Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

Feeling lonely is one of the most common complaints I hear from childless women so if you're feeling lonely, you are definitely not the only one!

I felt lonely too when I first started down the path to permanently childless, especially once my husband seemed to have moved forward without me and didn't seem to understand what I was going through.

So I thought it was high time to talk more openly about loneliness and how to dissipate it. Tune into this solo episode to find out:

• why retreating and avoiding the situations that make you feel like an outsider is actually making you feel worse
• how shame makes its way into your psyche when you feel lonely
• the one thing that is actually going to shift things for you that you've never thought of doing

If you are done with feeling lonely and ready to have an amazing summer, even without kids, I'm opening up the Women of Worth program to a small group of women. It's only open to women who are ready to take action.

Send me an email to sheri@sherijohnson.ca with the word "summer" if you wanna find out more.

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

There was a time when I didn't quite feel like I had found a place within the childless community and the reason was that I had not done IVF. It seemed as though so many of the women there had tried IVF and they had this common language and terms that I wasn't familiar with.

Then I realized that there are SO many different paths that all converge on leading a life without children and yet perhaps there were other women out there who felt like I did. So on today's episode, I'm pulling back the curtains on why I chose not to pursue IVF and how I grappled with that choice.

You'll find out:

• all the reasons I decided not to do IVF
• the fears that kept me on the fence
• the judgment that came afterwards

If you're struggling with the decision between whether to quit trying to become a mom (in some way, shape or form) and embracing your life without kids, send me a DM on Instagram with the word DECISION. I'll show you how you can get off the fence.

References from this episode:
Ep. 100: From the Partner's Perspective, with Mike Johnson (my hubby)

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

Harrison Butker's commencement speech at Benedictine College ruffled a LOT of feathers, especially within the childfree community. There were a lot of insults thrown at him, arguments started on social media comment sections, even calls to cancel his NFL contract. Were they justified? In my opinion, it doesn't really matter.

What matters is this: how do YOU feel when you hear words like Harrison's and if it's outrage, do you know how to dissipate that? You might think you don't want to dissipate that anger, because, well, it's justified right? But what good is it, if everyone just walks away from the comment section feeling angry and nothing has changed?

In this solo episode, I'm breaking it all down:

• why you feel so outraged when you hear words like this and why they make you feel so slighted
• the mistakes that you might be making that are causing you to feel worse
• the first few steps you can take to feel relief
• how to actually close the gap between childless/childfree people and parents

If you want to find your own true purpose and worthy "vocation" as Harrison calls it, download my free PDF, Finding Purpose Beyond Parenthood: Getting Through Grief and Triggers to a Life of Meaning and Joy!

References from this episode:
Harrison Butker's Commencement Speech

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

Download your free guide to Finding Purpose Beyond Parenthood: Getting Through Grief and Triggers to a Life of Meaning and Joy!

Last week I talked about how purpose is not something you "find". It's also not a singular mission. It's not a destination. And it doesn't have to be big.

Once you begin to practice all the things that I outlined that will bring you a sense of meaning and purpose, you may find that you are still struggling. It might mean that there is something standing in the way.

Identifying your personal obstacles is the first step. In this episode I share:

• 4 possible obstacles that may be standing in the way of your purpose
• 3 counterintuitive ways to remove them
• what do do next to solidify your purpose

If you are an action taker and want to discover more about how to live your purpose-filled life, download my free PDF guide, Finding Purpose Beyond Parenthood: Getting Through Grief and Triggers to a Life of Meaning and Joy!

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

Download your free guide to Finding Purpose Beyond Parenthood: Getting Through Grief and Triggers to a Life of Meaning and Joy!

Purpose is not some concept that you find. It's not a destination. It's not singular. And it doesn't come from having kids. I understand why you believe it does. I did too.

It's because society tells us that when you have kids, you'll be flooded with purpose. Especially as women, becoming a mother is supposed to be our sole (and soul) purpose. And when we don't get to have kids, we end up feeling lost, unfulfilled, like there's a big open space in front of us that we don't know how to fill.

And I'm here to tell you that it's entirely possible to live a beautiful, exciting, purpose-filled life, even without kids! I've done. My clients have done it. And I'm going to give you the two steps to doing it yourself today. Tune back in next week to find out how to remove any obstacles to living your purpose.

Discover more about how to live your purpose-filled life by downloading my free PDF guide, Finding Purpose Beyond Parenthood: Getting Through Grief and Triggers to a Life of Meaning and Joy!

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

It is so clear to me that Ruby Warrington is a thought leader in the childfree/childless space! She has authored, Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood, and in my view, the whole book was revolutionary. She discusses concepts that were swirling around vaguely in my head and my mind was blown when I saw them so well articulated on the pages of her book.

We get into some of these concepts on today's episode. Topics ranging from the "motherhood spectrum" to the urge to leave a legacy and it's link to the fear of death. We discussed grief and self-worth and even sex and homophobia.

Have a listen to this episode and find out for yourself, how diverse the issues really are when you are woman without kids and how simply changing your perspective can actually change how you feel about your circumstances.

Find Ruby at:
Website: rubywarrington.com
Book: Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood
Kripalu Retreat: Celebrate Being Childfree

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

Many childless people don't even realize they are grieving. Who would have known you can grieve the loss of an imagined future? What I find is that many women without kids, even those who choose not to have them, feel some sort of grief and it's not always the loss of that future. Identifying what specifically you're grieving is key to processing it.

In this solo episode, I'm giving you the first step of the Grow Through Grief pillar of my framework: identify what hidden grief might be lying under the surface. That is, after you realize or admit that you are feeling grief.

I'm sharing 7 different less-obvious things you might be grieving and didn't even know it. Many of these will resonate even with those who chose not to have kids, or those who are sort of ambiguous about it. So have a listen no matter what your circumstances.

If you are ready to fully process and release the grief AND get the rest of my framework for creating Purpose Beyond Parenthood, click here to sign up for one of my free focus groups.

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Send me a text and tell me your favourite thing about the pod!

These are 5 steps you haven't heard before. You've probably heard people talk about staying off social media and opting out of Mother's Day emails. Maybe doing something nice for yourself and saying "no" to the celebrations. These are all valid things you can do to avoid feeling the pain of Mother's Day as a childless woman who wanted to be a mother.

And yet, they're all band-aid solutions. None of them will actually help you feel better next year on this day. Or throughout the year. None of them will help you to live a happy, purpose-driven, joyful life as a woman without kids every day.

My steps for navigating Mother's Day go against the grain. They'll seem counterintuitive but they work.

And if you want to take this a step further and find out my exact framework for living a purposeful, happy life as a childless woman THIS year so next Mother's Day feels amazing, email me the word "Mother's Day" at sheri@sherijohnson.ca or @sherijohnsoncoaching.

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca