“I often say that story is the most powerful tool on earth and I really believe that,” says today’s FRIED guest Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson, who, as the founder and CEO of the Heartwood Leadership Institute, has helped countless Fortune 500 executives step into their leadership. Today she joins host Cait Donovan to discuss the stories we tell ourselves—about who we are, what life and work are meant to be like and how these stories manifest in our lives and even in our bodies until we finally dig deep down and investigate what’s underneath them. The two women discuss the most common stories people—particularly those who end up burning out—tell themselves about worthiness, visibility and attempting to go the journey alone.Ingrained into us at the deepest cultural level are all the variations of author Joseph Campbell’s “hero’s journey”—wherein the protagonist sets out on a journey, encounters and overcomes obstacles and emerges victorious. Jacquelyn and Cait discuss the destructive messages this classic trope can nonetheless instill in us about our value being determined by how hard we struggle. One of the most powerful aspects of storytelling is its malleability. Join today’s conversation to learn how to shape the story you tell about yourself. Quotes“I really had to look myself in the face. I had to look at what I was doing, how I was behaving, and for me it really came down to one internal state and the stories that I was telling myself about who I was…and story was a huge part of that…Story helped me come back from that experience and become someone else.” (9:07 | Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson)“It said to me, ‘I will only have to overcome something hard once, and once I’ve overcome this hard thing, I’m good.’ You know what it said to me? ‘Until I overcome a hard thing, I have no value, because if I haven’t overcome a hard thing, then where’s my value?’ And I didn’t give any credence to any of the hard things that came before burnout because those hard things were not as hard as other people’s hard things.’” (19:29 | Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson and Cait Donovan)“This is story. It is malleable. It is based on our own interpretation of it, and so if we are living story unconsciously without actually looking at it, without talking about it, without seeing it for what it is and surfacing it, boy is it powerful and it is operating underneath everything.” (22:03 | Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson)“We have our own legends. We have our own myths in our lives and that legend influenced much of my life and many of my decisions and it wasn’t until this big diagnosis where I was like, ‘Honey, you can’t do this alone,’ and my gosh—I learned more about love and about the people and what support looks like and what acts of love look like than I have ever experienced in my life.”(35:50 | Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson)LinksConnect with Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson:https://www.heartwoodleadership.com https://jacquelynfletcherjohnson.substack.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynfletcherjohnson bit.ly/bouncebackorder https://www.amazon.com/Coyote-Wisdom-Power-Story-Healing/dp/1591430291 https://www.jcf.org/learn/joseph-campbell-heros-journey https://bit.ly/exec-retreatConnect with Cait:Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcaitInitial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahvPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“I want you to give yourself permission to live in this rule of thirds,” says host Cait Donovan, borrowing a concept that Olympic runner Alexi Pappas recently shared online. Alexi's coach told her that anything you're doing right will feel a combination of good, bad and just neutral. Cait explains how this applies to burnout recovery, and how to incorporate it into your own life.She also discusses fourth grade teacher Ryan Brazil's viral clip which explains that we are not obligated to blindly follow our first and, perhaps, most impulsive thoughts. Instead, we have the power to adhere to or act upon any one of the many successive thoughts that align more with who we want to be.Cait shares a story from her own life where she chose to place emphasis on her second thought of compassion over her first thought of judgement.Quotes“If you are adhering to those thirds, it means you’re on the right path. You’re doing the right things. You’re pushing yourself hard enough but you’re not pushing yourself too hard. You are enjoying the good moments, you are paying attention to the things that aren’t great so you can fix them. You’re sort of doing all the right things. This is so true in burnout recovery.” (2:13 | Caitlin Donovan)“The fact of the matter is, your sleep is going to be bad, something external is going to happen, you’re going to have to prep for a conversation or an action item. You’re going to be disappointed in yourself for not sticking to a food regiment, or you’re going to—whatever. There are a million reasons to be in that space, but we don’t want you to be in that space for four days a week. We don’t want you to be in that space for seven days at a time, unless the next week is neutral and the week after that is great.” (4:58 | Caitlin Donovan)“I do remember having that second thought and thinking, ‘I would rather choose this way to think about myself and other people because I think it’s healthier and I think it’s safer.’ That doesn’t mean that when somebody’s really doing something terrible, you should excuse it and try to interpret it differently so you can explain it away.” (9:31 | Caitlin Donovan)“You get to decide which thought you stop on because the thought you stop on is probably the thought that you’re going to repeat to yourself.”  (11:12 | Caitlin Donovan)LinksAlexi Pappas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKndqq0CsRcRyan Brazil: https://www.instagram.com/mrs.brazil_28/reel/C_MRG4vSh4g/Connect with Cait:Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcaitInitial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahvPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Part of the empowerment is recognizing that the things that you’re weak in are actually just the flip side of your strengths,” explains Sarah Yovovich, teacher writer and body worker, who joins FRIED to discuss the kind of burnout which results from emotional abuse. The same emotional intuition that kept her empathizing with her abuser makes her a profound healer, deeply tuned into her clients’ emotional, physical and energetic layers through Thai massage--a meditation on loving kindness. Today, she speaks to Sarah Vosen about the five elements of Chinese medicine, how they changed her life and helped her heal from burnout.They also make her feel more connected to all elements of the world around her, a concept with which Sarah Jovovich, in turn, empowers her clients. She discusses the importance of community supporting each other and working in tandem. She also explains how she learned to set boundaries, for others’ benefit as much as her own.Join the two friends in a discussion about healing and empowerment, the pitfalls of being a “terminal optimist” and why abuse is like an expressway.Quotes“The way my sister put it was that when you live by an expressway you get used to the noise and the pollution and you don’t realize how much it’s wearing you down until you step away from it. And the stepping away from it was really difficult in this case because the expressway was my co-parent and my roommate in a very expensive city.” (10:22 | Sarah Yovovich)“When you’re in an abusive relationship, your nervous system is constantly being attacked. You’re in fight, flight, freeze or fawn all the time. If you’re living with somebody who’s being abusive of you, you never relax, and so your body starts to wear out from that.” (12:28 | Sarah Yovovich)“It allows me to recognize just how much I am a part of everything that happens all around me—of the seasons, of the planet, of the flow of energies in the universe, and to create stories around that that help me make sense of my life and my experiences. It’s also been really empowering in my healing work as a way to help other people make sense of what they’re feeling in their bodies and not feel like they’re at the whim of some tyrant body that’s misbehaving, but start to put together authority… to see how all these things are connected and work with them instead of against them.” (27:25 | Sarah Yovovich)“That’s actually part of the empowerment is recognizing that the things that you’re weak in are not something to beat yourself up about. It’s actually just the flip side of your strength and that there are four other kinds of elements who have the strengths that you don’t have that are probably part of your community and you can support each other. It just proves to me we’re meant to work together.” (39:17 | Sarah Yovovich and Sarah Vosen)LinksConnect with Sarah Yovovich:https://www.sarahpeutics.org https://instagram.com/acro.mama www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-yovovich-2124b07 https://sarahpeutics.mn.co/plans/52216?bundle_token=62c36ddc4adc3001097cd7c8962de3f4&utm_source=manualOne-on-one coaching free call with Sarah Vosen:https://caitdonovan.as.me/coachwithsarah Element constitution quiz: https://s.pointerpro.com/primaryelementConnect with Cait:Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcaitInitial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahvPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Roslyn McLarty, founder of the personal development platform Within and co-founder of women's sports media brand The Gist, shares her transformative journey through burnout. She discusses the importance of aligning personal values with professional goals for true impact. Roslyn emphasizes the significance of body awareness and intuition in decision-making. Her insights on self-awareness, community support, and the need for joyful pursuits inspire founders to prioritize well-being and embrace change on their paths to success.

Nicole Maitland, host of 'Yarns for the Soul' and a former human rights lawyer, shares her journey from burnout to becoming a slow nomad. She explores how emotions act like waves, carrying messages that help us realign with our true selves. Nicole emphasizes the importance of listening to our bodies, especially for sensitive individuals, and highlights the need for self-permission in healing. She also discusses the therapeutic benefits of exploration and reconnecting with nature to foster emotional vitality and well-being.

Bryan Huhn, a financial planner dedicated to aligning personal values with finances, shares his insight on the link between financial stress and burnout. He reflects on his own journey from a soul-sucking finance career to living authentically, after a health scare prompted a re-evaluation of priorities. The conversation dives into creating a financial plan that fosters joy and freedom, understanding spending habits through the lens of personal values, and the importance of intentional financial growth. Tune in for valuable strategies to reclaim time and well-being!

