Sometimes in our pursuit of the adventure we are hyper focused, we hit the mark and move on. We don’t always realize until after the fact that with our head down we missed some things along the way. The realization can sometimes trigger guilt or regret. Did you notice that Episode 118 is missing? I have been batch recording and preparing for episodes as we travel and in the midst of that I misnumbered the episodes. I thought about going back and fixing it, but instead decided to just leave it. In the grand scheme of things, does the number of the episodes a detail worth spending the time and energy fixing? It was a lesson that actually aligns well with our episode theme for today.
Using tools like checklists or tracking forms can help us be aware of important details that might drift by in life – like everyday moments of joy. If you are interested in a tool to help you test what to get rid of in your life and what to invest your time and energy in, the Joy Audit tracking Form is a helpful awareness builder and data visualization tool during the design or testing phase of lifestyle design. The Joy Audit tracking tool can help bring your feelings to light and quantify simple adventures for a more meaningful life.
Download the Joy Audit Tracking Form: https://ordinarysherpa.podia.com/joy-audit-tracking-form
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Our guest today made her first appearance on Ordinary Sherpa at episode 031 | Slowing Down and Being Aware. Dr. Dawn Baker is the physician, writer, speaker, and lifestyle design coach behind Practice Balance. She helps physicians and other professionals step off the treadmill of achievement, rediscover their true selves, and cultivate a practice of balance that’s right for them. She is the author of the book Lean Out: A Professional Woman’s Guide to Finding Authentic Work-Life Balance. Dawn is also a certified yoga and meditation instructor who is passionate about off-grid living, homeschooling, fitness, and travel.
Key Takeaways
1. Leaning In was a term used to encourage professional women to make their voices present in the boardroom – to advocate for themselves, to get into the messiness and grow confidence to take leadership. That movement pushed women to achieve without determining if they really wanted that lifestyle.
2. While some women have evolved into leadership roles in the past 10 years, overall professional women aren’t necessarily happier or healthier since the movement began. Instead the results are demonstrating challenges with physical and mental health as well as a rise in infertility.
3. The medical field in particular has conducted formal studies to understand the impact of burnout. Burnout has demonstrated to lead to other health disorders including substance abuse disorders, medical errors, mental health disorders. In fact increase in work hour volume is proving to decrease physical well-being metrics as demonstrated with a proliferation of diabetic, obesity, and professionals with heart conditions.
4. Career oriented woman are delaying family planning to establish careers. Delaying child birth for women is a leading indicator of infertility. Dawn shares about her experience delaying family planning and due to a physical condition and the impact fertility treatments played in her work and life balance.
5. A counter culture specialist is wanting to be courageous enough to not want what everyone else wants. Her book, Lean Out allows readers to design a life that doesn’t require all or nothing thinking.
6. You have to define success based on your own values. Success is not linear progression of growth. There are plateaus and valleys throughout the process. Success is not brutal – you don’t have to sacrifice your well-being to achieve, if you are Dawn would question if that is actually success. Success is fun, not serious. Your success is relative to you. Sometimes we think we need to fix things that aren’t actually broken.
7. Leaning out doesn’t mean you have to have everything figured out. Helping others embrace the unknown and being mindful of present moments, while working through limiting beliefs and worse case scenarios is critical to the process.
8. When people are on the other side, it’s so fun to hear them realize “I didn’t know xyz was possible until I had the space.” Many experience new opportunities or cultivate joy rather than trying to find joy in their existing life and fit it in.
9. A defining symbolism of winning for me in slow life was taking 4.5 minutes to brew pour over coffee and actually savoring the experience of fresh-brewed coffee on a chilly morning. Leaning out is stepping of the hedonic treadmill of achievement. It’s not lazy, you still want to serve your people with integrity and contribute. The difference isn’t you aren’t sacrificing yourself as part of the process. As a foundational first step, working through your own should and establish your rules then practice doing hard things.
10. Doing things “off the list” was a phrase coined by her daughter. It encourage you to do things for fun with the people that matter most.
To Connect with or Follow Dawn Baker
Podcast: Lean Out Podcast
Book: Lean Out
Website: Practice Balance
Instagram: @practicebalance
