October 3, 2023 • 12 mins
What if embracing the fear and excitement of change could be your ladder to success? Join us as we swing on the metaphoric trapeze of life, exploring the thrilling yet terrifying moments of transition. Dr. Celia prompts us to face our fears, take the plunge and appreciate the expansive moments that accompany these changes. She shares some of her journey from poverty to renowned academic as a testament to the power of embracing change and relentlessly chasing your dreams.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
You know the why human trafficking work is needed
To fight for the freedom ofmodern day slaves.
But love, passion, commitmentisn't all you need to be an
effective and successfulanti-trafficking advocate.
Learn the how.
I'm Dr Celia Williamson,director of the Human
Trafficking and Social JusticeInstitute at the University of
(00:23):
Toledo.
Welcome to the EmancipationNation podcast, where I'll
provide you with the latest andbest methods, policy and
practice discussed byexperienced experts in the field
, so that you can cut throughthe noise, save time and be
about the work of saving lives.
Welcome to the EmancipationNation episode 193.
(00:43):
I'm Dr Celia Williamson, andtoday I want to go back and
focus on ourselves for just amoment, and I want to talk about
fear, the type of fear thatprevents us from living our
dreams.
So this week, on our episode, Ireally want to talk about fear,
(01:09):
and it's the fear of change,right, the fear of
transformation, the fear ofgrowing.
And so I'm taking this excerptout of the Essence Book of Days,
and it really talks about lifebeing like a trapeze, and it
says sometimes I feel my life isa series of trapeze swings,
(01:32):
right, I'm either hanging on toa trapeze bar, swinging along
for a few moments in my life andthen I'm hurdling across space
in between trapeze bars.
Right, I feel that way most ofthe time.
I'm hanging on for dear life tomy trapeze bar.
At the moment it carries mealong at a certain steady rate
(01:58):
of swing and I have the feelingthat I'm in control of my life
because I'm hanging on to thattrapeze bar.
I know what's going on, youknow.
I know most of the rightquestions and even some of the
right answers in my life.
But once in a while I lookahead of me into the distance
(02:18):
and I see another trapeze barswinging toward me.
It's empty and I know this isthe new trapeze bar that has my
name on it and it's my next step.
It's my growth, it's myaliveness coming to get me In my
(02:39):
heart of hearts.
I know that for me to grow, Imust release my grip on the
present well-known bar and moveto the next one, if you ever had
that intense fear.
But you know life is coming toget you, to take you to the next
trapeze bar.
(03:00):
Each time it happens to me, I'mfilled with terror.
It doesn't matter that in allof my previous hurdles across
the void of unknowing I'vealways made it.
Each time I'm afraid I willmiss and I will be crushed on
the rocks below, but I do itanyway.
(03:21):
Perhaps this is the essence ofwhat the mystics call the faith
experience no guarantees, no net, no insurance policy.
But you do it anyway becausesomehow to keep hanging on to
the old bar is no longer on thelist of alternatives.
(03:44):
And so, for an eternity thatcan last a microsecond or a
thousand lifetimes, I soaracross the dark void.
It's called transition.
I have come to believe thatit's the only place where real
(04:04):
change occurs.
I've noticed that in our culture, this transition zone is looked
upon as a scary, confusingplace that must be gotten
through as fast and asunconsciously as possible.
What a waste.
Transition zones should behonored, even savored.
(04:26):
They are the most alive,passionate, expansive moments in
our lives.
So let's give ourselvespermission to hang out in the
transition between trapeze bars.
It can be terrifying, but itcan also be enlightening.
Hurling through the void, wejust may learn how to fly.
(04:52):
Hey, I wanted to break into thisepisode to let you know that if
you're interested in gettingahead of the problem of human
trafficking by engaging inprevention and changing the
trajectory of the lives ofat-risk youth, then listen and
learn about what really works inthe field of anti-trafficking
prevention curriculum.
Follow me here.
The first issue is tounderstand that every youth is
(05:15):
not at the same level of risk.
There are youth at higher riskthan other youth.
Second, for those at higherrisk, education doesn't
necessarily translate intolowered risk.
Youth at high risk will beeducated and will remain at high
risk because there are otherfactors keeping them at high
risk.
