Asking for what you want and creativity, with Fiona Francis

We often have to learn to ask for what we need before others can help us.

Fiona Francis has three young children, and went through big transitions with the arrival of each of her children. She shares tips on nurturing your creativity, asking for help, and some really interesting books and resources.

In today’s conversation we talk about:

• Serotonin leaking activities – blame shame and guilt
• Serotonin building activities – eating well, exercising, sleep
• The fact that having kids makes us questions what's meaningful, and what we want to spend our lives doing.
• Annabel Crabb’s, The Wife Drought, discusses that your career is more than ‘just right now’; stay in it for the long haul,
  • But it can be difficult to think beyond the pure immediate financial argument
  • The primary carer is often the mother, who sacrifices career progression to support the family
• “Following the clues” to see where listening to your intuition will lead you
• Sunday night dread is a sign from our bodies that our lives are not ok
• Flexible work policies require buy-in from management to be successfully implemented, and we also need flexibility for husbands and men at work to alleviate the burden
• Lighting herself up, through exercise, study, creative endeavours
• Practical tips for easing the juggle
• • Sunday night weekly planning
  • Meal planning and shopping
  • Coordinating schedules and negotiating activites
  • Looking at goals and intentions, and all the activities that fall beneath those intentions
  • Habits tracking

• Asking for what you want
  • Often involves a period of adjustment as your partner gets on board
  • Put the responsibility for solutions back onto your partner â€" don’t take on the entire mental load yourself
  • Express your needs early enough that they don’t become resentments
  • You have permission to ask for what you want
• Mindfulness practice
  • It doesn't matter if it's not the same time of day every day
  • A series of resources listed below

Resources

PANDA – Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia

Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Brene Brown

The Wife Drought, by Annabel Crabb

Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

Tara Brach's RAIN meditation

Dan Seigel's Wheel of Awareness meditation

Fiona’s Heartful Moment Instagram account