As we prepare to move into the 4th month of the year, I must take a moment to reflect on Mindful March. Although a bit late, it presents a great opportunity to pause. In the spirit of transparency and connection, let me share the intricacies of my March journey.

The Essence of Being

Navigating the complexities of life—as a Daughter, a Mother, a Woman—I find myself in a perpetual state of learning, understanding the complex layers of my identity. If your heart seeks clarity and purpose, know that you are not alone. Together, we can forge a path of self-discovery and strive to align our actions with the values we hold dear.

So, I offer this tool as a reminder that in moments when the world seems overwhelming and the need for introspection becomes paramount, I propose we adopt and embrace a ritual of reflection—a sacred time to explore:

• The triumphs that have filled our hearts with joy,
• The challenges that have tested our resilience,
• The habits we ought to release into the ether,
• The practices we aspire to adopt for our growth,
• And the adjustments we can make to enrich our journey.

This ritual, in alignment with intentional breathing, will prove to be a powerful tool for grounding ourselves in the present moment, fostering a deeper connection with our inner selves, and facilitating a transformation that echoes beyond the confines of March. By incorporating this practice into our daily lives, we not only honor the essence of Mindful March but also commit to a year-round journey of mindfulness, resilience, and growth. This commitment enables us to face life’s challenges with grace, embrace our victories with gratitude, and continuously evolve toward the best versions of ourselves. Let this ritual be the light on your path, guiding you through the ebbs and flows of life with mindfulness and grace.

Continuing Growth: Expanding on Insights of Self-Love, Peace, and Mindfulness

This month of mindfulness called me to reflect on my learnings from the previous months. Here are the insights from January, February, and March:

• Reflecting on the Last Three Months: Prioritize Your Peace – Make choices that prioritize your mental and emotional well-being, allowing inner tranquility to guide your path.
• Self-Acceptance: Embrace the essence of self-love and acceptance, recognizing the inherent beauty and value within yourself.
• Mindfulness: Dive into mindfulness practices to discover serenity in the present moment and nurture a deeper sense of awareness.

Be A Good Human

Today, I urge you to reflect upon your choices, to embrace compassion, and to make a conscious effort to spread positivity. In our hands lies the power to make a meaningful impact, to spread kindness like wildfire. Affirm with me, “I strive to be a good human, spreading kindness and making a difference in the world.”

As we continue on this beautiful journey together, let us hold these insights close to our hearts, allowing them to guide us toward a future replete with empowerment, mindfulness, and boundless growth.

Take a moment now to consider your journey. What have you learned about yourself? How can these insights shape your path forward? To inspire and be inspired share your reflections with me at me@shawntanhowell.com. 

And finally, a Call to Connect

Would you be interested in deepening our journey together through an online chat? This space would allow us to discuss these reflections, share insights, and support one another in our pursuit of growth and empowerment. Your thoughts, experiences, and the wisdom you carry are invaluable to this community. Let’s connect, explore, and uplift each other on this shared path.

With warmth and positivity,
Shawntan, Empowerment Strategist

As we fully step into the second month of the year, the possibilities still feel limitless, and the horizon of opportunities remains stretched out before us. It’s still that time when many set resolutions, make plans, and envision their path ahead. Yet, amidst these aspirations, I’ve come to realize that there’s an essential element often overlooked—our soul care plan. This was my revelation of 2023.

As an empowerment strategist, my journey has been a profound exploration of self-discovery, empowerment, inner peace, and pure joy. My purpose extends beyond personal growth; it’s about sharing wisdom, experiences, and vibrations with the universe, hoping to inspire others to start on their own transformational journeys. In 2024, I’m working on several opportunities for you to craft your own soul care plan, tap into serenity, and align with your core being.

Soul Care: The Foundation of Well-Being
What does Soul Care mean to you? For me, it’s the foundation of personal growth and well-being. It’s where purposeful pauses reside and insights flourish. Soul care is about tending to your inner garden, nurturing your spirit, and cultivating a deep sense of self-acceptance. In a world that often values external achievements, it’s crucial to remember that taking care of our inner selves is equally, if not more, important. Using my social platforms, I plan to amplify this message through insights, motivational quotes, engaging discussions, and more.

