Honest Magazine

Asking for acknowledgement is hard. Really hard.

I just moved into the second quarter of the professional leadership development training I’m in, and one of our assignments was to create a daily wellness tracker.

This is already a practice I’ve had for a while. Each day, I track things like:

Journal.
Practice gratitude.
Meditate.
Stretch.
Go outside.
Eat nutritiously.
Drink enough water.

I’m good at those.

And when I brought that up, you know what I was told to add?

Ask for acknowledgement.
Ask for help.

And I added a few more myself:

Stop before my limit.
Acknowledge how I’m feeling.
Appreciate the beauty of my food.
“Be” with the water.
Allow my depth to be seen.
Decide what risk I’ll take today.
Ask myself, What does my tender heart want?
Appreciate a piece of art.

The one I’ve checked the least?

Ask for acknowledgement.

Asking for help is hard for me. But asking for acknowledgement is so much harder.

I think a lot of us have been taught not to ask for it. That wanting acknowledgement is selfish. Self-absorbed. Shameful. Needy. Wrong.

But we’re human.

And acknowledgement—being witnessed—is part of what it means to be here with one another.

So I’m practicing asking for it more. And I want to encourage you to do the same.

You can ask to be acknowledged for anything:

For something you said.
For something you chose not to say.
For letting yourself rest.
For pushing yourself outside your comfort zone.
For showing up.
For trying again.
For being here.

You don’t have to accomplish something extraordinary to be worthy of being witnessed.

So I’ll practice right here:

I’d like to be acknowledged for continuing to choose growth, even when growth asks me to do something that makes me deeply uncomfortable.

And now I’m curious:

What would you like to be acknowledged for today?

Pictured: the first time my self-published magazine showed up at my local PCC Community Markets store in Issaquah, Washington.

Honest Magazine is opening one complimentary 1:1 coaching conversation with Shannon for tomorrow or Thursday.

This is for someone at a crossroads, moving through a transition, or wanting greater clarity around something important.

The session will be recorded for professional supervision with your full knowledge and consent.

Send a DM with COACHING today to claim the spot.

https://mailchi.mp/75e803d79294/founding-client-rate-for-through-line-coaching

A private invitation: The Essence Session Through my training in ontological coaching and neuroleadership, I now work one-on-one with people who want greater clarity, coherence, and an honest relationship with who they are.  

Some things don't change.

They simply find new ways to be expressed.

When I started Honest, I wasn't trying to build a magazine.

I was studying photography.

I wanted somewhere to practice.

To make things.

To tell stories.

To pay attention.

Over the years, Honest became a magazine.

Then a creative practice.

Then a community.

Looking back, I can see there was a thread running through all of it.

A belief that beauty isn't something we manufacture.

It's something we uncover.

That truth has a way of revealing itself when we pay enough attention.

That has always been the work.

Whether through a photograph.

A story.

A recipe.

A conversation.

Or now, coaching.

Over the last year, I've been studying ontology—the study of being—through an ICF-accredited coaching program while continuing NeuroLeader coach training.

What surprised me wasn't that coaching felt different.

It was how familiar it felt.

The medium changed.

The intention didn't.

Today, Honest is growing again.

Alongside the magazine, we're now offering one-on-one coaching—another place to explore the same questions that have shaped Honest from the beginning.

Who are you?

What's true?

What would it look like to live from that place?

As I continue my accreditation, I'm opening a small number of coaching spots at 50% of my future rate.

If you'd like to continue the conversation, I'd love to meet you.

https://www.honestquarterly.com/coaching

Honest Magazine Retreat | Island Time -

Honest Magazine Retreat | Island Time From seasonal dinners and hosting concepts to creative direction and atmosphere, each consultation is tailored personally by Honest founder Shannon Douglas.

Honest Magazine Retreat | Island Time -

Honest Magazine Retreat | Island Time