The Magic of Creativity
Do you believe in the magic of creativity? In this episode of Science of Superpowers, host Tonya Dawn Recla is delighted to bring G. Michelle Goodloe to the show. She is the author of the book I Own My Magic: Self-Talk for Black Women: Affirmations for Self-Care and Empowerment. It tackles the expectations and the roles and what are the additional pressures that are put on women in particular and black women specifically. Tonya and Michelle’s conversation revolves around devising creative ways to resolve and reimagine the said dilemma. Tune in to know what Michelle’s superpower is and how it helped her acquire the magic of creativity by understanding where people come from and how they feel.
Tonya Dawn Recla:
Hello everyone and welcome back to The Science of Superpowers. I’m so delighted that you’re here with us. I love every time you connect here or in our Facebook group or on the Wisdom app. You know that’s my new jam right now. I’m figuring out all the ins and outs. And they’re teaching me, which is so beautiful. Thank you all in that community, because everyone pops in with helpful tips, and so we’re enjoying the space over there. And here, of course, where we get to connect with really amazing people.
And today’s conversation is absolutely no exception. I’m very excited to have this conversation. I saw the material come across my desk, and I was like, “Oh yes, we’re talking about this.” So I’m really delighted to bring Michelle Goodloe the show, who has her book, I Own My Magic: Self-Talk for Black Women: Affirmations for Self-Care and Empowerment. And the conversation and the richness in it around the expectations and the roles and what are the additional pressures that are put on women in particular and black women specifically. And how can we maybe start dialoguing about that so we realize that there are creative ways to resolve that? And to reimagine it, right? That it’s not necessarily where can we find the beautiful, powerful gift in it too? A move that we can move into while acknowledging this is a real experience.
And so I love when folks are willing to have the conversation and step into that space. And so that’s why I’m very excited about today’s conversation all around the magic of creativity. So please join me in welcoming her to this show, Michelle Goodloe. Welcome so much. I’m really excited about this chat.
G. Michelle Goodloe:
Yes. Hi Tonya. Thank you so much for having me here.
Tonya Dawn Recla:
Oh, we are so delighted to have you here and we’ll start with the first question, which is what are your superpowers and how are you using them for good?
G. Michelle Goodloe:
Yeah, man, this is an awesome question to start.
I would say my superpower, at least one of them, is being an empath. I learned I was an empath may be in my early adulthood. I didn’t know I was an empath all that time, but especially when I started my educational space in social work, I learned, oh wow I am feeling so much. I really recognize the energy of others and how it impacts me. But also my empathic self feels like a superpower because I really feel like I have strengths in understanding where folks are coming from and how they are feeling. And that definitely led me to not only being a social worker but a therapist and really somebody who helps hold space for other people. I am a brand new mom. I like to say I’m a five-month-old mom.
Tonya Dawn Recla:
Congrats.
G. Michelle Goodloe:
Thank you so much. And I definitely see how the superpower has lent itself to my relationship with my son and other relationships with others. So I would definitely say being an empath is my superpower.
Tonya Dawn Recla:
Oh my goodness. You, we could probably talk for days. So that’s was our daughter Neva’s birth was one of the big awakening kind of processes for me back in the day. She’s 12 now and so she ran Super Power Kids and talked about, what those abilities look like because we teach them. And so it was super, anyway. I’m grinning from ear to ear. So thank you for sharing that and congratulations. Regarding the empath that it’s fascinating that I love that’s the way that you approach it because from the conversation and I can see how it ties together into. I’m totally dancing around this question. That’s kind of fascinating to me that doesn’t happen very often. I think I got off thinking about our kids and then everything else.
It’s kind of rare for me to lose that thread. So I will center in and ask the question. I love that you’re focusing on a space where you really knew that you could be of service. And so can we talk a little bit about what that journey was like for you to take it from like you mentioned the empathy with social work and then being a new mom, and then how did that extend into really stepping into using that for people that you know you can help? Because I think that’s a journey a lot of us go through and I think your story could be helpful to others.
G. Michelle Goodloe:
Yeah. When I first really learned about helping was through my mom. My mom is the epitome of a helper and a caregiver and a caretaker. She would take me along with her, through her volunteer journeys. Where I was raised was in Indianapolis, Indiana. And I was her shadow going with her everywhere to again, help volunteer. And I felt so much joy doing it. I mean the community of it, I loved being my mom’s shadow in that sense. And I learned a lot about how to help people. And when I was an undergraduate in college, there was so much that can happen during that particular journey. And I definitely talk about that in I own my magic, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do professionally. And I was like a lot of folks just went down the road of “business” because that’s what’s seen as “successful.”
Okay. And I learned very quickly that maybe this isn’t my heart’s desire to just go down a business administrative route, but I had the pleasure and I will say the privilege of exploring different classes. And a class that I explored had to do a lot with domestic violence. My professor was also in school to get her masters in social work. And through this very small class, I think it was like five of us in this class learning about the ins and outs of intimate partner violence and domestic violence. I found myself really drawn to it. I was very passionate about it. I like to say to this day it is social justice and public health issue. I still struggle to understand, if that makes sense. But I learned through this professor, that she said, “you can do this professionally.”
“You can help folks experiencing not only this issue.” And again, no one in my life, in my personal life was a social worker or was a professional helper in that sense. So this opened a whole new world to me and I applied for grad schools immediately and attended grad school in Chicago at the Loyola University of Chicago in their master of social work program. And the rest is truly history because not only did I have my personal connection to helping others met, but then the professional training and education and opportunities. And I say this very fully and not humbly. I thrived in my educational program for social work. It was a joy for me. It was wonderful. And to be around so many like-minded folks who loved helping others. I mean, man, that was the very solid foundation that led me to where I am today when it comes to helping others and finding that light.
Tonya Dawn Recla:
Beautiful, beautiful, well I am still grinning ear to ear. And when we come back from the break, I’m going to explain why I’m delighted with the synchronicities and more about the Magic of Creativity. But before we go to break, let’s tell people where they can go to find out more about you.
G. Michelle Goodloe:
Absolutely. Folks are welcome to visit my website. It’s GMichelle.com with two l’s. I’m also on social media, on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter at the GMichelle.com. And again, that’s with two l’s.
Tonya Dawn Recla:
Perfect. And we’ll have links on the episode page folks to make it easy for you. Thank you so much for listening and remember to go to superpowerexperts.com and click on that events tab. If you are interested in joining us with the community vibe call. All are welcome. We are delighted to have you there. We love to pour into those who pour into others. This is our gift to the world. I mean, and especially when our guests and our host show up, it’s quite phenomenal. You never know who’s sitting next to you in our community zoom room. So go to superpowerexperts.com to register for the next call. And we will be right back after this break to talk more about The Magic of Creativity. Stay tuned. We’ll be right back.
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