Louder Girl Discovers Good Trouble Is All The (Out)rage

As you know, LOUDER GIRL proclaimed June as GOOD TROUBLE Awareness Month.

We need to clear something up before we continue.

When I talk about Good Trouble, I don't mean the kind of "good" we’ve been taught all our lives.

You know the drill:

• Be a good girl.
• Be quiet.
• Be nice.
• Be pleasant.
• Be accommodating.

Nope.

One hundred percent no.

When I first introduced Good Trouble Month, some women told me words like disrupt, fight back, destroy, and revolution didn't resonate.

They felt too harsh.
Too aggressive.
Too much like the systems we are trying to change.

Honestly?

I get it.

The last thing I want is for LOUDER GIRL to feel like an exclusive club where you must storm the barricades to belong.

Good Trouble is not about taking up arms.

It's about making your own rules.

It's about listening to yourself.

It's about choosing authenticity over performance.

It's about the small, everyday acts that liberate us from the stories we've been told about who we should be.

And every one of those choices is leadership.

You Are the Leader of Your Life

IGNITED LEADERSHIP begins with a simple truth:

You do not need a title to be a leader.

You don't need millions of dollars.
You don't need a corner office.
You don't need employees.
You don't need permission.

Leadership happens every time you choose yourself.

Every time you:

• Say no.
• Set a boundary.
• Rest.
• Speak up.
• Ask for help.
• Trust your instincts.
• Stop pretending you're fine.

Image: Help

That is leadership.

And every woman who begins leading her own life creates a ripple effect:

• Less loneliness and isolation.
• More connection.
• More joy.
• Less self-abandonment.
• Less numbing through alcohol, overwork, perfectionism, or people-pleasing.
• More peace.

That's Good Trouble.

And So Is Rage

Author and activist Sue Monk Kidd writes:

"The transfiguration of anger is a movement from rage to outrage. Rage implies an internalized emotion... What rage wants and needs is to move outward toward positive social purpose, to become a creative force or energy."

That quote stopped me in my tracks.

Because that's exactly what happened to me.

The Good Girl Who Swallowed Her Anger

Image: Be good

I learned the Good Girl lesson early.

As the oldest daughter in a family struggling with stress, addiction, and overwhelm, I became the fixer.

The responsible one.

The emotional support system.

I learned to take care of everyone else.

I learned to keep the peace.

I learned to stay quiet.

What I didn't learn was how to express anger.

So, I did what many women do.

I swallowed it.

I bit my tongue.
I pushed my feelings down.
I became a perfectionist.
A people-pleaser.
A high achiever.

From the outside, I looked successful.

Inside, I was carrying decades of unspoken rage, grief, and resentment.

The Cost of Suppressed Rage

When anger has nowhere to go, it often turns inward.

Research has linked suppressed anger to:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Chronic stress
• PTSD symptoms
• Eating disorders
• Substance misuse
• Physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive problems, fatigue, and chronic pain

Looking back, I can see the evidence everywhere.

Migraines.
Stomach problems.
An eating disorder.
Anxiety.
PTSD.

Image: Woman with migraine

My body was screaming long before I was willing to listen.

What Rage Is Really Trying to Tell Us

One of the most important things I learned in trauma recovery is this:

Anger is not the problem.

Anger is information.

It is an adaptive emotion that tells us:

• A boundary has been crossed.
• A value has been violated.
• A need is unmet.
• Something isn't safe.

Women's rage is often dismissed, mocked, or feared.

But rage is frequently the beginning of leadership.

Our anger tells us:

• Something matters.
• Something hurts.
• Something is unjust.
• Something must change.

Social movements are born when women stop swallowing their anger.

Not because we hate.

Because we love too much to stay silent.

The LOUDER GIRL Reframe

The problem isn't that women are angry.

The problem is that we've been taught to turn our anger against ourselves instead of the systems, stories, and expectations that put it there.

That's why one of the pillars of IGNITED LEADERSHIP is:

The Body Is a Compass

Traditional leadership teaches us to override ourselves.

Push through.

Ignore exhaustion.

Suppress emotions.

Perform confidence.

Stay productive.

Ignited Leadership asks something radically different:

What if your body isn't the problem?

What if your body is trying to lead you home?

Our bodies often know the truth before our minds do.

The question is whether we're listening.

Three Micro-Ways to Lead with Your Body

1. Notice the Tightening

Pay attention when:

• Your jaw clenches.
• Your shoulders rise.
• Your stomach knots.
• Your chest tightens.

Ask yourself:

What truth am I avoiding?

2. Let Anger Be Data

Instead of asking:

"Why am I so angry?"

Ask:

What boundary, value, or need is asking for attention?

Anger is often your body's way of saying:

This matters.

3. Eat Before You Become a Dragon

Image: Dragon

Many women ignore their most basic needs.

We skip meals.
Ignore thirst.
Work through exhaustion.

Then wonder why we're irritable.

Leadership starts with honoring our biological needs.

Eat.

Drink water.

Rest.

These are not rewards.

They're requirements.

Before You Lead Anyone Else...

Before you lead a team, a company, a movement, or a community, you must learn to lead yourself.

And your body has been trying to show you the way all along.

Your rage is not a character flaw.

It may be the part of you that remembers you deserve more.

More rest.

More respect.

More joy.

More freedom.

Listen closely.

Your body already knows the way home.

Want More GOOD TROUBLE?

Join the LOUDER GIRL community.

Where women:

• tell the truth
• reclaim their voices
• practice courage
• lead their lives first
• rise together instead of alone
• find joy

When You Join, You Get:

LoudHer Inspirations Newsletter
Weekly sparks of courage, storytelling, and self-truth

Sisterhood & Belonging
A space where you are seen, heard, and held

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Power-with. Not power-over.

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