Please don’t confuse me with that guy running for US president, but I actually do want to build a wall. You see, there’s just too much going on these days, and it’s driving me crazy. It’s grating on my nerves, making me irritable, and generally intruding on all my senses.
So what’s going on you ask? Open plan living! You know living, dining, terrace and kitchen all-in-one. Very hip, very modern, very NOW. So when I initially saw my new flat I was excited with possibilities. In my zest to decorate the space in my head, I neglected to consider how noisy it might become.
When I clock off work, I’m ready for my evening to begin. As a highly sensitive woman, there’s nothing more soothing than a little dim lighting, low hum and watching a bit of television while I get dinner. Well, my gorgeously decorated open living space doesn’t deliver…I want to build a wall!
As a highly sensitive womanyourself, can you guess where I’m going with this? The gas stove is on (noise), the fan for the stove is on (noise), the fridge is opening and closing (noise), the dinner is being prepared, chop, chop, chop (more noise), the water is being poured into saucepans (double noise), the microwave is beeping (noise) and the television is on (turned ever higher to actually hear the news or show, making it noise over the top). And don’t even get me started on the Burnout Pups playing ball, barking and generally under foot because work is done and playtime is NOW for them (and I’m not even going to start with the noise of after-dinner cleanup and the dishwasher)!
Humming, banging, barking, bright lights, clanking pots and running water… my now over-aroused and jangled system yearns for that beautifully quiet evening of rest and relaxation.
Suffice to say open plan living for this highly sensitive woman is not a match made in heaven. So I want to build a wall and call the space on the other side ‘my kitchen’. Old fashioned maybe, quiet most definitely!
Well,This little miss just turned 6 years old! She has style that’s for sure…she wouldn’t be one of The Burnout Pups if she didn’t. The neck scarf just can’t be worn around the neck, no no no, she’s too creative for that.
If you belong to The Realm of The Burnout Queens you have to be creative and quirky, so any neck attire automatically becomes a scarf. She has seen so many pictures of the real Queen to know her fashion.
Being the little nervous pup she is (a true HSP because they exist in the animal world) the ‘cute’ factor always hides her nerves and hood-winks admirers into thinking she’s very bold. It seems to work for her. Wonder what we can find to hide the nerves and show the boldness we truly possess!
Here’s to the birthday girl and teaching us style can be uniquely bold! xx
On today of all days, The Burnout Queens want to share the love we send to our members inside The Realm! Each week they receive a special postcard that encourages them to cultivate a better life. And we don’t stop there, they get their weekly assignment to put that concept to good use. Change is happening in such a beautiful way for these women, we just thought today we would reach out to all our community to share this special postcard.
Here’s your copy and if you find it enriching we hope it will entice you to join us. When you register you immediately join a creative group of women from Germany, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Brazil, all waiting to welcome you to The Realm! Join us by clicking here: The Realm!
Hello Darlings!
Are you ready to fall in love with yourself? Can you find all your little quirky imperfections endearing? Will you hang on your every word with respect and interest, be absorbed in your dreams, laugh at your own jokes and treat yourself with the same gentleness you would treat another love?
When you fall in love with yourself you open your heart, you listen to your soul and you feel connected to who you truly are. Begin this journey today. Don’t wait to fall in love with yourself ‘if or when’ and definitely don’t wait till Monday to start!
Fall in love with who you are now and not who you would like to be…sometime…when you have time.
Here’s your weekly assignment:
Write yourself a love note, what you admire in yourself, what you love about your looks, your life, your being. How you look forward to your relationship growing and deepening.
Be special to yourself: buy yourself chocolates or your favourite flowers or make your favourite breakfast to leisurely enjoy. Have a bubble bath and love your body. Take yourself to the theatre, read poetry or listen to music that makes your soul soar…or dance!
Draw a Heart, then write your name in it. Paste it on your mirror and then every morning this week go ahead and say it,
“I’m falling in love with you!”
Love, The Burnout Queen xx
Well did you love our special love note? Of course, our members will be sharing their hearts and success inside The Realmin our private facebook group. Can’t wait to see all the photos with creative ‘hearts on the mirrors’ that I know they will share.
We’ll be sharing our hearts, won’t you join us too? (Click here to receive instant membership). Joining The Realmwill make your feel special, supported and celebrated by all our members who are actively and I might add impressively enriching their lives.
See you inside and Happy Valentine’s Day from The Burnout Queens xx
The Burnout Queens love Love; big Love, small Love, puppy Love! Of course we are talking about Love today, check the date! (There are times we love to be predictable!) In past years we’ve ‘done’ Love (with a capital L), we’ve definitely talked about self-love and yes we have even explored the steamy kind, but love of work, loving what you do, is not necessarily the dot that gets connected to hearts and flowers.
Plato referred to love as ‘divine madness’ and Freud believed that two of the most important aspects of life were love and work. So is it madness to believe you need to love your work to be healthy and happy? The Burnout Queens don’t think so!
