Special Episode: Making Meaning From Trauma (Part 1)
In this powerful episode of Armed with Ambition, host Siobhan Cunningham explores how trauma disrupts our beliefs and offers an invitation to redefine meaning, purpose, and goals. Learn the difference between meaning and purpose, how veterans and high performers navigate identity shifts, and how leaders can better support their teams through compassion and understanding.
Special Episode: Making Meaning from Trauma
By Siobhan Cunningham, LCSW | Host of Armed with Ambition
What does it truly mean to "make meaning" after a life-altering event?
In this special episode of Armed with Ambition, Siobhan Cunningham explores the complex yet vital journey of understanding meaning, purpose, and goals (especially after trauma).
Finding a new sense of meaning is not just healing but transformational for women veterans, high-performing leaders, and anyone navigating major transitions.
Drawing on her experiences as a military child, trauma therapist, former social work officer, and now mother and leader, Siobhan shares how her early notions of "meaning" were shaped by performance and external validation. She unpacks the pivotal moment when her military service forced her to redefine what meaning truly meant—not through the approval of others but through personal conviction, resilience, and inner growth.
This episode thoughtfully explores:
The difference between goals, meaning, and purpose:
Goals are what you do.
Meaning is why you do it.
Purpose is the lasting impact of your meaningful actions.
How trauma disrupts our original framework for meaning:
When life doesn't go according to plan, we are invited to adapt, grieve, and rebuild a new understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
The power of "global meaning" and "situational meaning":
Siobhan explains how our core beliefs, goals, and emotional responses shape our ability to heal and bounce back from stressful life events.
The hidden battle veterans and high-performing professionals face:
Siobhan openly reflects on how veterans frequently grapple with seemingly pointless tasks after military service, not due to an "attitude problem," but because of a deeply rooted need for purpose and mission-driven action.
A call to compassion in leadership:
Understanding the "why" behind people's drive can foster greater empathy, loyalty, and connection in the workplace and beyond.
This episode isn’t just about surviving trauma.
It’s about choosing to grow, asking deeper questions, and living with intention—even when, especially when, life breaks your old framework apart.
Ready to redefine your sense of meaning?
👉 Tune in to the full episode now on the Empower Women Veterans YouTube Channel!
