Does Everything Always Have to Be So Hard?

Inner Archeology with Sarah Turner & Emily Pennystone

Today’s society has built a narrative around suffering and success: that suffering is noble, and that without it we do not deserve success. Now throw social media into the mix, and we have a scenario where suffering is compared between people, and some stories are being minimized. Tune in to this episode of Inner Archaeology to hear why Sarah and Emily have decided to change the narrative around suffering, and what they are doing to bring ease and levity into their lives. Hear how trusting someone brings out the best in them, and why it’s almost impossible to hate someone after you understand their story. Imagine if everyone in the world was kind to themselves and others, and how this would bring ease and joy to us all. From tips on how to make this change within yourself, to how technology separates generations, Sarah and Emily discuss it all! Don’t miss out on this enlightening episode.

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Key Points From This Episode:

• How technology separates generations: TikTok is almost exclusively a GenZ trend.
• Emily’s experience with Evy’s chat group and how a fear of the unknown drives our negative responses.
• Why it’s important to see the good in younger generations.
• How we create landscapes of fear within our psyche, and why these aren’t true.
• Sarah’s focus word for the year: Ease.
• Why it’s so important to bring levity into serious situations, and how this enables you to be more present.
• Sarah’s struggles with how she engages Ben, and why Ben’s humor is the best response.
• Why we create suffering and heaviness in our minds: situations where it’s served a purpose, and what was modeled for us growing up.
• Changing the narrative around success: why success does not have to involve suffering or difficulty.
• How you can bring levity into your life by choosing your response to a situation.
• Facing your privilege and understanding that people and situations are not comparable.
• Why we need diversity of experiences to grow collectively.
• Why it’s acceptable to hate on Jeff Bezos but not each other: a tangent.
• The importance of trusting that people are doing the best that they can with what they have.
• Being kind to yourself and others: how understanding engenders empathy.
• The subconscious influence of Christianity on our emotional wellbeing and how we can overcome self-loathing.
• Why it’s important to hold people accountable for their actions despite their past.
• Two pieces of advice to cut through the drama we create in our lives: recognizing when you are telling yourself a story, and identifying what you might not be seeing.
• Shifting the narrative into ease and joy and having faith in others.
• Why we romanticize suffering and how to overcome this.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Sarah Turner on Instagram

Emily Pennystone on Instagram

Kevin James Thornton on TikTok