learning himself to connect with others with Coach Lee Hopkins

It’s not just in his coaching practice where Coach Lee Hopkins explores the complex and rich realm of connecting with oneself in order to more fully connect with others; for Coach Lee, it’s a way of life. (A favorite moment of mine in this conversation was when Coach Lee said that he already knows what it’s like to stand against a wall and watch others converse; now, to learn what it felt like to join the conversation.) Find a video of our conversation at: https://rawzcoaching.com/coach-lee-hopkins*** About Coach Lee Hopkins | Coach, friend, community creator/gatherer, trans manCoach Lee Hopkins is an expert in helping people build more fulfilling social connections in both their personal and professional lives. As a transgender man, he knows firsthand the difficulties that come with trying to make meaningful connections in today's world. But he doesn’t attribute his struggle to connect solely to his gender identity. He learned that by speaking from the heart and being true to himself, he could have meaningful conversations that lead to lasting friendships and more fulfilling relationships with others.   Learn more at https://www.patternsofpossibility.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/patternsofpossibility/Coach Lee highlighted an organization that he finds inspiring for the way it engages underserved youth in mentorship, tutoring, and other resources through the engaging and empowering tool of boxing, The Bloc. Learn more at https://theblocchicago.org/ *** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Some Key Moments from our Conversation:Coach Lee Hopkins sees himself as a human who sees himself in other people and in the differences between peopleWhat he’s all up in: How he’s communicating with people, especially during recent experiences where his vulnerability led to ouchy reactions from othersAlong the way, he’s noticing that the closer he is to someone, the more he expects the other to understand his communication, to hear him wellHis first steps in understanding is exploring his own feeling to ensure he’s not trapped in a bubble of his emotions and to check his own desires to alternately blame others and blame selfWe talked the intersection of self-responsibility, self-compassion, and boundaries, and the learn-share-learn experience we both have of coachingHe motivates to join conversation is to learn more about himself; he said he already knows what it feels like to stand against a wall and watch other people have conversation (I LOVED this moment!)He tells a wonderful story about waking up – as in having a moment of profound awareness – in the midst of an argument with someone he was then datingCoach Lee creates a lot of opportunities for people to connect with one anotherHe noticed that he’s always been a person who others watched for social cues; now he uses that magnetism with intentionTools: Breathing (especially in the midst of discomfort), remembering his priority of learning more about himself, watching other people and their experiences (especially on TikTok), talking things out on his podcast, with others, and aloud to himself.