Sustainable Ambition Forum - 08.11.22
I just saw my first back-to-school image on social. Agh!! I’m not ready for that.
Instead this month I’d like to encourage us all to embrace the European summering tradition and make August a month for sustaining and building up our resilience stores. Summer isn’t over yet, and I sense that we all would appreciate slowing down and indulging in a break.
Below in the round-up are resources around the theme of sustaining, and I also feature resources on connecting, as there’s a lot of research on how close personal relationships and connections are one of the most important factors that contribute to happiness. If we want to sustain ourselves and build up resilience, connecting with others is valuable.
Another topic I’m coming back to this month on the podcast and featured below is pace. To do so, I’m joined by my friend, Wade Brill, who was on the podcast with me early on in Episode 5 and is a mindfulness coach, podcaster, and speaker. This is a topic we’re passionate about as it shows up in the work that we both do. For me, Wade’s been a wonderful guide on my own journey of Sustainable Ambition, often reminding me to get centered and be thoughtful about my own pace. Check out more on the 2-part series below.
And before I close, let me share a personal example to illustrate how being intentional about pace can work.
While I’ve been working with pace more intentionally since last year, I used pace to help me make a recent decision on combining some work and personal travel. It wasn’t a big decision but one that I needed to make quickly. Did I want to fly all the way across the country for a day-long business meeting and then fly right back at the end of the day? On the first day, I’d start at 6 am PST to jump on a flight and prepare for the session and then return the very next day and arrive home at 12 am PST. That sounded like the good old days. It sounded rushed. It sounded exhausting.
The decision I created for myself: should I stay back East and invest in a work-cation?
In making the decision, it came down to three factors: 1) pace, 2) community and 3) experiences.
Pace was top of mind because of the podcast episodes, and it was the first thing that clued me into what I wanted to do. I just didn’t feel like operating at that fast of a pace, zipping back and forth across the country. Why do that to myself? Why not slow down and make the most of a trip back to NYC, which I hadn’t visited for 4 years?
The second was community. Staying back East allowed me to connect with three people in person, two of whom I’d only ever met via video. I was so appreciative of the time I spent with all of them. I loved being with these people, my people. I loved the conversations. Making those connections and being in community felt joyful and definitely filled me up.
The third was experiences. I’ve been revisiting goals mid-year, and my focus has shifted towards creating experiences around my values rather than outcomes. Two of my core values are community and growth and learning. Giving myself time to connect with people and explore NYC and all it has to offer (visiting the library and museums, seeing a show, revisiting my old haunts, walking in Central Park, allowing for serendipity) fit the bill.
So now over to you. For this sustaining month of August:
How might you bring pace into your decision-making process?
With whom do you want to be in community this month? With whom do you want to connect and be in conversation?
What do you want to experience that would fill you up and build your resilience stores?
Enjoy this last full month of summer! Soak it up.
Kathy
Founder of Sustainable Ambition
P.S. Here is some relaxing music to help set the sustaining mood.
Save the Date! FREE Workshop
When: Thursday, September 8, 12-1 pm PST
Why: Create your Back-to-Work Stretch+Sustain Plan!
What’s next? Sign-up details coming soon!
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The Round-Up
A month for sustaining 🏖️
Take a mental health day. Get inspired to get away from it all reading these stories of how others have done it.
Tools for a quick reset from Thrive. Use at work or at home. Just 60 seconds. Check them out!
13 hacks for life+work integration. Love this wisdom from the brilliant designer, Ayse Birsel, to bring vacation into work and productivity into vacation. A cool reframe and approach.
Cultivate your own happiness. Listen in to this free Atlantic conference hosted by Arthur Brooks, an expert in the field. There are sessions with Lori Gottlieb, Gretchen Rubin, and more.
The wonder of nature #1. This is a lovely episode of On Being with acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton who collects natural sounds from around the world. He champions the need for silence.
The wonder of nature #2. Listen to nature sounds from around the world.
