Listen on Apple Podcasts here.
In this episode, I discuss:
my August, the things I got up too and a little bit of a life update
what I'm proud of from August
what I'm giving myself compassion for from August
a little guidance for September, including some journal prompts and a card I pulled for the collective
Podcast Transcript
Welcome to the Mindful Soul Collective Podcast, a safe space for your healing.
I'm your host Shorina, a counsellor, well-being coach, multi-bus owner and mum.
I'm here to talk all things mind, body and soul.
You can expect conversations on mental health, mindfulness, mindset, healing and whole body wellness.
I've completely redefined my relationship to myself and to my life.
And now it's your turn.
Hello and welcome back to the podcast.
I wanted to start a little monthly update and guidance ritual with you all.
So each month on the last Wednesday of the month, I'm going to give a reflection of the
month that has just gone with some life updates.
I'm going to tell you guys about the thing that I'm most proud of from that month and
the thing that I'm giving myself compassion for for that month too.
And then we'll finish the episode off with a little bit of guidance for the month that
is coming.
And I think that will look a little bit different each month and I'll just check in with what
I feel is needed for the collective. I'm super excited about this new ritual because I think it's going to help me connect to you guys on a different level, on a much deeper level, especially compared to my other platforms like Instagram and TikTok. I just thought it would be a bit fun for you guys to know a little bit about me and my life as well. So let's start with some life updates.
August has been very, very, very busy for me.
I've had a lot of personal things going on like, you know, kids birthday parties and
baby showers and all the socializing and catching up with friends that you could possibly think of. I have pretty much had something on every single weekend, like both days, Saturday and Sunday, all of August. And then trucking the usual stuff like my businesses, my work, my kids. One of my kids goes to speech therapy. There's clients, my team that I communicate with daily. There's just been a lot happening this month. I actually also went to a school parent information night for my eldest Ezra because he starts school next year, such a bittersweet thing. And honestly, it's a bit crazy to me that he is five in a couple of weeks and starts school next year. It's just mind blowing. It goes so fast.
I also had a minor surgery, which I'm totally okay. It went, went really, really well, but it did take it out of me for a couple of days. So with all of this in mind, it's really led me into feeling pretty much the beginning stages of burnout. So if you guys remember my second podcast episode, I discuss the four states of mental health and wellbeing, which are in crisis, struggling, surviving or thriving. I've really, really been sitting in that surviving state throughout August.
So you know, I've been getting everything done and showing up and doing my work and I'm doing all the things with my kids and stuff, but my body is tired and I'm paying the price a bit physically. And for me, that shows up in things like aches and pains in my body.
I've had two cold sores on my lip in August, which is a lot for me. I maybe get a couple of a year, so to have two in August, that obviously shows I've been quite stressed.
But in saying that, I have noticed this and picked up on this really quite early on and
I know how to pull myself out of it with a lot of TLC and I know what to give myself
and how to support myself to get back into that thriving state.
And for me, I really think that that just means a lot more white space, a lot more
rest, a lot more fun.
I wrote a post on Instagram that I think sums this up really, really well that I wanted
to share with you as well.
I've been trying to learn how to do nothing. For so long, I've been go, go, go.
It's how I survived. You know, I had to work full time while studying full time and I was in survival mode. That was my life for 10 years.
So it's my normal to be constantly busy, but here's the thing.
I don't want to be this busy anymore.
I don't want to have long to do lists.
I don't want to have to push and push every day.
I don't want to be running around like crazy.
I don't want to have a full calendar.
I want more white space.
I want more peace.
I want empty lists.
I want to do the work that I love and spend time with the people I love.
I recently changed my work schedule to be at home more often and gave a lot of more
tasks to my assistant. So now I have that abundance of time and white space, but honestly, it's been uncomfortable. I've never not been busy.
I'm finding I'm feeling some of my time with things I've let sleep over the last year,
or I'm simply allowing myself to sit outside in the sun with a cup of bone broth and simply
feel the sun on my skin.
Eventually, I'll catch up on everything and have nothing to do.
And that scares me.
So I'm trying to learn how to do nothing. It's a work in progress and I'm breaking a lot of habits, healing childhood trauma and feeling more comfortable with doing nothing every day that passes.