2024 Serenity Plan: Your Guiding Light
As we came into the new year, I was compelled to embrace serenity as my personal roadmap. Serenity is more than just a calm state of mind; it’s a sanctuary of peace within yourself. It’s the gentle breeze that soothes our restless souls. Embracing serenity empowers us to navigate life’s challenges with grace, kindness, and inner peace. We possess an incredible ability to shape our reality, reminding us to pause, reflect, and realign with our deepest values. Stay tuned as I share more about how I plan to illuminate this vision soon!
Update as of 2/21/24: “The Serenity Plan” Workbook Available Today!

Motivation: Love Yourself and Be A Good Human
At the foundation of my work lies the ten motivations, guiding us to understand our inner drivers and inspirations. When we tap into our wisdom, truth, and fortitude, our motivations align, bringing these reminders to life. Deep and authentic self-love drives our actions and decisions in alignment with our core values. It’s not about narcissism or selfishness; it’s about recognizing our worth and treating ourselves with kindness and respect. These motivations are integrated into almost every aspect of my work. So, let “Love Yourself and Be A Good Human” be the mantra driving your aspirations in 2024.

Empowerment Through Self-Discovery
My journey as an empowerment strategist has been a tapestry of self-discovery, from which I share my insights. True empowerment doesn’t stem from trying to be someone we’re not; it comes from embracing our true selves—the quirks, flaws, and unique qualities that define us. I believe genuine empowerment begins with honesty, self-compassion, self-reflection, self-acceptance, and a willingness to give back to others.

A Plateful of Wisdom
My plateful serves as a reminder—a reminder of nourishment beyond food. It’s a call to nourish our souls, trust our gut instincts, take purposeful pauses, and return to the heart of self-love and compassion. Infused with the essence of pure joy, my wish is for everyone to cultivate a stronger sense of self, recognize their unique worth, and lead lives filled with purpose and serenity.

As we continue our journey through 2024, remember that our well-being is not a destination but a daily practice. Crafting our soul care plan, embracing serenity, and aligning with our core being are not just resolutions—they’re lifelong commitments to ourselves. Together, let’s make this year a testament to self-love, self-acceptance, personal growth, and being a good human.

Join me in this exploration of self-discovery and empowerment. Together, let’s create ripples of positive change, not only within ourselves but also in the world around us. May 2024 bring you serenity, purpose, and an unwavering love for yourself and others.

Stay connected—follow me on social media, join my mailing list, and stay tuned for inspiring insights, motivational quotes, and engaging discussions. Let’s join forces to create ripples of empowerment and transform our lives.

Follow me on Instagram [@iamshawntan] and Facebook [ShawntanOfficial]

With warmth and positivity,
Shawntan, Empowerment Strategist

Did you know that recent studies show that women with a close community of friends have lower stress levels, more robust immune systems, and even heal faster from physical wounds? 

This incredible phenomenon is unique to women and their relationships with other women. It’s one more reason I am passionate about creating a community of empowered women.

When I started Transforming Positivity Into Power, it was with a vision of empowering women to share their stories, connect and where we together could focus on our wellbeing. I wanted to create a space where we could all feel supported and empowered and where we could learn from each other’s experiences. The response has been incredible. I am grateful to all who have participated  in experiences and shared their stories. Each one of these women is an inspiration, and they are transforming positivity into power every day.

“The Beginning”

I don’t know about you, but trusting the process and my creative flow is complex. It’s easy to doubt myself and my abilities, but I know that if I want to make a difference in this world, I need to learn to trust myself and step into my power.

This journey began with the Girls Are Powerful organization. When working with the girls in this program, I spent a lot of time teaching them to step into their personal power and trust their intuition. I wanted them to see that they were capable of anything they set their minds to. I also wanted them to experience that they had the strength to overcome any obstacle. 

Seeing the girls grow and change throughout the program was an incredible experience. It solidified my belief in the power of positive thinking and taking action to make a difference. It also allowed me to build my community through interacting with their parents and caregivers. We both wanted our girls to feel powerful and strong, and we were able to relate to each other’s experiences. 

“The Vision”

At some point, however, I realized that I wasn’t consistently living the things I was teaching. I have always been more comfortable behind the scenes, helping others to shine. But I knew that if I wanted to truly empower myself and embrace my life’s work, I needed to lead by example, connect with others, and learn from them. I needed to be actively helping other women find their purpose, align their actions, and live an empowered life. And that’s where my vision of creating a community for shared experiences began.

