Speaking From My Heart – With Trust
by Dr. Kixx Goldman

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

“Self-trust is the first secret of success.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve thought a great deal and written about what I learned from writing and publishing my short stories—Speak From Your Heart and Be Heard: Stories of Courage and Healing.

How writing has changed my life is the theme of a chapter I’ve written for an anthology.

In the chapter “Speaking From My Heart,” I was inspired to share my thoughts about how my new learning– and growing awareness—became a guidepost for change in my own personal life. “Speak from your heart” has become my mantra.

Before I published my collection of short stories, I had to create a title. I reread the stories and noticed that “when characters summoned their courage, honored their intuition and spoke from their hearts, they were able to grow their relationships and heal traumas.” That was when the title was born.

But wait—was I following my own advice about speaking from my heart? Like I wished I’d done with a friend, Jane, who was not able to give her daughter, Brenda, emotional support. I might have helped Jane and her daughter if I’d given voice to my thoughts.

At the time, I wanted to tell Jane what I thought and make suggestions. But I felt paralyzed, fearful I might lose her friendship. If I’d spoken honestly, I would have told her about Brenda’s distress and need for her support.

In my chapter in the anthology, I write about the experience in more depth. At the close of the chapter, I suggest actions we can take to help us grow our courage, communicate and speak from our hearts.

I’m excited to announce that the anthology, The Habits Code: The Art of Mastering Your Domain,  which includes my chapter, “Speaking from my Heart” is to be released March 28th.

TRUST – A Discovery

In my short article, Six Pillars of Personal Empowerment, I note that trust is an elusive gift that can be earned only over time, through commitment and continued effort.

There’s a quote by Steven Covey that I love:

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

After thinking about trust again, it dawned on me that perhaps even before speaking from my heart, I needed to trust myself! Make sense? Perhaps before any of us can speak from our hearts, we must trust ourselves.

In our next blog, we’ll be looking at sharing vulnerability through the lens of my story, “The Promise,” It’s about a pole dancer and an engineer and their challenges in healing trauma.

=============================

Speak From Your Heart and Be Heard: Stories of Courage and Healing is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle and some independent bookstores.

Warm thoughts,
Kixx Goldman