Latest / All Figured Out with Andrea Barr: Figuring Out Work, Life and Parenting / 26. Cindy Bachop on figuring out how to give yourself the permission to pause
Transcript
- 0:00We can bring our best selves and it's because we've given
- 0:03ourselves permission to pause. Then if you show up as your best
- 0:08self, that's when we change the world and pause that is our
- 0:15topic for today's episode. Hello, I'm Andrea bar.
- 0:19I'm your host of the all figured out podcast and if you've been
- 0:21following along here for a bit, you know, that it's no secret
- 0:24that I aim to support and serve. All you high-performing working,
- 0:28parents out there we Usually talk about setting big goals,
- 0:32crushing them how to push boundaries and limits being the
- 0:34most organized version of yourself and that sort of thing.
- 0:37Today, we're going to be exploring and tackling all of
- 0:40that. But actually through a lens that
- 0:44might sound counterintuitive to you and that is through pausing
- 0:48more specifically, how and why to give yourself the permission
- 0:52to pause leading Us in this charge is my guest for today,
- 0:56Cindy back up, Cindy has had an incredible 30 plus Your career
- 1:00where she is facilitated learning experiences of all
- 1:03kinds in both the public and nonprofit, sectors.
- 1:06She's the founder of Boom spiral facilitation where she's now
- 1:10opened up her knowledge and gift for creating connection and
- 1:13experiences to the general public versus just working
- 1:16within organizations. And just only being able to
- 1:18serve the folks who were in the organization that she worked in
- 1:22one of the ways that she does this now is through workshops
- 1:25for women who want to reduce overwhelm and create new habits
- 1:29to feel calm. And vibrant interviewing Cindy
- 1:32was akin to just getting a great big hug.
- 1:35That's the best way I could describe it.
- 1:37She is equal parts, sweet calming and Incredibly well
- 1:41researched in her approach. So she's just the whole package
- 1:44deal and I actually don't want to spoil any more about what we
- 1:47get into in this conversation. So just tuned in, have a cup of
- 1:52tea or something common go on a really nice walk outside and
- 1:56just let yourself connect to exploring.
- 1:59Why you Give yourself the permission to pause.
- 2:04You're listening to the all figured out podcast.
- 2:07I'm your host Aundrea bar. As a career coach for parents, a
- 2:12mom, an entrepreneur. And someone who spent ten plus
- 2:15years in the corporate world, I still don't have it all figured
- 2:18out and maybe you don't. Either this podcast, I'll share
- 2:22tools and strategies that I use as my clients and in the many
- 2:25areas where I don't have things figured out.
- 2:27I'll be bringing you some amazing guest experts to help us
- 2:30fill in the gaps. So tune in each week as we
- 2:32explore how to make career and life decisions that truly work
- 2:36for you, your family and your big goals.
- 2:40Let's make moves. Cindy back up.
- 2:45Thank you so much for joining me on the all figured out podcast.
- 2:48I was just telling you how excited I am to speak with you
- 2:51today. I think that our audience is
- 2:53going to get just infinite amounts of value and wisdom from
- 2:57what you have to say. So thank you for agreeing to
- 2:59come on the show, but if you hungry, I've been looking so
- 3:02forward to this and I am absolutely honored to be
- 3:05invited. So thank you for having me.
- 3:07Oh my goodness. Okay, well, let's get into it
- 3:09for the audience to get to know you.
- 3:11You have a really cool story. Could you share with us too?
- 3:14Bit about the career and I'll even throw in the Life Journey
- 3:17because we know they're one in the same that led you to become
- 3:20so inspired to do the work that you do and specifically around,
- 3:23you know, granting oneself the permission to pause.
- 3:26How did you get into that? Mmm, that's a great question.
- 3:31So I my career Journey actually started with a bike, a box and a
- 3:39suitcase if we want to go all the way back to the beginning.
- 3:43I I was a graduate of the Commerce program at the
- 3:48University of Alberta and lived in Edmonton.
- 3:53And at that time, the economy was in a downturn and I had
- 3:57aspirations to move to Victoria and I had a dad who was a real
- 4:04enabler and he said, okay let's get you out there.
- 4:08I had a total of eight hundred dollars to my name and had this
- 4:11idea I was going to move to another city and He worked in a
- 4:16distribution center in Edmonton, had a very best friend who was a
- 4:21truck driver and used to do the route from Edmonton to Vancouver
- 4:26in an 18-wheel truck. And then I've got my first start
- 4:31in into the BC economy by loading myself.
- 4:35My bike, my box of my suitcase up on an 18-wheel truck taking
- 4:39the two-day Journey out to Vancouver had it Friend bring me
- 4:44over to Victoria. Haven't looked back since.
- 4:48And at that time, I took the first step I could get which was
- 4:52in working on reception desk at a hotel, making minimum wage and
- 4:59about five weeks into that. I'm like, I can't afford to stay
- 5:03here. I can't afford my rent.
- 5:04I can't afford the cost of living.
- 5:08And so I decided I was going to land myself a job with the
- 5:13public service. Here in Victoria because I done
- 5:16an internship at the Alberta public service and thought I had
- 5:21related experience. So I had the names of some
- 5:24people to follow up with and try and reach out and contact.
- 5:28And there was one director who worked in the exact line of work
- 5:32that I had experienced in. And so I knocked on the door and
- 5:38tried to get in and he was very busy and you can see one of my
- 5:40staff members but I'm too busy to meet with you and I met One
- 5:44of his staff members learned a whole bunch about the priority
- 5:48projects, they were working on went back.
- 5:51Try to meet with the executive director and he said no his
- 5:55secretary was was the gatekeeper and no, I'm sorry, he's in
- 5:59meetings and I said, okay, that's great.
- 6:02I'll wait and I stayed in that reception area and waited until
- 6:08he came out from his from his meeting that he was in.
- 6:14He saw me sitting there had a good chuckle invited me in.
- 6:18We sat and talked for 45 minutes because now I had all this
- 6:21information about the priority project from speaking with his
- 6:25staff and landed the job. And so from that point on my
- 6:30career really was primarily with the DC public service and I
- 6:36think a lot of people don't realize this but when you're in
- 6:40the public service, it is one employer.
- 6:43But the Eternity for variety is fantastic.
- 6:47And so I had a varied and very interesting career working
- 6:52mainly in the policy area, and working everything, from
- 6:57economic policy, to education policy to purchasing policy to
- 7:04sport policy, Arts policy. It was a fantastic journey of a
- 7:10career. And one of the threads that Move
- 7:14throughout the experience was Whenever there was an
- 7:18opportunity to lead a meeting or to gain some experience in how
- 7:26to design experiences for people specifically learning
- 7:30experiences or a planning journey.
- 7:34I was always the first to kind of put my hand up to take on
- 7:37that added task and more and more, Iris.
- 7:44Leave feedback that this was something that that added value
- 7:48to the organization. And so, from that point forward,
- 7:54I started to find opportunities for myself and so many of the
- 7:58jobs that I had over the course of my career were not jobs that
- 8:02I applied for so much, as problems that I could offer to
- 8:08be a solution for. And so that's kind of in a
- 8:11nutshell. The Ernie.