“Building a Community of Empowered Women: The Story of Transforming Positivity Into Power ”

Unfortunately, the world we live in often pits women against each other. We’re told there’s not enough success to go around and that we must fight for what we want. But I believe that this is a false narrative. There is more than enough success, love, and abundance for all of us. When we support each other and lift each other, we create a compelling force.

Because of this, I knew I wanted to create a space to unite women. A space where we could bring our authentic selves, share our stories, and connect on a deeper yet higher level. I wanted to create a community of empowered women who could support and inspire each other.

As a part of my launch, I sent the call out to the women in my network and found an array of wonderful women to be the first with whom I could share this work.

As we dove into what it meant to Transform Positivity into Power, I asked each to identify which of the motivations best represents how they show up for themselves and others. I then asked them to explore this more deeply and share a story about where they’ve seen it in their life. Finally, I had them examine and explain how they have encouraged others to live this motivation. Each woman has an incredible story, and I was honored that they shared it as a part of this experience.

“Transforming Positivity Into Power”

This experience was the start of a initative that solidified the idea that the vision I was putting forth into the universe was the next phase of my work. Once I realized this, I pushed aside my doubts, stepped into my personal power, and took this work to the next level.

The journey has been an enlightening experience that has allowed me to push myself out of my comfort zone. I have had to trust my creative flow, embrace my strengths, and transform my positivity into power. 

Through this process, I have embraced my passion and seen my vision come to life. With the help of an incredible community of women, I have moved out of the shadows and into the forefront of this work. And this is just the beginning. Follow along as I introduce you to the women who shared their stories as well as behind the scenes of my Transforming Positivity into Power, WTF Journeys which are women-only, whole body 1/2 day retreat-like experience.              

Do you want to learn more? Are you ready to transform your positivity into power? 

If you feel called to do this work, I would love to support you on your journey. You can schedule your Intro Call and find out more about my work with women at this link:

“WTF Moments In Action”

Have you watched my WTF Call to Action video? 

For the past few months, I have been sharing my Transforming Positivity Into Power work with you. This work has been centered around transforming WTF moments into Wisdom, Truth, and Fortitude. I’ve shared a bit about my journey and my vision for this work, and now I’m getting ready to move into the next segment, where we’ll look a little deeper into how we got here and where we’re going. 

But before we do, I want to hear from you. I’m looking to connect with 10-12 women to share their WTF moments with me and how you’re transforming from those moments. To get started, I posted a video about it on Instagram. 

My WTF Moment

Now, you might not have guessed this, but while recording that video, I was struggling! I was having some severe uneasiness about being seen, to the point that I actually had a difficult time getting the words out.

It was a WTF moment for me because I realized how much I still limit myself.

Take a minute to watch the following three videos and see how I work through this WTF moment:

I know I am not alone in this, and so many of us experience these moments. This work is about choosing between staying stuck or using your WTF moments as an opportunity to grow.

I decided to fight those limiting beliefs and use this experience as a moment to grow. I’ve been doing the work, so I took a minute to breathe, lean into loving myself, and allow myself to take up some space.

I let go of the uneasiness, the limiting beliefs, and the idea of the person that I thought you wanted to see — and instead focused on just being me. I turned my frustration into fun.

 I laughed at myself. I sang a song to myself. I danced by myself. I became ME.

 So why am I sharing this with you? Why did I post the outtakes on social media? Because I want you to see this work in action. I want you to know that changing how you think and feel at any moment is possible.

 I want you to see that your power is constant and cannot be diminished. These moments can also be opportunities to transform and gain a different perspective of moments of WTF: Wisdom, Truth, and Fortitude.  

Facing Your WTF Moments

Listen, you’re going to be faced with WTF moments in life. Whether they start externally, with the words or judgment of others, or internally, with limiting beliefs or imposter syndrome, they will happen.

The key is not to avoid or try to control them but to use them as an opportunity for growth.

Here are a few ideas for growing from those WTF moments. 

1.  First, take a step back and breathe. 
2.  Next, remember your motivations. You can use the Motivations exercise on my website,
3. or, if you already know which one works for you, go ahead and do that. 

Finally, rely on your mantras, affirmations, or mottos. Let’s talk a little more about them because they start with asking yourself what do you need. 

If you don’t have mantras, affirmations, and mottos already in place, today is the day to do that. These tools are powerful! But they take time and practice to reach their full usefulness. 