Ready to leave burnout behind for good? Join UNFRIED: A Small Group Burnout Recovery Program and start reclaiming your energy and joy. Apply today! https://bit.ly/unfryapply“The problem isn’t you; the problem is the toxic workplace,” explains host Caitlin Donovan on this latest #straightfromcait episode of FRIED, in which she discusses the dangers of returning to a toxic workplace only to repeat the burnout cycle again, as if you never made any recovery progress. Too often we’re led to believe that if we improve ourselves enough, we can develop an immunity against a bad environment, which, as Cait says, simply isn’t true. On today’s episode, she explains why you should reconsider returning to your toxic workplace, and, if you do find yourself there, what to do if you find yourself unsupported. She discusses the common feelings of isolation, loneliness, emotional and mental paralysis and low self-esteem that accompany this scenario, and the devastating effects of bullies in the workplace. You’ve come too far in your burnout recovery to jump back into the very situation that got you burned out in the first place. Join Cait today to learn the importance of being aware of, and listening to your body responses, to better detect and determine if your environment is safe. Quotes“What happens, because of pop culture and pop psychology, is people assume that if they just get stronger, have better boundaries or can manage their emotions better, that somehow they will be able to manage and handle a toxic environment. That would be like saying, ‘If I just meditate enough, I can swim in toxic chemicals and they won’t bother my body.’ That’s just not true.” (2:56 | Caitlin Donovan) “There are a lot of people who explain that they, after something like this happens, are left with really low confidence. They’re feeling worthless, they feel socially isolated. They don’t know how to search for a new job; they’re nervous about searching for a new job. They’re wondering if they’ll ever be able to work again. Their social circle often doesn’t know how to respond, which is not their social circle’s fault, most people are just not educated well enough in the realms of burnout to have these conversations easily.” (6:37 | Caitlin Donovan) “And then that social isolation turns into loneliness, and you feel like the odd one out and you feel like, ‘Oh, my God, why is everybody around me making it in life and I can’t hang, I can’t hack it.’ And then that turns into a general feeling of despair.” (7:08 | Caitlin Donovan)“It only takes one bully, one crappy boss to set things totally sideways. And I know that people who work in HR and leaders don’t want to hear that one crappy boss can really ruin it like that for someone, but they can, and they do, and the cost is magnificent. The cost is immense for this person.” (9:38 | Caitlin Donovan)LinksConnect with Cait:Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcaitInitial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahvReady to leave burnout behind for good? Join UNFRIED: A Small Group Burnout Recovery Program and start reclaiming your energy and joy. Apply today! https://bit.ly/unfryapplyPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Ready to leave burnout behind for good? Join UNFRIED: A Small Group Burnout Recovery Program and start reclaiming your energy and joy. Apply today! https://bit.ly/unfryapply“How do we rewrite the playbook together?” asks Daisy Auger-Dominguez, global leader, workplace strategist and author of the upcoming book “From Burnt Out to Lit Up,” on today’s episode of FRIED. The contemporary workplace is in major flux at the moment. In addition to being in collective burnout that we’ve just been able to give a name to, we’re also in what Daisy calls a “messy middle,” where workers are still learning how to effectively use their voices and leaders are trying to navigate these rapidly changing waters with archaic methods. So, how can leaders gain the skills to lead high-performing teams, shift workplace culture, and drive performance without causing more burnout? By showing up differently, modeling vulnerability and humanity for their workers, so that they feel seen, can heal, and eventually, help change the system from the inside out.Today Daisy talks about what it takes to do such healing. It includes being conscious of your sacrifices, weighing the pros and cons of your decisions, replenishing your social battery and staying on top of your cultural debt. Many leaders fall into the trap of thinking they’re needed everywhere 24/7—when delegating not only eases the leader’s burden but lets capable workers shine. Daisy explains how we can acknowledge the undue burden many groups experience in the workplace while exercising agency that helps not only us thrive but others as well. By rewriting the stories we tell ourselves, we help remodel the current paradigm of workplace culture into something better. Quotes“That’s what we’re hoping for from our leaders. We’re hoping that they will help us, get us to the other side, and that they will do so vulnerably; that they will do so with humanity; and that they will do so in a way that allows us to feel seen, validated and understood so that we can deliver to our best capacity.” (9:24 | Daisy Auger-Dominguez)“I do believe that when you