- 8:14I was on the parallel life Journey, was that of a single
- 8:23individual, starting my career, and then going through the
- 8:27Journey of meeting the love of my life, we got married, we
- 8:33started a family and I began the Journey of Being a career public
- 8:42servant and managing what? I believed to be my most
- 8:47important job which is to raise our two young girls with my
- 8:52husband. And that was when I really
- 8:57started to feel the challenges of Playing by the rules in a
- 9:04workplace that was predominantly built or on a model of kind of a
- 9:13post-war era. Were assuming everyone in the
- 9:16workplace is male, and they've got a wife at home making their
- 9:20dinner. And if you're going to come into
- 9:23this, workplace, you need to play by these rules.
- 9:26Leave the other parts of yourself at the door and just be
- 9:29an employee while you're here. And I found that that That was a
- 9:33real challenge because there were so many other parts of me
- 9:38pulling at me for my attention. Whether it was my role, as a
- 9:44parent or my role, as a support to aging parents, all of those
- 9:51roles and but being a good employee that I was, I pulled up
- 9:56my bootstraps and played by the rules and and Did what I
- 10:02expected. I was did, what I thought was
- 10:06expected of me in the workplace and eventually over time, it all
- 10:11came to a head. And what I found was that I was
- 10:16experiencing a unique type of stress that since that time,
- 10:23I've been able to put a name to it and it was called pipey
- 10:27stress which is very common to women and it's the Stress of
- 10:33trying to be everyone. Everything to everyone all at
- 10:36the same time, with all of those roles that we play.
- 10:41So I did add a certain point in my career with everything that
- 10:47was going on and several life events.
- 10:51I reached a point burnout, I could not manage all of those
- 10:57roles in an environment that expected me to.
- 11:01We show up with one and so I with the support of several
- 11:09caregivers finally gave myself permission to step away, take
- 11:15leave from work. And that was the start of a
- 11:18whole new Learning Journey for me, where I really explored,
- 11:24what was that disconnect between?
- 11:27Who I am fully as a mom and Lloyd partner, a daughter, a
- 11:33sister, a neighbor, all of those roles, why was there?
- 11:37Such a disconnect in this area of my career where I was trying
- 11:42to establish myself and be successful.
- 11:45So there is a whole that Learning Journey that takes
- 11:51place from there, but I'll pause here and just invite Any
- 11:57questions or there's anything. That's not clear.
- 12:00No, that's a that's a beautiful story.
- 12:02Cindy, thank you for sharing that because I think there's
- 12:06people who are on all parts of their Journey who are listening
- 12:09and I am sure resonate with you know each and every aspect in
- 12:13some way of the journey that you've been on.
- 12:16Wow I'm I'm just sitting here thinking about, you know, the
- 12:20wisdom that you're that, you're being able to share.
- 12:22And I guess the first question that comes to mind would be.
- 12:25Would you do anything? And if you were to go back to
- 12:28that person who was realizing something, doesn't feel great
- 12:32here, I feel like I'm starting to juggle, you know, that moment
- 12:35where you said you pulled up, your bootstraps went back into
- 12:38the organization, you were the good employee, would you change
- 12:40anything or would you give advice to anybody?
- 12:42Who might be in entering into that phase right now?
- 12:46Such a great question because I think that brings me to the Crux
- 12:51of why I've chosen to do this work now and the The, the
- 12:57workshop series that I deliver, which is called permission to
- 13:01pause, is exactly that. It's me, looking back at, who I
- 13:06was in, especially during those active parenting years and
- 13:11saying to anyone coming behind me, let me share this journey so
- 13:17that you can learn from my experience, you can help move
- 13:23the dial and a bald, the workplace.
- 13:25So that it Is more holistic and welcoming and healthy for all of
- 13:32us and that is not gender-specific whatsoever.
- 13:35I mean, I come to this through the lens as a working mom.
- 13:40But anything you do to evolve that workplace to be more
- 13:43inclusive, is, is going to be beneficial for all of us.
- 13:49I have Goosebumps. I think I had this just light
- 13:52bulb that went off around. How often?
- 13:57I post questions in this platform or just a life about,
- 14:00you know, what can you do to make your own life better?
- 14:03Or how could I do this to make my life better by what you were
- 14:05just saying, as well as the work that you're doing is also for
- 14:09our community? Like if we're all in the
- 14:12workflow, if a bunch of us are in the workforce right now or
- 14:15you're listening and you're in the workforce, guess ask the
- 14:18question around. What can you do to make the
- 14:20current situation better for yourself?
- 14:22Of course but also how can you be then transcending that to
- 14:26your Leaks to the workplace. Like, how can we be evolving
- 14:28this? So we don't keep having to
- 14:30isolate and solve this little problem.
- 14:32Just for me like, that's a huge, huge such a good point, ondrea
- 14:38and the interesting point, and I certainly believe this after my
- 14:43Learning Journey that I've been on, is that in order to make
- 14:47that difference for the others, in our community, it starts with
- 14:51us and it really starts with if we don't give ourselves Elves
- 14:56permission to pause. There's actually more at stake
- 15:00than we realize, there's more at stake for us and our own
- 15:04well-being. And we've heard a lot about that
- 15:06during covid. I think to the point where
- 15:09people are like, yeah, self-care, I get it, but if we
- 15:12really dig deeper under it, it is first about taking care of
- 15:17ourselves. Secondly, it's about modeling
- 15:20that or our families for the people in our Circles of
- 15:25influence to Them permission to pause because they see you doing
- 15:29it. And then when we bring that
- 15:35permission to ourselves and really take care of ourselves,
- 15:39we then are actually bringing our best selves to anything.
- 15:43We're passionate about, whether it's our careers, where we
- 15:47volunteer again, contributing to our community, even as we show
- 15:53up as parents, we can bring our best selves.
- 15:56Eggs and it's because we've given ourselves permission to
- 15:59pause. Then if you show up as your best
- 16:03self, that's when we change the world, that's when you see
- 16:08people stepping into their full zone of Genius, bringing their
- 16:14gifts to serve the world but it all starts because they gave
- 16:18themselves permission to pause and I really truly believe that
- 16:23I have. I have seen it in so many people
- 16:26in my Communities. I feel like I'm on that Journey
- 16:30myself every time I'm grinding on something that's very
- 16:34difficult. And I stop and say, wait a
- 16:37minute, this flies in the face of what I'm trying to share with
- 16:40other people, and I do pause, I end up showing up in such a
- 16:47better way. I have so much more flow in the
- 16:50things that I, you know, turn my attention to, I get so much.
- 16:56Much inspiration, and creativity all from that permission to
- 17:00pause. And I can talk a little bit more
- 17:03actually about the science behind that, it's quite yes.
- 17:07Okay, what is it? I mean, it sounds like it's on
- 17:10the nose permission Applause. We know has something to do with
- 17:12pausing. I love that.
- 17:13You said yeah, everyone's like self-care.
- 17:15Yeah, I got it, but dig into it for me.
- 17:18What is it? What does it mean to you?
- 17:19How does it work? The science.
- 17:21I mean, I know you've got just we could talk for probably hours
- 17:24on this. Give me the skinny.
