Be Verdant Podcast

Dr. Jennifer Kahnweiler, best-selling author, coach, speaker, and introvert scholar, joins our show to discuss how the new world of work in a hybrid / virtual world has impacted introverts and how best to engage with them to ensure inclusion and belonging. 

Harvard faculty and executive coach, Ted Witherell, joins the show to discuss the concept of culture in virtual spaces. We pull from Joseph Dewey's 2021 description of virtual cultures.

Check out our tips for building trust in virtual spaces on our website, as well!

It all started with a LinkedIn post that drove a ton of traffic (including from me), Angela Shaw, HR executive and DEI advocate, was fielding tons of questions and connections from others feeling the same. Angela was gracious enough to join our show while in transition, prior to landing at JuiceLand as their Chief People Officer.

In this episode, we talk about the joys and challenges of resiliency at middle (ahem) age, the joys of understanding yourself and giving yourself space to just be ok taking a full-on nap in the middle of the day!

We start with a study from Harvard and MIT about resiliency at middle age, followed by the article, " "Resilience, mindfulness and flourishing in middle aged adults." But ultimately, we just have a great conversation about self-care, self-compassion, and giving yourself permission to being true to who you are.

I also made a quick-start guide with 5 ways to be resilient at any age, which is on our website. Check it out!

CEO of Fantasy Sugar and hobbyist extraordinaire, Mika McDonald joins us to discuss the philosophical and psychological insights of our 2020 spring of baking, sewing, planting, and returning to our roots. We discuss theories in the current literature on everything from a de-evolutionary backslide to agrarian society to a patriarchal backlash, and everything in between.

For more ideas about hobbies for destressing and building resiliency, check our episode guide on our content page.

To learn more about these theories, you can review the articles we discuss, including "COVID-19 shifts mortality salience, activities, and values in the United States: Big data analysis of online adaptation," which showed how much our interests shifted (as shown below):

To learn more about building your own resiliency and tapping into your gifts to embrace mindfulness, check out our website for more ideas, http://verdantconsulting.net 

Life coach, Jennifer Andreou, joins the show to discuss why women need to take a break and invest in themselves. We review an amazing study ("Does paid vacation leave protect against depression among working Americans? A national longitudinal fixed effects analysis") that shows the financial and mental health impact our lack of mandate vacation time has on the US. 

Jennifer shares more about the offerings at Luscious Mother, where they have "Can a Mama Get a Break" virtual camps, as well as stories from Al's camping experiences for some added humor!

To balance that humor, here is how the US stacks up when it comes to mandated vacation time:

Stacey McCool, CEO of R4 Technology Resources and committed activist, joins me to discuss her own experience with languishing and how she overcame it by leaning in on her passions and strengths. We also review data on the impact of Covid on the lives of women and child care. 

Articles we reference during our discussion include:

• "There's a Name for the Blah You're Feeling"
• "People are 'Languishing' as the Covid-19 Pandemic Continues"

• Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: An international study

To learn more about building resiliency skills and fighting burnout, visit our website and sign up for our upcoming pilot starting July 25.

Sonas Group (Wellbeing @ Work) CEO, Chris Cummings joins me on this week's episode where we have a great conversation about what we can learn from the past to navigate the seas ahead of us. He brings a lot of insight into what companies are doing and the burgeoning market around wellbeing, while we refer back to data on how we have recovered from disasters in the past.

To help with this discussion, I reference learnings from the article, "Treatment for Post-disaster Distress" which looks at data from multiple disasters. They also share the trend for survivors to experience symptoms of PTSD, with risk factors identified as:

You can learn more about Chris and the Wellbeing @ Work events on their website.

Cartoonist and teacher, Cara Bean, joins us to discuss the powerful mindfulness of drawing and doodling. Cara is an amazing instructor who has focused on drawing and the brain personally and professionally. She shares some fantastic ideas for being mindful through the pen, as well as recommendations on some of her favorite artists, including:

• https://www.ellenforney.com/
• http://keilerroberts.com/
• https://www.king-cat.net/
• https://ifscomics.com/
• https://comicnurse.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynda_Barry
• http://www.georgiawebber.com/

We also cover a few articles on the topic, including:

• Doodling: The artistry of the roving metaphysical mind
• Practical Applications of Neuroscience-Informed Art Therapy
• Drawing on the Brain

So pick up a pen and hit PLAY!

Join me and John Griffith to learn about our approaches for getting unstuck when stress starts to pull us under. John shares his fascinating journey, as well as his "Got Anxiety?" tips. We also have 10 questions to ask yourself if you feel like you are getting stuck in the muck on our website, where you can also learn about additional courses and videos on all things resiliency, stress management, and burnout prevention.

For those of us who struggle with mindfulness and presence, meditation can be a bust. In this episode, I share highlights from our Messy Mindfulness course to help those who feel to frazzled to focus. I have a video that covers the same thing (in less time) or you can sign up to get notified when we schedule future courses on this topic and more.