Two Inconvenient Women

All of us are former children: a fact so often forgotten and yet so powerful when we remember just what is waiting inside all of us to be re-ignited. Within the wide threads of a conversation on childhood is the desire to tap beneath the cultural stories of modern childhood to re-ignite the essence of wonder that sits within us all and that is being threatened by so many of our modern problems. Growing up in our modern world is so frequently encased with pressure. Beyond the increasing pressures from school, family and the modern world, young people are navigating the hugely fracturing world of social media and - ever increasingly - feeling the weight and burden of the climate and nature crisis. All too often, children are being asked - sometimes tasked - to take on mental responsibilities and concerns well beyond their emotional capacities to hold; and the symptoms of burnout, anxiety, overwhelm and depression are skyrocketing.Knowing that the cultures we're living in shape the way we think, feel and act in the world helps to see and explore why so many different cultural experiences of childhood exist - and by digging beneath the cultural stories, we can start to tap into the essence in all of us that is filled with wonder waiting to re-emerge. So how might shifting the cultures we're living in help keep childhood alive and re-awaken the inner child in us all?In this week's conversation we reference the following:Innocent Child Well-Being Index - UNICEF (PDF) Dutch kids declared the world’s happiest (again) - Positive News (Article) Seven-year cycles of growth: Rudolf Steiner (website)The Anxious Generation - Jonathan Haidt (book/website)

Why is criticism often so hard to take? What is it inside us that shrinks when someone points out something we've missed, we lack or we've done 'wrong'? Who sets the parameters for 'right and wrong' and what does it actually mean to 'critique' someone?In this week's episode we explore the qualities of criticism and why - all too often - it can elicit feelings of shame and worthlessness in the recipient. We explore some of the nuances of shame; explore the different qualities of 'lack' that are sometimes apparent in the giver and receiver of criticism and discuss at length the value and strength of criticism that allows both parties to grow together - something that is perhaps hard to do but so generative when it happens.In the conversation we reference the following:Listening to Shame - Brené Brown (TED talk video)'How Not to Be Defensive in Relationships' - The School of Life (video)The support/challenge matrix (PDF)Peonies opening (video)Being Nice vs Being Kind - Trevor Noah (video)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognise, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde Across the world we're seeing polarisation, division and othering increase - exacerbated by political decisions which fuel division and a dismissal of difference. And at the same time, we're seeing a rise in diversity in communities, in the workplace, in communities, in mindsets, and a growing appreciation that the health and resilience of any community lies in its diversity.In this week's podcast, we celebrate the wonder of diversity and difference, from cultural to psychological to ecological and everything in between. We discuss the issues surrounding the word 'tolerance' and the hierarchical othering that it connotates; explore some of the qualities of fear that keep us divided and reflect on the power, resourcing and resilient qualities that any system which is diverse brings.In the conversation we reference the following:The Danger of a single story - Chimamanda Adiche (TED Talk video)The Tyranny of the should - Karen Horny (article)Betwixt The Sheets - A History of Homophobia - Kate Lister with guest Dr Harry Tanner (podcast)The Science and value of diversity - Talia H. Swartz, Ann-Gel S. Palermo, Sandra K. Masur and Judith A. Aberg (article)The Wheel of power & privilege (PDF / website)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (PDF ebook)Transforming Leadership Course - online workshop (website page)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Rachel and Holly are having a reading week, so in this special short episode Holly shares about the books she's currently reading, including:Great Circle by Maggie ShipsteadThe Fellowship of the Ring by JRR TolkienThe Power of Now by Eckhart TolleGeneration Hope by Arunjay KatakamThere's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month and support us to keep making Two Inconvenient Women and the rest of our work at ThoughtBox. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Rachel and Holly are getting ready for some time off next week, so in this special short episode Rachel shares about the book she's currently reading, 'The Listening Book' by W.A Matheieu.There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month and support us to keep making Two Inconvenient Women and the rest of our work at ThoughtBox. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Whilst systems-change, systems-thinking and systems-transformation are becoming much more common terms used in conversations these days, discussions around 'inner systems change' are only just beginning to emerge in more public discourse. When we start to focus on systems change from the inside out, it is an invitation into introspection and exploring some of the habits, mindsets, behaviours and thought patterns that may be keeping us stuck in external behaviours contributing to many of the crises we face.This sort of 'inner work' - as it is often coined - can feel overwhelming, yet offers a doorway into profound change in the wider world as well as within ourselves, and begins by simply paying attention.In this week's episode we dive into the connections between inner and outer systems transformation, with the appreciation that how we think, feel and connect with the world shapes our outward actions. We talk about our own personal journeys, struggles and growth points in the journey of systems change, and how the Triple WellBeing approach that sits at the heart of ThoughtBox is an invitation to be working from the inside out and outside in at the same time.In this episode we reference the following:Theory U - The Presencing Institute / Otto Scharmer (book & website)Thinking in Systems - Donella Meadows (book)The work of Joanna Macy (website / books)Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet - Thich Nhat Hanh (book)Impossible Choices - Gregory Bateson (article)Warm Data - Nora Bateson (website)The Triple WellBeing Framework (PDF / website)______________There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're  inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