- 17:25Yeah. So, what's interesting is just
- 17:31going back to that type East, rest that I had reference, as I
- 17:37said, earlier, I was kind of struggling, like why, why is
- 17:40this not working for me? Like why, as a, as a mom and a
- 17:45daughter, like think of all the rules that any one of us plays
- 17:48at any given time and it finally got a name when I came across a
- 17:54book that was written A long time ago.
- 17:57Now, I think it was written in the 80s by a researcher.
- 18:00By the name of Harriet breaker, she's a psychologist and she did
- 18:05research on stress responses and she was looking at the
- 18:09difference in stress responses between the genders between male
- 18:13and female. And, again, I'll just put the
- 18:15caveat in here that this was research, that was done in the
- 18:1970s and 80s when most research was on that gender, binary
- 18:25model. So, I am quoting the research
- 18:28and also acknowledging that we don't have a lot of research yet
- 18:32on the gender identity Spectrum. But Harriet Breakers, research
- 18:39was actually looking at the definitions of our our stress
- 18:45response in terms of the type, A type B.
- 18:48And I don't know if you've heard reference to that but definitely
- 18:52it was based on a male Search cohort that was really examined.
- 19:00During in that post-war, 1950s 1960s era when men were coming
- 19:05back from the battlefield, they got all the jobs women that went
- 19:10back to the home, making roles at that time.
- 19:16And so there was very little research that was done on women.
- 19:21And particularly their stress response.
- 19:25So, Harry breaker would interview men and interview
- 19:29women about the stress. They were experiencing and how
- 19:32they responded to it. And what she realized is that
- 19:37women have a very unique response, which she titled Type
- 19:43e stress. And it is that stress related to
- 19:46trying to be everything to everyone all at the same time.
- 19:51And the best description for this is dr.
- 19:55Breaker would ask a male participant in her study?
- 20:03How's it going? And his response would be based
- 20:06generally on the situation he was in or the situation.
- 20:11He was talking about at the time.
- 20:12So if he were asked, how's it going?
- 20:14And he was at work and he had just gotten a promotion, but
- 20:19things are falling apart at home in the bay.
- 20:21Baby had been up all night with colic, his answer would be
- 20:25great, things are going great, because he's looking at it in
- 20:30through the lens of that particular role he's in at that
- 20:34moment. When dr.
- 20:36Breaker asked females, the female respondents, how's it
- 20:42going? Almost universally.
- 20:44They would answer with a response that reflected how
- 20:50their entire life was balanced. So they would be thinking about
- 20:55all of their roles at the same time if you can, imagine that
- 20:59all of those roles would be little pie pieces on a plate.
- 21:04And if that plate were being balanced on a skinny little
- 21:08pedestal, like imagine a chopstick.
- 21:14However, balanced or unbalanced that entire plate was would be
- 21:19her answer. So if she got a promotion at
- 21:22work but baby been up all night, you get you get a response like
- 21:26yeah. So so you know, kind of tired, I
- 21:28got the promotion. She was able to hold an
- 21:33awareness of all of those rules, which is very helpful in a lot
- 21:38of situations, but it can also lead to Are our stress response,
- 21:46our anxiety response. And so, so that is the science
- 21:53behind my further pursuit to say, okay?
- 21:58How how do women Manage that because years later there was
- 22:07further study done by a gentleman by the name of dr.
- 22:11Ayman and he did bring Imaging research on men and women and he
- 22:17saw the same effect between men and women.
- 22:22But saw that women's Brains are generally more active in this.
- 22:27Prefrontal cortex area of the brain, don't ask me to explain
- 22:31it further. I'm not a brain scientist.
- 22:35But in effect, what he was saying is, yes, he was
- 22:39validating here at Breakers work.
- 22:41And he was saying, yes, women's ability generally to carry that,
- 22:49awareness of all of those roles and the world around them is now
- 22:54called diffuse thinking, I don't think they had that term in
- 22:58Harry Breakers, day diffuse thinking, Whereas, if you're
- 23:02thinking about just one specific role or one specific Topic at a
- 23:07time, it's targeted thinking to be clear, both genders can
- 23:13operate in those different types of thinking.
- 23:20It's just that be mailed. Generally have a greater
- 23:23propensity to this diffuse thinking and what that means is
- 23:28it actually gives us A little bit more, I won't say capability
- 23:37because everybody's able to do this but it has a greater
- 23:41propensity for us to bring empathy to a situation to Value
- 23:49diversity. In situations were also able to
- 23:53bring a greater sense of what they call it what they called in
- 24:00the in the search sober second thought he's the bility to go.
- 24:04Okay. Before you take that step, let's
- 24:06just let's just take a minute and think about all the other
- 24:08factors and also a greater sense of collaboration because if
- 24:16you're thinking of your world in terms of that plate you might
- 24:20come to a boardroom table and go but voices are missing at this
- 24:25table, you've got that broader awareness.
- 24:31And again this is not to say that men or people of any other
- 24:36gender identity don't have that. It's just that we have the
- 24:40greater propensity for that diffuse thinking we can be
- 24:44targeted and focused in our thinking.
- 24:47It takes just a little bit more effort and energy but we're all
- 24:51able to do it. And so, the reason why I
- 24:55referred to these two areas of research is because this Is the
- 25:01argument for why we need to give ourselves permission to pause.
- 25:07Because when we don't, because we have that, that ability for
- 25:14diffuse, awareness for women. It also means that we then have,
- 25:20if it goes, unchecked higher propensity for anxiety
- 25:26depression and overwhelm. Because that's what happens when
- 25:31we're carrying all of our roles, all of that information, all of
- 25:36our concern, about the climate well-being, and our community,
- 25:41and our workplace, it can overwhelm us.
- 25:46And the way that we manage that is to give ourselves permission
- 25:51to pause, to pull back from it to regroup and to fill our cups
- 25:57Wow, that is really fascinating. So fascinating, how that
- 26:04research might have? I wonder if that research not
- 26:06that we would potentially, no, but I don't have that research.
- 26:08Had it in a different intention that now we're realizing has so
- 26:15much more meaning and value to, you know, back then it was like,
- 26:17oh, how are men and women different?
- 26:19I imagine that was more, the scientific question being posed,
- 26:22who knows. But now, you know, we understand
- 26:25so much more around the application.
- 26:27And life is just potentially more busy, and we're more
- 26:30distracted. And and what a huge application
- 26:33that is to, oh my goodness, this, this world that we live
- 26:36in. What do you think prevents us,
- 26:38especially as working parents, what you think prevents us from
- 26:42taking that pause one of the blockers the barriers because I
- 26:45think we all know what's important.
- 26:46You hear that, you know in sports you know we should all be
- 26:49like the athlete and we should have the day off and we know it.
- 26:52But what is it that really gets in the way?
- 26:54Mmm. That's a great question as well.
- 26:57And I think there's a whole bunch of sort of cultural
- 27:00conditioning behind it. And there's also some very
- 27:05interesting research coming out around ideas, like the human
- 27:10Giver syndrome where we tie our identity and our Worth to how
- 27:17much we give to others. How much we produce, you know,
- 27:22are we get so many signals in the Lace about our worth is
- 27:28based on our productivity. So if you feel like you're and
- 27:33this might not even be a conscious decision but we have
- 27:38been given so many social and cultural signals as we grow up.
- 27:44As we enter the workplace that on what is valued and what is
- 27:48not. I mean, in most workplaces, you
- 27:52see Awards being given to people who Get fasted for how many
- 27:58hours they worked. How?
