ALL LINKS TO EXTERNAL SOURCES, PODS, AUDIOS AND ASSIGNMENTS ARE ALL FOUND IN THE TRANSCRIPT BELOW FOR ALL OF YOU THAT WOULD PREFER TO READ THROUGH WEEK 1.
FOR THE FULL VIDEO CONTENT, PLEASE HEAD DOWN BELOW
PART 1
PART 2
ALL THE PDF FILES FOR WEEK 2 YOU WILL NEED TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT SHOULD YOU WISH ARE ALL BELOW
Welcome to week 2
Having gone through a lot of root cause stuff in week 1, looking at emotions, a bit of a base of WHO WE ARE in a complex psychoanalytical sense and a lot of reflecting over what needs to change, where and how, THIS WEEK we are going to look more in depth into YOU. Options that you have. Ways to objectively and realistically start to achieve new goals and merge pathways forwards. Ways to get strategic and ask questions that perhaps you never thought to ask before or never had the space to.
OK, we I need to reiterate the point that this entire workshop, while it focuses on WORK / LIFE BALANCE, is more aimed at offering you insights into how YOU can start to bring balance back into your own life. How detrimental changes that you know you need to make in order to have a better life have to start with you because YOU can control that!
The WORKPLACE however is a different story thanks to legislation, legals, laws and a ton of state governed paperwork and compliance by which we ALL must abide to as a standard so in many senses we’re not able to control that although, if most of us did this work to better change our own lives from the inside out, the systemic framework would have no option to change in our favor because a) If enough of us demand change – Change needs to happen and b) It is US that make the changes by doing this work from the inside out first –
IT ALWAYS STARTS WITH US. IT ALWAYS STARTS WHERE IT MATTERS so here at Humanology HR we have now for years encouraged people to GO BACK INTO THEIR HOMES because that’s where your power lays and work on what you know you can control. The rest will follow
When it comes to the workplace and how it affects our overall LIFE BALANCE however, this is where things overlap. Companies are trying too to help in ways they thing make a difference but…..Yes, there are BUTS!
Now look, there are many websites and activity plans available online that offer insights and great tools into creating a form of WORK / LIFE BALANCE by means of incorporating incentives in the workplace offering great inclusions such as
- Group activities
- Meditation pods
- Programs, gifts, store cards, events and away stays
- Corporate group retreats
- Workplace snacks and common room favours
And while we think that’s great and that Companies need to start to look at ways to make their employees time at work more gratifying and show they appreciate the hard work they do, rewards in the workplace don’t look at LIFE BALANCE they look at WORK BALANCE
People are struggling because they need more time for themselves AWAY from the workplace, away from their colleagues and teams.
They need to be able to disconnect from that environment completely and be able to focus on THEMSELVES and what they want to do with their own lives in a time frame according to them and with means by which they are in control and can incentivise themselves
Yes, we don’t have a lot of time, which is why we love the 4 (I LOVE 3) day work week incentive and as mentioned above, remember, balance is an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady, the BALANCE of the scales should look like a 50/50 distribution for ultimately, that’s what balance means but we’re a long way from that being achievable so in the meantime, what can we do?
When we ask the average person what it is that they are interested in in their own lives away from the hustle and bustle, not surprisingly many will honestly say, “THEY HAVE NO IDEA”
Because most that are significantly burnt out are the mid generations that have been in the game for a long time now and are parents, home owners and are weighted down by so much LIFE ADMIN that they have lost all sense of SELF-INTEREST because they have no time for SELF
They younger ones, starting off in the workplace and in their early 30’s now starting families aren’t quite there yet. Some are, but for the most part they’ve not hit the wall yet but for those that have, what can we do about this?
Well, we set up various programs and incentives to get people to GET TO KNOW THEMSELVES AGAIN, because until they re-connect to themselves and figure out WHO THEY ARE, they don’t know how to answer these questions or implement ways to find joy, time, activities just for them
They no longer know what interests them because they’re no longer their own individual person
If this sounds like familiar to you, then it is advisable that you start on our ‘HELLO, IT’S ME’ identity special where we strip back the layers of the proverbial identity onion and figure out how to find SELF so that you can lay out the foundations of WHO YOU ARE once more.
