Do you have a complicated relationship with work? Me too.
It’s pretty all-consuming at times, especially when I’m in a sprint or launch. Working away until the wee hours of the morning, sacrificing sleep, and other wellness routines was me for the first eight months of this pandemic.
I hit a few walls last year, but the biggest came at the end of December. When I started to slow down for the Holidays, I realized just how overworked and burned out I really was. It took me a few weeks to find my footing again. Those few weeks were filled with overeating, lots of TV, lots of home organizing and cleaning, and some self-reflecting. I realized something needed to change… again.
It wasn’t my first rodeo! I’ve had to redefine my relationship to work, and change my work habits many times throughout my career -- I can so easily get sucked into overwork and an unrelenting, unsustainable pace. I think that was true for so many of us last year as we were all just trying to survive and make life and work function.
What was interesting about this January intervention for me is that the ‘bounce back’ did happen more quickly than in the past. I knew the steps to take, the self-reflection that needed to happen. I made a commitment to myself that in the year ahead I wouldn’t sacrifice my health habits (specifically working out and eating well) for work. I was firm in my convictions, and now almost five months later, I’m proud to say it’s stuck.
My health has become an anchor in my life again. Last year was a season of the ‘hustle’ as we built and launched two new programs. But this year, I decided it was time to work differently, and smarter. To anchor into the habits I knew would help me cultivate more contentment, peace, time with my husband, and time for joy.
That’s the beautiful thing about life and how we work and change -- we can decide at any given moment to take the reins and change direction. We can decide to fully embody the life we know we deserve, and not get too overwhelmed or stuck when we might occasionally regress.
Today’s episode is about redefining our relationship to work and success. Today we hear from the Founder of Live Tinted, Deepica Mutyala on why she refused to buy into the narrative that she couldn’t work and be well, that she couldn’t build the company of her dreams and find joy. This episode is one you don’t want to miss.
As always, here are some journal prompts for you to dive deeper into your relationship with work and to decide if it needs some shifting.
Finally, registration for our program The Next Right Step, a seven-week coaching program with me based on my framework the Roots of Resilience, is opening soon! Stay tuned for more details, I can’t wait to have you join and create our post-pandemic blueprint for life and work together.
Until next time,
-Komal