066: Playing The Long Game with Mary Ann Clements

Hello lovely Couragemakers, and welcome to episode 66 of The Couragemakers Podcast!

This week I’m excited to be sharing my conversation with Mary Ann Clements. Mary Ann is founder of Jijaze: a community supporting women to replenish and take care of themselves as they work to change the world. She is also the co-host of the Change Making Women podcast with Ziada Abeid; A Tanzanian broadcaster. Originally trained as an anthropologist she has many years experience in International Development as a leader and grant maker. She’s also a storyteller, podcaster, writer, connector, #nia teacher, action learning facilitator and shadow work coach. She co-founded both The Story Party and the Red Tent Directory. Her work is all about bringing women together to make big change happen in the world. 

In this episode, Mary Ann shares her journey as a change making woman, from her background in the international development and women’s sector, to burning out and creating a community for change making women.

We really dive into how self care and self replenishment needs to be sustainable, how working harder doesn’t mean working better, and how you can change the world without exhausting yourself, and how in fact, that’s counter-productive.

We debunk a lot of myths win the episode, including taking your self worth out of your usefulness and productivity, giving yourself permission to spend your resources on yourself and flipping this narrative that self care has to be earned.

We also have a great conversation about the change-making world, systemic inequality and patriarchy and how we don’t all have the same starting line.

I love Mary Ann’s mission, and I find her views on making a difference and playing the long game so refreshing in a world that glorifies burnout and working to exhaustion as a badge of honour, and that success comes quickly.

This episode is a great reminder that it’s okay to use some of your resources on you, in fact, the world would be a better place if you did. It’s also a much needed reminder that building things that have a very real impact and have a sustainable structure take time to build, and that’s okay.

I know you’re going to love this one!

Enjoy the show!

 

About

Mary Ann is founder of Jijaze: a community supporting women to replenish and take care of themselves as they work to change the world and co-host of the Change Making Women podcast with Ziada Abeid a Tanzanian broadcaster. Originally trained as an anthropologist she has many years experience in International Development as a leader and grant maker. She’s also a storyteller, podcaster, writer, connector, #nia teacher, action learning facilitator and shadow work coach. She co-founded both The Story Party and the Red Tent Directory. Her work is all about bringing women together to make big change happen in the world. 

 Website | Podcast |  Twitter | | Facebook Group

 

Things We Talked About

 

What Mary Ann does to light herself up

Taking your self worth out of your usefulness and productivity, and giving yourself permission to spend your resources on yourself 

How sometimes we need more resilience and commitment to ourselves than we ever thought possible    

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multipassionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.

I started Couragemakers because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

When I’m not recording episodes, writing bullshit-free, very vulnerable and encouraging Sunday emails to fellow couragemakers or making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life. THL is the online home for unconventional creatives and multipassionates who want to show up unapologetically and intentionally as who they are, and really own, live and share their many stories. It’s made for couragemakers who have so much great shit to give the world and want to leave their mark but have too much self doubt standing in the way!