Sheri Guyse
SAY HELLO TO
Q&A WITH SHERI
What makes you feel proud?
When clients tearfully thank me for coaching them on how to trust their own intuition and giving them a blueprint for a better way to live. It sounds cheesy but getting into alignment with their values, intuition, and purpose has a profound impact on not just their personal life, but the lives of those around them. I’ve always called it “Watching the lights come on” in a person and it’s just my favorite thing. I know that their true self is in there and it’s nothing short of an honor to help them reconnect with it. That has been the work of my company Big Bravely – nearly a decade of helping people remember who they really are so they can choose their own adventure, rather than get caught up in people pleasing, perfectionism, and overthinking.
What keeps you up at night?
My abilities as a mother and whether or not I properly equipped my kids for adulthood. I lost my mom at 14 and had to figure out a whole lot of things on my own. I’ve always wanted a better parenting experience for them than I got and am often thinking about where I can find more opportunities to show up better for them, which is trickier now that they live on their own.
What’s been the biggest obstacle in your life so far?
The biggest obstacle in my life so far is patriarchy, if I’m to be blunt. I have had plenty of stumbling blocks and hardships. I’ve had my share of limiting beliefs and associated coping mechanisms. But if I pull back and look at the patterns of those behaviors, these are not my obstacles but rather my adaptations to survive in a culture that controls, exploits, and devalues people, especially women. It’s almost as if we live in a culture that’s actively trying to kill us, but I do what I can when I can to recover from a life of giving to everyone before taking care of myself.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Bloom where you’re planted. Of course, there’s always a case for getting yourself out of a terrible situation. Always. This is why I care so deeply about helping people cultivate self-trust. But a lot of times we find ourselves in a place (literal or metaphorical) that’s not awesome and not terrible. Until we choose to put down roots and really tend to ourselves, it will be hard to know what’s possible. If we’re always moving, relocating, changing, starting over, etc... we might never know the richness of where we already are.
