My Big WHY for Being Here with You E9
September 14, 2021
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I’m going to do something I should have done a while ago, you know, listening for quite a few months to this podcast. I don’t think I ever fully introduced myself. How rude of me. So let me take care of it. Let me share with you a little bit more about my story and my big why for being here with you.
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My name is Linda, as you already know. And I have a family, we have Mykey, our Tibetan terrier and James is my husband. We are currently living in Germany, which is my home country, but I have lived for many, many years in other countries. I love to learn about new countries and cultures for decades already.
And I’ve even worked in my jobs, in global communities or in global jobs where I get to meet people from different countries, different languages and cultures. It’s just something I love very much. So I have been working for over 20 years and I have been working in the corporate world. I’m working still at a fantastic company, but I am going to leave it very soon to focus on my true mission, why I’m here and what I’m here to do.
The start of my burnout story
Last summer I was in a pretty bad place, but I did not really realize that I was in a bad place. (Episodes 24, 25, and 26)
I think I have worked myself to that state for over a decade. And I’ve worked myself into the ground. When you do something unhelpful to yourself over such a long period, when you realize what you’re doing and that your mental health, your physical health or your emotional health are really going down the drain – it’s like waking up one morning and asking yourself, how did I end up here? How did this happen to me?
So this is where I found myself last year, I was in a very stressful job. But I think the stress that I had was very much self-inflicted. I woke up each morning dreading opening my laptop.
I did not really enjoy hardly anything at that point. And when I closed my laptop at the end of the day, I still felt fairly unhappy and not really free. So I wasn’t even able to enjoy my free time.
Every little thing would upset me too deeply
You know this feeling when you’re all the time stressed out, this is really when every little thing can set you off. Right? Every little thing that happens to you feels like a disaster, a fight, like the world is against you. This is how I felt all the time!
And spending so much of your hours that you’re awake at work means that all of that stress, frustration and exhaustion during all of these hours at work have a huge impact as well on your private life.
I wasn’t really able to switch off of work when I wasn’t at work and I wasn’t able to leave. Two different lives of being at work and in my private life, I was in a completely different state that just didn’t work. But like I said, I just didn’t realize how bad it got over quite a few years.
Has your job been a priority in your life so far?
And if you’re like me, then your job has probably been your life. You have put so much work into building this career that you identify with the role that you’re having at work. That was pretty much it for me. It’s like when you go to a party and you’re asked, so who are you? What are you doing? You always kind of start with your job and explain where you work, because that is such a big part of your identity.
So in July last year, it got worse. Looking back at it. I know that at that point, I was in a bad place, and I know that point was necessary for me to get to where I am now.
I call it now the best thing that has ever happened to me.
And at that time, I would really procrastinate on stupid little things, on everything at work, I was dreading to go into certain meetings where people would be there that would trigger me. And sometimes it was really that I would hang up from the call and I would actually cry because these negative feelings were just so overpowering and overwhelming.
And I did not see a way out. I knew I needed to do something differently, but I did not know what and how. One day, my husband sat me down and said, you either quit your job now. Or you go to the doctor because you are not okay. So that’s what I did. I went to the doctor and I was diagnosed with a burnout in the end.
Taking time off to recover
I had to take off six weeks from work until I felt ready again to go back. I really don’t wish anybody to go through what I went through. I don’t want anyone to have to end up in burnout. I most certainly don’t wish this to happen to you,
For the first time in about 23 years of working, I suddenly had the time and space to be by myself while I had time off.
I actually made a pact with myself that I would not go back to work in the same state that I was in. I could not go back and just do the same stuff again and again, and just end up in the same place a few months, or a few years down the line. That was just not an option.
So the first few weeks that I was at home and not working, I actually couldn’t switch off. When you’re at home, you still have the chores to do. You can take care of this DIY job, or you can take care of shopping, cooking, and cleaning. So the first two weeks really didn’t do much for me. And then I made a decision to actually take myself out of my normal life and actually go away for a week to really truly be by myself.
Leave home to really be with myself
I knew something had to change and I promised myself that it had to. I guess that was a loud enough message for the universe because it was. I forced myself to take that week away and not have any plans. I just went to a hotel and I had nothing much to do.
I took a few books. I took meditations and something to write, but otherwise, there was nothing for me to do. I didn’t even have a car to go anywhere. So I was really there by myself with 100% focus on me. And with no distractions, this is where the magic started to happen. Something fundamentally shifted.
I had several big realizations during that one week, but then they kept happening as well when I returned back home and back to work. I started to understand how I work, how I function as a human being. And I understood more about how we live and how we function, who we actually are and how this game of life can actually be played so much more easily.
The penny dropped and I started to understand
Maybe you had this in your life before that suddenly something becomes clear to you. And then a lot of other things connected to it make sense as well, and things start to fall into place. Like a huge AHA moment. Have you had this before?
One domino stone falls and all other stones fall afterwards automatically and with such beauty. That’s kind of what happened to me. I started to understand certain things and started to apply them as well. When I went back to work, situations that in the past would trigger me, would frustrate me, I realized how I can change my perspective and my way of being and not be frustrated anymore and not be stressed out anymore.
From there. I just kept on going, kept on learning, kept on experiencing. And it hasn’t really stopped. So that’s about a year ago now and it hasn’t stopped. It’s more like a snowball now that I keep learning and I keep growing. But in a way that I make my life easier in a way that I never understood before.
My perspective to life and work changed drastically
Things that would have been important to me in the past do not feel important anymore. Now a lot of things are not so desirable for me anymore.
“So in a way that was a snapshot of my story and why I do what I do now.”
I want to help overachievers, like I was, and probably still am to finally enjoy the life that they built for themselves. I want to help people that are high-performing and career-driven people to live their life with ease.
My big WHY for being here and doing what I do
Instead of feeling like life is heavy and exhausting, like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. I wish for people who have focused for the last couple of decades, mostly on their career, to finally get their energy back so they can spend time on themselves and spend time on things that they want to do and that they love.
And maybe this is you. It was for sure me, this overachiever, high performer, always career driven, always planning for the next step, but I did not enjoy this life that I built myself. That life was not easy. It felt heavy. I was exhausted a lot. And that has changed now in the last year. And I want that to change for you!
If it works for me, it will for you!
And I’m not special. I don’t have any magical gifts. I am a very normal person. And if I was able to turn my life around in such an amazing direction as it goes now, so can you, you can have the same easy life and enjoy the life that you really wish to have.
Thank you so much for reading about me. It was very special for me to share this with you. I hope that if you are going through something similar like I was, you know, that you can turn the ship around. I hope you understand that there is help for you out there. And that it’s very important for you to seek help- don’t wait any longer!
Two easy ways to show your appreciation!
If you found value in today’s episode, here’s what you can do to show your support:
First, consider making a donation to the podcast. Every little bit helps to cover the costs of producing and hosting the show. And ensures that I can continue to bring you the latest insights and opinions on the topic of energy and improving your life.
Second, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. This helps boost the podcast’s visibility and attract new listeners, which helps me create more tailored content for you to enjoy.
So whether you choose to donate, leave a rating and review, or both, know that you’re an integral part of my vision. You are helping everyone who struggles with burnout or high-stress levels to experience how awesome their life can be. So, thank you for your support!
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