- 28:00Many times they stayed and worked overtime.
- 28:03And there's great stories about how they worked through the
- 28:05weekend and meet that deadline. We celebrate that productivity
- 28:10and that work ethic. And so to tell ourselves that we
- 28:15have permission to step away from that.
- 28:19First of all, we on some level may very well be Read about our
- 28:26value, losing our value in in the dynamic, of our
- 28:33relationships with others. And I think also, as parents,
- 28:38because we are responsible for other like, literally other
- 28:42lives, there is this sense that it will all fall apart.
- 28:48If I step back, I know, I know from my own experience that
- 28:54there were times where, I should have made that decision to step
- 29:00back and take a moment to pause, but I really believed that my
- 29:05whole world was a house of cards.
- 29:07And if, if I were to step away, would it would crumble to the
- 29:11ground? Oh my goodness.
- 29:14What are some tactical examples of what a pause could look like
- 29:18like, what? Cause look like in everyday
- 29:21life, you know, letting out your gear that look like.
- 29:25Yeah, that's great. Eight.
- 29:28I think there's a couple layers to it.
- 29:29I love the the second part of your question in terms of
- 29:32planning out your year, but I think before we even get to
- 29:40planning out our year, it starts with planning our day planning,
- 29:48even the next few hours. And in the permission to pause
- 29:53course, I actually have a kind of a framework that we use and
- 30:01it is based back on that idea of the plate balancing on the
- 30:06skinny, little Pinnacle if, if we were to think of that plate
- 30:11and the skinny little Pinnacle being What we currently give
- 30:16ourselves as self-care, it's no longer sustainable.
- 30:21We can't keep having this Tippy plate, so the framework that
- 30:25have introduced it to say first of all.
- 30:29Take a hard look at the plate and can you make it smaller?
- 30:32Can you make the plate a saucer and there's some tools that can
- 30:37be used around that and it really starts to get it
- 30:41unpacking our beliefs around our own contribution, to something
- 30:47that we might have on our plate and our own expectations of
- 30:53perfectionism from ourselves. There's a lot tied behind What
- 30:59we think we have on our to-do list and there's exercises that
- 31:04we go through, in terms of creative delegation where you
- 31:07can delegate it off to someone else in a way that they will
- 31:11thank you for it and it's a real paradigm shift because we in our
- 31:17sort of protestant work, ethic culture.
- 31:21We've been led to believe that if you can't do it by yourself,
- 31:25you must be failing. And if You ask for help, it's a
- 31:31weakness and there's so much of that behind what feels like they
- 31:36heavy load on our plate. So we spend and these are fun
- 31:40playful activities that we do in community to bring your plate
- 31:44down from that overloaded size to a manageable saucer-like,
- 31:49really looking at what can only be offloaded.
- 31:52And one of the other aspects of that is flexing are receiving
- 31:56muscle because in this, Culture where we're valued for doing
- 32:01things on our own and this goes back to when we were in school.
- 32:05I mean, if you got someone to help you with your homework,
- 32:09that was cheating not collaboration, that was
- 32:11cheating. So we really, we really have to
- 32:16undo a lot of subtle messages and generally speaking as women
- 32:24were not good at receiving help. And we can unpack that on
- 32:28another podcast but I think that also gets into how hard we often
- 32:35have to work and kind of a workplace and an economy that's
- 32:40been driven by a male-dominated lens women often have to work
- 32:45twice as hard to take up their rightful space and to achieve
- 32:51the goals that they've set for themselves.
- 32:53And so it's very Difficult often for us to ask for help and when
- 33:02it gets offered for us to actually receive it.
- 33:06And so in permission to pause, we practice that we practice
- 33:11rewiring our nervous system to receive and it's it's absolutely
- 33:17delightful and it's super fun. Oh my goodness.
- 33:22So I'm sorry. Go ahead.
- 33:23No, go ahead. No, no, I was gonna say it just
- 33:26sounds like Like, you know, the word that comes up as you're
- 33:28saying, that just sounds like Community is something that
- 33:32would be, what would be the word intention for us to start to
- 33:37really think about or just lean on?
- 33:40Could you tell me more about that?
- 33:42I know this is something that you're passionate about to and,
- 33:44you know, build during building and nurturing Community.
- 33:47How does that support us? How do you do that in this world
- 33:50room? Pretty isolated?
- 33:52Mmm, that's a great question. And that's the third component
- 33:56of the Of the framework. So the first being take the
- 33:59plate down to a saucer. The second is don't try and
- 34:05balance that saucer on a skinny little Pinnacle.
- 34:09Put a really deep and wide cup, underneath answer.
- 34:14And the cup is to represent all of the delightful things that we
- 34:19can do for ourselves in the course of a day.
- 34:23And we need to fill that cup all the time and draw draw from it,
- 34:27and fill it again. And so again, we go through some
- 34:31fun playful exercises in the program around, how do we fill
- 34:37that? How do we get back in touch with
- 34:40our younger? Selves knew exactly what sounded
- 34:43like, a fun thing to do. Or knew exactly how to fill
- 34:48their day with fun and pleasure and thus, feel energized.
- 34:51And so we do some playful activities and we also explore
- 34:55where the That'll leaks in that cup.
- 34:59You know the maybe the the social media that is draining
- 35:04our energy more than we think in the name of community or the
- 35:10toxic conversations we have that are too difficult for us right
- 35:15now and we may need to step back.
- 35:17There's all kinds of subtle drains on our energy and then
- 35:21the third component to the model is finding that support of Unity
- 35:27finding it, nurturing it building it out and there are
- 35:31tools in the program. Again around.
- 35:36Changing the narrative, changing the things we talk about
- 35:39changing, how we talk about things in our lives.
- 35:43Changing, how we talk about stress changing, how we talk
- 35:50about, what might be perceived as a failure.
- 35:54Is something that you tried failure, or is it just research
- 35:58and you got some good data and now you're going to move on to
- 36:01do something else with that data.
- 36:03You know, there's lots of ways that we can change our mindset.
- 36:07So, yeah, it's about finding that community that we can
- 36:13trust. And also, to show up, in a way
- 36:16that signals to others, that they can trust us, and I provide
- 36:22some again sometime. Rules and strategies on how to
- 36:26change those conversations. Mmm.
- 36:29Something I've been thinking about recently is just around
- 36:32the word Community. I'm in a business group is
- 36:34escapes Collective. Shout out to our host Danny.
- 36:37We've who runs a beautiful Community there and she's so
- 36:41passionate about talking about building community and working
- 36:45in community especially for us entrepreneurs something.
- 36:47I've been thinking about what that is just around, how I think
- 36:50my hang-up with the word Community previously, Was around
- 36:55my belief. This is not, this was just what
- 36:57maybe I was conditioned to believe or just what I always
- 37:00thought was that there was this elusive quote-unquote community
- 37:04that I should be looking for like one community that I should
- 37:08be looking forward to be a part of and as somebody who I'm not
- 37:13intensely faith-based, I don't I don't have a church or, you
- 37:16know, one church that I go to or I wouldn't say that.
- 37:18I'm just one thing. You know, another episode we
- 37:21talked about was being a multipotentialite.
- 37:22I have a lot of different Passions.
