64. Unmasking the Alchemist's Shadow Side

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In this podcast episode we will be exploring the concept of the shadow and its impact on our lives. I want to explain that the shadow represents the parts of ourselves that we deny or repress, which can lead to a feeling of disconnection and wearing a facade.

Throughout this episode, I will be identifying five predominant shadow aspects within the alchemist archetype and providing strategies for transcending them.

These strategies include practicing mindfulness, setting realistic goals, and prioritizing self-care. It's important to me that I emphasize the significance of managing overwhelm and avoiding burnout. I suggest delegating tasks, setting boundaries, and establishing stability and consistency in order to achieve this.

• View Transcript Here

  Speaker 1 (00:00:00) - Welcome back to the Money Mindset Hub podcast. I'm your host, Karla Townsend, and I'm a money mindset and success coach for female entrepreneurs who are ready to manifest a masterpiece in their life and in their business. So let's get started. Welcome back to another episode of the Money Mindset Hub podcast. I'm your host, Carla Townsend, and a money mindset and success coach for female entrepreneurs. And in today's episode, we're going to be unmasking the alchemists shadow sides. So first of all, what is your shadow? So the concept of a person's shadow was made popular by a Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, who believed that the human psyche contains both conscious and unconscious elements. So the shadow represents the parts of you that you deny or repress or reject, consciously or unconsciously, due to society, conditioning, personal beliefs, or even cultural norms. So these can include things like fears, desires, traumas, emotions, and even qualities that you consider unacceptable or undesirable to have. So somewhere along the line you believe that if you acted a certain way, you wouldn't be loved or accepted and therefore you repress that part of yourself? Maybe it was in your early childhood.

  Speaker 1 (00:01:11) - Maybe it was in your teenage years, maybe even in your adult years. But somewhere along the line there was a reason that you repress these parts of yourself, so therefore you're not able to fully express who you are and feel like you're almost wearing this facade in certain times of your life. So, for example, if someone said to you, get your hat out of the clouds and be realistic, you may have inadvertently made that mean that you were supposed to keep your dreams to yourself, therefore thinking that it's bad to actually declare what it is that you want and what it is that you desire. So another example of this when it can happen and this seems like such an innocent thing that I'm sure most of us have experienced, but it's where being told that when you blow out your birthday candles, you make a wish, but don't tell anyone or it won't come true. Again, that's playing into the notion that your dreams are not to be shared. You can see how that is really affecting us as entrepreneurs in creating something out of the box and thinking outside of the norms and doing something different.

  Speaker 1 (00:02:09) - When you may have believed that you need to suppress your desires, suppress your dreams because it's not realistic, or if you say it out loud, it's not going to come true. So in this episode, we're going to dive deep into the shadow sides of the Alchemist archetype so you can see where the shadow aspects of yourself are playing out. And further exploration may be needed in these parts, especially if you want to live authentically and feel like you're no longer hiding and you're ready to be fully sane and accepted as you are. So the alchemist archetype, also known as the idealist, who is someone who values transformation and positive change, also does have shadow aspects within the archetype. So recognizing and addressing these shadow sides is so crucial to have a healthy relationship with money, with life and your big goals, and also in your business. So in this episode, we're going to discuss five of them that I see are the most predominant in an Alchemist archetype so that you know how to transcend them and move forward to fully express who you are.

  Speaker 1 (00:03:09) - So the first one is this feeling of disconnection, and this can come from this never ending pursuit of a transformation which can also lead to sort of escaping our reality or avoiding challenging situations in life. Maybe you've felt this before. Maybe you felt like you're disconnected to your vision. You're disconnected to the people in your life. You're avoiding things that you know need to be addressed in order to get to where it is you want to go. But. At the same time, you also believe that it's too big, it's too much, it's not realistic. And so you try to stay grounded in this reality. But in actual fact, you are an idealist. You are a big dreamer, you are a big thinker. So here is a great opportunity to be able to practice mindfulness and self-awareness to ensure that you're actually addressing the problems that come up in your life. You know, change and problems are something we're always going to have to deal with. There will always be new problems. It comes with every different level in business, especially as your business grows, your problems grow and change, and they're just going to become different.

