{"id":6951,"date":"2019-04-29T06:03:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T06:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/copy-of-022-overcoming-an-abusive-relationship-by-cultivating-the-lovely-mackenzie-koppa\/"},"modified":"2021-03-03T23:31:51","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T15:31:51","slug":"023-why-every-woman-should-be-dating-herself-dr-shannon-gulbranson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/?p=6951","title":{"rendered":"023: Why Every Woman Should Be Dating Herself &#8211; Dr. Shannon Gulbranson"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.radiopublic.com\/e?if=inspiration-rising-WY5X55&amp;ge=s1!33d5327b7680ed54e11f1f7da2e14c28866caa90\" width=\"100%\" height=\"185\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-popups\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Shannon Gulbranson<\/strong> is the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2VybFei\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Date Yourself Well: 12 Engagements of Becoming the Great Lover of Your Life  (opens in a new tab)\">Date Yourself Well: The Bestselling 12 Engagements of Becoming the Great Lover of Your Life<\/a> and founder and C.E.O. (Caring Empowered Owner) of Healing Life Coaching, Inc. She\u2019s hosted a daily podcast for the past two years called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.womensippingonlife.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Women Sipping on Life (opens in a new tab)\">Women Sipping on Life.<\/a> Serving thousands of patients for over two decades in private practice, as well as one of the leading cancer hospitals in the world, she has become an expert in engaging the head + heart and healing the heart + soul.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In This Episode, You Will Learn:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Why women (and men) should be dating themselves.<\/li>\r\n<li>Five engagements of a great lover.<\/li>\r\n<li>How every truth has two different perspectives.<\/li>\r\n<li>How to love yourself in all conditions unconditionally.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Create beautiful, engaging social media in 5 minutes a day &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.riseupcreatives.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.RiseUpCreatives.com<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Connect with Dr. Shannon:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.doctorshannon.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"DoctorShannon.com (opens in a new tab)\">DoctorShannon.com<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/womensippingonlife.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Women Sipping On Life (opens in a new tab)\">Women Sipping On Life<\/a> (podcast)<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/dateyourselfwell.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Date Yourself Well (opens in a new tab)\">Date Yourself Well<\/a> (free book)<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drshannonlive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Facebook (opens in a new tab)\">Facebook<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/doctorshannon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Instagram (opens in a new tab)\">Instagram<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Don\u2019t Miss A Single Episode:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>Subscribe<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/inspiration-rising\/id1448649388\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">iTunes<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/42zIsXzjCibZt49xdCRvB4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/in-plain-sight\/launch-yourself-today\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Iqrp5q3bagph2t23malprd3dxvy?t=Launch_Yourself_Today\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Music<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Leave a quick review<\/strong>\u00a0on any of the podcast apps to tell people what you think about the show.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Take a screenshot of the podcast<\/strong> and post it on Instagram or Instagram Stories. Tag us <a href=\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/insporising\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@insporising<\/a>. We\u2019ll repost and give you a shoutout!<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 31px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 35px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Interview Transcript<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Shannon, thank you so much for taking time to hang with me today.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Absolutely, thank you for the invitation. I appreciate it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Let\u2019s talk about dating ourselves. I know I\u2019ve probably dated myself, but maybe I just wasn\u2019t as intentional as I\u2019m hearing that you want me to be. I know your book is written more for women, but I\u2019m going to read it anyway. I\u2019ve already been reading through it. Why do you think it\u2019s so important for women, and even men, to date themselves?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you think about it, how do you meet people and how do you fall in love? The answer is, you date them. So, it\u2019s no different than when you\u2019re having a relationship with someone else; if we don\u2019t date ourselves, how are we going to know ourselves? And if we don\u2019t know ourselves, how are we going to fall in love with ourselves and really truly be able to love others? Because it\u2019s how we love ourselves, that we love others.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s vital for all humans to learn how to date themselves. And you mentioned, maybe you\u2019ve been doing it, but not consciously. I think it\u2019s important to be very, very intentional about it. It\u2019s not like you have to sit down and sit across from yourself every day and share a nice meal. But it\u2019s really that conscious intention of saying, \u201cHey, you know what? I\u2019m going to get to know you. And as I get to know you, there\u2019s going to be more to explore and more to experience.\u201d And that\u2019s really how we can fall in love with our lives.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I come from a faith background and part of what you\u2019re saying, rubs against a part of me that says if I love myself in that way, I\u2019m somehow being egotistical. That I\u2019m somehow making it all about me, and instead it should be about other people. But on the other hand, as you said, how can we love other people, if we don\u2019t first love ourselves? That\u2019s part of what you\u2019re saying, right?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Absolutely, and you have hit on a really big topic, David. People tend to think that this idea is very selfish. I\u2019m also faith based. I\u2019m a follower of Jesus, so I read the word and the second commandment, besides loving God, is that we love others as we love ourselves. So, especially for people of faith that know that, we tend to forget that and really, that\u2019s the most vital thing. How can we love another if we don\u2019t love ourselves? And really, how can we love ourselves if we don\u2019t love and know God? It\u2019s in our DNA. Love is in our DNA.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The whole idea of self-care; people think, \u201cOh, that\u2019s selfish.\u201d But how can you go out and pour into another cup, if you\u2019re empty? So really, it\u2019s one of the most selfless things that we can do. Instead of saying, \u201cHey, I\u2019m just here to serve everyone else.\u201d For one, that\u2019s not really true. Because people that do that, they end up burning and crashing and then it serves no one, including the greater good. I learned that the hard way. All this, it didn\u2019t come from just an idea and it didn\u2019t come from just reading the word, I can tell you that. It came from crashing and burning and finding out that there has to be another way to do this. I was broken. At least I felt broken. I felt empty. I felt like I had given everything. And then where do you turn? You turn to the one that gave you life and love and you say, \u201cAlright, there\u2019s got to be another way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When I met my wife, I wanted to be around her all the time. I wanted to ask her questions and I wanted to do fun things with her. Part of it was new and exciting, of course. But there was a genuine interest in getting to know her. So, you\u2019re expanding my mind to say, \u201cAlright, if I\u2019m going to learn to love myself at a deeper level, that means that I want to get to know myself.\u201d Why would you say that I don\u2019t already know myself? I\u2019ve been in this body a long time; how would I not already know myself?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Great question. First of all, kind of like when we fall in love with someone else, we get to a place in the relationship where we think we know everything about them. The reality is, we are constantly growing and evolving as people and to really experience the fullness of the life that we have, it\u2019s a constant and never-ending process of learning and re-learning and un-learning. So, when we get into this idea that, \u201cOh, I know myself,\u201d that\u2019s a problem. Because if you fully know yourself, then you\u2019ve stopped looking for more to know and you\u2019ve stopped exploring and discovering yourself. I believe we\u2019re all here on planet Earth to do exactly that; grow and expand and then express that. It\u2019s vital.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think about this. You could sit next to somebody for the next hundred years and not know them. You could be with somebody and know certain things about them, but never know them. So, we can be with ourselves and really never be with ourselves, especially when we never spend any time in that quietness of saying, \u201cWhat do I like?\u201d \u201cWhat do I not like?\u201d And sometimes the view of our self is based on the experiences through other people\u2019s views and expectations and shoulds and woulds and coulds. So, it\u2019s vital. It is vital and it is a game changer. It is a life changer.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>So much of life can be like that. That question of, \u201cHow much am I trying to live up to my family or home or origin?\u201d Or, if I have a strong life partner or spouse, am I trying to please him or her? Even trying to please my kids, I\u2019ve got to fit into a mold to fit into what they want me to do. That\u2019s really powerful.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alright, so I know in the book, you talk about some lies or some syndromes that people are prone to buy into while we\u2019re in this process of learning to love ourselves and love other people. Can you break those down for me?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Absolutely. The first one, I call it the \u201cCinderella Syndrome\u201d. Whether you\u2019re a woman or a man, there\u2019s this idea that somehow there\u2019s going to be this moment where Prince Charming comes and sweeps you off your feet. Or, you\u2019re going to find the princess that\u2019s going to be the perfect princess and we\u2019re going to ride off into the sunset. Really, that\u2019s not how it works. In the book, I talk about the whole Cinderella Syndrome and what happens when the glass stiletto shatters. Really, do you want to be swept off your feet or do you want to learn how to stand on your feet and walk in your Cinderella slippers?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, this whole idea that there\u2019s going to be a Mr. Right or a Miss. Right, the bottom line is, am I willing to be Miss. Right for that Mr. Right that I\u2019m waiting for? Am I willing to give myself the understanding and to give myself the attention and the love, so that I can be that to myself and someone else? I think that\u2019s a big part of it, and we buy into the lie that somehow someone else is going to complete us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I liked how you asked in the book, \u201cWhat happens when Prince Charming turns into Prince Harming?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Exactly. Or when we\u2019re with our princess and all of a sudden, it\u2019s like, \u201cOh my gosh, she\u2019s kind of a witch.\u201d Well, we all have that within us. When we start to really embrace and acknowledge both the dark and light within us, we are then able to do that for others. But if we stand in this place that somehow, \u201cI\u2019ve got all of it right and I\u2019m going to expect Mr. Right to get it all right and never disappoint me,\u201d we get into this idea that everything has to be a certain way. Which again, is not allowing for our growth and our discovery and it also puts us in a place of judgement.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So now, we find ourselves judging the person we\u2019re with because we\u2019re judging ourselves and it becomes a real mess. Everybody is trying to perform to what we think the world says is \u201cperfect\u201d or \u201cgreat\u201d and \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cright\u201d. And then everybody is saying, \u201cBut this isn\u2019t even true.\u201d So, the lies that people buy into and all the lies that we believe in our heads; that somehow somebody else is responsible for my happiness, it just can\u2019t be that way. That\u2019s not the truth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The second one that you talk about is \u201cDisengagement Syndrome\u201d. Break that down for me.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, what usually happens &#8211; and this happened in my own life, is that you go through life and you have these disappointments and then you start to pull back and think, \u201cGosh, maybe it\u2019s not what I thought it should be.\u201d All of a sudden, you find yourself pulling further and further away from your dreams, your desires and those that really love you. You are thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve been hurt. Who can I trust?\u201d And so, people &#8211; and I did this too; I started pulling into this place and my world became a little bit smaller and a little bit smaller and I ended up disengaging. I was no longer fully expressing in my life.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I believe there are nine primary areas of life that we start to pull back from. And then what happens is, we get disengaged. And then eventually &#8211; and this isn\u2019t for everybody, but we can experience what I call \u201ca divorced heart\u201d. Eventually, a lot of times this leads to actual divorce or breakups and broken relationships. I really believe it comes from that broken relationship that we have with ourselves.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disengagement starts subtle. It starts with disappointment and then moves into disengagement and then eventually we become fully disengaged. The next thing you know, your head and your heart aren\u2019t even connecting and you\u2019re not connecting with your life anymore. You\u2019re not connecting with your dreams and your soul purpose. And then all of a sudden, nobody seems to fill that void for you. And all of a sudden, you\u2019re kicked to the curb or you have physical divorce that you\u2019re dealing with. And this makes a disengagement even more intense. It\u2019s this vicious cycle, and I got caught in that.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One day I realized that it was time. It was time for me to follow my heart. It wasn\u2019t even something I planned, but it was after my last divorce; I was sitting in dark, in the middle of the night and I literally felt like I heard the voice of God in my heart. What I heard was, \u201cShannon, do you love yourself?\u201d And I sat there and I couldn\u2019t speak. I don\u2019t even know how much time passed, but for me to be speechless, it doesn\u2019t happen. I sat there and I didn\u2019t know what to say or what to do, because my mind was racing. I was thinking, \u201cWell of course I love myself, because I don\u2019t hate myself, right?\u201d But what I had forgotten was, the opposite of love isn\u2019t hate. The opposite of love is fear. I had so much fear and I was so disconnected. I had a divorced heart and I\u2019m sitting there unable to answer. All of a sudden, I heard, \u201cIt\u2019s okay, I understand. Because in order to love you, you must know you. And in order to know you, you must spend time with you.\u201d I\u2019m sitting here thinking, \u201cOkay, well then what?\u201d And I heard, \u201cDate yourself. Date yourself well. Stop accepting what you do not desire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was spending so much time dealing with all these things and all these stories in my mind about, \u201cThis is the way I should be,\u201d or \u201cThis is the way it has to be.\u201d So finally, I said, \u201cAlright, I\u2019m not going to accept anything that I don\u2019t desire anymore. And I am going to pursue myself like never before. Not to fall in love with someone else. Not so that somebody else can fall in love with me or to track Mr. Right.\u201d I was like, \u201cI\u2019m going all in.\u201d And let me tell you, it has been such an incredible adventure and such an incredible journey. So that\u2019s why I wrote the book.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I started because I went to the internet and I looked up \u201cself-love\u201d; scary. Don\u2019t do that. And especially back when I wrote the book, there was nothing, except all the stuff you wouldn\u2019t want to be looking at. And then looking up \u201cdate yourself\u201d, it wasn\u2019t even there. And so, I said, \u201cWhat would this mean to me?\u201d And then thought, \u201cI\u2019m going to start with what I would do if I was dating someone else. I would sit down and I would meet them.\u201d So, I literally met myself there in the dark. And it was the beginning of a whole new experience and a whole new way of defining and re-defining love and what that looks like to me. I truly do recommend it for everyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>So, the premise of this book; let\u2019s see if I get this right. Essentially, we can\u2019t find that kind of love in someone else and we can\u2019t accept Mr. or Miss. Right to come into our lives because we have unmet expectations. But also, if we\u2019re disengaged from our own heart and if we\u2019re disengaged from our own passions and interests; one, we\u2019re not going to be able to love ourselves and two, it\u2019s going to prevent us from loving someone else. So, in order to be fully present, fully loving someone, we must first love ourselves. And in order to love ourselves, we need to date ourselves. Did I get that right? Is that pretty close?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beautiful, well said. And you know, it\u2019s in the dating of ourselves that of course, as we\u2019re expressing who we are, we share ourselves. We share ourselves with other people. Sometimes people go, \u201cOh my gosh, that\u2019s a book just for single people, right?\u201d And no, in fact a lot of my readers are men and a lot of my readers are married. One woman said to me, \u201cOh my gosh, this has changed my relationship with my husband.\u201d She\u2019s no longer looking and being so needy on him to make her feel validated. She\u2019s getting her validation from herself and her S.O.L. date &#8211; her sipping on life date. Getting to know herself and getting to know what true love really is and what it feels like.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, as you know, it\u2019s in other relationships that we learn even more about ourselves. So, this isn\u2019t simply sitting there being selfish and doing everything self-centered. It\u2019s saying, \u201cNo, you know what? I am, so therefore, I will.\u201d And it\u2019s like I said, it\u2019s been really truly miraculous. Not only in my life, but in the lives of the people that I\u2019m sharing this new perspective with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Okay, I know there\u2019s a couple more lies, but I want to get into these five engagements of a great lover. And by the way, at the end of the podcast we\u2019re going to give listeners a URL to get your book for free. They will only have to pay for shipping and handling. So, hang in there until the end and we\u2019ll give you that URL.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Can you walk us through this second part of the book? The five engagements of a great lover. Break this down for me. What\u2019s engagement number one?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Absolutely, so the first one is meeting you. That\u2019s absolutely number one. You must meet you. You meet you and you find out, \u201cWhat do you like? What do you not like?\u201d These simple things that we think, \u201cOh, yeah, of course.\u201d But we never really consciously witness that for ourselves to say, \u201cI like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How do I do that?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By paying attention and being aware. It\u2019s really the ultimate self-awareness. If you look at the word \u201cawareness\u201d, it\u2019s A-WAR-NESS. We have a war going on within ourselves, \u201cI know I shouldn\u2019t do this. I should do this.\u201d We have all these should about everything. Stop shoulding on yourself, and start being aware of what feels right for you, what works for you, how you feel and also when you feel most alive. It\u2019s meeting you.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second one is, knowing you. Because once you meet yourself, then you begin to know yourself and you begin to really pay attention to, not only how you feel, but you can start to understand where your feelings are coming from. You start to have the deeper conversations with yourself, and sometimes it\u2019s the most simple questions that can have the most profound impact. The simple question of, \u201cIs that true?\u201d So often, we spend so much time in our heads rationalizing and shoulding on ourselves; telling stories about what think is the truth, but we never actually acknowledge what the truth really is in the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Give me an example of how we can use that question to get to know ourselves better?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the greatest things that I\u2019ve learned in the process of dating myself has been, if it can\u2019t be interpreted at least two different ways, it\u2019s probably not true. And what I mean by that is, I think of truth as circular. It\u2019s a full 360.\u00a0 Right now, if there were other people in your studio, what they are seeing is very different from what you\u2019re seeing. Right now, I\u2019m seeing something different than what you\u2019re seeing, but both of what we\u2019re seeing is true. What happens is, people get stuck on one side of the truth and they see it only from their perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oftentimes, we get so stuck in this black and white, right and wrong, good and bad and we never say, \u201cYou know what? What if I were to allow myself to look at all of this? Maybe the reason why that person looked at me that way, isn\u2019t because they\u2019re judging me. Maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019m judging myself right now and I don\u2019t feel like enough. And maybe there\u2019s something going on in their life.