34. Supporting Women, Changing Perspectives & Staying True to Yourself

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Change starts with everyday actions—right where you are, with what you have.

In this episode of The Nurse’s Breakroom with Jenny Lytle, RN, we continue the conversation from last week’s International Women’s Day discussion. Instead of focusing on the challenges, today’s episode is all about practical ways to accelerate equality—without burnout or guilt.

If you’ve ever felt unsure about how you can make an impact, this episode will give you four simple steps to start taking action right now. We’ll talk about:

✅ Recognizing bias – How to check your own beliefs & broaden your perspective
✅ Getting involved – Finding your passion & using your skills to make a difference
✅ Letting go of the shoulds – Releasing guilt, comparison & outdated identities
✅ Embracing authenticity – Owning your unique strengths & supporting others

Plus, we’ll dive into small but powerful ways to promote equality, from supporting women-owned businesses to amplifying diverse voices.

💡 Takeaways & Action Steps:
🔹 Identify one bias or limiting belief you want to challenge this week.
🔹 Seek out perspectives different from your own—books, podcasts, or conversations.
🔹 Find a cause that aligns with your skills & interests—big or small, your impact matters.
🔹 Let go of the guilt, expectations, and “shoulds” that don’t align with who you truly are.

✨ “Every woman's success should be an inspiration to another. We're strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams

📢 Listen now & start making a difference—your way! 🎧

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the
Nurse's Breakroom with JennyLytle RN.
Today we're continuing ourconversation from last week,
when I was talking about theInternational Women's Day
presentation that I gave, and Ijust wanted to highlight some
things from that.
So last week we talked aboutdomestic violence and just some

(00:45):
statistics related to women andgender inequality, and so this
week we're going to focus onways that we can make a
difference, and I reallystruggled with this when I first
started it, because I thoughtI'm not somebody who's going to

(01:05):
go to Washington in March.
But, as I say that, I guess Ican't say that I never would,
but that's not something thatI've really seen myself doing.
But I do think that there areways that, regardless of how
we're wired, regardless of thethings that we feel called to do
, we can make a difference.

(01:26):
And so I think that the waythat we do that is we recognize
our own worth and we stopcomparing ourselves to other
people, because there are somepeople who really want to be at
the forefront and at the centerof making change, and that's

(01:48):
wonderful, but that doesn't meanthat our contributions can't be
valuable.
So, you know, we quit comparingourselves to them and we
embrace our own uniqueness andbeauty and individuality and we
celebrate the little things thatwe do.
So I think that there's foursteps that any of us can take to

(02:11):
figure out how can weaccelerate action toward
equality.
And the first step, I believe,is that we get curious, we
question our own biases, and itmay be something that is very
uncomfortable and it doesn'thave to be something that maybe
you would verbalize to someoneelse.

(02:33):
Maybe it's those thoughts thatyou have, however fleeting, when
you're in a situation with,maybe, people who don't look
like you or act like you, or youknow, we can sometimes have
some judgments and sometimesit's just those little
underlying thoughts and thingsthat have been programmed into

(02:57):
us from when we were younger, orcertain circumstances or
situations, and then we canovergeneralize.
So thinking about what arethose things and just
acknowledging those first,taking the time to question that
, realizing that we all havethose things and that doesn't
make us awful people, but itdoes give us a place to start

(03:23):
from, a way to move forward andmove beyond those things.
So we can also look around us.
Does everyone look like us,vote like us, believe like us?
And if so, can we maybe changethat Because there's so much
power in getting to knowindividual people, instead of

(03:49):
seeing things as us versus them,whoever them are and yes, I
realize that should have beenthey but instead of looking at
things as very black and white.
When we get to know people on apersonal level, then we realize

(04:11):
how much we have in common.
So who do we listen to and whodo we support?
And really, are we creatingspace for others at the table?
Is there room for differentopinions, different beliefs,
different opinions, differentbeliefs?

(04:32):
And we also need to get to knowourselves a bit better.
Like, what really matters to meand who am I is the question
that changed my life, and ifyou've read my book, you know
that it kind of starts with that, and it was a long,

(04:53):
uncomfortable, sometimes kind ofpainful journey to answer that
question.
But it also helped me to getreally clear on who I am and who
I'm not, and that helped me tolet go of a lot of other things.