  Speaker 1 (00:04:13) - So rather than avoiding them and trying to escape them, get support, get support from your friends, your business besties, your mentors, or even professionals when you're dealing with really difficult situations to understand how to actually overcome that so you can remain connected to yourself and your vision and what you're here to create. Not playing into this disconnected card of no one gets me. I can't do it. I'm just trying to escape and run away from my problems and escape from reality. The second one is making impulsive decisions. So this can come to setting unrealistic expectations that you have and making decisions when it's actually not the right decision to make because it doesn't align with you. But instead of thinking it through and practicing patience and also holding the faith that it's all going to come together, you may find yourself actually just making a decision because it'll work for now, or it's what everyone else is doing and it's realistic and that's what I should be doing. So if someone else is doing this and they're successful, that'll work for me too.

  Speaker 1 (00:05:12) - So making decisions on an impulse rather than making decisions from a place of authority and trusting your intuition and make that your guiding light, this could be a real big area to actually assess what's going on before you make a decision, assess the risk, assess the reward, assess the transformation that comes from that. When you're making major decisions in your life, try and set goals and actually break them down to become actionable that you can actually do them. And if you just take one step, one move in the right direction, that feels the best for you, not based on your impulse, not based on your ego, but actually based on the fact that you know that it's the right decision to make for you because it's getting you towards your North Star. Then you take that. So the third one is this dependency on getting external validation from others before you actually make a move, before you actually try something new, before you bring your vision to life. It's about confirming with everyone else. Does this work? Does this sound like a good idea? Has someone else done it? Remembering that you are the idealist.

  Speaker 1 (00:06:13) - You're here to think outside of the box. You're here to do things in a way that work for you. Practice that self-compassion. Practice that self-acceptance. And don't wait for the permission slip or the validation from other people that you're on the right track. Because you know, when you're on the right track, you can discern when it's right for you and when this decision is taking you to where you need to be. So putting that validation aside and that acceptance and that permission slip, give yourself the permission to make the decisions that feel right for you and move when you have this strong sense of clarity in your life and that this is the thing that you need to bring to fruition. So another one that can happen all the time, especially for The Alchemist, is this constant perpetuating cycle of burnout and overwhelm. Now we all can experience this. Of course, burnout and overwhelm is not something just for the Alchemist, but it does show up a lot because there's this big drive to make something different, to make a change, to make the world a better place.

  Speaker 1 (00:07:10) - And so this excessive need to accomplish something can lead to feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, not managing your expectations properly, not managing the tasks that actually at hand that need to be done that are essential to be done. So in order to do this practice, that self-care set the healthy boundaries with yourself, with others, and prioritize rest and rejuvenation for you so that you can avoid burnout. Burnout is something when we are pushing too hard and we don't actually have every other area of our life that's supporting that. We don't have something that we all obviously experience. We all experience this, we all experience overwhelm. But they are just the feeling so overwhelmed. The way that I look at this is just the feeling. You are feeling overwhelmed. You are not overwhelmed. There's a big difference between labeling yourself as I'm overwhelmed or labeling yourself as I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed at the moment. So what can I do about it? So delegate the things that you don't need to actually do. They're not essential for you to do.

  Speaker 1 (00:08:14) - Can somebody else do them, delegate them, eliminate them, prioritize what it is you actually need to do and put it in manageable steps. Sometimes the task at hand can feel too big, right? Especially when you're trying to birth something brand new into the world that you've never done before. Maybe. And you really don't know what way is the best way to do it. And so you set it up to be bigger than what it actually is. Take one step. Just ask yourself the question, What is the one thing that I can do today to move me closer to my desires and do that and ask yourself that every time you have finished that step? What's the next step? Wait for those universal cues. Wait for the universal size, that intuitive nudge. It's going to come your way. This can avoid feeling overwhelmed and this can avoid burn out. When we prioritize our time, we delegate, we eliminate. We just set the healthy boundaries and we don't forget self-care. Self-care is so underrated and it might just be, Are you getting enough sleep at night? Are you eating nourishing foods? Do you actually have support or are you trying to do everything yourself? You're trying to wear all the hats.