\u201d\u00a0 So, once we start to see everything from a bigger perspective and from a full 360, my goodness, it frees us up to live truly from our hearts, because we\u2019re not so stuck in our heads.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Okay, so first we need to meet ourselves. That\u2019s engagement number one. Know yourself is engagement number two. What\u2019s engagement number three?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Value you. To truly value you and realize that no matter what you\u2019re learning about yourself, no matter what you come to know about yourself, to know that you have value and you are valuable. I call it \u201cbeing valuably free\u201d. When you think about the word \u201cresponsibility\u201d, it\u2019s the ability to respond. And so, whatever it is that we\u2019re uncovering and discovering, we have the ability to respond to that and to make decisions based on that. And in our lives and in my life, to all of the listeners, we all have been given this beautiful gift of life and we are the most valuable thing in it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you were writing a screenplay and you\u2019ve written out the script, the leading person in that play is the most important. Nobody can do this for my life, except me. Nobody can play Shannon, except Shannon. Nobody can play David, except David. If we don\u2019t put ourselves in the leading role, then why are we playing all these other roles? At that point, I\u2019m giving a counterfeit. So, we start to see that the value and the position and the seat that we have in our own lives, is the most valuable position.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, I\u2019m not saying that I\u2019ve put myself above God, but I am saying it\u2019s God and then it\u2019s Shannon. And it used to be God and everybody else, and then Shannon. I was like, \u201cWho is Shannon anyway?\u201d Even though from the outside it looked like I had it all going on, that\u2019s because I was out here serving everybody else. I was giving everybody what I thought they needed or what I thought they should have. I wasn\u2019t ever asking myself some of the deeper questions. We are the most valuable position in our lives. I can\u2019t play anybody else\u2019s role. They can\u2019t play my role. I have to really own my own lane, own my feelings and not project them onto anyone else by saying, \u201cIt\u2019s your fault.\u201d No. What\u2019s my responsibly here? When we start to own that, we become what I call, \u201cvaluably free\u201d. And that\u2019s powerful.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By the way, you are quite the wordsmith. You love words.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You love words and you twist words to create this new nuance and these 360 degree meanings of a word. You\u2019re out of control Dr. Shannon.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Completely, and I know this about myself. And what\u2019s funny, I don\u2019t try to be that way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I love that.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve spent a lot of time reading the dictionary and when I see a word like \u201cknow\u201d, K-N-O-W; I will go look that word up, even though you and I both know what \u201cknow\u201d means.\u201d Oh, my goodness, you\u2019ll start to get a different perspective about words. So, I\u2019m a wordsmith and its part of my gift here to planet Earth, I guess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I love it. That\u2019s so fun. Okay, so I\u2019m meeting myself. I\u2019m knowing myself. I\u2019m valuing myself. What\u2019s the fourth engagement?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being yourself. We must be ourselves. Another wordsmithing here, the word \u201cbetter\u201d &#8211; I\u2019m kind of over better. Kind of like I\u2019m over, potential. Do you know how many people are getting better every day, but they\u2019re still S-I-C-K? And people are seeking better, better, better. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars travelling all over the world, trying to be better. And I kept thinking, \u201cWell, okay, if I just learn this, then I\u2019ll fix myself.\u201d Or, \u201cIf I just do this, then I\u2019ll be loveable.\u201d That whole mentality is what perpetuates the epidemic of this not enough-ness. I gave up on being better a long time ago.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I was like, \u201cOh, I\u2019m into best.\u201d And then I realized one day, I was thinking, \u201cWhat the heck is best?\u201d Because quite honestly, sometimes best looks like this; simply getting out of bed. I re-defined best a long time ago, to \u201cBeing Excellent Starting Today\u201d. One day I said, \u201cYou know what? What really is the best version of Shannon?\u201d And I\u2019m thinking, \u201cIt\u2019s the true version of Shannon.\u201d So, what is the true version of Shannon? That takes me back to engagement one, engagement two and engagement three. I said, \u201cBoth best and better start with B for a reason.\u201d If we desire to expand, grow and become &#8211; that\u2019s another one; B &#8211; become better, become our best, you\u2019ve got to be honest with who you are. Be her, be him and fully occupy that space that nobody else can for you. And let me tell you, being takes on a whole new meaning.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>And the last engagement, give it to me.