Third, understand that sextraffickers don't commonly
(05:38):
snatch youth off the street andchain their risks and ankles.
They manipulate them and chaintheir minds and hearts in what
we call trauma bonding.
If that's true, then we need totrain youth to see the
manipulation coming, assess itfor what it is and do something
preemptively about it.
My Best Life Human TraffickingPrevention Curriculum for
(06:02):
At-Risk Girls uses the safermethod to teach girls how to see
risky situations and riskypeople, assess the situation,
find suitable and safe solutions, evaluate those solutions and
respond.
We talk about support andrelationships and boundaries,
and we reduce the risk factorsthat increase the opportunities
(06:26):
for someone to remain vulnerableand to be trafficked.
If you're interested inlowering risk and perhaps
changing the trajectory ofsomeone's life for the better,
check out my free webinar on theBest Life Curriculum at
CeliaWilliamsoncom Learn how tobecome a trained Best Life
facilitator.
(06:47):
Today and now on with thepodcast.
I remember somebody telling mea story about his baby dying and
how he felt like he was holdingonto that trappy swing and then
(07:09):
, through the force of the death, hurling onto the next trappy
swing and in that moment, inthat 48 hours, those number of
days, he grieved greatly andlearned the most about life.
(07:31):
So I don't wish tragedy uponanybody, but as you transition,
as you transform, hopefully,from one great trapeze to an
amazing trapeze, whatever thattransition is in life, that you
(07:56):
grab hold to that next trapeze,but as you are transitioning,
that you take the lesson, learnthe lessons that are there to
teach you, to give you thewisdom that you need as you move
on to the next trapeze.
(08:16):
So, whether it's going to backto school and the terror and the
fear of doing that, whetherit's trying to learn how to open
your own business, whether it'slike me, starting a podcast no,
nothing.
I never even listened topodcasts.
I had no idea of the equipmentyou need, I had no idea how to
(08:38):
make it record or any of thosethings.
Tremendous fear, but I knew Iwanted to grab hold to that next
trapeze swing.
I wanted to learn, have thatskill, have that knowledge and
speak.
And this is the second podcast.
I actually do another podcastcalled Amant's Patientation,
(09:01):
focused on human trafficking,and I've had almost 200 episodes
there.
But I wanted.
It was a fear, it was anexcitement.
But some of us are so afraid wewon't even allow ourselves to
dream.
Right, we won't even allow.
And if we did dream, wewouldn't dare say it out loud
(09:24):
and let another person hear, forfear they might laugh at us,
they might think we'reridiculous.
You can't ever do that, and sowe squelch our fear, our dream,
we push it down, we hang on tothat same trapeze swing that
we've hung on to way too long.
And so I just want you to thinkabout what are your hopes and
(09:49):
what are your dreams, and areyou using fear to hold yourself
back?
Are you still hanging on to thesame trapeze swing when you
know there's one coming at you,but it requires you to let go of
the familiar trapeze swing and,for a moment in time, to be
(10:16):
hurling through the spacewithout a net to grab on to that
next trapeze swing.
Don't cheat yourself out of life, don't cheat yourself out of
dreams.
You know the guy said get inthe game and play.
You know, sometimes we want togo to the game, we just want to
(10:39):
be a spectator, we want to sitin the stands.
But you only have one life.
Get out in the field and play,be who you dreamed of being.
It's okay, do it.
You know, I went from living ina very poor neighborhood welfare
(11:00):
, food stamps whipped it tohaving a PhD right to becoming a
distinguished full professor,which less than 25% of
professors across the US become,and even less are women and
even less are people of color.
But I had that dream and I waswilling to put the hard work
(11:22):
behind it.
I was willing to fight the fearevery day.
And that's what you have to do.
You have to fight that fear andfight through that fear.
You know, sometimes people say,oh God, she's having a
breakdown.
And no, sometimes there's abreakthrough.
You know, sometimes you'rebecoming something that you know
(11:42):
you want to be, but peoplearound you saying, oh my God,
what is she?
What is she?
She can't do that.
What is she doing?
She must be crazy, must behaving a breakdown.
You might be having abreakthrough.
So surround yourself withpeople who encourage you and
inspire you and motivate you tolet go of that trapeze swing and
(12:04):
grab, hold to that new one andbreathe new life into the life
you have.