  Speaker 1 (00:09:17) - Is that serving you? Is there a way that you can change that up? Because whatever you don't change, you are choosing, okay? You are choosing these. So remember that seek support when you need to. Because it can really mitigate that feeling of overwhelm and it can definitely mitigate that burnout that can come when you're just trying to do everything all yourself. The last one that I think is so crucial for an alchemist is the lack of stability. So there might be this feeling like everything's shaky, like the foundations might feel shaky in your business, maybe in your life even. Or that shows up in like a lack of consistency. You're doing all the things, but then all of a sudden you fall off and then you're doing all the things again, and then all of a sudden you fall off. So this is where I like to look at what's your rhythm now? Don't really run by routine. I'm not a real routine person. You know, I've got three young kids, so every day is slightly different.

  Speaker 1 (00:10:14) - And what I'm doing every day slightly changes. So I sort of just go into like, what's my rhythm? What's my rhythm today or most days? What are the things that make me feel like I've got my shit together? And ask yourself that? What are the rhythms that you need to have in place? Maybe you like routines. What are the routines that you can have in place? Maybe it is a morning routine. Maybe it is a nighttime routine. Maybe it is just waking up that bit earlier than the kids to have some silence and space for your creativity and your flow. Maybe it's actually having the masculine structures in your business to provide the solid foundations so that you can grow so that things do feel more effortless. Maybe it is in your onboarding sequence. For instance, when you're onboarding new clients, do you have that set up like would actually challenge you to look at the masculine structures that you have, not just in your business but also in your life? What do you need in order to feel more supported so that you can pull the trigger on the things that you desire to create in this world rather than, again, in allowing you to fall into overwhelm and burnout and impulsive decisions and dependency on others to get that external validation.

  Speaker 1 (00:11:21) - And then again, feeling disconnected or unstable because the foundations aren't set for your success. So when you recognize and you address these shadow aspects of yourself and you embody your alchemist archetype, that's when you feel more at ease on this pursuit of your own transformation, of the transformation that you want to see in the world. It's really about being able to practice that self-awareness, get support, eliminate delegate, take one step in the right direction. These are so, so, so crucial. And of course, the shadow work side of things can be really uncomfortable at times, but it truly is the path to enlightenment when you don't feel like you have to be anyone else or do things everyone else's way. And I know the biggest lesson I had to learn was my way is the best way for me. There is no certain method or key to unlock. You are the key. You are the key to unlock the way that you need to do things. Your life, your situations, your circumstances. They are so individual to you.

  Speaker 1 (00:12:22) - So when you find what works for you and you focus on that, you look at that masculine structures that you need. You look at that time for your feminine flow to come out so that you can continue to fill your own cup up. Therefore creating that space and that creativity to be able to make that positive impact in the world, that's when everything changes. So if you like this episode and you're interested in exploring your shadows further, I invite you to join the brand new mini course that I've created for you called Abundant Alchemy, and it's where we're going to illuminate your shadows to transform your relationship with money. So this is for the entrepreneur who desires to fully express herself without living behind a facade or trying to fit into a box. The more you uncover about your shadows, the less energy that you will use to hide those parts of yourself and actually embrace the incredible, powerful, potent magnetic woman that you can be. So if this is calling you, please check it out. The link is in the show notes or you can go to money mindset hub.com/abundant and I cannot wait to see you in there or I'll catch you in the next episode.

  Speaker 1 (00:13:38) - Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, I would absolutely love it. If you could please leave me a five star review and let me know your thoughts and if you know anyone who would benefit from listening to this episode, please share it with them. Until next time, remember, everything you desire and deserve is just on the other side of your own resistance. So take that next step.