1. It is not work that burns us out
This month I published an article in which I share some findings from my 10+ years of experience encountering people who are stretched to their limit. Burnout is an outcome, so I take clients who are overwhelmed on a journey from the triage stage (where they are able to catch a breath and turn the alarms off) to gently and directly examining the deep roots that we so often overlook yet are so powerfully involved in how we experience the world and how we function in it.
Read the article here:
2. You can't control everything
Were you a Covid first-timer this month? I was, and it forced me to accept that I was no exception to its random rules. I take vitamins, eat healthily, rest, sleep, exercise and yet I STILL lost my sense of smell and taste. It brought me back to this visual, a great reminder to recognise what you can control, and release what you cannot.
3. Are you sure you want to 'set yourself up for success'?
In a recent article about what it means to set yourself up for success, I talk about the importance of honesty in planning.
My favourite way to approach anything is to recognise that I can only ever take my best shot. That no outcome is guaranteed. I am not a machine. And not only that. Life is complex. Unexpected things happen. If we make a plan without factoring in the reality that is life, we are bound for disappointment, and probably a whole host of other unpleasant feelings about ourselves, the world, and the people around us.
So instead of planning for success, we can choose to plan with every hope for the best outcome, and an acceptance that the worst could happen. That acceptance comes in the form of being flexible and open to multiple options, and of course most importantly of all - being honest about what is actually possible with the resources we have. It also comes in the form of contingency planning and making sure that you add fat/flexibility/breathing room as you go - to budgets, to schedules and guestimates.
Read the article here:
4. Do you feel you need to be busy all the time?
Feeling the need to be busy all the time is often a fear-based distraction from what you'd be forced to acknowledge and feel if you slowed down.
Being busy all the time does not automatically mean we are processing trauma, BUT whether it’s coming from fear of what we feel or from high expectations or ambitions, the fact is that we were not designed to perform like machines. That’s why the word burnout exists. It’s very real, very damaging, has long-term effects on our energy and lives and the people who love us, and is essentially entirely avoidable IF we take steps to rebalance.
I regularly have conversations with people on the edge of burnout, or indeed at a crisis point. Our society has a lot to answer for. The (sort of!) blessing of burnout is access to the revelation that we can excavate our beliefs and conditioning and actually change how we live and feel. Because when your life is being lived in clear alignment with your values, needs and desires, things feel - and are - so much easier.
5. A quick reminder about process vs product...
When an artist shows a painting, what took hours, days or even years is consumed in a split second. However, it is in the process of creation that we encounter our full human experience. The trap of our capitalist society is to assume that the outcome/end product is the most important thing.
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P.S...Here are three more ways you can experience my work... 1 - Tailored Resources - simply let me know via email what you are working through and I will send you some helpful pointers and materials
2 - Half day Deep dive - four hours of deeply focused time working through whatever it is you want to bring 3 - Full day immersion - this is a sacred time for magical unfolding, where we get to explore whatever emerges with no limit on where the time takes us
I love to connect - please do leave a comment or share with someone you think this might benefit.
