Shannon Connery - PACE

In this episode, our guest is Dr. Shannon Connery, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Host of the "Fix Yourself" podcast. She is remarkably passionate about coaching people working with their traumas and spent her career developing the program known as the PACE program. Shannon shares the program's facets with us, her painful life experiences, and the different processes of overcoming a traumatic experience.

[04:55] How did you get into this work?

I was doing my post-doctoral internship when the Columbine shooting incident happened. I suddenly felt the drive and responsibility to help people treat their trauma with the best people in my life of work. I started my career working at that end of the spectrum. I want to learn how to achieve peak performance and try to figure out what led to the tragedy that I experienced.

[08:16] The PACE Program

My ex-husband ended up becoming one of the thousands of people addicted to opiates. One day, I lost everything. I spent my entire year scrambling, where I realized my desire to rebuild what was lost. I took my children to a bouncy castle where, instead of sitting as most parents do, I played together with my children. It dawned on me that I need to start a program because I realized that parents are not having enough pleasure in their life. I came up with four areas that require focusing on.

[11:05] Pleasure; you need pleasure in your life. Like how when you were young, swinging on swings, jumping on jump ropes, or makeup games. You need to add fun to your everyday activities.

[11:33] Accomplishment; you need to figure out what motivates you to up and work. If you work from 9 am to 5 pm, and you don’t enjoy it. Change it. It does not have to be paid, like what house moms do, which is the hardest, but it needs to be fulfilling. Then we have Connection & Exercise, which is self-explanatory.

[12:02] The PACE program was created because many women are focused on two things. One, they focus their creative energy on menial things. It should be focused on things that matter the most. Second, women give away their power. You need to be excited about something and not get angry that people are not providing that excitement for you.

[15:23] Pursuing Change & Pandemic

People should be ready if they want to achieve the change they desire. They need to be prepared to do the work. It’s not my job to create readiness; some people are just in the stage of not doing it anymore.

[16:22] This pandemic is the time where people see who they are without the distractions. This period should be used to create some positive change.

[19:14] Figuring out the Faults

First, we will look at the people who are surrounding you. Do you have enough people in your life? Too many or too little? Are you exhausted? Asking these questions will lead to different outcomes, depending on the answer. If you have too many people in your life, are you bad at setting boundaries? If you don’t have good relationships at all, then the problem is about you. You are the common denominator.

[21:00] If you are surrounded by negative people, you will be drained and exhausted, limiting your ability to do creative and productive work and be a good parent.

[28:23] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

That I lead the people to the water, I take them to their destination to take their fill.

Key Quotes:

07:25 – 07:30 “There were times where I was fine, but I don’t want to be just fine.”

23:38 – 23:46 “The happiest people in the world wake up not to go to work, but for their passion.”

Learn more about Shannon on:

Website: https://www.shannonconnery.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sconneryphd

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sconneryphd

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehappinessgain/

Get the PACE Program on: https://pace-academy-by-shannon-connery-phd.teachable.com/p/pace

Listen to Fix Yourself podcast on: Apple | Spotify | Stitchers