A month for connecting 👋
Community matters for happiness at work. Consider that only 2 in 10 U.S. workers say they have a best friend at work. But having a best friend at work translates to 7x higher job satisfaction and less stress. It’s worth it to invest time in your work relationships.
Get out of the house and connect. One of the things I realized when I was in London in January was how much I love pubs there. Why? Because they are designed for connection, much more so than bars in the U.S. I'd go hang out in a pub to just chat with my friends and make new friends. But to me, bars in the U.S. have always had a different connotation. As this article espouses, and as Starbucks used to champion, find your third place to connect with people. It continues to be important as we come out of the pandemic.
Staying connected can be easy. Even quick texts matter.
“The Art of Gathering” by Priya Parker. I’ve had Parker’s book for some time and finally have the space to read it with a mind to absorb its wisdom. I may have featured her work before, but given this month’s theme, I wanted to highlight it again. Connecting with others is powerful. How can we make our gatherings moments of connection and resilience building?
“Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience.” Brené Brown’s latest book focuses on the importance of language in building connections. ICYMI or are behind like me, worth a read. : )
Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends
on what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.
On Intentionally Living & Working with Pace
Wade and I hope that through these two episodes we raise your awareness of the power of thinking about and being intentional with pace both in your daily experiences and how you manage your personal and professional ambitions. I hope you’ll listen in!
Episode #68: In Part 1, Wade and I talk about how we define pace and what works for each of us around a slow or fast pace and when it feels right. We close with some tips on what works for us in working with pace. Perhaps you’ll get inspired to try some of our practices and see what works best for you.
Listen on your favorite player here or on our website here.
Episode #69: In Part 2, we talk about ambitions, goals, and pace. How does pace show up when we consider ambitions and where that intersects with life and work?
Listen on your favorite player here or on our website here.
You can also find the podcast, subscribe, and listen on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Overcast.
P.S. Want to hear more about rethinking your time and my initial thoughts on setting your own pace? Check out Episode #39: On Rethinking & Shaping Your Time and Episode #52: On Setting Your Own Pace
8 Questions to Build More Resilience
What is unsustainable right now?
What sustaining activities can I add to my days, weeks, months, quarter, year?
What pace do I want to be operating at?
What decisions can I make to modulate my pace?
What can I add that energizes me?
What can I delete that drains me?
What can I do to create community for myself?
What structures can I put in place at work and at home to support more sustainability?
Resilience Resources
A few people I respect are offering content and services that might be of interest to you around this month’s theme. I’m sharing here in case they are of interest to you.
Addressing Burnout: Clare Josa, who was on E22 of the podcast, does work on impostor syndrome and burnout, and she’s recently completed new research on the latter. You can find more here. She works with organizations and also individuals. She’s hosting a free masterclass on the topic on September 13. You can find more details here.
Lifestyle Medicine: Kajal Dhabalia is the founder of Wholesome Soul, a well-being boutique that specializes in individually tailored self-care to help soulful humans through all seasons of life. She offers 1:1 coaching, classes and on-going inspiration to help holistically-minded individuals develop nourishing ayurvedic routines, energizing meditation practices and supportive growth mindsets—so that as life’s constant ups and down unfold, they’re able to ride those waves as an equipped, skilled and inspiring forces of nature. Kajal will be hosting a 12-week course soon. You can learn more here.
Note: I do not get affiliate income from these programs. I’m sharing simply to spread the good word.
The Monthly Progress Practice: August
At the beginning of each year, we share our Monthly Progress Practice. Progress is made through small, consistent action. Practice makes progress. We offer a monthly guidance on small actions or inquiries to inspire positive change this year.
Our guidance for August: Rethink your time. Shape the experience of it to serve you and how you want to feel. Slow it down, speed it up. Flex it. Maximize short periods. Focus on the quality vs. the quantity.
Find Your Guide:
Find the perfect guide to match your journey.
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
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