Self-Compassionate Professor

Dr. Jen Harrison discusses the challenges of working as a full-time adjunct and how the pandemic forced her to pause and reassess the direction of her career. As she explains, she eventually realized that building a business as a dissertation coach enabled her to be the supportive teacher she always wanted to be. Jen also lists five practices professors may use with their grad students to transform academia's toxic work culture. Find Dr. Jen Harrison at https://readwriteperfect.com/ or on Twitter at @perfect_write. 

I argue that spiritual practice allows you to relax into the task of paving a self-compassionate career path. Drawing on Brené Brown's definition of spirituality, I offer examples of spiritual practice and explain how such a practice may support a person in career crisis. 

In this episode, I discuss the importance of regulating your nervous system in the service of cultivating a relationship to yourself. Drawing on the message in Episode 119 about the power of self checkins, how to do them, and the benefits, I add an additional layer to the checkin process: regulating your nervous system. As we experience more calm, we better connect to ourselves, and from that place, we can see more clearly the the next step to paving a self-compassionate career path. For more help paving a self-compassionate career path, join the sabbatical program! Find info about the program here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1047 

When you soothe your nervous system, you begin to hear your inner wisdom guiding you in your daily life. And these tiny callings should be taken seriously because cumulatively, they lead to a bigger vision based in self-compassion. Such work requires a practice of pausing, self-study, regulating your nervous system, and focused support from others. All of these pieces are provided in the Sabbatical Program, my one-year group coaching program that will guide you in hearing your inner wisdom so that you may pave a self-compassionate career path. Registration closes January 30. Enroll here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1047

I discuss Parker Palmer's notions of career discernment and how his philosophy aligns with my group coaching program, The Sabbatical Program. I also describe how the program is intended for those who want to do the deep work of connecting deeply to self and others as well as my intention to cater to those who are willing to turn into a slower pace and a pause. Registration for Sabbatical begins January 13 and closes January 30. Find details here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1047

In an effort to contextualize last episode's trauma discussion, I re-release my interview with Dr. Sara Taylor who explains that academia was a perfect holding container for her trauma. Since trauma affects every aspect of our lives, including our career decisions, Sara makes a convincing case for all of us to do the deep inner work required to release our trauma. She offers examples, questions, and truths to consider as you begin this work for yourself. Find Dr. Sara Taylor at https://sarabtaylor.com/.

Stephanie Lagana and I intentionally create space for "whatever conversation needs to happen." She describes what healing looks like on individual and collective levels and what we can do to begin and continue the healing process. Find Stephanie Lagana on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-lagana/ or on her website at https://www.thedianacollective.co/. (Register for "self-compassion for academics" at https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066).    

Mona Penn-Jousset describes the challenges of working at a Dutch art academy, where issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion were either largely ignored or perceived with contempt. Feeling alone in her mission to create safe educational spaces for black, brown, and LGBTQ students while also navigating intense challenges in her personal life, Mona found herself taking the "next best step" on a moment-to-moment basis. Such steps included practicing gratitude, meditating, choosing to support her family, and staying focused on her own sense of purpose, among other healthy daily practices. These many steps in the direction of health finally led her out of her job at the art academy and closer to living out her purpose. 

Mona has since collected stories of those who have experienced the pain of working and studying in Dutch art academies. Look for the publication of her book on this topic in early spring. 

Find her on LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pennbusinessdiva/?originalSubdomain=nl) and her podcast here (https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/true-north-world-tnw-podcast/id1500147319). You can also follow Mona's film project, Maker, here (https://www.instagram.com/maker_amsterdam/). 

Register for "Semester Unplug" here (https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066).   

Laura Hoyer discusses her career pivot into instructional design, the challenges she encountered, and how she came to more deeply understand (and act in accordance with) her own values. Laura also explains how trusting your gut is an issue of wellness. After the lessons she learned on her own long and difficult journey, she now helps other teachers to make career pivots. Find Laura on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hoyer/ or on her website here: https://www.therightfitcareercoach.com/?r_done=1.  (Register for Semester Unplug here, https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066.)

In this re-release of one of the most popular interviews on the podcast to date, Dr. Jenn Berg explains how her work as a tenured math professor came to take over her life. After developing a meditation practice however, she started noticing patterns that indicated she had an unhealthy relationship to work. As she watched herself in a new way, she realized it was time to walk away and she made the bold decision to leave academia altogether. She's now working on "Project Jenn," where she is unlearning bad habits, processing emotions when they emerge, and actively making choices about what she wants. - P.S. This is the photo we were talking about early in the interview. It's my husband, Dan, literally stuck on the wall after attempting to jump out of the crawl space in the basement. LOL. (Register for Semester Unplug and Self-Compassion for Academics here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066)