Robin Finn MPH, MA shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Robin, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Have you ever been glad you didn’t act fast?
When I was younger, I was frustrated that my passion, that thing that I wanted to do with my life, did not reveal itself to me faster. I felt like time was ticking by and I was still unsure of what my purpose was or what career called to me. Then I had three kids and the question of “my purpose” was buried beneath soccer games, and homework, and driving everyone everywhere, and mom life and the busyness of active parenting. But, a funny thing happened: When I stopped searching for the career that would make my heart sing, I wandered right into it. It was a discovery; not an “aha!” moment. My background in public health, my studies in spiritual psychology, my passion for women’s issues, and my experience as a mother, a writer, and a coach all blended together into the creation of Heart. Soul. Pen. Women’s Writing Workshops. When I was younger, I was mad at myself that I couldn’t figure things out faster. But, now that I’m older, I’m glad I didn’t force myself down a path that wasn’t right for me. My dreams needed time to percolate and develop as life happened. Now, I see that everything I studied and learned and pursued all led me to my work with women, wellness, and writing. It could not have happened sooner. The timing was perfect.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! I’m a writer, teacher, coach, and advocate for women’s voices. I created Heart. Soul. Pen. Writing Workshops to help women find their voice on the page and embrace the value of what they have to share. I believe in the power of women’s words and in the urgency of women sharing their stories. My latest book came out last year: ‘Heart. Soul. Pen.: Find Your Voice on the Page and in Your Life’ (Morehouse, 2024) and my novel, ‘Restless in L.A.’ was published in 2017.
For me, writing is a way to make sense of the world. I have written about parenting, ADHD kids, midlife, empty nesting, the writing process, losing my mom, and other topics that concern me. My work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Maria Shriver’s The Sunday Paper, BuzzFeed, and more. Too often, women think they need to climb Mt. Everest to have something worth saying. This is not true. I’m always surprised by how we devalue our wisdom and life experience. Part of my mission is to help women discover their own creative self-expression and get their stories into the world. When you feel there’s a book inside of you or a story that wants to be told, that’s because there is! But, too often, limiting beliefs that we are somehow “not enough” hold us back. My passion is to help women share their stories.
Writing is such a powerful tool to heal, connect, and transform. And, the thing is, you don’t have to be ” a writer” to unleash your words. Writing is an easy, accessible, and inexpensive way to connect to yourself. You simply need a pen and some guidance 🙂 The workshops, events, writing experiences, and Heartifacts mastermind I offer are all built around the principle that through writing, sharing, and strength-based feedback (no critique!), we can discover what matters most to us, share our words, get inspired, build community, feel less alone, reclaim our voice, and – perhaps even – launch a writing project that will transform our lives. I’ve had the joy of watching this happen countless times.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
In my recent book, I talk about when I was in the second grade, my teacher pulled my desk away from everyone else’s and made me sit alone, all by myself because she said I was too loud and too talkative and too social. It was humiliating. As a little girl, I believed that I needed to be “quiet” to be good — and I tried! But, of course, I failed. I was never a quiet person. As an adult, I know that the belief that girls need to be quiet, small, and obedient to be ‘good’ is a lie. But it took me a long time to let go of that limiting belief. I’m amazed at how many other women carry similar stories inside of them. As an adult, I have let that old story go. I now embrace that accepting myself as I am, and celebrating my own natural gifts and talents is the highest form of self-honoring.
When did you last change your mind about something important?
When I first started to publish personal essays, I wrote often about parenting kids with ADHD. One of the things I believed at the time was that ‘a good mother can fix her children.’ Because I couldn’t fix my hyperactive kids, therefore, I must not be a good mother. This caused deep despair because being a good mom was so important to me. I worked so mightily to ‘fix’ everyone that I was exhausted and overwhelmed all the time. After studying spiritual psychology, I changed my mind. I realized that 1) a good mother is one who loves and supports her children while they struggle, 2) you cannot ‘fix’ anyone else, and 3) no one is broken. This was a life-changing shift for me: one that continues to impact me as I get older.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Smart people are getting it wrong when it comes to writing. People who want to write but don’t will blame it on their lack of time, their job, their kids, their travel schedule, their energy level — anything they can think of — for why they haven’t written. But none of these things are the real problem. The real problem is not about writing; it’s about worthiness. When people believe deep down that they are not good enough, they stay stuck and call it “too busy.” This is true for women, in particular, because we are trained to bury ourselves beneath the needs of others so it’s easy to never address our writing dreams.
When we take the time to look at what we believe about ourselves and update our belief systems, real change occurs. Writing the book that’s been calling to you for years is not about finding more hours in the day or having more skills or better timing— it’s about letting go of the beliefs that keep you small and replacing them with beliefs that support your inherent worth, value, and desire to share. When you do this, suddenly, the time, energy, and inspiration will appear.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What pain do you resist facing directly?
My mom passed away during Covid. One of the most painful aspects of her death during that time was the loss of the rituals, gatherings, and support that normally come when you lose a beloved parent. I had such a hard time, after her passing, going to funerals. As a midlife woman, friends losing aging parents is part of the terrain. I found I couldn’t deal with it. Every time I’d see people grieving together in community, it opened up this wound of losing my mom during the pandemic. I felt like, without the rituals, I had no closure. As time goes by, my gratitude for gatherings only increases. Being together, with other people in real time, is nurturing to the soul.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robinfinn.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinfinnauthor/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-finn-author/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robinfinnauthor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@robinfinnauthor7753