- 37:24I've always had a lot of different friend groups and and
- 37:28so that always made me nervous around like, am I doing this
- 37:31community thing, right? So what do you think about that
- 37:33and about building? Like I'm starting to think about
- 37:36it as my own Community who might not know each other but this is
- 37:41my Foundation. What have you noticed when
- 37:43you're facilitating these groups and people building kind of
- 37:46their own communities, am I onto something or is it should I be
- 37:49looking for that one group? I think you're totally on this
- 37:53something and it's, I'm so glad you brought this up.
- 37:58My personal belief and I am still on this Learning Journey.
- 38:02Myself is that we are personally responsible to build the exact
- 38:09community that meets our needs. And that I would say would be
- 38:15very rare if at all possible to expect that when in community
- 38:21can do that for us and it's interesting because that's
- 38:27related to the healing Journey that I had.
- 38:31When I did take leave from work and was really at a point of
- 38:39complete burn out, I was absolutely exhausted.
- 38:44My adrenal system was shot. My cortisol levels were off the
- 38:48map. I was spent And I really needed
- 38:53to start back from scratch and the idea was shared with me a
- 38:59building my own health round table and I loved that idea
- 39:05because it in itself is a community.
- 39:08And my health Round Table will look different than your health
- 39:11round table and help in the broadest sense of the world
- 39:16word. Like where, where is the
- 39:19community? I can go to for help.
- 39:21Healthy movement. Where's the community?
- 39:24I can go to for, for my, you know, mental well-being, where
- 39:30is the practitioner? That will support me with this
- 39:33specific aspect of my health. And it took me a full year to
- 39:38and a lot of trial and error to build out that Health round
- 39:42table. And I really think that it's
- 39:45important for us to do that with our other communities as well.
- 39:51I think that is Unbelievable, that is unbelievable, wisdom.
- 39:56My husband and I have talked about this a lot he went through
- 39:59medical. I'm at a really big Medical
- 40:01Health journey and we talked so much about how it can't be a
- 40:05one-size-fits-all, like, you have to build it out for
- 40:08yourself and it has to be integrated.
- 40:11And I also think about the fact that I have, so, I have three
- 40:14sisters And I've always shared people say, oh my gosh, what's
- 40:18that like or what was that? Like growing up, it was
- 40:20incredible, I had three different sisters to go to for
- 40:23three different things and I really do think about that in
- 40:26life now and how I have you don't learn this pregnancy.
- 40:30I have an acupuncturist that supports me in one way, I have
- 40:33like, you know, healers actual practitioners.
- 40:35But then I have the friend who I call to jam on entrepreneurial
- 40:39things because she's also an entrepreneur.
- 40:41I have the friend that I call when I'm in a really bad mood
- 40:43because she always lighten The mood, you know.
- 40:46So I just think that's such a beautiful sentiment around
- 40:49building your own healing or your health tribe, or Community,
- 40:53or whatever it is and individual to yourself.
- 40:57Oh, I think that's so that's so cool.
- 40:59And as I guess that's part of the permission, it's giving
- 41:01yourself the permission to invite these people into your
- 41:05life and to it's bold to though, like I think that sometimes we
- 41:10do kind of, we look for the, the tick tock hack, or we look for
- 41:13the Silver Bullet. We look for the one thing but
- 41:17like you said, like, there's no, I think that's such that's good
- 41:20permission for me to remember. There's no one Community.
- 41:22There's no one thing and I imagine have you experienced the
- 41:26fact that it's probably changed from that point in Burnout to
- 41:30what your team looks like. Now I imagine it's evolved
- 41:34absolutely, and that has been part of the journey as well.
- 41:39Which again strengthens the importance of the permission to
- 41:44pause because Was in pausing and a lot of us don't want to pause
- 41:50because inertia can be scary in. A lot of ways, we don't
- 41:55necessarily want to sit in Stillness and spend time with
- 41:59ourselves and our thoughts. But the permission to pause
- 42:04approach is really about, reconnecting with ourselves.
- 42:09Reconnecting what really likes us up and this doesn't have to
- 42:14be 0. Do I have to do a big, you know,
- 42:18Trek to, you know, Crystal Rica. Yeah.
- 42:23It doesn't have to be Eat. Pray Love.
- 42:24In fact, to see so much of permission to pause is about
- 42:30even reconnecting to our senses. Like what smells do I enjoy,
- 42:35what touch do I enjoy and bringing that into our everyday
- 42:40moments and Both of us would know and many of your listeners
- 42:45as parents, maybe sometimes, that's all you've got, is a
- 42:48moment. And so it's, it's about, you
- 42:53know, bringing that recognition that there are certain things
- 42:59that let you up and that you deserve them in this moment.
- 43:04And then, as you build out from that, then you start to Deeply,
- 43:11believe that you deserve. Certain positive experiences and
- 43:18then that starts to build out. So where is the community that
- 43:23will treat me the way I deserve to be treated.
- 43:27And so through this process you start to find.
- 43:31As you said that boldness to stand up for yourself in
- 43:37whatever situation. You're Community you're in and
- 43:40start to ask yourself the question.
- 43:43Am I receiving? Saying what I deserve in this
- 43:46community, is there another community that might hold me
- 43:52more respectfully or offer me something more or challenged me
- 43:58in an area. I wish to be challenged and grow
- 44:01but you start to ask those really fundamental questions.
- 44:07From that place of, I'm very connected to myself.
- 44:10And what I need to light myself up and I owe it to this world
- 44:15and everyone around me to show up lit up because that's my
- 44:20contribution. Wow.
- 44:23And it's instead of saying, you know, I deserve better.
- 44:27And then the person saying okay, what can I do better?
- 44:29And you be like, well you just need to be better.
- 44:31It that's what I'm hearing from that is you need to be clear a
- 44:34bit more clear or pretty. Pretty damn clear about what it
- 44:37is. You need what fills your cup
- 44:41because everyone is so different and you know the example that
- 44:43comes to mind is work. I'm thinking about a couple of
- 44:46friends who as soon as this goes lives or maybe live or maybe
- 44:49even before I'm sending this episode to a few friends who it
- 44:52kills me to watch them in beautiful marriages and
- 44:55relationships but really toxic abusive relationships at work,
- 45:00mmm, that they deserve better. And sometimes I think it That
- 45:06while this is all I've ever known.
- 45:07This is all I've ever done. But getting clear on maybe it's
- 45:11pausing and what I hear is you know, getting really clear on
- 45:14what you deserve, what your boundaries are, what you need,
- 45:18that job may be perfect for somebody else.
- 45:20It actually might not be toxic to them, I might not sit in that
- 45:22same way but it could be harmful to you so much.
- 45:27Oh my gosh. There's so much there and so
- 45:29many Apple different applications for that too.
- 45:32Mhm. Yeah that's that's a perfect
- 45:35example and again Again. Being able to make those choices
- 45:40about do I stay, you know, what's my next step in my career
- 45:46move, the place to come from is, who am I?
- 45:52What, what lights me up? Why does that light me up?