You can find the ’HELLO, IT’S ME’ program in the index of this presentation and I would suggest you watch it after completing week 3 so we cover what is here first as the additional programs are heavy, detailed and will take a while to get through. They’re like a 10 session of therapy all rolled into one!
BUT THEN WHAT?
You still work 5 days a week, On-call rota, morning to evening. You only have a few hours at the remainder of the day and on weekends. If you’re lucky to have tim on weekends to kick back and really spend time DOING WHAT YOU LOVE and WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY then great
But for those of you that don’t know what that looks like, what can we do about that?
Further below is a quick questionnaire to help you re-discover a little bit about WHAT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO DO should you wish to
Before we start, it’s important to go back over your life review and ask yourself what you used to enjoy. What your passions used to be? Perhaps you’re ‘too old’ for them now or you can’t afford them anymore or you’ve moved on from that but, again, remember that EVERYTHING IS A FEELING
What once made you FEEL joy, satisfaction, fulfilment, excitement, adventure…….however that once looked, how can it be reinvented into the NOW?
Perhaps you were into motocross or bikes but now you’re older, overweight, can’t afford the equipment or the upkeep BUT, you remember the FEELING of freedom a bike gave you, hanging out at the track with your friends so…….
Just a thought but why not get an old banger of a bike, start a project of doing it up and join a local club with like minded bikers so you can head off in your free time to muck about on the tracks once more?
Or perhaps you don’t want to go that far but you’d be up for a picnic lunch or BBQ out on the track to watch the youngsters who are now having their moment. Take a few friends down and re-visit those memories?
Or perhaps you could do coaching, start a club, collect memorabilia that bring that memory BACK TO LIFE so that you can feel it once again
One very crucial thing to factor in here whether it is with work or leisure pleasure is that we must only and always be DOING WHAT WE LOVE for in doing so, we become what we love!
I know that for many in Veterinary, the field I work in, they are doing what they love. They chose to study this field and work within this arena because they have a passion for animal care and the animal kingdom. The problems with the burnout and stress however don’t come from the nature of the work itself but rather the disillusionment of how it all unfolded.
It wasn’t as they had imagined. There’s so much red tape, data admin, corporate nonsense. It’s rigid, cold and sterile. They work long hours and are back to back with routine visits. It’s not how they hoped it would look
But they still LOVE the field, only the field looks muddy, ugly and they don’t get paid enough to run marathons across it every day
The point I’m making is, if you’re in a job that is absolutely NOT what you want to be doing or how you envisioned your life playing out, YOU need to change it for something that you can enjoy
And don’t ever think it’s too late! No way! Let me tell you, within the pages of the ‘HELLO, IT’S ME’ program, there is a segment in the chapter of PERSONALITY where there is an audio (YOU CAN FIND IT HERE) and it also extends on to the similar themes on THE MIDLIFE CRISIS V THE MIDLIFE AWAKENING audio below and how the reason that we go through this ‘EXISTENTIAL CRISIS’ is because, after a certain amount of time and effort, life wants us to move into a new field. A new direction. A change. THAT’S NORMAL!
The MIDLIFE CRISIS from my perspective is a pivot point. It’s not a crisis, it’s an awakening. Remember in WEEK 1, when we looked at the 4 magnet types and we spoke about how when you go into establishing ROOT CAUSES of why we self-sabotage, seek out burnout and drama and so on, when we DETOX ourselves from that and start to recreate our lives, the drama free existence can seem boring, or like something is missing and may go into panic, crisis and doubt
GIVE THE AUDIO A LISTEN BELOW
The same applies in the MIDLIFE CRISIS. It is the natural process of the ages to get to a point and then go, NOW WHAT?
You have spent the last 20 years learning, putting into practice, growing, building and all the things to get you to where you are now but, then what?
