Meet Carolyn in the Media Room

Who Is Carolyn Shaffer and Why Did She Start whyworryguide.com?

THE SHORT VERSION
(Click for the Long Version. It’s a more revealing “read.”)

Carolyn Shaffer is dedicated to the serious job of dispensing lighthearted wisdom for the heavy times in which we live. A long-time educator and, for more than 20 years, a clinical hypnotherapist and life coach (www.livingwellway.com), she has helped hundreds of clients and students move from fear and paralysis to joy and effective action. In response to the unprecedented global crises we face, Carolyn started whyworryguide.com to help thousands more learn how to make this shift quickly and affordably.

Coauthor, with Kristin Anundsen, of Creating Community Anywhere: Finding Support and Connection in a Fragmented World (Tarcher/Putnam; reissued by CCC Press), Carolyn has conducted numerous workshops and trainings in the skills of collaboration. She also holds masters degrees in biology and education from Stanford University.

Currently, Carolyn is part of a network of citizen leaders in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley that is collaborating across the political, economic, and religious divides. Their goal is to create an economy and a culture in which all Rogue Valley residents for generations to come can both survive and thrive.

THE LONG VERSION–the facts plus some fun stuff

Carolyn Shaffer (aka Why-Worry Woman) is dedicated to the serious job of dispensing lighthearted wisdom for the heavy times in which we live. Her mission is to help others do in days what took her decades: Learn why worry doesn’t work and joy does.

Carolyn has discovered that when she shifts from worry to joy frequently and fast, worry finally gives up and surrenders. Once joy is in charge, she’s more relaxed, confident, and creative and much better able to take effective action.

The effectiveness of her action–and its fun level–multiplies when Carolyn joins with others who have also made the worry-to-joy shift. She and a growing band of fact-facing-but-lighthearted friends have dedicated themselves to turning the unprecedented crises of our time into opportunities.

“Born worried” into a family of worrying women, Carolyn spent much of her early life toiling earnestly with furrowed brow and not having much fun, even while playing. She experienced her “Don’t worry, be happy” epiphany in her thirties while roller skating with a boyfriend and feeling terrified that she’d fall and look ridiculous. “Isn’t this supposed to be fun?” she asked herself. “What if I decided to have fun?” Immediately, her inner tomboy muscled aside her self-image as a sports klutz, and Carolyn skated happily for hours without falling once.

Following this epiphany, Carolyn–already an educator with master’s degrees in biology and education from Stanford University–chose to study more deeply the mind and human behavior. This led her to become a clinical hypnotherapist and life coach and to develop a process called The Living Well Way (www.livingwellway.com). This set of skills and practices helps people clarify their purpose, transform mental and emotional blocks, accomplish their goals, and create the life they desire.

In her more than 20 years of private practice, Carolyn has helped hundreds of clients move from fear and paralysis to joy and effective action. To help thousands more learn how to make this shift quickly and affordably, Carolyn started whyworryguide.com.

Finally, through this blog, Carolyn is able to bring her coaching and emotional management skills together with her three decades of experience building healthy relationships, groups, and communities. Cofounder, with Dr. Sandra Lewis, of Growing Community Associates, Carolyn has conducted numerous workshops and trainings in the skills of collaboration.

Currently, Carolyn is part of a network of citizen leaders in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley that is collaborating across the political, economic, and religious divides. Their goal is to create an economy and a culture in which all Rogue Valley residents and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can survive and, better yet, thrive.

Carolyn is coauthor, with Kristin Anundsen, of Creating Community Anywhere: Finding Support and Connection in a Fragmented World (Tarcher/Putnam; reissued by CCC Press). With Erica Fielder, she coauthored Ecology for City Kids (San Francisco Ecology Center) and City Safaris: An Explorer’s Guide to Urban Adventures for Kids and Grownups (Sierra Club).

Carolyn has also appeared on radio and television, been a keynote speaker, conducted a variety of workshops, and presented these at conferences sponsored by the Omega Center, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and other national organizations. Her writing has appeared in Yoga Journal, Utne Reader, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other magazines and newspapers.