(05:13):
So when we stop trying to bewhat we think we're supposed to
be, then we can step into who wereally are, who we're really
called to be.
So step two is we get involved.
What breaks your heart or whatdo you feel passionately about?
What are some areas ofgiftedness and skill that you

(05:34):
have?
And being able to connect withothers in a mentor or mentee
role, clubs or churches orclasses.
Reading, joining networkinggroups.
Reading, joining networkinggroups Some of them are meant

(05:56):
specifically for people who arebusiness owners or in a
leadership role, but a lot ofthem are open just to anyone who
has something in common.
I am part of the local chamberof commerce and the women's
business council is a part ofthat, and it's a wonderful group
of strong and encouraging,empowering women, and there's

(06:18):
also networking groups that areopen to anyone in the business
world.
And then I'm also a part of anetworking group called Gather
and Grow, and that is just forwomen in general.
So some of us are businessowners, some of us are employees
and some of us are maybe notemployed somewhere, not working

(06:41):
outside of the home, and andthat's okay, because we all need
that connection and it's agreat way to find out about
other ways to be able to to cometogether and support each other
and to find out about causesthat maybe you didn't even know
about.
So step three is we let go ofthe things that are holding us

(07:05):
back of our old identities.
I find that when I have bondedwith someone, it is hard for me
to let go of that relationship.
But I love the quote by Brian ADrew Chalker.
People come into your life fora reasona season or a lifetime,

(07:26):
and as much as I can havedifficulty with letting go, I
recognize that there are thosepeople and that's okay.
Not everybody is meant to be alifelong friend, and so that's
when we need to let go of someof those old connections and let
go of guilt, because we've allmade mistakes and we're

(07:51):
imperfect people.
Now make amends if needed andlearn from it, but then try to
release yourself from it, and Iknow that that's easier said
than done, but there is workthat can be done around those
kind of things and it may besomething that you need to get
some help with and letting go offears.

(08:14):
And one thing I like to do iskind of reframe that because,
like last week when I waspitching myself for the keynote
and stepping into something thatwas uncomfortable, the way that
I can look at that now is whatif I don't act on what I'm
feeling called to do?

(08:34):
And to me that's scarier thananything that might happen if I
do just lean into my intuition.
Just lean into my intuition,and that also goes along with
letting go of the shoulds.
What you are called to do, whatyou are equipped to do and

(08:59):
excited about doing, is probablycompletely different than what
I am, and that's okay, that'seven great.
That's one of the things thatis worth celebrating.
And so step four is we embraceour authenticity.
So learning who we are and whatwe love, what we don't so much,
is such a freeing thing.

(09:23):
So for me, I enjoy walking andoccasionally I enjoy running.
But I wanted to run morebecause I think saying I'm going
for a run sounds so much coolerthan I'm going for a walk.
And so I did do a bit ofrunning and what I discovered is

(09:43):
I don't love running.
I can do little bits here andthere.
What I do like to do is to walkand then sometimes, when I'm
walking, as fast as I can,sometimes it's easier to run and
I like having those littlebursts.
But just to go running formiles and miles, that's not
something that really I enjoy.

(10:07):
I still think it sounds coolerto say I'm going for a run, but
I'm at the age and the stage inlife where that doesn't matter
as much to me as enjoying mytime, and so now I focus more of
my time and attention on whatworks for me in this current
stage of my life and what alignswith my values and my beliefs

(10:27):
and my priorities.
And my priorities are thingsthat fluctuate depending on the
day, the week, the month.
My values are the same, butpriorities change depending on
what's going on and my schedule.
There's a lot going on andsometimes I've got to say no
even to good things that I'dlove to take part in, because

(10:48):
there's only so much time and Ido like to have a bit of margin.
And there's times when I reallyget it upside down and then I
feel that and I just reassessand kind of reset things and
just a few other simple waysthat we can accelerate action
toward equality we can supportwomen-owned businesses and we

(11:11):
can read and listen to diverseperspectives and be open to
unlearning some of the harmfulstereotypes or biases that we've
held.
And we can also supportdomestic violence and mental
health initiatives.
And I'll end with this quote byMaya Angelou we may encounter
many defeats, but we must not bedefeated.

(11:34):
And another one by SerenaWilliams Every woman's success
should be an inspiration toanother.
We're strongest when we cheereach other on.
Until next time, rememberself-care isn't selfish.
It's essential if we want tocontinue to care for others and
live our best lives.
Thanks so much.