We have a very real need to love what we do… our work, the product, our art, our contribution and our success. [tweet this]
If we connect love with work we should expect big moments of passion, true calling, momentous insights, or at least a big ‘kissy fest’ with our colleagues all the time…right? Not necessarily so.
It can be a challenge to notice signs, big or small, of the kind of love that means your work is engaging your soul. These signs often hide in the everyday, the mundane, the tedious and the commonplace. So what exactly are you looking for?
Well, when you work with mindfulness you begin to identify signs of loving what you do: a moment of pride for a well done job; a rush of warmth, understanding or caring toward a co-worker; the comfortable familiarity of an everyday task; the old books on the shelves in the boardroom; taking a moment to ‘see’ the painting you love on your office wall, the view outside your window; knowing you are doing ‘good’ work or providing for your life and family.
Here are some moments of love in my work:
Typing this draft with my soul-dog on my lap (not great for my posture but fab for my heart),
Receiving a ‘Hello here’s what I’m up to!’ from a long-ago (but never forgotten) client,
Having an ‘ah hah moment’ when two seemingly diverse ideas collide and become something new...BIG LOVE!
Writing that flows from the heart.
A hot cup of tea and biscuit on the corner of my desk.
Being ‘told’ to take a break by a ball dropped on my foot or thrown down the stairwell followed by barking!
Receiving baby pictures, pet pictures, family pictures from clients new and old.
Taking a brain-break by editing something already written (ah relax).
Dropping a quick “Thinking of you” to a client for no reason other than to connect.
Hearing the birds in the tree outside my window.
Looking up to see the picture of Dad on my bookshelf.
Stopping to read the Burnout Queens Desiderata (You mean you haven’t got one? Join the Realm Darlings!)
Let’s be honest we can all lose the love of our work from time to time!
There will be days you don’t feel like showing up, but don’t make the mistake of thinking this means you don’t love what you do!
Stress, pressures, deadlines, dreaded tasks, the evil boss or conniving colleague, or just the tedium of the everyday can trick even the most enlightened and sensitive amongst us into missing (or possibly avoiding or ignoring) many opportunities to connect with the love of what you do.
In the BIG picture we all want to be happy at work. We want our work to be engaging, pleasurable and fun at times. We truly want to feel like we are doing something that contributes to the wellbeing of others in the world. That sense of contributing is love personified.
Yes there are times when we drag ourselves ‘to the office’ moaning, but there are other times when maybe life is in turnoil that work becomes a place of refuge, a sanctuary. Just the other day a client whose world has been turned upside down said it so clearly, “Thank goodness for my work, it’s keeping me sane!” There was a time that my office became my retreat, my haven of peace, from family illness, crises and loss. It was physically a peaceful and serene place, I loved my clients, and when ‘in session’ I was unavailable to the outside world! What’s not to love.
Even if you aren’t currently in your ideal job or career, allow yourself to love aspects of what you are doing.
Finding love for what you do in the present doesn’t mean you can’t dream about the future and embrace change when it comes. [tweet this]
Love for your work, in whatever nooks and crannies you can find it, opens up your imagination, your creativity and awakens your soul.
Being a highly sensitive woman means you were delightfully designed to find work you love but first you have to find love in your work.
From our hearts to yours…Happy Valentines Day!
PS. The BOQs would love to hear from you! Leave your wisdom and comments in the box below.
The Burnout Queens took a week out to drop off the work scene. It was definitely time! If it’s one thing I have learnt over my long career it’s time to take a break when…
I want to stay in bed and pull the duvet up over my head
I want to do anything but sit at my desk
I want to do anything but speak with my dear clients
I want to retire and move to a quiet beach (oh wait I’ve done some of that!)
I find myself crankie at the dogs for everything (even when they are being cute)
I find myself dreading ‘calling home’ to speak to my 99 year old mother
I can’t catch a train to London because of weather or no petsitter (no cultural play makes me very grumpy)
I can’t stand being around people and noise (my Dietrich moments)
I can’t focus for more than a few seconds (unless it’s a puzzle and I’mobsessed)
I’m sure you get the idea. And I’m doubly sure you recognise many of these for yourself! Better to take a break and gather my steam again so that I can be creative, present and enjoyable to be around. Of course, breaks are always announced to clients after looking at the calendar, asking them to change their call dates (seldom do this, but…) and clearing the decks of responsibility.
I’m pleased to say that I didn’t decide to pack a million and one things into 7 days, but I did some very pleasant sightseeing and tea sipping at my leisure. You could say a curative rest. It was a good plan and the feedback from my community says Dr T and I are great role models for taking care of ourselves and not burning out. Well that’s the idea anyway!
Next time you find yourself feeling the same way, take yourself away and rest up. Take it from these 2 docs, “You could just prevent yourself from burning out!”
