion
The importance of self-care in battling our inner critic
How to balance achieving with worthiness, and how to tell the difference between perfectionism and healthy striving.
In Samantha's Voice:
“Perfectionism takes the wheel when we are most vulnerable.”
“My dreams got really entangled with perfection and started to get drowned out.”
“I just had to get out of my own way.”
“Nurturing others helped me to heal.”
“'I've found lasting joy in the mess of life.”
“I've let go of the rigidness around my dreams.”
“You have to be able to quiet the noise to hear your soul.”