Until next time, the fightcontinues.
Let's not just do something,let's do the best thing.
If you like this episode ofEmancipation Nation, please
subscribe and I'll send you theweekly podcast.
(12:26):
Until then, the fight continues.
You know the why human trafficking work is needed
To fight for the freedom ofmodern day slaves.
But love, passion, commitmentisn't all you need to be an
effective and successfulanti-trafficking advocate.
Learn the how.
I'm Dr Celia Williamson,director of the Human
Trafficking and Social JusticeInstitute at the University of
(00:23):
Toledo.
Welcome to the EmancipationNation podcast, where I'll
provide you with the latest andbest methods, policy and
practice discussed byexperienced experts in the field
, so that you can cut throughthe noise, save time and be
about the work of saving lives.
Welcome to the EmancipationNation episode 193.
(00:43):
I'm Dr Celia Williamson, andtoday I want to go back and
focus on ourselves for just amoment, and I want to talk about
fear, the type of fear thatprevents us from living our
dreams.
So this week, on our episode, Ireally want to talk about fear,
(01:09):
and it's the fear of change,right, the fear of
transformation, the fear ofgrowing.
And so I'm taking this excerptout of the Essence Book of Days,
and it really talks about lifebeing like a trapeze, and it
says sometimes I feel my life isa series of trapeze swings,
(01:32):
right, I'm either hanging on toa trapeze bar, swinging along
for a few moments in my life andthen I'm hurdling across space
in between trapeze bars.
Right, I feel that way most ofthe time.
I'm hanging on for dear life tomy trapeze bar.
At the moment it carries mealong at a certain steady rate
(01:58):
of swing and I have the feelingthat I'm in control of my life
because I'm hanging on to thattrapeze bar.
I know what's going on, youknow.
I know most of the rightquestions and even some of the
right answers in my life.
But once in a while I lookahead of me into the distance
(02:18):
and I see another trapeze barswinging toward me.
It's empty and I know this isthe new trapeze bar that has my
name on it and it's my next step.
It's my growth, it's myaliveness coming to get me In my
(02:39):
heart of hearts.
I know that for me to grow, Imust release my grip on the
present well-known bar and moveto the next one, if you ever had
that intense fear.
But you know life is coming toget you, to take you to the next
trapeze bar.
(03:00):
Each time it happens to me, I'mfilled with terror.
It doesn't matter that in allof my previous hurdles across
the void of unknowing I'vealways made it.
Each time I'm afraid I willmiss and I will be crushed on
the rocks below, but I do itanyway.
(03:21):
Perhaps this is the essence ofwhat the mystics call the faith
experience no guarantees, no net, no insurance policy.
But you do it anyway becausesomehow to keep hanging on to
the old bar is no longer on thelist of alternatives.
(03:44):
And so, for an eternity thatcan last a microsecond or a
thousand lifetimes, I soaracross the dark void.
It's called transition.
I have come to believe thatit's the only place where real
(04:04):
change occurs.
I've noticed that in our culture, this transition zone is looked
upon as a scary, confusingplace that must be gotten
through as fast and asunconsciously as possible.
What a waste.
Transition zones should behonored, even savored.
(04:26):
They are the most alive,passionate, expansive moments in
our lives.
So let's give ourselvespermission to hang out in the
transition between trapeze bars.
It can be terrifying, but itcan also be enlightening.
Hurling through the void, wejust may learn how to fly.
(04:52):
Hey, I wanted to break into thisepisode to let you know that if
you're interested in gettingahead of the problem of human
trafficking by engaging inprevention and changing the
trajectory of the lives ofat-risk youth, then listen and
learn about what really works inthe field of anti-trafficking
prevention curriculum.
Follow me here.
The first issue is tounderstand that every youth is
(05:15):
not at the same level of risk.
There are youth at higher riskthan other youth.
Second, for those at higherrisk, education doesn't
necessarily translate intolowered risk.
Youth at high risk will beeducated and will remain at high
risk because there are otherfactors keeping them at high
risk.
Third, understand that sextraffickers don't commonly
(05:38):
snatch youth off the street andchain their risks and ankles.
They manipulate them and chaintheir minds and hearts in what
we call trauma bonding.
If that's true, then we need totrain youth to see the
manipulation coming, assess itfor what it is and do something
preemptively about it.
