Undermining your own success

Years ago, I was seeking help from a psychologist for issues around depression. I had been feeling like despite all my efforts, my goals and dreams were not being realized as I saw fit. After listening to me go on for some time, she asked me flatly, “Is it possible that you’re undermining your own success?”

Pain and comfort are two sides of the same coin. Especially when it comes to food.

Last year, I started excavating my diet, wanting to cut out things I knew weren’t good for me. For two months I eliminated all sweeteners and baked goods. It was a revelation. I lost 10 pounds, felt great, and started to understand how much these foods were only giving me comfort, not nutrition. Gladly after the initial two months, I was able to reintegrate a very limited amount of sweets in a healthy and balanced way.

4 radical truths about life

I am one of those people who has kept every diary and journal I’ve ever had. I got my first one when I was 8. It was pink and had a little lock and key. Now they’ve graduated to Moleskins and whatever notebook I can find to fill with copious amounts of psycho-babble and ramblings. Recently, I decided to put them all in one stack and go through them to find any lasting gems. Here are the results:

1 – Our lives have themes. Turns out, I’m dealing with the similar struggles I had when I was 16! Of course they’re not the same people, or even the same issues, but in a very general way, my “problems” seem to focus around being heard, being recognized, and finding my voice in the world. I found it fascinating to see this theme repeated over and over again, through the ages, and even in positive situations. It made me wonder if this is simply human nature – our entire lives spin around one theme which is a central tenet to our life’s purpose.

How I recovered from burnout using this new technique

Dealing with burnout

A few years ago I suffered a severe case of career burnout. I forced myself to take a break to sort through the emotional mess I was in. I meditated and journaled extensively to work through my feelings. One thing I noticed was my thoughts were filled with extremes. I loved what I did, but I hated the business that went along with it. I was terribly envious of other peoples’ success but I also loved being part of that same community. Love, hate, love, hate. It was an endless mess of intertwined emotions. I was so overcome, I could hardly tell where I stood on anything, let alone shift these feelings into more positive territory.