Ep1: A Spark of Insight

Burn Brightly with Hannah Austin

If you’re a woman suffering from burnout, you probably have the same complaints as the millions of others just like you - not enough time, not enough energy, and too little space to focus on the things that light you up.

The thing is, overcoming burnout is not complicated. The first step to doing just that and reclaiming your time and your agency in the process is exactly what you think it is:

Making time and space for yourself and for the things that matter to you, and reserving some of that precious energy for that pursuit.

It’s simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, it might be one of the most difficult things you ever do, especially if you’re a loving mother, a passionate career woman, and a feminist - oh, and a weekend hiker-slash-mushroom hunter.

Just ask Mandy Gettler.

Mandy works as the co-leader of the Women’s Innovation Network at the University of Oregon, a nine-month program for female entrepreneurs, and volunteers for Bristol Hospice as an end-of-life doula.

In other words, she knows more than most about the highs and lows of being a woman and about the cognitive dissonance that comes with working 50-hour burnout weeks in a job you love.

Fortunately, Mandy also knows all about the value of self-care practices like journaling, list-making, and giving herself time and space to wind down - and it’s those things that have helped her find her own spark again.

In this episode of the She Burns podcast, Mandy talks about the influence she received from her mother, how she balances her rigorous career requirements with her family responsibilities and taking a leap of faith towards better things.

So what’s this episode really about?

• How parental influence affects our approach to every facet of life
• The importance of knowing your options
• Why it’s often so difficult for women to shed responsibilities - even on the brink of burnout
• The self-made origins of burnout for many women

Why you should listen

Women are often called upon to manage more than their fair share of the domestic duties on top of their career responsibilities, and in tough times, that impossible balance can push us to breaking point. If you have spent the past few years feeling stuck and unable to let anything go, this episode will let you know that you’re not alone - and that if you’re willing to look for it, there is always another way.

Links

Mandy Gettler on LinkedIn

She Shatters

You can quote me on that…

“[I love Thich Nhat Hanh’s] metaphor of like, you being a house and anger being this fire, and what you want in your house is burning. What you want to do is run after the person who left your house on fire, but meanwhile, your house is burning to the ground, and really, you know, you're better served putting out your fire - figuring out what happened, and then going to talk to the person.” Mandy Gettler

“The old paradigm is at work - and you know, this, you're seeing this now, I've experienced this, you've experienced this - is ‘work harder’. The harder you work, the better off you're viewed in the industry, corporate environment - whatever you want to call it. Then it's more work, whether you put that on yourself, or a supervisor lovingly gives it to you, because they say, ``Oh, you're so good at this.” - Hannah Austin

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