We were lucky to catch up with Anna Kennedy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anna, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a time when the advice you provided to a client was really spot on? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

I don’t know if this is the best advice I have ever given, but it is certainly a theme of many of my sessions with clients.

It may sound crazy, but y’all…. stop worrying about what other people think of you. Let go of it forever. It is an utter waste of time. And here is why:

How much time do you spend worrying about other people’s opinions of you? Truthfully. Think about it.. we worry about what people will think of our outfit.. we worry about if we said the right thing in that conversation.. worry about if people do or do not like us.. worry about what people will think of me if I wear that bathing suit… what if I fail at this thing, what will people think of me?. etc. The list goes on forever.

I have a secret for you. No one is thinking about you or what you are wearing or what your relationship status is, what you said, all of the things.

And I don’t mean that in a “you don’t matter” type of way. I mean no one is thinking about you, because everyone one else is thinking about themselves! Most people are thinking exactly the way that you do, so they are too busy and preoccupied to actually judge you.

Also.. how often do you actually know people’s opinions of you? Oftentimes our brain makes us think that people think negatively about us, but the truth is that even if they do have those thoughts.. most of the time we don’t ever get confirmation. Most people are not complete jerks and don’t come up to you and say “hey Susan.. remember when we were in a conversation the other day and you laughed really loud?? Well, that was totally awkward, so please don’t speak to me again.” And that may be an exaggeration and of course there are a million different examples of that, but my point is that we spend a TON of time in our head assuming that people feel a certain way about us, and the majority of the time we never actually find out.. we just believe our assumptions. And y’all… when you really think about assumptions.. what are they? They are MADE UP IN YOUR BRAIN. They are not real.

So imagine that, we are operating in the world assuming that people feel a certain type of way about us, but literally we made it up in our brain. That is bonkers.

On another note.. why do we assume that people are thinking negatively about us?? Why do we never go to the positive? I would for sure venture to say that people are actually have many more neutral or positive thoughts about you vs. negative. Don’t let your brain, your thoughts go to the negative please. It affects how you show up in the world. And we all.. everyone of us want you to show up in the world and let your best self shine.

And remember. Please stop making up things that people think about you. Its not nice to yourself and it is just not true.

Anna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Anna Kennedy : ) I am a mom to 2 amazing kiddos. I am a runner, it is for sure a form of meditation for me. I I am a cross fitter and I have found such a love of throwing heavy things around. I am an entrepreneur. I am an avid reader and I love listening to podcasts. My favorite color is red, but lately I am really feeling yellow.. I adore naps and my favorite meal is delicious Thai noodles.

I tell you all that first, because I believe in balance. I feel like sometimes we get lost in our professions and forget that there is more to our identity that just our chosen career.

All that being said, I am a therapist. I am a supervisor. I am passionate about mental health and overall wellness. I basically fell into the field of psychology because I had a mentor that saw something in me that I had not yet tapped into about myself. I ended up enjoying the study of psychology and I really love talking and listening to others, so naturally I went to grad school for mental health counseling. I started out at a school because teenagers are one of my favorite populations to work with and then I got the incredible opportunity to open up my own private practice. I did that for a few years and discovered that there is such a need for focus in mental health that I could not keep up with the demand, so I started a group practice. I hired 2 other practitioners, and although I absolutely adore working with clients individually, I have found that I also love being a supervisor and educator for other therapists. So, I added a credential in supervising. I found that I like impacting people on a larger scale.. By working with my own individual clients and then mentoring other therapists, we could also impact their clients- a ripple effect. And then because I loved that so much, I started doing speaking gigs- and found that I could reach even more people at one time, and maybe because I am a Leo, I found that I come alive when I am allowed to speak in front of a group.

The business is Elevate Counseling + Coaching. We offer individual therapy, life coaching, supervision, and public speaking. Right now, we have 2 physical locations (East Cobb and the Marietta Square) and we offer virtual counseling as well. We are working right now to be innovative in our field and find ways that we can accommodate everyone and have the biggest reach. We have big ideas.. so stay tuned.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Often times I hear that we are supposed to treat everyone that same and I think that is the worst advice that I could give. I think a good manager treats everyone the same. A good leader treats everyone differently.

I believe you have to really look at and try to understand the person in front of you. Every person responds differently to feedback and direction and I think it is important to meet them where they are at. I also feel like it is incredibly important to challenge and do goal setting with with your team. Finally, I feel like it is important to ask for feedback from your team. I end almost every meeting with ” What can I do to help support you at this time?”.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

So.. once upon of time I owned a successful fitness business. However, I didn’t really didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t pay attention to the trends, didn’t understand the finances, But we got lucky and it worked. And then I guess I just assumed that the same formula we used to build the first business would work for a different location. Friends, that was not the case. I didn’t do enough research, should’ve done more education to understand what really makes a business succeed. And the business failed. It had to close.

Whew… that was a hit. I failed and not did I just fail, it felt like I failed in an epic way. My ego took a huge hit and I sure did wallow for a few minutes.

However, I have had a huge turn around. I now am able to see that that failure was my biggest moment for growth.I took that failure as a lesson and had the confidence to build a new business, Elevate Counseling + Coaching. I am now so tuned in to the finances, to the trends, to the market.. what is working, what is not working and I feel more comfortable than ever understanding my business as well as the trajectory for growth.

My huge takeaway is that failure is not always bad, it may hurt and be uncomfortable- however it gives you the opportunity to pivot, learn, and grow in a way that would not have been possible before.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elevatecounselingco.com
• Instagram: annaNkennedy
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/anna-kennedy-marietta-ga/466598?preview=1&return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmember.psychologytoday.com%2Fus%2Fhome&_ga=2.151861817.1276597025.1648675087-1759066350.1648675087

Image Credits
Blooming Images Ashley McClain