tell the world that you have boundaries, you tell the world that you matter. But I also think …what I do for me is also what I model for others so that—they don’t have to do what I’m doing, but they can create the conditions where they can thrive.” (20:40 | Daisy Auger-Dominguez)“One of the practices in the book that I share is about reframing our narratives, reframing our stories, because for a long time, the story I told myself was, ‘As a woman… As a woman of color…’’ all these ‘only’ characteristics that you have, I needed to show up differently. And to be fair, and this is to your naysayer listener, I had to. I really did have to.” (24:07 | Daisy Auger-Dominguez)“I know the system has failed me, but how do I exercise my agency to figure out how I thrive in this way, and by doing that, help change the system? Because by my figuring out, ‘How do I show up differently, and ‘How do I help others show up differently,’ we help build that new leadership. We were just talking about how most leaders are using the same old playbook. Well, how do we rewrite the playbook together?” (27:02 | Daisy Auger-Dominguez) LinksConnect with Daisy Auger-Dominguez:https://www.daisyauger-dominguez.comhttps://www.instagram.com/daisyaugerdominguez/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisyaugerdominguez/Connect with Cait:Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcaitInitial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahvBurnout doesn’t have to be your story. Apply to UNFRIED: A Small Group Burnout Recovery Program and start your journey toward lasting recovery. Spots are limited—apply now! https://bit.ly/unfryapplyPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Ready to leave burnout behind for good? Join UNFRIED: A Small Group Burnout Recovery Program and start reclaiming your energy and joy. Apply today! https://bit.ly/unfryapply“What kind of 85-year-old do you want to be?” asks Cathy Richards, exercise physiologist, wellness coach and best-selling author of “Boom! Six Steps to Living a Longer, Healthier Life” who joins the podcast to help us learn what we can do to protect our brains against neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. The habits we build now—starting with as little as just five minutes a day—will help, in large part, to determine the quality of our later years.The best thing you can do? Get moving. This doesn’t have to mean exercise. Cathy and Cait discuss the power of movement to not only yield physical benefits such as weight loss, but helps to promote neuroplasticity that will help us develop healthier thoughts and, ultimately, belief systems. The point is to build small consistent habits over time.The future is coming faster than we think. Though none of us has entire control over it, we can begin today to form the best version of ourselves in the future.Quotes“I will say that I think that sleep is one of the biggest things we can do…I don’t think in general that sleep is protected as much and it’s not part of American culture to get enough sleep, I would say, in my opinion. I feel like we’re always deciding if we have more to do, we just stay up late and we get up early.” (9:32 | Cathy Richards)“Totally modest investment of time can yield enormous benefits. It doesn’t have to be a lot, it doesn’t have to be complicated and we really can’t afford not to. That’s the thing, if we could prescribe movement, whether it’s for migraines, or whatever it is, or whatever your problem, movement can fix it, or can help fix it. Almost every single solitary time.” (17:30 | Cathy Richards) “People get stressed out thinking, ‘What do I need to do to prevent my heart disease?...what do I need to do to protect my brain?’ Guess what? It’s all the same list…Moving your body has more impact on your brain function than anything else you could do.” (33:18 | Cathy Richards) “You don’t turn into the kind of 85-year-old that’s in a nursing home versus traveling the world at 84. We’re building the kind of 85-year-old we want to be right now.” (47:52 | Cathy Richards)LinksConnect with Cathy Richards:https://www.cathyrichards.net/blog/taking-a-year-to-inspire-vitality-in-yourself https://www.cathyrichards.neet https://www.instagram.com/inspiringvitality https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathymrichards/ https://www.cathyrichards.net/brainpower.html https://www.facebook.com/groups/intentionallivingandlongevityConnect with Cait:Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcaitInitial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahvBurnout doesn’t have to be your story. Apply to UNFRIED: A Small Group Burnout Recovery Program and start your journey toward lasting recovery. Spots are limited—apply now! https://bit.ly/unfryapplyPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a leading physician and author of 'Sacred Rest,' unpacks the seven distinct types of rest essential for well-being. She challenges our conventional notions of rest, revealing that what we often consider relaxation may not actually restore us. Topics include the importance of emotional and sensory rest, the necessity of true belonging versus mere fitting in, and the impact of social dynamics on our energy levels. Discover how to confront your personal rest deficit and reclaim your joy amidst a busy life.