Last week, my sister and I did a podcast on Thought Ladders and Body Image. Check it out here if you’d like. Here’s the Apple podcast link. Here’s the link to last week’s post explaining a bit more.

Listen in to some sister talk when I teamed up with my sister Hanna(Personal Stylist extraordinaire @hannaleestyle) on her podcast talking about Thought Ladders and transforming our relationships with our bodies. 

 Find Hanna @ hannaleestyle.com or Instagram: @hannaleestyle. 

Using Thought Ladders Beyond Body Image

When Staying Silent Feels Safer

A few days after we recorded the podcast, I scrolled past a post that had me REALLY pause—like a reallllly long pause.

A fellow physician mom was wrestling with a dilemma; she was wondering if she should escalate a school issue but didn’t want to ruffle feathers too much. Here’s the deal: her daughter’s eighth grade science teacher was spreading dangerous misinformation in class. (i.e. Mammograms causing cancer. Masks being useless during COVID. Sunlight curing cancer.) 

I know, I had to read it twice too. 

The Fear Beneath Inaction

But what struck me wasn’t just the shocking content. It was the fear hiding between her words—the hesitation about “ruffling feathers” by speaking up.

I felt that familiar knot in my stomach. The one that forms when we know something’s wrong but feel powerless to change it. Or fear about the repercussions of standing up for what we know is right.

A Timely Reminder of Responsibility

By cosmic coincidence, moments before, I had read this quote from a group I joined recently about how to better advocate for our children and how to navigate policy— especially within our schools systems:

“Our children, YOUR children deserve more. Elected officials make public policy, YOU shape it- GET INVOLVED, it’s more than your right, it’s YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!”

Talk about a gut punch of truth.

How Thought Ladders Work Beyond Body Image

The Lesson Hidden in Plain Sight

Here’s what hit me: The thought ladders we’ve been discussing for body image work for EVERYTHING—including our sense of civic agency and personal power.

Think about it. When faced with situations where we should speak up, many of us default to thoughts like:

“I have no control here.” “There might be repercussions if I say something.” “Who am I to challenge this person’s authority?”

The Emotional Guidance Scale: Where Are You Now?

Sound familiar? I was recently looking at an emotional guidance scale by Abraham-Hicks and I wanted to share. 

These thoughts above live way down on the emotional scale, around level 21-22: Insecurity, Guilt, Fear, Powerlessness.

And just like with body image, we can’t leap straight from powerlessness to empowered action. The gap is too wide. The shift feels impossible.

Building Your Power Ladder: Why You Can’t Jump Straight to Joy

Looking at the Abraham-Hicks’ emotional guidance scale I shared above– it shows us exactly why trying to force yourself from despair to joy in one leap feels so damn inauthentic.

I appreciate the guidance I read on this: “The closer we are to joy, the more easily we attract what we want. When you’re in a negative place, high-vibe thoughts won’t resonate. They’ll just feel false. So instead of trying to leap, we have to gently guide ourselves back to joy by taking one small step at a time.”

“But what about when we’re really far from joy… when we feel desperate, fearful or powerless? In these situations it’s not wise to try to leap up the scale as fast as possible. (If you’ve ever tried to force yourself to feel happy when you’re far from it, then you know how hard it is. In fact, trying to go from a very low vibration to a very high vibration in record time can actually make us feel worse.” Instead, we need believable rungs on our ladder.

Applying Thought Ladders to Real-Life Challenges

This Applies To YOU (Yes, You)

Whether you’re dealing with a school situation, workplace conflict, family dynamics, or yes—even how you talk to yourself about your body—the ladder approach gives you a practical path forward.

The key is honoring where you are while refusing to believe you have to stay there.

In this political climate where division and fear-mongering run rampant, it’s easy to fall into despair or tune out completely. But what if there’s a middle path? What if you can acknowledge the feeling of overwhelm while taking one small step toward purposeful action?

This is exactly what we work on in my coaching practice. Finding the next believable thought. Taking the next manageable step. Building the muscle of empowerment through practice rather than perfection.

How Coaching Can Accelerate Your Progress

Your Next Step

This week, I challenge you to identify ONE area where you feel somewhat powerless or stuck. Maybe it’s:

• A situation at your child’s school
• A recurring conflict at work
• A health concern you’ve been avoiding
• A boundary you need to set but haven’t

Now, instead of trying to solve everything at once, simply map out three potential “next thought” rungs on your ladder. What slightly more empowering thought could you believe tomorrow?

Write them down. Say them out loud. Find evidence to support them. This work of aligning our thoughts with our values is a perfect complement to how we ALIGN our calendars (and lives!) with what truly matters.

And if you find yourself wanting guidance on building your own thought ladders—whether about your body, your time, or your voice in this world—I’m here to help. My coaching program helps busy women like you move from overwhelm to empowerment, one believable thought at a time.

Click below to schedule your free 30-minute consultation, and we’ll talk about how to build your personal thought ladder together.

Until next time,

Heidi

P.S. The next time you catch yourself thinking “Who am I to speak up?”—try flipping the question: “Who am I NOT to?” 

Perhaps it’s not only our right but also our responsibility. We all know our children are watching—even how we navigate our power. What lesson about advocacy are yours learning from you today?