I think that this Instagram post I wrote is something that spoke to a lot of people,
especially women. We all push and push and we want to do it all. But if we're all living like that, eventually, we are all going to crash and burn myself included. We need to rest.
We need to have fun. We need to enjoy ourselves.
So August for me was really about making changes to my schedule, creating more time
and space in my life to be able to do those things. That's everything for my update for August.
And now I'm going to share something that I'm proud of and the thing that I'm giving
myself compassion for for August.
So the thing I'm most proud of from this month would definitely have to be the amount of
white space I've been able to create. I've really changed my work schedule up. So I'm not working as much outside of the standard given a nine to five. I was offering a lot of different days and times where I was available outside of normal business hours. And obviously that limits my time with my family and the things I do with my kids. And I was putting a lot of pressure on everyone, including myself. So I decided to condense that down a bit. I've given a lot more tasks to my assistant. I have implemented a lot more automations and I was also previously doing quite a bit of freelance marketing work.
So I was doing a full day a week doing that too. So I've actually dropped that as well.
So I've really created a lot more white space and I'm really proud of that because, you
know, like I just said in that Instagram post, that's something new for me. And the thing I'm going to give myself compassion for for August would be the burnout and being in this state of survival. I don't want to be here. It doesn't feel the best. You know, I'm tired.
I'm cranky with my family. It is not enjoyable, but it's part of life. I'm a human.
These things happen. And I really just want to move back into that thriving state. And I know I will. I just don't like that in between that I am in right now. But that's what I want to give myself compassion for.
As we move into September, I wanted to offer you a little bit of guidance.
And I think this part is going to change a little bit each month.
So who knows, but for this month, I was called to pull a card for you and offer a couple
of journal prompts. So have a pen handy, get ready to write those down. I did pull the card prior to jumping on the mic, mostly because I didn't know how the card was going to be pulled. I thought it might have been very noisy. So I did a prior and I've pulled it from the work your light deck from, sorry, by Rebecca Campbell. The card that came up was the crumbling card. And this is what it says in the guidebook.
There is a shift happening right now where anything inauthentic can no longer survive.
Relationships, jobs, social structures, anything built on shaky ground is destined to tumble down.
It's happening to bring you back home to who you truly are. So you can live a life that is in alignment with who you are. When you're in the thick of it, I can feel like a personal attack from the universe. But have faith because the difficult times will be your defining moments. You will be reborn in the fire. You're being called to surrender, to stop trying to hold it all together, to loosen your grip, to let the crumbling occur. It may be difficult at first, but in the end, the sooner you let go, the sooner the rebirthing will occur.
What are you trying to hold together?
What are you trying or doing your best to avoid?
How are you trying to pretend that everything is okay?
You have what it takes to allow what is falling to tumble and fall.
Once the tower has crumbled, you will be able to rebuild your home on solid ground with
mighty foundations and a view that is so magnificent that it will take your breath away each new mourn.
I'm not sure how this card would have landed for a lot of people, but I have found that for me this really landed because personally, like I was talking about a little bit earlier, I have really found myself pushing and pushing and holding on to this busy schedule and busy
persona in a way. So for me, I find that this card is about me letting go and me finding that white space. And it does have a question written here. What are you clinging to for fear of nothing coming to take its place?
Take that card as you will and sit with that question, see what comes up for you.
And to finish the podcast episode off, there are three journal prompts I would really love
you to sit with as well.
So the first prompt is what was your favourite memory of August?
I think it can be really easy for us to get caught up in things that may have not gone
so well or arguments you may have had with people or when you reflect on the month that's just gone, we often reflect on the bad. So this question is really about reflecting on the good and I think there's so much more value in looking at what went well and what made you feel really, really amazing. So what was your favourite memory of August?
The second prompt is have you been living in crisis, struggling, surviving or thriving?
And again, if you're not quite sure what that means, head back to episode two, have
a listen, determine where you've been at. The point of this question is just awareness because when you have an awareness, you're able to build from that and improve on things in your life.
And the final prompt is what is something you're going to work towards in September?
Whether it's big or small, I just would love for you to write about it, put your mind to
achieving something next month.
And yeah, that's all from me today.
I hope you enjoyed this episode, lots of love and support and I will chat with you next
week.
Bye bye!
With love & support,
Shorina | Mindful Soul Collective
Counsellor & Wellbeing Coach
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