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Feels Like Flow episodes
- 13: One short dark night of the soul (and some of my struggles with adulthood)
If you're in the mood for the lighthearted side of self-help today, this may not be the episode for you! I'm diving into some of the real struggles I've had as an adult, prompting by one bad day last week that reminded me of how far I've come.
- From struggling with an eating disorder to feeling comfortable in my own skin (and safe with ice cream in the house)
- From very single and sad about it to happily married
- From feeling miserable and trapped in my job to craving time in my office
In some ways I feel like a completely different person from 10 years ago. But it has been a rocky ride!
I felt like sharing in case anyone out there is in the midst of their own dark night and could use some camaraderie.
If you're skipping this one, I feel you and see you next week with more about fulfillment at work.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
15 min - 12: How (and when) to worry less what other people think
Of all the things that stop us from taking action toward our goals, worrying what other people think is a biggie. It can manifest as perfectionism, procrastination, self-sabotage, or just trying to be "realistic". Some of us worry what strangers will think, some of us are more afraid to express the real us in front of friends, family, acquaintances.
So how do we care less? And is that always the right goal? Let's get into it!
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
26 min - 11: Journaling for relief, insight, and mega motivation
Journaling is one of the most recommended awareness practices, and the one I've turned to the most over the years.
Let's talk about the actual process of journaling: How do you know what to write about in order to feel better, develop insight and awareness, and start your day with more motivation and confidence?
I suggest being a bit ruthless about poking around in your thoughts and finding which ones are causing the most heartache. Then we explore whether other beliefs would serve you better in getting what you want. And how to figure that out on the page.
Journaling can be a practice to rewrite the story that we have about ourselves and the world and our place in the world.
Journaling can be a way to tap into emotions, access a good cry, process our feelings.
Journaling can be a way to get to know ourselves better, to think something through, to get at the truth, to make a decision.
Journaling can be a way to give ourselves a pep talk, encouragement, motivate ourselves.
Journaling can be a way to taste the future that we want, to imagine it on the page, to try it on.
On the episode I mention:
- Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way, and Morning pages
- 750words.com
- Byron Katie and The Work
- Gratitude journaling (in small bits every day, for a relationship or a job)
- Amy Spies and her Mindful Writers' Practice Group at Insight LA
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
26 min - 10: The benefits of having an awareness practices (and some favorites to try)
One of the not-so-secret reasons I don’t tend to stay stuck: I almost always have an awareness practice that I’m using regularly.
What is an awareness practice? What makes a good one?
That’s what we’re getting into in this episode. The benefits, the strengths of different options, and how to choose one that will work for you. Or make your own!
On last week’s episode we talked about different ways to think about internal blocks, walls, barriers between us and what we want. Awareness practices are a fantastic way to work through those internal obstacles.
Favorite awareness practices I mention in the episode:
- Meditation
Especially guided meditation. I love Tara Brach.- Yoga and kundalini yoga. I love Yoga with Adriene.
- Walking, running, hiking. In silence! No podcasts, eeeep.
- Going to see movies alone. Remember? Also reading memoirs.
- Therapy & coaching
- Having a wing woman
- Creative hobbies
- Breathwork. My current love, discovered via Amy Kuretsky.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
26 min - Meditation
- 9: How to think about internal obstacles to what you want
If you’ve ever tried a career, project, goal you thought you’d enjoy and instead it felt terrible, there’s a chance it wasn’t for you. But there’s also a pretty big possibility that unresolved trauma is between you and your purpose.
What is getting in the way of working toward what you really want, or even figuring out what you really want? How do you make progress toward it? What can you do when you get stuck?
On this episode we’re talking about different ways to think about internal blocks, walls, barriers between us and what we want. I’m sharing some concepts from a variety of teachers and writers so that you can recognize this kind of block when it comes up for you.
People, concepts and books I mention in the episode:
- Martha Beck and her book, Finding Your Own North Star
- Yoga and samskaras
- Eckhart Tolle, the pain body, and his book, A New Earth
- Jess Lively, emotional bean bags, and her podcast The Lively Show
- Lacy Phillips and To Be Magnetic
- Pema Chodron and the concept of shenpa
- Michael Singer and his book, The Untethered Soul
You can find the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
26 min - 8: The path to your next career may be winding (or not!)
Today I’m taking you along as I talk about the many starts and stops along my career path. Almost 15 years ago I decided that I wanted to be a coach and then I get super honest about why I gave it up almost immediately. Cut to today: I'm back to coaching and loving everything about it.
