Self-Compassionate Professor

Dr. Noah St. John discusses "the shower that changed everything"--a moment of realization that would not only transform his own life, but many others. He soon implemented the idea and eventually named it "afformations." Immediately after using afformations on himself, he went from being stuck in the process of writing a book to completing the writing of another book within two weeks. Noah also shares many success stories from his clients and sees his work as instrumental to a larger change in the transformation of human consciousness. Find Noah St. John here. (https://noahstjohn.com/) 

Dr. Ginger Lockhart describes how academia fed her addiction for hyper-achievement. Later, when she admitted to herself that she had never been passionate about the work, she still struggled to admit it to mentors and colleagues. In the end, Ginger realized staying in her academic career was not only a disservice to herself, but a disservice to her field and colleagues. Ginger now gives "the right attention to the right things." Connect with Dr. Ginger Lockhart on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gingerlockhart/ OR find her business website here: https://www.goquantfish.com/ 

Dr. Maureen Meyers tells about the toll academic mobbing took on her mind, body, and spirit, the difficult decision to leave her tenured position, and the harsh circumstances within which she found herself leaving. Maureen also explains her healing process and the freedom and gratitude she now experiences in her non-academic job. Connect with Maureen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenmeyers/. (Register for next week's self-compassionate co-grading sessions here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066)

I offer a strategy to navigate midterm stress: 1) Climbing back into your body, 2) Feeling and listening to your emotions, 3) Finding trust that this process is time well spent, and 4) Taking Martha Beck's "3Bs" strategy (bag it, barter it, better it) to your to-do list. You may find the written version of this guide as well as my upcoming career wellness workshops here: https://danielledelamare.com/ 

I discuss how to begin practicing self-compassion and argue that the deep inner work of self-compassion is essential to re-orienting along a self-compassionate career path. Additionally, drawing on Dr. Kristin Neff's work, I discuss the essential elements of taking a self-compassion break: a) acknowledging your suffering, b) noticing that you are not alone on this difficult human journey, c) showing yourself kindness. If you want to go deeper with your self-compassion practice, sign up for my "self-compassion for academics" online short course, which will be held in January 2023. Sign up here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066. 

In this episode, I offer an update about Dr. Matthew Goodman's unfolding entrepreneurial career now that he has stepped out of his academic position as well as re-release the interview we did prior to his exit. Based on Dr. Kristin Neff's research in Mindful Self-Compassion, Matthew defines self-compassion, describes its power, the benefits and challenges of practicing self-compassion, and he even leads us in a self-compassion exercise! Matthew talks too about how he uses self-compassion and other daily practices to navigate the challenges he faces in his own academic career. Find him on Instagram @MatthewGoodmanPhD or on his business website, https://www.the-middle-way.com/. 

Dr. Rose Aslan describes the intense burnout she experienced as both a single mother and as a Muslim scholar of Islam during the tumultuous Trump years. She explains how deep rest transformed her relationship to her body, her work, and her life. She now experiences great freedom as a business owner who lives in the city of her dreams. Rose urges others to see the possibilities in their own lives. Find her at https://compassionflow.com/ and "Abundant Academics Collective" on Facebook and Instagram as well as at http://abundantacademics.com/. (Sign up for my "Untriggered" workshop here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066).

I discuss the "space-conscious" philosophy of my one-year group coaching program for academics as well as the ways I help you create daily, seasonal, and even physical space so you can access your inner wisdom, answer difficult career questions, and take focused, values-aligned action toward your big (and often scary) career goals. Registration closes October 5, 2022 (TOMORROW!!!). Program objectives include: consistently leaning on healthy habits and anchors--in control of time (as opposed to perpetually playing catch-up--whirlwind semester) consistently processing emotions and intentionally aligning to values (as opposed to consistently hustling--little space to orient to your next task) finding regular bouts of high energy and motivation (as opposed to regular bouts of intense exhaustion, dread, and/or physical illness) feeling stronger self-trust and confidence to pave a self-compassionate career path (as opposed to feeling an uncomfortable desperation to flee academia) You may access the "creating daily space" roadmap here or find it on my website (https://danielledelamare.com/). You may register for the Sabbatical Program here (https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1047). 

Both music faculty, Dr. Emily Martin and Elizabeth McDonald realized their students needed better career guidance than their departments were providing. In response, they founded em2CONNECT to facilitate career clarity, confidence, and connection in artists at all stages of career. Emily and Elizabeth also share about their own career stories as well as their collaborative and process-centered approach to teaching, facilitating, and coaching. Find them at em2CONNECT.com. (And sign up for the Sabbatical Program at selfcompassionateprofessor.com.).

Dr. Isabeau Iqbal describes the characteristics of perfectionism, tells us how perfectionism has shown up in her own life, and explains what we can do to navigate perfectionism so that it doesn't negatively impact our work and personal lives. Should we see ourselves in this description of perfectionism, Isabeau stresses the importance of self-compassion. Find Dr. Isabeau Iqbal here.  (Register for the Sabbatical Program here.)