You’re just going to carry on in the same manner, in the same position, same rhythm, same dynamic as you’ve always done?
Or are you going to go “Ok, I have served my time there. I have obtained wisdom, I am mature and ready for the next step. A new challenge”
And that might look like taking what you’ve already been doing and turning it into a way to teach, mentor and encourage the younger ones stepping up to the table, handing down your inherent wisdom and knowledge or, it might look like an entirely new chapter altogether. An absolutely brand new YOU where you decide, ‘hang on, I’ve done 20 years there, didn’t’t really love it. If I could go back and do it all again I’d do………’
And you know what, YOU CAN!
In this day and age there are so many online access courses, evening courses, apprenticeships, ways into new fields. There’s funding, there’s support, there are SO MANY AVENUES TO RE-INVENT YOURSELF the way you want to re-invent yourself!
Even if its just for fun or even if it’s just part time or even if its an entire relocation package and fresh start in a field you’ve zero clue about…..
THE DECISION IS YOURS BECAUSE…….. YOU ALWAYS HAD A CHOICE
This is why, when we get onto the next chapter in week 3 when we look at ACTION PLAN, it’s super important that we level up here because workplaces are becoming much more inclusive and integrated and the way fields are merging together needs to be really well managed – TAKE NOTE
But, this is when we have to ask, WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?
PASSION HELPS YOU FIND A PURPOSE!
Start there!
What are you passionate about?
Books, cooking, writing, photography, nature, art, technology, languages, education, sports, travel, skincare, animal care, motorsports, motor anything, gardening, yoga, science, health and wellness, scuba diving, outdoors activities, forestry, working with children, working with communities, social work, politics, economics, finance, teaching………………………..
I THINK YOU GET THE PICTURE……
If you think life is boring and there are no options for you, YOU NEED TO DO SOME DEEP DIVING FRIEND! YOU NEED TO JAZZ IT UP
So now we’ve gone through that, and I’m talking this is WORK and / or LIFE here, because we’re looking at the bigger picture and putting passion in our pants here, WHAT DO YOU WANT?
HERE ARE 25 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF TO REALLY PUT SOME THOUGHT AND FEELS INTO THE ANSWERS HERE
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PRINT OUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND KEEP A COPY PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE PDF BELOW
Now employers, DON’T PANIC! We’re not encouraging your people to quit. We’re encouraging them to think deeper about who they are and what they want their lives to look like. They’re entitled to that! The better version of them shows up better for you!
But If they do quit, they more than likely would have done so without our help because of…….Um, Imbalance, stress, chaos, anxiety, workplace toxicity etc……
We are merely trying to get EVERYONE, LEADERS INCLUDED to see the bigger picture because, once you do and your mindset begins to change, your perspectives shift, your root cause damages are out the way, you know who you are again and you’re ready to START LIVING LIFE according to YOU, then whether you’re in the workplace or not, life starts getting good!
And when ONE PERSON has that outlook,
IT HAS A RIPPLED EFFECT TOWARDS EVERYONE ELSE!
So now, we have to ask, WHAT DO WE WANT OUR WORKING DAY TO LOOK LIKE?
SOMETIMES IN ORDER TO MAKE SPACE FOR THE KIND OF LIFE YOU WANT, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY
We know that LIFE BALANCE is dependent on the existing WORKING frame to work so until that changes, we’re quite limited in what we can do to balance life because we still have to adhere to statutory working hours and regulations but, change happens when we all start asking and insisting on change
AND IT WILL HAPPEN…….
But in order to do that, you have to know what you expect your working day to look like so
GET STRATEGIC
- Do you want to work less hours?
- Do you want a later start time or earlier finish?
- Do you want to earn more and work less?
- Do you want your work to be different and less about sales and incentives, more about quality practice using new methods and ways?
- And if so, what do they look like?
- Are you happy with new tech and AI approaches and inclusions?
- Do they make your worklife easier or worse?
- Do you want your team to cooperate and communicate better?
- Do you want the whole way the sector operates to look and operate differently?
