Mindfulness and Self-Care: Courtney Schulink on Balancing Ambition with Compassion

Elena Apalkova and Courtney Schulink delve into the transformative journey from attorney to mindfulness teacher, exploring how mindfulness reshaped Courtney's life. They discuss balancing ambition with mindfulness, emphasizing self-kindness and the productivity benefits of slowing down. The conversation tackles managing reactivity, the illusion of busyness, and overcoming guilt in self-care. Courtney shares insights into practicing self-compassion and guided loving-kindness meditation, highlighting the benefits of informal practices. They explore creating healthy habits through mindfulness, meditation's role in growth, and conclude with thoughts on future collaboration. (0:00) Introduction of guest Courtney Schulink (0:30) Courtney's journey from attorney to mindfulness teacher and discovery of mindfulness (2:26) Explanation and impact of mindfulness on Courtney's life (5:10) Balancing ambition with mindfulness and self-kindness (7:25) The subtle changes and importance of slowing down for productivity (10:23) Mindfulness in managing reactivity and the illusion of busyness (13:14) Mindful productivity and overcoming guilt in self-care (15:46) Practicing self-compassion and guided loving-kindness meditation (29:20) Exploring the benefits and informal practices of loving-kindness (34:00) Creating healthy habits and the importance of self-care through mindfulness (37:26) Meditation's role in personal and professional growth (40:19) Closing remarks and future collaboration with Courtney Schulink