The Practice of Receiving

August 5, 2026 | Vol. 2

There always seems to be a lot of conversation about becoming better at giving.  Giving more love, more support, more time, more encouragement.  We're constantly being asked to give.  

But how often do we talk about becoming better at receiving?

Over the last several months, I’ve been recovering from reconstructive foot surgery. Recovery has required me to ask for help, accept support, and allow other people to do things for me that I would normally do for myself.  Talk about putting your ego aside!  And honestly, I've had to be very intentional about allowing myself to get comfortable with receiving.  

Are you as willing to receive as you are to give? 

Several years ago, I began shifting out of codependency. I learned how to support myself, trust myself, and stop looking to other people to meet needs I hadn’t yet learned how to meet for myself.  I had never even driven south of Seattle until after my last relationship ended!  In all fairness, the men in my life always wanted to drive. 😉 When I finally took the inaugural drive with a friend of mine, I remember heading down the highway singing and then passing a semi and yelling " I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!" A memory I'll never forget.  It was this incredibly freeing feeling that I finally didn't need to depend on other people.  

And then...somewhere along the way, though, the pendulum swung toward hyper-independence.

“I can do it myself” became so natural that I didn’t always notice when independence had stopped feeling empowering and started becoming a way of keeping support at a distance.  And I also felt like I 'didn't want to bother people' to ask for help.  

This past year, and especially these last few months, life has done that thing where it knows you need a lesson and it invited me to find a different place. Not codependence. Not hyper-independence. Interdependence.

A place where I can know I’m capable and still allow myself to be supported.

When receiving feels uncomfortable, I remind myself how good it feels to give or help someone I care about. When I refuse what another person genuinely wants to offer, I may also be taking away their opportunity to experience the joy, connection, and meaning that can come from giving.

Receiving is not weakness. It is not a debt you immediately have to repay. And it does not make you a burden.  Sometimes receiving is simply allowing love, care, encouragement, or support to reach you.

So I’m curious: when someone offers to help, compliments you, or wants to care for you, do you allow yourself to fully receive from them? Or do you quickly minimize it, deflect it, or look for a way to give something back?

Maybe receiving isn’t something we’re either good or bad at. Maybe it’s something we can practice, gradually expanding our capacity to allow love, care, encouragement, and support in.

This Week on the Podcast

What If Everything Really Is A Relationship?

As we continue to move through the Relationship Series, this week, I decided it was time to reflect on the growth that's happened since the beginning of the series.  I believe even more strongly than ever that, we are always in relationship, and everything is a relationship.  Whether it be with yourself, food, your body, partner, family friends, job, etc.  And along with that, every relationship in your life is influenced by the relationship you have with yourself.

It shapes what you believe you deserve, what you tolerate, how you communicate your needs, whether you trust what you feel, if you allow yourself to express your feelings or suppress them, and how willing you are to stay connected to yourself when someone else is disappointed or uncomfortable.

In this week’s episode, we explore what it means to build a relationship with yourself that is rooted in honesty, curiosity, and self-trust. Not a perfect relationship, but one in which you are willing to listen to yourself, honor what you notice, and choose not to abandon yourself in order to maintain connection with someone else.

Click here to listen to the Pure Possibilities Podcast.

New episodes drop every Tuesday at 12:00 a.m. Pacific.

What If Weekly...

What if this is the moment I’ve been waiting for?

This week, I pulled a card for us from the Magic of What If deck, volume 2. 

Sometimes we become so focused on what happened in the past or what we hope will happen in the future that we miss what is right in front of us.

Things don’t always unfold exactly the way we hoped or look exactly the way we expected they would. And yet, they may still be unfolding in the way that supports the highest growth and expansion of our soul.

What if this moment is not simply something to get through on your way to somewhere else?  What if something you’ve been waiting for is already here, asking you to pause long enough to recognize it?

What’s Unfolding...

The Pure Possibilities Collective is opening soon.

The podcast is where we create awareness. The Collective is where we practice, receive support, and begin living what we already know through live coaching, meaningful conversations, community support, and real-life practice until it becomes how we naturally move through life.

Joining the Founding Member Priority List is completely free, and there’s absolutely no commitment. It’s simply the best way to learn more, receive the details first, and access Founding Member pricing when enrollment opens.

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Where could you allow yourself to receive a little more support this week?

Hit reply and share with me. I’d truly love to hear. 💜

Until next week, pause, notice, reconnect... and allow yourself to receive.

Much love,

Shannon💜