- If so, what does that look like?
- Do you wish that natural solutions or alternatives could integrate more with mainstream practice?
- Do you feel that leadership needs to focus less on you guys on the front line and more on creating better systems and structures?
- Do you feel that client handling needs to be made more balanced and harmonious?
- If so, how would that be achieved?
- Do you feel that you would benefit more from having less time at work or work focused extra curricular activities in your spare time?
- How do you feel work could help you balance your overall life right now?
- What’s the ONE most crucial thing that needs to change in order to achieve this goal?
AGAIN, IF YOU WANT TO PRINT OFF THE ‘GET STRATEGIC’ QUESTIONS TO KEEP ON FILE PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE PDF BELOW
So, just to summarize, We have to KNOW OURSELVES in order to know what it is that we want, why we want it, how we’re going to achieve it, what it’s going to take and then GO AND GET IT!
LIFE BALANCE – LET’S GO!
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE WORD BALANCE IS BOTH A NOUN AND A VERB? NO WONDER WE STRUGGLE TO FIND IT!
Before we get deep let me say, that one of the things we in the back office here can all agree on, is that focusing so much on seeking balance prevents balance to come.
Balance likes to flow in. Without sounding like a hippy here, the art to cultivating a good life, is to grow things not build things. It’s a very Eastern philosophy but a great one. They don’t build things, they grow things and growing allows a flow.
You can be aware of lack, rigid structure, imbalance etc yes but in order to seek balance you need to find ways to harmonize your life. Ways of clearing old space, baggage, blocks and clutter so you can allow energy to freely move
You don’t need to get to it in a bad mood or a rush but quietly, patiently, with intention start to move things around in your life that allows space for other things to flow in
FREAKY FLAG DISCLAIMER BELOW
This might make people laugh but, as a philosopher I have always looked at all sides and angles of philosophy as that’s the only way you’ll ever get a well rounded perspective on the what’s what
So I was talking to an old eastern practitioner of TCM and he was telling me that, ‘if you can’t hold onto money or you can’t make money, it’s because you haven’t paid your debt to the underworld’
I was like, ‘WHAT? I BEG YOUR PARDON, THE WHAT NOW?‘
And he said, ‘Yes Eastern philosophy and traditional lifestyle philosophies like Chinese Daoism that focuses on humanism, Japanese Shu-ha-ri or Indian ayurveda influence know that if you want to be wealthy, balanced and abundant, you have to know how to generate that and it all comes from clearing your debts.’
I asked what he meant and to explain it in stupid terms and he literally said, the UNDERWORLD represents our hidden fears, obsessions, darkness, obscure behaviors, attitudes, guilts, regrets, demons etc. The things we hide away and ignore. If you don’t clear them and pay your dues, they will remain within you.
This goes back to what we were talking about in WEEK 1 when we were looking at the EMOTIONAL MAGNETS and how being pulled into things we do not want or ignoring things we need to clear is what energetically creates DEBT. The debt is nothing more than bad habits, unconscious programming, disconnection to self, misalignment and energy harvesting where we give our power away and sacrifice ourselves for others without paying attention to what WE NEED FOR OURSELVES
WE’VE GOT OUR OWN WORK TO DO so that we can have good lives and in order to know how to create them, grow them and let them flourish, we’ve got some stuff to clear!
The paradox of balance is that, the more we pursue it, the more things seem to fall apart
Our worries make us worry more.
So, let’s stop putting so much emphasis on the lack of balance and find ways to let a state of balance flow in…….
HOW DO WE DO THIS?
Leading a well-balanced life requires you to let go of control.
IN THE ART OF CYCLE SYNCING PORTAL WE HAVE AN AUDIO IN THE PROGRAM ON ‘MY LITTLE STORY’ THAT LOOKS AT HOW I LET GO OF CONTROL AND FOUND BALANCE…HAVE A LISTEN HERE IN CASE IT CAN HELP
As above, water can’t flow if it’s being contained and captured. If the lids on too tight it can’t breathe. If the container tips over, the weight is unevenly distributed.
