On this deeply moving episode of Women of Impact, host Lisa Bilyeu welcomes back the extraordinary poet and author Najwa Zebian for a conversation that goes right to the heart of healing and self-worth. If you’ve ever felt weighed down by emotional scars, struggled with people pleasing, or found yourself aching for validation from the wrong places, this episode is for you.

Lisa and Najwa dive into the difficult, yet transformative process of acknowledging your pain, accepting your past without shame, and learning to speak to yourself with radical compassion. Najwa shares her hard-won wisdom on how to stop picking at old wounds and instead become the loving support you needed back when you were hurting most. With vulnerable stories, honest reflections, and actionable advice, Najwa shows us how to break free from cycles of self-blame and emotional debt.

Whether you’re working on setting boundaries, letting go of past hurts, or learning to prioritize your own needs, this conversation is packed with “aha” moments. Grab your notebook—this is one of those episodes you’ll want to come back to again and again. And if it touches you, don’t forget to share it and leave a review to keep the impact going. Now, let’s dive into this powerful episode with the incomparable Najwa Zebian.

SHOWNOTES

00:00 Transforming Scars into Motivation

09:39 Embracing Scars as Lessons

14:28 Overcoming People-Pleasing Tendencies

18:57 Empowering Your Healing Environment

25:01 Breaking Free from Self-Imposed Limits

28:33 Choosing Authenticity Over Approval

35:06 "Be Yourself, Not Their Perception"

41:54 The Cost of Toxic Love

44:41 Self-Validation and Independence

48:22 "This Too Shall Pass"

56:04 Healing Through Compassion and Clarity

01:02:26 Accumulated Unresolved Conflicts

01:08:28 From Reaction to Reflection

01:11:53 Healing Emotional Wounds

01:18:08 Self-Validation and Childhood Pain

01:24:00 Breaking Patterns, Embracing Self-Sufficiency

01:28:40 "Recognizing Unseen Patterns Without Judgment"

01:34:04 Rebuilding Self-Connection and Awareness

01:39:01 "Holistic Psychology's Core Beliefs"

01:43:56 "Practice Mindfulness with Phone Reminders"

01:48:25 "Inherited Suppression of Self-Expression"

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