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Love yourself. Plain and simple, right there, it\u2019s to truly love ourselves. And I haven\u2019t actually made this public yet, but I am taking back what I\u2019ve said up until this point about unconditional love. Years ago, when I finally realized I had this unconscious belief that I wasn\u2019t loveable, I didn\u2019t know it. But as soon as I started seeking it and as soon as I gave my heart permission to show me, that unconscious belief came out. I was like, \u201cOh my gosh, I don\u2019t believe that!\u201d I decided it was time to try on a new belief. So, I did. And wow, life has completely changed since then.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I remember I called my mom and I said, \u201cMom, oh my gosh. I\u2019ve been seeking unconditional love from another person. And I\u2019ve been seeking to be a priority in someone else\u2019s life.\u201d It was then that I realized and heard the voice of God in my heart say, \u2018Shannon, are you a priority in your own life?\u2019\u201d I answered quickly, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not.\u201d But I do have unconditional love. God showed me that, \u201cI love you unconditionally. You are made in the DNA of me. You <em>are<\/em> unconditional love.\u201d So, until now, that\u2019s been my stance on unconditional love.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently I had this revelation about unconditional love. I don\u2019t think there is any such thing, except from the love we get from God. Because of this, unconditional love requires true love. It requires that we love in all conditions. This idea of unconditional love is BS, because you know what? I believe the full expression of love and truth is loving in all conditions. But in all conditions, this idea that I need to become ten pounds lighter or a hundred pounds lighter. It\u2019s the idea that I need to be thinner or more successful, that I need to have more money or get the guy. There\u2019s all this ridiculous stuff that we as humans tell ourselves, in order to really love ourselves. Well, it starts with loving yourself in all conditions. And when we begin to love ourselves in all conditions, now that\u2019s true love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Loving ourselves in all conditions, unconditionally. That expands it out beyond this idea of simply, \u201cI\u2019m going to love you unconditionally,\u201d until the person that you\u2019re with starts doing some crazy stuff. Then you\u2019re like, \u201cI don\u2019t really love you right now, but I\u2019m going to choose you in this moment and I\u2019m going to choose the authentic version of you.\u201d And when that happens, love changes. It transforms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I know in your book; you give us some ideas and you go into great detail. So, people definitely need to get it to understand the richness and the depth of how to date themselves. But if I were to say, \u201cOkay, Dr. Shannon. I want to try this on. I want to date myself.\u201d I\u2019m hearing the concepts of the engagements and the next steps; meeting myself, knowing myself, valuing myself, being myself, loving myself. What does that look like? Does it look like setting aside time every week? Is it going on a walk? Give us some examples of how I can tangibly date myself.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s really about getting connected and staying connected with ourselves and our hearts. So, really locating where we are. In another book I wrote, \u201cStep one, you\u2019ve got to really locate yourself.\u201d But before locating ourselves, it\u2019s about exposing ourselves. It\u2019s a matter of being willing to get truly honest with ourselves and then locating ourselves and saying, \u201cAlright, where am I?\u201d I take people through a very incredible process of finding out really how engaged or disengaged you are. And if you would like, I can take you through it right now?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Go for it.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are nine key areas. So, you\u2019ll sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and if you\u2019re driving, make sure you wait until you pull over to do this. The first thing is, you\u2019re going to rate everything from one to ten. Let your heart speak:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Love<\/em>. Give yourself a rating of one to ten.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Spirituality<\/em> and the spiritual aspects of your life. Give it a rating of one to ten.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Self<\/em>. Your self-care and everything that has to do with you. Give it a rating of one to ten.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Time<\/em>. How are you relating to time? How is your time? A lot of times people say time management is a problem. Well, I don\u2019t believe it\u2019s necessarily meant to be managed. It\u2019s meant to be lived well. So, let\u2019s look at that and say, \u201cAlright, time. One to ten.\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Thoughts<\/em> and our thought lives. On the outside people see what they see, but what\u2019s going on inside of our thoughts? That\u2019s what we become eventually, right? So, what would you rate your thoughts, one to ten?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Growth<\/em>. How would you rate the level of growth in your life right now? How much time and attention are you giving to your personal growth?\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Life\u2019s work<\/em>. Sometimes people ask, \u201cWhat does that mean? Does that mean a job?\u201d Well, for some people it can. I think our life\u2019s work is an expanded version of J-O-B, but it\u2019s your life\u2019s work. Rate it one to ten.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Finances<\/em>. How are you with your money and wealth and everything related to finances? Take a look at that and rate it one to ten.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And last but not least, believe it or not, this is usually the one that gets the lowest score.