Who’s holding the container? Who’s pouring the water?
We KNOW from research that suppressing emotions harms both our memory and increases stress. This is why we put so much emphasis on the importance of these life principles in WEEK 1 so that you could do the work it takes to ‘de-clutter the houses’
WHAT CAN WE DO TO SEEK BALANCE?
- REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED:
Stop compartmentalizing your life. Stop putting everything into boxes, WORK, REST, PLAY, KIDS, HEALTH, FINANCES, HOME, SLEEP, FREETIME and start integrating ALL of the above as a whole. Nothing is separate. EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED. By allowing everything to move together freely and in a state of flow we must allow everything to connect and move together. Again, the Japanese and their philosophies are super intriguing. Here in the West we limit ourselves enormously because we don’t want to acknowledge emotions or senses. It’s just weird right. But the Japanese have a concept called Kaizen which literally means CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. Much like what this entire program concept is but seen as how continuous improvement has always spelt professional, we are looking at it all as a whole. AS YOUR LIFE
If you’re interested in KAIZEN, here’s a super cool article you can read to find out more: KAIZEN PHILOSOPHY
- LOSE BALANCE TO GAIN BALANCE:
Stop trying to control everything. Surrender to the flow. Sounds crazy. Sounds impossible but the moment we just let things move freely, we are able to move with the flow. That’s when things really start to change because EVERYTHING IS ENERGY and energy moves in waves. Dare to take a risk. Dare to challenge your beliefs. Dare to think outside the box. Dare to allow change into your life. Dare to dream. Use your imagination. Look for wholeness not just a result in one thing but in ALL things simultaneously
- DEVELOP A BALANCED MINDSET:
Balance is a state of mind. Allow your mind to set up new ways to grow. New ways to look at things. New pathways to move into. The best way to do this is to practice breathwork and meditation so that you can quieten your mind and then practice new ways of tackling life situations and new environments that haven’t yet been explored in order to open up new neural pathways for you to play in. Stop being so SET IN YOUR OLD WAYS
- JOURNALING AND VOICE NOTES:
Wherever you have an idea, a worry, a thought, a feeling that you become aware of, write it down or grab your phone and send yourself a quick few minutes of a voicenote to listen to at the end of the day. Talk to yourself, journal down your thoughts and at the end of each day, read or listen back over what your moment looked like when these things were passing through. How did you react / respond to them? How did you handle the outcomes? How did you seek a solution?
- PRACTICE ART THERAPY:
MY FAVOURITE! As a creative person (and I believe we all are) find a few moments throughout each week where you can spend some time drawing, doodling, painting and applying some creative action. Being in a creative flow is a gamechanger! It literally opens up whole new worlds. If you are interested in finding out how or for more info on this, you can check out our FREE CREATION STATION PORTAL which goes deep into how you can channel a creative flow within you
So now that we’ve put some thought into how to create more balance, how to break down blocks and baggage and how to release control so that we can create new ways of living life to the fullest,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS?
WEEK 3 FINAL ASSIGNMENT
A little assignment for you based on the questions you answered above and your own thoughts and feelings with regards to all of what is below.
Make yourself a cup of tea and then have a look at this infographic where all compartments of your life are seemingly separate. Ask yourself then, how are you going to put all the pieces together?
OBJECTIVE
PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT PDF AND KEEP A COPY ON YOUR FILE SO YOU CAN COME BACK TO IT SHOULD YOU NEED!
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO ALLOW IT TO FLOW IN!
Now, we’re going to move onto WEEK 3 which looks at ACTION PLAN! Putting it all into momentum – ROUTINES V RITUALS, GETTING S*IT DONE!
This is the space where we’re putting on our armor and making change happen…..
ARE YOU READY?
When we get to week 4, EVERYTHING we have gone through prior to our group session will be on the table and laid bare, so we have to figure out how we re-structure all of this and how we communicate it all moving forwards!
Let’s get into the final chapter before we all get together and see how far we’ve come!
HUMANOLOGY 