What’s Next

You are capable of so much more than you think. WTF moments don’t have to hold you back– they can be your stepping stones to a life that is even more empowering than you could have imagined. And it starts with you and your thoughts – how you see things. 

In my WTF moment, I could have allowed my uneasiness to hold me back from sharing that piece of myself. Instead, I chose to push through the distraction and frustration. I chose to find the fun and embrace the illumination into what my inner critic was telling me. And I chose to transform my WTF moment into Wisdom, Truth, and Fortitude.

In the words of Marianne Willamson: 

 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world…”

You can do this too. You have the power within yourself to take those WTF moments and use them to empower yourself and others around you.

 So go out there and be of service, love yourself, take up space, do the work, breathe, and remember — you got this.

“Transforming Positivity into Power ”

I don’t know about you, but pandemic life has left me with a mess regarding my mental and physical health and well-being. The craziness of working from home, the anxiety of the constant unknown, the fear of being exposed or getting sick or of a loved one getting sick, the loneliness, loss, and panic — it’s been a whirlwind of circumstances that have left chaos and destruction everywhere you turn. In other words, it’s been one WTF moment after another!

But, as I’ve said before, WTF moments are great for revealing deeper truths. With a new normal slowly establishing itself, I recently realized that I needed to take a minute to look at my WTF moments and see what I could pull out to help me adjust and get on track with this version of normal.

My first step was to enlist a little help to lean into it and seek a new perspective to jumpstart this journey. That’s how I found myself attending a New Moon Intention Setting workshop with Jean Nitchals, complete with crystals grids and a sound bath workshop..

 There were so many incredible parts to this experience. I invited a few of my favorite women to join me in this space and was able to deep dive into a pool of new knowledge and experiences. I was immersed in powerful energy from the crystal grid to the sound bath meditation. There was so much to learn! And not just about the logistics of tapping into the new moon, crystals, and crystal grid energy.

I could sit in stillness, surrounded by women I felt deeply connected to, and focus on me, my mind, body, and spirit, and the delicate balance between them. It was an intentional pause in my life, and the result was powerful!

There’s something extraordinary about sharing vulnerable experiences with other humans, especially other women. We crave community and thrive on connection – two areas that the pandemic has effectively changed or even taken away from us. This workshop was a potent reminder of how crucial that piece is in my personal health and well-being journey.

There was so much about this experience that I absolutely loved, but the part that stuck with me was how opportunities like this can completely fill us up. And the best part is that there is a whole world of empowering and healing modalities out there, each with unique benefits and a variety of people with knowledge to share. Everyone deserves to feel these moments filled with self-care, self-love, and empowerment.

And that’s why I’m introducing a new element to my Transforming Positivity into Power brand. I affectionately refer to it as WTF Journeys, and I can’t wait for you to experience it!

Connection is difficult – whether it’s with ourselves, our friends, or our community. This is especially true as we get older, and find ourselves having to break into circles where friendship has already been established. And in our post-pandemic world, it can be add a whole other layer of complications. When combined with the other curves that have been thrown at us, we could all use a moment to recenter and learn to listen to our inner selves again.

WTF Journeys are group experiences focused on navigating the impact of WTF moments – like the pandemic – to find balance and community in our new normal. We’ve accomplished a lot on our own since the pandemic started and there is still a lot happening in our world, but it’s time to start reconnecting with each other again.

When we come together in these safe environments, we can participate in self-care and nurture our self-love. We can create new connections and build relationships – both with ourselves and others.

We can pause long enough to take a deep breath and regain our composure. These experiences will provide unique opportunities for healing and empowerment that allow us to recenter and realign ourselves with the world, our community, and the aspects of our lives that are truly important.

As I mentioned earlier, I invited a couple of close friends to join me at the New Moon Intention Setting workshop, and building connections like those is another piece of WTF Journeys that is so magical. By sharing these intimate experiences with other women who are on similar journeys, you’ll make new connections in a way that doesn’t often happen as an adult.

You’ll leave feeling energized, rejuvenated, and connected by participating – and looking forward to the next WTF Journey! It’s a strong foundation for new relationships, a gift we desperately need these days. Humans are not meant to be alone, and the pandemic has done a very effective job of shattering communities and encouraging isolation.

It’s time to take those back! It’s time to rebuild in a way that honors the experiences, anxieties, and changes of the past few years but also embraces the new normal so we can move forward together.