- 45:55And then that often leads to some great conversations which
- 46:00has a career coach. I'm sure you know, if you can
- 46:03start from a deep knowledge and a deep connection to yourself
- 46:07and what light You are then it's easy to answer the questions of
- 46:11then what would I love to do? What would bring me joy as a
- 46:15career or a source of income. So it really it's and I really
- 46:21want to emphasize because I think often as parents, we hear
- 46:25the parallel like oh yes of course, like take care.
- 46:28You know, do yourself care because it's like the airplane
- 46:33analogy, put your oxygen mask on first before you put your child
- 46:37mask on. And there is a subtle
- 46:39distinction here that with permission to pause.
- 46:43The the emphasis is, don't wait for the Emergency, don't wait
- 46:51until your plane. In other words, your world is
- 46:55crashing down because your fuel tank is empty, and you have
- 47:00nothing left. To give permission to pause is
- 47:03really saying your energy. She is renewable.
- 47:10It's a renewable, energy source and you need a sustainable
- 47:14energy plan. It's it's that basic Oh my
- 47:20goodness, when you're talking when you said, when I said, oh,
- 47:23planning out your year, you're like, well, you have to start
- 47:25with the day because it's not doing any Eat.
- 47:27Pray Love once a year or every five years when you get burned
- 47:30out, it's the taking lunge. You even said, you know, kids
- 47:34are really good at this and the the total image that came to
- 47:36mind was asking a kid. Okay, so For Recess, you can go
- 47:40outside and play. Are you can stay inside and do
- 47:41your homework. I don't know what kids are like
- 47:43these days, but I was not staying inside.
- 47:46And doing my homework, I was out there.
- 47:48Making up the wildest most imaginative games.
- 47:51It's like intuitively kids just know that I need a mental break.
- 47:55I've been sitting in this classroom all morning and when
- 47:58do we do that? When do we take?
- 47:59I think you remember those coloring books that became
- 48:01really popular. A couple of years ago.
- 48:03Yeah, it was almost like this, like commercialized version of
- 48:07like structured play. Like, okay, let's play and, and
- 48:11I think that's, that's great. But there is something there
- 48:14around following your intuition and stop stifling it and
- 48:18stopped. I don't know, I know I could
- 48:20watch TV tonight for an hour but I should be doing this work
- 48:25because given take, you know, sometimes doing the work will
- 48:27make you feel better. And I don't want to negate that
- 48:29I'm probably have some work. I'm gonna do tonight because I
- 48:31feel inspired to do so, but in those moments where you're like,
- 48:34no, I'm drained. I'm spent go take a recess
- 48:37Winos. Hallelujah, after this for
- 48:42Cindy, and I are both going to go take a recess.
- 48:45Absolutely, there's so much that we We can explore that, you were
- 48:50hitting on there, again. I think it's a perfect
- 48:53illustration of this and I'll put this in air quotes, you
- 48:58know, the Protestant work ethic. But that's really the belief
- 49:01system behind our North American capitalistic economy, which is,
- 49:08you know, your your value as a human being is based on your
- 49:13productivity. And and so, we grow up with
- 49:19these messages about, you can go out and play.
- 49:21After you've done your homework, you can have dessert after
- 49:25you've eaten your vegetables, but like, why, you know, I if I
- 49:32were to go and play and then come and do my homework, I
- 49:35probably be more focused more energized and get it done in
- 49:37half the time and that's the messages we need to rewire for
- 49:43ourselves as adults. Because it will put us in our
- 49:47flow. It will mean, we're working
- 49:49smart, not hard because I will guarantee you.
- 49:52It will take you less time to do something.
- 49:54If you take that recess and come back, I I know that from lived
- 49:59experience, hard lesson, you know, you have to keep trying it
- 50:03and keep trying it and believe that you can do it.
- 50:06And and I think that's the other go a little sickly but that's
- 50:10the part of community. That's super important.
- 50:13You need someone or a group of people who are saying yes,
- 50:18ondrea take that recess. Because the rest of the world is
- 50:22going to be telling you know you shouldn't you know, there's a
- 50:26whole bunch of should that'll come in.
- 50:27Oh, I should just get through this.
- 50:29I should just power through. I should meet the deadline and
- 50:33you need a community that's going to counterbalance.
- 50:36That message because it'll it'll be bombarded with it and and
- 50:40this is why we're not just talking about that kind of
- 50:45mainstream self-care like, oh yeah, I you know, I had a hot
- 50:49bath great but you're going to go back out and you're going to
- 50:52get bombarded by the messages, telling you, how hard you should
- 50:57work and how your worth is, only tied up and how productive you
- 51:01can be. And you need a community saying,
- 51:03uh, what if we challenge that, what if we It on its head, you
- 51:08know? And so so that's an important
- 51:11aspect and back to your example of the kids and the recess, I
- 51:18heard an interesting podcast the other day and it was talking
- 51:23about how we need to rehumanize our own bodies because in the
- 51:28workplace were structured to be these productive.
- 51:34Automatron 's that show up exactly the same way and give
- 51:37the exact same amount of productivity every day day in
- 51:40and day out, not affected by any other factors.
- 51:44And we soon forget to listen to the simple basic signals that
- 51:49our bodies give us like, I need to go to the bathroom.
- 51:53I haven't eaten. I haven't had enough water
- 51:58today. Like I know I've been Been in
- 52:00situations where I will override that I will ignore those signals
- 52:05and so, so much of this is about really coming back and starting
- 52:11from that fundamental connection to ourselves and our bodies and
- 52:16what we need to you know not only be lit up but to function.
- 52:21Well we lose that. How do we lose that?
- 52:24Yeah. And it's like so it's so noisy.
- 52:26It's like when you're we've all had those days and especially
- 52:29you know in Corporate career is our even entrepreneurship.
- 52:33Are you have those days where it just feels like the music is
- 52:35playing so loud that you can't even hear the cues.
- 52:39And so, tying it back to your permission to pause, it just
- 52:42sounds like, I want to turn the music down a little bit, a
- 52:44couple times a day. Or, you know, when you're like,
- 52:48it's probably around lunchtime. Like doesn't matter when you
- 52:50actually eat lunch, but it's nice to know that around 12:00
- 52:54chair, maybe check in, with yourself to be like, am I
- 52:56hungry? Yes, I'm starving because you
- 52:58turn the music down a little bit.
- 53:00Yeah. That's there's something.
- 53:01There's something there. And it's, yeah.
- 53:03And there's, oh my gosh, you know, that tangent.
- 53:05We could also go on would just be to corporate Wellness
- 53:07programs that exist. But then this weird
- 53:10juxtaposition between the companies that are also tracking
- 53:12their employees. Like over the pandemic, they
- 53:14were like, proved me your productivity but here are all
- 53:18the corporate Wellness programs were offering.
- 53:20And, you know, it's just all my gosh.
- 53:22There's there's a lot of work to be done, a lot of operates.
- 53:24Exactly. And we'll, and I say, like,
- 53:26here's the corporate wellness program, sign up for it.
- 53:30And it's over your lunch hour. Yeah, right.
- 53:33So it's like, give something up for this as opposed to.
- 53:37Here's the corporate wellness program and it takes place
- 53:40during the work day because we value you, as a human being and
- 53:44want to invest in your well-being.
- 53:47Yes. Okay.
