Meet Brittany Stevens-pollard, M.ed, Lasac

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittany Stevens-pollard, M.ed, Lasac a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

My optimism originally started from a place of shame. I was the grouchy friend, the negative one who always looked for the bad in each situation. It was hard for me to celebrate with my friends back then because I was bound by deep insecurity and shame. I was never present for others, unless they wanted gloom and doom, then I was their expert.
It wasn’t until I really dug deeply into my own mental health journey, when I realized I was living in survival mode. There is no joy in survival mode. I was constantly looking for my exits, emotionally and physically, as feeling was far too uncomfortable. So I practiced being still, even for 20 seconds a day. Then, I built a practice of setting my mind on the good I wish to see in the world, and slowly over time, my outlook legitimately changed.
Here is the trick, if you look for trouble, you will always find it. But if you start looking for the good, even in the very bad, there is spark of hope and that is the beginning of an entire mind shift.
We essentially create our own reality, our perception of ourselves and others will always be the filter in which we sift through, so change the filter.
Imagine you and I are sitting on the side of the road, and cars are just whizzing past us. It is overwhelming and a lot to take in, so I ask you to only focus on the yellow cars. It feels impossible at first, in the sea of noise and other vehicles. But then, there is one. Then, there is another one. Pretty soon, they seem to stick out of the noise. That is how we train our brain to be optimistic. Look for the good in everything you notice, and pretty soon, it will be all you see.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I work in the mental health field and have since 2008. I began my journey with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral health, and then a master’s degree in counseling. I have been licensed as an Addiction Counselor in both the state of Montana and currently practice in Arizona. I have always been drawn to the behavior patterns of humans. I ask the question of “why” do we do the things we do, and if we can change the pattern, can we change our lives. And the answer is yes, absolutely. I see mental wellness like a math equation, silly perhaps. But, for so many struggling to see the value in talking to a therapist, they focus on feelings that make them uncomfortable, when really my approach is to change the pattern of dysfunction that is no longer serving you and your journey.
My passion is working with people struggling with addiction and personality disorders. I believe so very strongly that addiction is not the problem initially, but the solution to their problems that later become its own problem. We can become addicted to anything. As long as we are using something to replace the hurt feelings deep within, we have a pattern potential for addiction. As long as there are those struggling with addiction or substance use, there is a place to serve, and I plan on doing that until I am no longer able.
The first real solidification of my calling in this life was when i was working in a casino and liquor store, many many years ago. I needed the money and my regulars became friends. What I would see though, would be people bringing in their entire month’s paycheck to spend on slot machines and alcohol. Most of the time, I would watch them lose everything within a matter of minutes. And seeing the desperation in their eyes each time was enough for me. They were desperately trying to make their tough situation better, even just for a moment. And that pattern stole more than it gave. I had to be part of breaking this pattern. There are real people, kind and generous people, desperately trying to make their situations better with tools that are maladaptive and killing them. And I will never stop fighting for them to find peace.
I currently run my own coaching business, see clients via telehealth for addiction counseling, I teach workshops and webinars, have a blog and social media focused on giving peace to others. And I am currently building big dreams to expand all of these reosurces.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The greatest tools I have used in my practice has been the art of curiosity, rather than judgment. When we are very young, we are curious about the world, we ask big questions, and we try things just to see what would happen. Over time, our curiosity turns into judgment and we stop trying new things. We think we know how things will go, or why someone does what they do. When we do this, we stop getting curious about possibilities and potential.
Another tool I use most often in my practice is I attempt to always be a learner. I do not have everything figured out, so as long as i remain open to learning something new, my ego can never be hurt when I am corrected. This took especially a long time for me to learn as I would identify as a perfectionist. But here is the tricky thing about being a perfectionist: if I am expected to be perfect all the time, being corrected is interpreted as being attacked. I am not learning anything if I think I know everything, or I am closed to the possibility that I missed something. So, I practice being open to receive new information each day, and then nothing really hurts my feelings, because it is all something for me to learn.
The last tool I have honed over the years (again, work in progress) is I try to take nothing, absolutely NOTHING personally. It is not an attack when someone is yelling at me, but rather, if I shift perspective, I can hear them without defense. They are trying to get me to hear them. If I am being actually attacked, then I remove myself for safety, but most of the time, someone is trying to get me to hear them and understand them. That has nothing to do with me at all. I have de-escalated people from every level of care, from lock down inpatient facilities, to someone in public with this tactic. I believe everyone wants to be heard and understood, and if I do that, then it is never really about me anyway.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

My current hurdle in my life professionally is grappling with the reality that I am my own limit. My thoughts and beliefs are my filters in which I see the world and my participation in the world, so if I change this then I am capable of anything. I write the story of my life, I am the author, and I get to decide how the story goes. Will I tell the story from the perspective of the victim? I certainly have been victimized and have my own years of trauma. But is this where my identity is rooted? I get to tell my story from a different angle and when I do, I am capable of anything I set my mind to. It isn’t ego, call it manifestation or whatever fits your narrative, because whatever you believe in, and whatever you speak your words to, that is what has power in your life. Do you focus on your poverty and say things like “I am going to die poor,” then you will be right because you have just built your own filter and worldview. So, if i change the narrative to something like “I am learning to have a healthy relationship with money and will master it,” then you will be right then too. Because where our thoughts and beliefs are, so becomes our actions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pollardcoaching.com
• Instagram: bpickles2019