"Know thyself" is often cited as the foundation of philosophy and self-awareness. Yet what does this mean? How can we 'know ourselves' and where might this journey of exploration begin and end?In this week's episode, we explore the quality of self-awareness, thinking about why this level of conscious awareness is more needed than ever in our world. From exploring the qualities that make up the 'self' (e.g. mind, body, heart, soul) to the journey to find our core essence, this conversation meanders to the depths and back of the human experience, touching upon some of the key practices, tools, approaches and inquiries we can take to become more self-aware and, as a result, more consciously connected to the world around us.In this episode we reference the following:Atlas of the Heart - Brene Brown (book)Triple WellBeing practice cards - ThoughtBox (card deck)The Medicine Wheel - ancient indigenous map (website)Watching the English - Kate Fox (book)The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle (book)Neuroplasticity in action - Sentis (video)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're  inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-clubNVC - The Centre for Non-Violent Communication (website)The Guesthouse - Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (poem)

Whilst many different models of schooling have evolved across recent history, the predominant mainstream model of school which has prevalence in countries and cultures across the world (spread through colonial history, missionaries and the rapid onset of a globalised world) remains deeply problematic. As the world rapidly changes around us, this structure remains designed around an archaic framing in a world far different from the one we're now living in. So what is the point of school?In this conversation we ask this question from several vantage points: What was the point of school when it was first designed? What is the point of school in our current context? What might the point of school be for the world we're moving into? By diving into each of these questions, we take time to better understand some of the constraints and limitations within the contexts of school which continue to shape the challenges being faced in our current contexts.This week's conversation dives into some of the deep complexities being faced in our current schooling system; zooming out to understand the parameters of limitation and opportunities for evolution and engages with many of the alternative pathways for an education transformation happening across the world.In this episode we reference the following:Changing Education Paradigms - Ken Robinson (RSA Animation)The Factory of Memory - Richard Hames / The Hames Report (substack)Person School Report 2026 (PDF)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (Ebook)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're  inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

One of the foundational premises that underpins the work of ThoughtBox is our inconvenience. We're an organisation that questions the status quo; that raises a hand in conversations to ask the vital question: "Why?"; the folks who appreciate that there are always other stories to be heard, to listen to and to perhaps follow instead. It's not easy being inconvenient - it's often quite a lonely place, but it is a place that allows us to do what is right, not what is easy. It takes courage, conviction and a lot of energy - and the recognition that the more of us there are being inconvenient, the more likely we are to turn the tide towards a more health-ful way of living together.In this episode we shine a light on some of the reasons for standing up for the moral injury of these times and how becoming inconvenient can be both liberating and energising in the work ahead. We are (excitedly!) launching in this episode The Inconvenient Club: a place for all of you out there who also question the status-quo to come join us and be part of a movement of inconvenience.In this episode we reference the following:The Inconvenient Club - membership club (website)Moral injury (website definition)A profession built on hope, strained by loss - Rhett Ayers Butler (article)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're  inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club