Coaching call 17th September 2025 · Revive to Thrive Tribe

Coaching call 17th September 2025

WORK & IDENTITY: We discussed a common theme - trying different health-promoting routines but falling out of them due to heavy workload- especially the invisible work we do that still takes time & energy (both in workplace + at home as women as we talk about in the course). During vacation or anytime we have more space to reflect, we may realise that: “you are not your job, I don’t want to identify with my job, my body is trying to communicate something with me through its symptoms - listen to it”.

BOUNDARIES & COMMUNICATION: The learnings in R2T incl. settIng boundaries - first to yourself & then to others around you - is a first step in turning realisations into —> changed behaviours —> new reality.
HOW you communicate your boundaries is almost more important than WHAT you say - be ready to communicate differently depending on the receiver - SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE. E.g. a workplace likely wants objective data/examples of how your workload doesn’t add up with the time available + rather than complaining with no solution - create a case, clarify that they get more out of you by changing your work conditions, ask them to help you do a better job - whereas in a personal relationship you can rely more on how a situation makes you FEEL (more subjective, although objective examples can also help to back up your case).
If you don’t see any improvements after setting boundaries - ask yourself: can I change myself in this context, or do I need to change the environment? You may need to remove yourself completely if you see no improvement, and accept this.
If you struggle to set boundaries e.g. in the workplace - make it less about you and more about the people walking in your footsteps who you’re helping.

STRESS & BALANCE: The journey often goes stress → drained → isolated → questioning everything. Funnily enough - this negative spiral can come at both extremes of the spectrum, neither will be health-promoting - either: Having too much free-time/less purposeful work → procrastination & not feeling fulfilled, inefficiency, craving more structure & discipline, disappointment with oneself OR having too little free time → inadequacy, nervous system dysregulation, isolation/overwhelm/shutdown, disappointment with oneself etc. So we often link productivity to stress, where two extremes show up: stressed when there’s too little to do, and stressed when there’s too much to do. We wanna return to a middle ground and remind ourselves daily that PRODUCTIVITY ≠ (negative) STRESS.

STRUCTURE & HABITS: As humans we actually prefer having a goal we’re aiming for, so there’s paradoxically freedom in structure & discipline. Have discipline with flexibility, e.g. scheduling in your calendar when you will get a certain task done OR writing down 1-3 things in the morning that you HAVE to get done that day - you will not leave before they’re done - but if something else urgent comes up you’re flexible enough to reschedule it.
Yet as we set boundaries around our energy we wanna accept that some things WILL fall through the cracks, and that’s OK. We choose the feelings we tie to such situations - so we CAN choose acceptance > self-criticism.
That’s why one of the conscious productivity principles in the course is about UNDERpromising and OVERdelivering - not the other way around - to manage stakeholder expectations (I learnt this the hard way as a consultant).

NEW CONTEXTS: In new contexts (workplace, a new relationship etc.), you learn about yourself – accept it as a nice opportunity to expand & grow rather than trying to cling onto old ways of thinking & doing things, although you'll likely feel resistance at first.

PERSPECTIVES: “Shoot for the stars, land on the moon” – aiming high even if you don’t reach the full goal, and accepting that the moon is a GOOD ENOUGH destination.

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