- 53:49So to Pivot a little bit, I want to use myself as a human case
- 53:51study and selfishly ask you from your perspective, as a mom of
- 53:56two, I purposely times this episodes that it was Actually
- 54:00going to are. So this is a few weeks before,
- 54:02this is actually happening, but this is airing the week that I
- 54:06should be having a baby and we'll be taking myself my first
- 54:10entrepreneurial maternity leave. So I have worked with my coach.
- 54:14I've done a lot of the internal work.
- 54:16Now, I am a coach, I, you know, I'm like, just gearing up
- 54:19getting all my tools. Ready to like, take this
- 54:21maternity, leave to give myself the permission to pause.
- 54:25I worry that I won't stay true to that.
- 54:28Pat, do you have any advice for me?
- 54:30The how to commit to and take that pause.
- 54:33And what to remind myself of those moments where I like, but
- 54:36I should be doing even if it's not going back to work.
- 54:38But I should be making beef stroganoff or I should be making
- 54:42fresh bread because I have the time like what are some some
- 54:46watch out there. Some tips that you may be given
- 54:48have for me to allow myself that time.
- 54:52I love that you're thinking about this already as you
- 54:57prepare for your maternity leave from your business.
- 55:00I think already you're ahead of the game because you're aware of
- 55:05it. And as you said earlier, you
- 55:07bringing that intention, which is so much a part of the game.
- 55:13And before I give any advice, I guess, what I'm curious is about
- 55:18is where do you think the biggest challenge?
- 55:22This will be for you. As a true facilitator.
- 55:30You know what I think it's my it's a good.
- 55:33It's a it's actually comes from a really positive place.
- 55:35It's my excitement and my, my zest for life.
- 55:39Like I think that is a super power.
- 55:40I have is I have a job to be like, I really enjoy life and I
- 55:44get so excited. Like this conversation makes me
- 55:47so excited and the work I'm doing makes me so excited,
- 55:52making bread, makes it, you know, I'm just as in.
- 55:55Yes, I'm an excitable person. So I think that the That my, you
- 55:59know. Yeah, my worrier or whatever is
- 56:02kind of around the. Like I get really.
- 56:04I also know that when I pause I get really inspired which can
- 56:08then turn into additional items on my I guess to-do list and,
- 56:14and that sort of thing. So, as I'm saying that, I'm
- 56:18definitely an external thinker. I wonder if there's a better
- 56:21way, is there a way to channel that, and to kind of go back to
- 56:24an episode, I did, but Taylor Aller, which I'll link in the
- 56:27show notes. On making a knot right now list.
- 56:30So maybe that's one thing I could do.
- 56:32Would be when I get excited like that.
- 56:35Maybe it's putting it on my not. Right.
- 56:36Maybe it's just putting it on a list letting it live somewhere,
- 56:40okay? That could be one idea.
- 56:41I love that and I caught your Taylor Fowler episode, which I
- 56:45thought was fantastic and I love that not right now list.
- 56:49Yeah, I'm going to adopt that as well.
- 56:51I can so relate to your multi passion.
- 56:58Excitement. I'm very much the same, and I
- 56:59think that's probably why I felt like I had this plate.
- 57:04That was overflowing with my roles, my desires, my
- 57:09aspirations, my goals, my commitments, my obligations,
- 57:13it's the way I live. And so again, God bless notion.
- 57:20There's where I put all of my, you know, just just the lists
- 57:24and then the list of the list and the list and the list.
- 57:27Notion. Okay, I'm going to look into
- 57:29that lot of good to we love that.
- 57:31Hey, yeah, it's you can get a free version and it was actually
- 57:37one of my daughter's. It introduced me to it.
- 57:39And you can make it look so aesthetic.
- 57:42But I just find even the act of putting those great ideas and
- 57:46Inspirations in a place then just lightens your mental energy
- 57:52because it definitely is. It does tax your mental energy
- 57:55to try and hang on to all that great.
- 57:57Action. And what I'm hearing from you
- 58:03again, I think because I can so relate to the experience is
- 58:08there's no shortage of inspiration and ideas and things
- 58:14that you enjoy doing. And and I certainly feel the
- 58:17same way the overwhelm. For me, often came from wanting
- 58:24to do them all all at the same time and to a certain Certain
- 58:28degree of perfection that was off the charts, you know, again,
- 58:35because I was sort of raised that, if you're going to do
- 58:38something, do it. Well, you know, give 110%.
- 58:42And so one of the tools that we talked about in permission to
- 58:46pause is if you're good at something, if it comes to you
- 58:52naturally, and it's a passion of yours.
- 58:56Your 80% is going to show up as a hundred and ten percent for
- 59:01someone else. So if you're doing something for
- 59:04someone and you're like, oh but I really care about them about
- 59:09what I'm doing, I'm going to give 110% Your 80% will land the
- 59:17same way for them and that gives you at least 20% to put in your
- 59:22reserve tank. Whoa, so so that's that's
- 59:28something to just be aware of it definitely applies in the
- 59:34workplace but it applies for anything that we bring our full
- 59:37passion to and often in terms of what we want to do for others.
- 59:43Yes. Oh my goodness, I love that
- 59:45visual to like I was literally picturing, picturing 20 cents,
- 59:48two dimes and not that, I don't want the last time I use cash
- 59:51but putting that 20 cents in the piggy bank or okay, this is
- 59:56another weird example. I love analogies but member they
- 59:58were said, interact program here in Canada where it was like save
- 1:00:02the rest. I think they still have that
- 1:00:03where they'll Roundup. You know a bill that you pay it
- 1:00:06like the gas station or whatever and you look save the rest.
- 1:00:10I I'm going to think about that a lot.
- 1:00:12I think that's a huge. Take away for me or probably
- 1:00:14anybody else listening around the like, one of that.
- 1:00:18Can you save knowing that your 80% is excellent and not just
- 1:00:22okay. Now I'm now I'm on a total
- 1:00:25tangent but I think my issue with people saying like you know
- 1:00:2880% is good and it's good enough for us someone who's High
- 1:00:31achiever, it's kind of like yeah.
- 1:00:34But sometimes you want to do 100%.
- 1:00:35However what you just said is no no but the perception of your
- 1:00:3980% to others looks like over 100.
- 1:00:43And that is a very interesting reframe.
- 1:00:46I have never thought about it that way and I think it's really
- 1:00:50important that this isn't smoke and mirrors and this isn't
- 1:00:54trying to Hoodwink someone that you're only giving them your
- 1:00:5780%. It's they don't know how to do
- 1:01:01what you're doing as well as you do.
- 1:01:03Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked like they've come to you,
- 1:01:07or you've offered because it's something you're good at, and
- 1:01:10you're passionate about and some The point really is it will be
- 1:01:15received as 110 percent or more because it will more than meet
- 1:01:22their need. And that those two dimes, the
- 1:01:2620%, I love the visual, the two dimes that is the contribution
- 1:01:32to your sustainable energy plan. So that's where that's the cup
- 1:01:38in in the, you know, the framework that I share that.
- 1:01:43The cup that holds your energy that you place your saucer on
- 1:01:49top of and your saucer is no longer unstable because you've
- 1:01:53always you're always feeling that tank.
- 1:01:56And it's it's really about building resilience.
- 1:02:01So that if something comes out you out of left field, like a
- 1:02:05medical emergency, as we talked about earlier, it's not going to
- 1:02:10topple that cup or the plate. On top because it's so solid and
- 1:02:15it's not empty and that's the analogy.
