When you’re not happy with how things are, when you’ve experienced burnout, when you don’t know any options- how do you make the space to thrive?There’s been a pattern in the conversations I’ve had- when people are in the spaces they thrive in, whether it’s a job they love or a passion they’ve pursued, people don’t seem to struggle with motivation or doubts quite the same. “I’ve worked all sorts of jobs. I’ve spent 15 years in hospitality, I was a door-to-door vacuum salesperson at one point. I’ve worked triple shifts- in a cafe, a restaurant, then a nightclub. That’s hard. Cleaning toilets is hard. What I do now is not hard. So I think if I can get this far, I can keep going.” It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes the creative career, the busy schedule, the high-intensity activities are actually what people thrive on. For Rae Johnston, TV presenter and radio host, she thrives from having a variety of tasks that require different skills and has the excitement of going from one thing to the next, and that’s what lights her up- doing work that is exciting and meaningful is what stops her from experiencing burnout. “I think there was a lot of pressure, having to put yourself out there to generate clicks on your work. So the more open and vulnerable you were, the more attention you got and the happier your bosses were. And I think there comes a point where you realise you are selling yourself and selling your trauma in order to keep that career going.” Something else that Rae mentioned, which I know holds true to me too is how important time in nature is. “No one can email me. None of that exists while you’re out there. I need that time, that’s my processing time. That’s my time where I just think about life and what I’m doing and I sort out problems and come back with ideas” Time in nature can help you find a way back to yourself, give you clarity on your path and allow you to see if you are living aligned with your values. “I think having an idea of who you are as a person and what you want to achieve and not compromising on that, even when it’s really hard. At any point, I could have chosen a path that would have got me higher paid jobs, more followers, options that I had but were paths that didn’t align with my values. And I could be far more successful than I am now but I would not have felt good about that in any way. ” Staying true to her values now attracts people and projects that align because she’s held those boundaries. “Saying yes to everything should be about doing things that you might not be super experienced in but might scare you a bit, or you need to learn along the way. It shouldn’t be about things that compromise who you are as a person.”So I have a question to ask- what values are you guided by and is the path you are on, truly honouring these values? And when there isn’t a clear path that aligns with your values, well that’s when you have to pave your own. “I built my own network and own pathway in because noone had laid it out in front of me.” But that’s what Explore Your Core is here for- to help you build the resilience and find the courage to pave your own path, to find ways to do the things that light you up. To keep learning about the journey and hear more stories like Rae’s, follow the Podcast on Spotify and Substack. To follow Rae’s work, you can find her socials here. Until next episode, Explore Your Core You’re paving our own path and that’s pretty damn cool- join the community and find ways to continue to thrive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit elisemarcianti.substack.com