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><em>Fun<\/em>. On a scale of one to ten, how does fun rate in your life?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ll tell you why fun usually gets the lowest score. It\u2019s because people think they\u2019ve got to get one to eight all together, before they take time for F-U-N. And if you really want to see ultimate function and higher levels of function in your life, you\u2019ve got to start with the F-U-N.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to start with fun. It\u2019s interesting because, when I interview or meet really high powered leaders, a lot of my clients and especially my one on one clients; success is really dependant on that, \u201cHow much fun are you having in your life? Are you really loving your life well?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, now you take all of these nine and you add them up; 90 is full engagement. So, for all of you who are doing this right now, you\u2019re going to add them up and you\u2019re going to give yourself a score. Now, I\u2019ll tell you how to give yourself the rating. Now this isn\u2019t final score, but it\u2019s the score we\u2019re starting with. If you scored 45 or less, this indicates disengagement. If you scored yourself with a 45 to 63, this is somewhat engaged. With a 63 to 90, this shows engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you really want to go all in, you can take it to 11 for each of them and get to 99. I believe 100 is only fully available for after we pass beyond this earthly life. But having said that, I go through and explain all of this in an e-book I wrote. It\u2019s a free e-book that people might be interested in as well. I go through each one specifically and then I explain what to do with your lowest three. But it\u2019s a really great way to begin locating yourself and to say, \u201cAlright, this is where I\u2019m at right now. Is this the desires of my heart? No, I desire to be fully engaged.\u201d Alright, then you can start taking steps daily because you know what is really in need of your attention. When you think about the greatest thing we can give anyone, including ourselves, it\u2019s our attention. And we can do this by saying, \u201cAlright, this is where I am. I\u2019m engaged or not engaged.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we talk about the five engagements of a great lover and then we look at seven engagements that really take people through how to become a great lover of your life and how to fall in love with your life, one of those steps is learning to become likeable. Engagement six is likable and the ability to like yourself. Most people, when they go through life, they will make a big list of everything they want their partner to be like or their life to be like. But we really need to be asking ourselves, \u201cAm I willing to be like that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everyone\u2019s heard it, \u201cWrite your list if you\u2019re looking for Mr. Right.\u201d So, you\u2019re supposed to sit down and write all this stuff out. Well, my list was about a hundred and eleven things long. I was shocked. Everything from he\u2019s got to love Seinfeld. He\u2019s got to love God. And all these other things. There was all this stuff on my list and then one day I asked myself, \u201cShannon, are you that? How can you expect that from someone else, if you\u2019re not that?\u201d So, one of the practical things I have all my clients do is write out their list, whether it\u2019s for a partner, or whether it\u2019s for their lives. And then saying, \u201cAlright, how are you doing that in your own life?\u201d Right there, if people did nothing else but to locate where they are with their engagement or disengagement, and then write their list of expectations. Then say, \u201cAlright, now <em>that\u2019s<\/em> my job description. To be that in my own life for myself so that I can share that by being that for others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes people think dating ourselves well is like going and getting a mani-pedi. I\u2019m all about the man-pedi, but you know what? The reality is, you can do all the stuff on the outside and you\u2019re still just simply making yourself feel good. Let me tell you, dating yourself well sometimes doesn\u2019t feel good. Just like being in love with someone, or until you feel like you\u2019ve been disappointed and you\u2019ve lost love and it\u2019s like, \u201cOh my gosh, love hurts.\u201d But you know what? I would rather love and lose and never really lose, then to never love at all. It\u2019s not just the fluff on the surface. It\u2019s not just going to buy myself a new outfit. There\u2019s time for that too, of course. But it\u2019s the deeper things that matter most.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Okay, so I\u2019ve got two little bit off the wall questions for you to end with. Number one, what is the tattoo on your wrist?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oh, it says \u201cAdventure\u201d. I\u2019ll tell you a quick little story behind this. It was December 23<sup>rd<\/sup>, 2012 and I was in New York visiting my daughter. She\u2019s a student at NYU and we had gone to a church here, it was phenomenal. We had such a great experience for our Christmas Eve service and then my daughter wakes up in the morning, I think Christmas Eve morning. She says to me, \u201cMom, I had a dream last night that I got a tattoo.\u201d I was like, \u201cReally?\u201d And she says, \u201cI think I want to get a tattoo today.\u201d I\u2019m thinking, \u201cOkay honey.\u201d Even though I have a tattoo on my shoulder, so I\u2019m not against tattoos but I\u2019m saying, \u201cWhat are you going to get?\u201d And, \u201cI suggest you put it somewhere where you can cover it up if you would choose to.