What changed? Everything, but mostly I changed. I grew into the person who could match my passions with my experiences and strengths.
I spent a lot of years and life force energy working toward my purpose. It might be much quicker and easier for you. Maybe the route to your dream career is well-defined. Or maybe it’s something you have to craft yourself, picking up clues along the way. This episode will help you do just that.
Remember!
- Even when you don't feel like you're making progress, you are. It's just a spiral.
- Sometimes what you think is the main entrée is just the appetizer.
- Sometimes the thing you think will be your thing is just a window.
- Some journeys are very, very long, but you feel better almost as soon as you embark.
- Sometimes things not working out can be the catalyst for the change you really need. Once you learn that, you have less fear of things not working out. It's one thing to say "everything happens for a reason", and it's another to have the experience of reaching a new place you're grateful for and being able to look back at all the stumbles along the way.
One of my favorite books about career design is Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
26 min - 7: Finding more flexibility & freedom at work TODAY
Let's talk about freedom and flexibility and our relationship with it and how it has everything to do with our joy and satisfaction at work. Not to mention how easily we are able to access flow and how easily we are able to create a work life that is sustainable and that allows for the kind of lifestyle that we want.
In most situations there is more freedom and flexibility available to us than we allow ourselves to take advantage of because of our own pesky fears and doubts. Most of the examples I'm giving are from the workplace, but the same dynamic often applies within the way you parent or date or relate to your family and friends or spend your time and energy or eat or exercise -- you get the gist.
I'm sharing two sayings that have shaped my life and helped me heal, a funny story about the freedom of an ice cream cone and how we can all expand our freedom zone.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
26 min - 6: How to deal with being miserable at work when you don't know know what else you want to do
If your end goal is looking forward to the part of Monday morning that comes AFTER your first cup of coffee and craving time in your office (or working from wherever you want!)...
How do you go from being miserable in your job to finding work that lights you up when you just don't know WHAT you want to do? Answering this question is one big goal of this podcast and this episode will be part 1 of many.
Today we're talking about 5 steps for:
- Finding ways to hate your current job less, free up your time, energy and attention for other things. Especially:
- Committing to figuring out what you want to do next and giving energy and attention to exploring your interests.
This question also inspired me to create a free list of unbelievable helpful resources for finding more happiness in your work life. Stay tuned to find out when that's available.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you tune your filter to identify happier work opportunities today.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
23 min - 5: Wanting your first idea to be THE idea (and the best things about NOT getting what you want right away)
We have a tendency to want everything to work out perfectly the first time around. And it makes sense, of course we do -- we want things to fall into place smoothly with minimal upset.
And this hope that the first one is THE one could apply to so many things --
- the first guy you date
- the first job you interview for
- the first idea that pops up when you're searching for your purpose
- the first eating/exercise plan you try
- the first coach/therapist/spiritual practice
It shows up in minor everyday ways and in big life choices.
It’s totally normal, of course we don't want to go through the frustration and disappointment and what feels like wasted effort of things not working out right away.
But today we’re talking about a few problems with this tendency, and what’s possible when we can embrace learning from experience, leaning into challenge, and developing a growth mindset.
You can find the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
20 min - 4: Fear disguised as procrastination, big and small
Hardly anyone talks about how little fear we actually feel because we're always trying so hard to avoid it. It can show up as lack of interest, indecision, shiny object syndrome, and of course, procrastination. Today I'm talking about how to recognize fear when it's getting in the way of what you really want. We'll also hit on little procrastination (that one task you're avoiding) versus BIG procrastination (a dream for your life that you waffle back and forth about). I also share a personal story of what it looks like to get ourselves to jump into the cold water of fear and how much life force energy is waiting for us on the other side!
Connect on Instagram: @brianacullen
Grab a free guided meditation to help you feel happier at work.
Podcast cover photo: Natalie Gildersleeve
Music: Chris Shards
16 min
About Feels Like Flow
From the publisher's feed
Join me every Tuesday to talk purpose & getting unstuck. Let's make work enjoyable, whether you want to reinvent your career, start a new business, or free yourself from to-do list overwhelm. I…
want you to get paid to be yourself & look forward to the moments AFTER your first cup of coffee. I'm Briana Cullen and each week I share enthusiastic ideas for going from stuck to progress to flow. The new productivity is not about doing more, it's about doing things differently. This podcast will get you to do the things you've been wanting to do forever! You might start craving time in your office.