My Best Life Human TraffickingPrevention Curriculum for
(06:02):
At-Risk Girls uses the safermethod to teach girls how to see
risky situations and riskypeople, assess the situation,
find suitable and safe solutions, evaluate those solutions and
respond.
We talk about support andrelationships and boundaries,
and we reduce the risk factorsthat increase the opportunities
(06:26):
for someone to remain vulnerableand to be trafficked.
If you're interested inlowering risk and perhaps
changing the trajectory ofsomeone's life for the better,
check out my free webinar on theBest Life Curriculum at
CeliaWilliamsoncom Learn how tobecome a trained Best Life
facilitator.
(06:47):
Today and now on with thepodcast.
I remember somebody telling mea story about his baby dying and
how he felt like he was holdingonto that trappy swing and then
(07:09):
, through the force of the death, hurling onto the next trappy
swing and in that moment, inthat 48 hours, those number of
days, he grieved greatly andlearned the most about life.
(07:31):
So I don't wish tragedy uponanybody, but as you transition,
as you transform, hopefully,from one great trapeze to an
amazing trapeze, whatever thattransition is in life, that you
(07:56):
grab hold to that next trapeze,but as you are transitioning,
that you take the lesson, learnthe lessons that are there to
teach you, to give you thewisdom that you need as you move
on to the next trapeze.
(08:16):
So, whether it's going to backto school and the terror and the
fear of doing that, whetherit's trying to learn how to open
your own business, whether it'slike me, starting a podcast no,
nothing.
I never even listened topodcasts.
I had no idea of the equipmentyou need, I had no idea how to
(08:38):
make it record or any of thosethings.
Tremendous fear, but I knew Iwanted to grab hold to that next
trapeze swing.
I wanted to learn, have thatskill, have that knowledge and
speak.
And this is the second podcast.
I actually do another podcastcalled Amant's Patientation,
(09:01):
focused on human trafficking,and I've had almost 200 episodes
there.
But I wanted.
It was a fear, it was anexcitement.
But some of us are so afraid wewon't even allow ourselves to
dream.
Right, we won't even allow.
And if we did dream, wewouldn't dare say it out loud
(09:24):
and let another person hear, forfear they might laugh at us,
they might think we'reridiculous.
You can't ever do that, and sowe squelch our fear, our dream,
we push it down, we hang on tothat same trapeze swing that
we've hung on to way too long.
And so I just want you to thinkabout what are your hopes and
(09:49):
what are your dreams, and areyou using fear to hold yourself
back?
Are you still hanging on to thesame trapeze swing when you
know there's one coming at you,but it requires you to let go of
the familiar trapeze swing and,for a moment in time, to be
(10:16):
hurling through the spacewithout a net to grab on to that
next trapeze swing.
Don't cheat yourself out of life, don't cheat yourself out of
dreams.
You know the guy said get inthe game and play.
You know, sometimes we want togo to the game, we just want to
(10:39):
be a spectator, we want to sitin the stands.
But you only have one life.
Get out in the field and play,be who you dreamed of being.
It's okay, do it.
You know, I went from living ina very poor neighborhood welfare
(11:00):
, food stamps whipped it tohaving a PhD right to becoming a
distinguished full professor,which less than 25% of
professors across the US become,and even less are women and
even less are people of color.
But I had that dream and I waswilling to put the hard work
(11:22):
behind it.
I was willing to fight the fearevery day.
And that's what you have to do.
You have to fight that fear andfight through that fear.
You know, sometimes people say,oh God, she's having a
breakdown.
And no, sometimes there's abreakthrough.
You know, sometimes you'rebecoming something that you know
(11:42):
you want to be, but peoplearound you saying, oh my God,
what is she?
What is she?
She can't do that.
What is she doing?
She must be crazy, must behaving a breakdown.
You might be having abreakthrough.
So surround yourself withpeople who encourage you and
inspire you and motivate you tolet go of that trapeze swing and
(12:04):
grab, hold to that new one andbreathe new life into the life
you have.
Until next time, the fightcontinues.
Let's not just do something,let's do the best thing.
If you like this episode ofEmancipation Nation, please
subscribe and I'll send you theweekly podcast.
(12:26):
Until then, the fight continues.
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