- 1:02:20Wow, it's like sand like really. It's a weighted, it's weighted
- 1:02:24down. I can see that you can tell, I'm
- 1:02:26very visual, I love love, love that visual that is, so that is
- 1:02:31fascinating. Well, you figured out a heck of
- 1:02:34a lot in your lifetime, but Cindy, what are you still trying
- 1:02:37to figure out in all this? You know, I think it gets back
- 1:02:43to a question. You asked earlier on this in
- 1:02:48this conversation, which is, you know, like how do you plot your
- 1:02:52year, which I don't want to lose that question that you ask,
- 1:02:56because I think it's a really important one.
- 1:02:58And that's where my learning is. Right now, I am turning my
- 1:03:04attention to learning how to live in sync with the seasons.
- 1:03:11Because there's a permission in that as well.
- 1:03:14Which, for example, while this podcast is being recorded, we're
- 1:03:20in the middle of winter. I think you've got snow on the
- 1:03:23ground where you are. I've got a gray cold rainy day
- 1:03:27here. And it's important for us to to
- 1:03:31again, pause long enough to look around and be connected to the
- 1:03:38natural world and realize that That for us right now, in this
- 1:03:43part of the world, at this time of the year, most living things
- 1:03:49are resting and they're even composting.
- 1:03:53They're shedding. What they no longer need the
- 1:03:56leaves or the, you know, the whatever Parts get shed in the
- 1:04:04quiet, winter months and there is so much nourishment.
- 1:04:11And energy that is quietly being built underground.
- 1:04:16Without any of us seeing in order to nurture, a more active
- 1:04:23and outward-facing spring season to come.
- 1:04:27And I am learning more and more about how nourishing that is for
- 1:04:32us to be in sync with the seasons.
- 1:04:35And there's a permission component to it as well.
- 1:04:39So, when It's the middle of winter and it's a gray rainy day
- 1:04:43outside. And I feel I'm plugging into my
- 1:04:47body and I'm feeling like, okay, what I really want to do is rest
- 1:04:51but the shoulds come in, you should do this.
- 1:04:53You should meet that deadline should get this finished.
- 1:04:57It's the ability to I guess it's another tool to reach for it to
- 1:05:01say. It might be the best thing for
- 1:05:04me to do right now to step away and rest because the natural
- 1:05:11World is telling me to do that, so that's that I don't say.
- 1:05:16I had that figured out. I would love to get to a place
- 1:05:20where I run my business on a seasonal basis, so that it is in
- 1:05:26sync with the season. It gives me a down time, it
- 1:05:31gives me a time of sort of planting and, you know, little
- 1:05:36seedlings and that would be that inspiration stage at the year
- 1:05:40and then there's a At a time of the year where I reap the
- 1:05:44benefits of that creativity inspiration.
- 1:05:46And that's the Harvest. So, you know, and and also
- 1:05:49there's a releasing time and allowing things to fall away,
- 1:05:54that no longer serve me. So, that's my Learning Journey.
- 1:05:59Ah, that's so cool. It sounds like a pot like really
- 1:06:01taking an applying applying everything that you've learned
- 1:06:04and experienced. I think that's so beautiful.
- 1:06:07A lot of what a good Next Step. We'll have to have you on.
- 1:06:09I want to hear more about that because We were chatting about
- 1:06:12that over the winter solstice with I guess.
- 1:06:14I had Chantal Russell and we should talk about that as well
- 1:06:17and it's so fascinating. And I don't think it's Boo.
- 1:06:20Boo, and hey, maybe even if it is whatever, you know, I think
- 1:06:23there's there's magic there. That's really cool.
- 1:06:26And it sounds like you have so much going on with your
- 1:06:29permission to pause program. Tell me what you have coming up
- 1:06:31in your business and where everybody can find you as well.
- 1:06:35Mmm, thank you so people can find me on my website.
- 1:06:39Boom, spiral facilitation. Dot-com and on Instagram at boom
- 1:06:44spiral facilitation. I'm also at on LinkedIn, Cindy,
- 1:06:48back up. And just a quick reference to
- 1:06:54the name of the company. Boom.
- 1:06:55Spiral people ask me questions about it all the time, but it
- 1:06:59was a it's a word that's made up and it's a word that came to me
- 1:07:03at an event when someone was talking about the literal
- 1:07:07explosion of magic that happens when a And facilitator, ignites
- 1:07:14the energy and creativity and wisdom of the collective group.
- 1:07:19And it ignites something that takes everyone higher.
- 1:07:23And so that's where that that name came from.
- 1:07:26And, and on that note, that's really where my focus is now,
- 1:07:31I'm offering permission to pause as a workshop series.
- 1:07:35I've been offering it online and I'm super excited that it will
- 1:07:40be offered in person very soon as well.
- 1:07:43And it's in that Spirit of community and really finding the
- 1:07:48magic and the connection and the support that that I think we're
- 1:07:54all trying to plug back into in this post covid era.
- 1:07:57And the other aspect of my business is to support other
- 1:08:02entrepreneurs who want to build those communities for
- 1:08:06themselves, whether they're offering webinars or in person
- 1:08:10learning Trinity's or keynote presentations.
- 1:08:13I'll be offering planning services to help those hosts
- 1:08:19ensure that they have the most engaging and inclusive
- 1:08:25experience for their participants.
- 1:08:26So I'll be inviting entrepreneurs to bring their
- 1:08:30content to me. They'll be the content experts
- 1:08:34and I'll work with them to shape up a container and a flow to the
- 1:08:40extremities. Experience, that will make it a
- 1:08:44memorable experience for their participants.
- 1:08:47So my goodness. Well, I wish that when I was in
- 1:08:51the corporate world, I knew about you, whenever we are
- 1:08:53sourcing facilitators and and what not.
- 1:08:55But I just have a feeling we'll be working together in the
- 1:08:58future. Probably not.
- 1:08:59So not so distant future because I just love the work you do.
- 1:09:03I love your message, you are equal ground, equal parts of
- 1:09:07head and heart. You're so incredibly smart, but
- 1:09:09you have this heart and intention behind and everything
- 1:09:11you do. So thank you for showing up as
- 1:09:13you do. Thank you so much for joining on
- 1:09:16this podcast. I teared up a couple times,
- 1:09:19there's just so much. I think there's there's truly
- 1:09:22there's just so much wisdom here so I really appreciate it and I
- 1:09:25know the audience will as well Andrea.
- 1:09:27It has been an absolute honor and a pleasure to be here.
- 1:09:30Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for listening.
- 1:09:34You can access all resources mentioned in this episode via my
- 1:09:37website andreea bar.com / podcast and let's chat on
- 1:09:41Instagram. I'm at andreea bar coaching and
- 1:09:43I reply to every DM. I get if you loved this episode,
- 1:09:47don't forget to quickly hit that button on your podcast app to
- 1:09:50give me a five star rating and drop in and review.
- 1:09:53It would truly mean the world and if you're like me and love
- 1:09:57to share things that you love, send this episode to a friend
- 1:10:00who you think would appreciate this topic.
- 1:10:02Thanks again for listening and I'll chat with you next week.
- 1:10:02Thanks again for listening and I'll chat with you next week.