Stacy Foley has been inspiring women for years with her message that you are enough, helping others to follow their dreams and achieve success. She is an inspirational speaker and certified meditation and mindfulness teacher; and she is here with us today on RAW WITH THE LANDLOCKED MERMAID to share her journey, wisdom and insights. 

In this episode Stacey talks about her journey towards healing after an abusive relationship that led to years of addiction. She shares how she’s found alignment through mediation and self-awareness, how her journey to sobriety and healing has changed her entire life and the lives of her family. She so beautifully reminds us that we are worthy and deserving of the life we so deeply desire.

The Journey From Addiction to Sobriety

Stacy has always been open about her journey, even the ugly parts, and her willingness to be vulnerable has been appreciated by many. After leaving an abusive relationship where she almost lost her life, Stacey turned to opiods to cope with her anxiety. She spent 15 years as an addict, during which time she met her husband and had two daughters. 

She beautifully shares her story and the ups and downs of trying to find sobriety while battling postpartum depression. Ultimately, Stacey hit rock bottom when she saw the impact that her addiction was having on her children, and she has now been sober for four years. 

After 15 years of struggling with addiction and feeling emotionally numb, Stacey had to relearn how to feel after getting sober. The first year was a difficult and tumultuous process, and she had to deal with emotions like anger, sadness, and joy all over again. She had to learn to sit with her feelings and not numb them out with substances. 

Stacey shares how the love and support of family and seeking help from therapy and support groups were the main reasons she was able to overcome her addiction. Four years since becoming sober, she feels better than ever. She’s no longer afraid to face her feelings and is grateful for their journey. She’s learned that vulnerability is strength and sharing her story can help others who may be going through similar struggles.

For anyone out there struggling with addiction, know that there is hope. It’s never too late to start your journey to sobriety. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. You are worth it. You deserve to live a life free from addiction and full of love and happiness. So take that first step, and know that you are not alone.

Meditation Can Change Your Life

Meditation is one of the main tools that helped Stacey learn to understand her emotions and how to deal with them. It’s a practice that has been critical in her journey towards healing. She reminds us that everyone has a different healing journey, and it is important to start small and find what resonates with you. 

 “Healing has to come when we feel like we’re ready to heal. The only piece of advice I would have for people is start small, start something. Even if it feels impossible, even if it feels like the pain is just too much and too big and too overwhelming to even start, just pick one thing and start small.”

Stacey believes that meditation truly is for everyone, but like anything, it is a practice that takes time to get accustomed to. She shared several helpful tips for those just starting out in meditation: 

• Stillness is the key to meditation, as it allows the mind to be calm 
• To make meditation a daily habit, start small (five minutes or less)
• Guided meditations from YouTube or meditation apps can be very helpful to get out of your head
• Meditating at the same time every day, like in the morning, can also make it easier to integrate into your routine. 

Vulnerability is a Superpower

Vulnerability is often seen as a weakness, something to be avoided at all costs. Stacey sees vulnerability as a superpower. It takes courage to step into a space of vulnerability, especially when we are people pleasers, perfectionists, or have a fear of judgment. But when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, it not only allows light to enter our lives, but it also allows us to let our own light shine out.

At the core of our fear around vulnerability is often a sense that we are not good enough. We worry that if we show a fault, people will see us as broken or unworthy. But it is often in our cracks that the light comes in, and when we allow ourselves to be open and honest, we create opportunities for connection and growth.

One way to start embracing vulnerability is to begin by examining our beliefs about ourselves, and prioritizing getting quiet enough to hear what we really want. 

“When we actually prioritize rest and stillness and taking that time on a regular basis, that’s how we create lives that make us happy because we are honoring what it is that we hear. If we don’t sit still long enough to hear anything, we do what everybody else does, or we do what we think we should or we do what our parents told us to until one day we snap and then we realize that this isn’t what I want.” 

Reprogramming negative beliefs about ourselves requires self-awareness, self-empathy, self-worth, and self-love. We must identify where our negative beliefs come from and begin to replace them with positive ones. Rest and stillness are essential to our well-being, allowing us to recharge our souls and find ourselves.

Honor the Commitments to Yourself 

“The only commitment that we need to honor is the ones that we make to ourselves.”

This is because if a person does not honor their own commitments and desires, they may end up living a life that is not fulfilling. 

Women are often taught to give and sacrifice, and to put their own needs last. This societal expectation can make it difficult for women to prioritize their own desires and make decisions that are right for them. Women are often judged by others when they make decisions that go against societal norms or expectations. 

Stacey and I discuss how this judgment is often a projection of the judgment that people hold within themselves. She encourages us as women to prioritize our own desires and make decisions that are right for us, rather than being constrained by societal expectations or fear of judgment.

You Are Enough

Everything in our lives that we struggle with comes down to a sense of not feeling like we are good enough, because somewhere along the way, somebody has made us feel that way.  Stacey shares how almost every human can pinpoint the very first person that made them feel like they weren’t good enough, most of the time in very early childhood.

This leads to us constantly seeking external validation, spending so much time trying to have other people validate your worthiness instead of validating it for yourself. 

“If every woman could just step into knowing that who she is exactly as she is, is exactly who she’s meant to be at exactly the right moment in her life, God, it would change everything. We would have so many powerful women walking around this planet doing the things and creating the things that live deep in their hearts because they know that no matter what, they’re good enough to do it.” 

Get Inspired by Stacey Foley 

Stacey’s healing journey, her vulnerability, her light are such a gift. She leaves us one more gift on the podcast by guiding listeners to a powerful meditation practice. I would love for you to jump into our Facebook group to share with your takeaways from this episode. 

Make sure to connect with Stacey on her website, tune into her podcast Living Courageously and follow her on Instagram at @thestaceyfoley.

Resources From the Show

Ready to grow a thriving business that is legally legit AND protected? Get started with CONTRACTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS AT THE LEGAL PAIGE SHOP!