Letting go of habitual work to follow daily joys
“Working against extreme poverty alongside some of the world’s poorest people, over the years I had convinced myself that working longer and harder was always better, and that my own needs and happiness should come second. When I first spoke with Michelle, I simply wasn’t taking care of myself. I was working all hours of the day and night and barely had a personal life. I was exhausted and sometimes miserable.
Working with Michelle gave me ample opportunity to see not only the big picture of what I wanted for my life, but that the devil was in the details as well. How do my natural tendencies make me ignore what my body and mind need? What self-talk do I use to justify the imbalance? And what sorts of rituals and self-care do I need to proactively counter those long-standing patterns? Through our weekly calls, Michelle and I used trial and error to figure out what works best for me.
I’ll always work hard, because I love what I do. But now, more often than not, I find myself leaving work at work and listening to my body’s desires for rest, fun, and unstructured time. Today I wear a bracelet with Michelle’s signature motto – now my motto as well! – that simply says, ‘Follow your joy.’ Michelle models this so well. She inspires me to embrace a better life through my daily choices.”