\u201d I go through the whole thing. Even though I already had one, I had to take her through the whole \u201cMom\u201d list. She said, \u201cWell, I think I want to just get a word. And I think I want it on my wrist.\u201d I said, \u201cOkay, then you could cover it if you wanted to with a watch or whatever.\u201d I asked her what word she wanted and she says, \u201cOf course my favorite word.\u201d Right away, I said, \u201cAdventure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, we\u2019re walking over to the tattoo place. We made this decision just like that. As we\u2019re walking over there, she says, \u201cMom, you should get one too.\u201d I was like, \u201cNah, I\u2019m good. I\u2019m good. I don\u2019t need another tattoo.\u201d And she says again, \u201cNo, but Mom, it would be awesome. We would have matching tattoos.\u201d I just said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not doing it.\u201d So, we get over there to tattoo place and he starts doing it and all of a sudden, it was like, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m doing it.\u201d I just made the decision, \u201cI\u2019m doing it.\u201d So, I put this thing on my wrist thinking, \u201cOh, I\u2019ll probably cover it up,\u201d especially when I was working at the cancer hospital. I was thinking, \u201cWhat are these patients going to think?\u201d Let me tell you, David. I have never covered this thing up. This was right around that time that I started dating myself and it\u2019s just been this reminder. There\u2019s no greater adventure than the one of dating and falling in love and loving yourself well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I love that. Alright, last question for Dr. Shannon is, if you were to date any character on Seinfeld, who would it be and why?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oh, that is fabulous. Okay, I\u2019m sitting here and I\u2019m going through all the reasons, because I love them all so much, but it would have to be Kramer. Now the reason why I say that is because he makes me laugh. Now, would Kramer be the guy that I\u2019d want to date if I want a guy to be financially taking care of the business? No, but you know what? I take care of my own business, so I don\u2019t need someone to take care of my business. It would definitely, without a doubt be Kramer for sure. For sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>That is great.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And you know who else? The Wiz. You remember the Wiz? \u201cI\u2019m the Wiz!\u201d He always cracked me up. I always loved his perspective of like, \u201cHe\u2019s the wiz.\u201d So, anyways, I would definitely choose Kramer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I would like to meet the woman who says she would like to date the Soup Nazi. That would be funny.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oh, that\u2019s great.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Well, we let people know that they can get your book for free, they only need to pay the shipping and handling. Where can they go to get that? And if they would like to get your assistance on any other part of their life, how can they reach and connect with you?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you for asking, it\u2019s www.dateyourselfwell.com. They can reach out and e-mail me if there\u2019s any questions at drshannon@doctorshannon.com. And as I mentioned, my free e-book with the engagement rating, if you want to check that out too, that\u2019s totally free. You can get it online at www.soldateyourself.com.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>S.O.L stands for \u201csip on life\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sip on life.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Come on now, I\u2019m picking up what you\u2019re putting down here. I\u2019m getting it. I\u2019m getting the acronyms. Alright, so <\/strong><strong>www.dateyourselfwell.com<\/strong><strong>, you can check out Dr. Shannon\u2019s book and get it for free, just pay the shipping and handling. Or you can go to <\/strong><strong>www.doctorshannon.com<\/strong><strong>. Of course, we\u2019ll have all the links to your social media in our show notes at <\/strong><strong>www.launchyourself.today<\/strong><strong>. Dr. Shannon, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and we\u2019re excited to have people get your book.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you so much, David. And to all your incredible listeners, thank you for allowing me to pour out my words today and my perspective. I trust that it\u2019s going to awaken some hope in the hearts and souls of women as well as men that will listen. So, thank you. And thank you for all the work that you\u2019re doing as well. I really appreciate it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\" \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Subscribe to Inspiration Rising<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/inspiration-rising\/id1448649388\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">iTunes<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/42zIsXzjCibZt49xdCRvB4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/in-plain-sight\/launch-yourself-today\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Iqrp5q3bagph2t23malprd3dxvy?t=Launch_Yourself_Today\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Music<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Shannon Gulbranson is the author of Date Yourself Well: The Bestselling 12 Engagements of Becoming the Great Lover of Your Life and founder and C.E.O. (Caring Empowered Owner) of Healing Life Coaching, Inc. She\u2019s hosted a daily podcast for the past two years called Women Sipping on Life. Serving thousands of patients for over [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insporising.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}