Disrupting Burnout
Disrupting Burnout with Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson is dedicated to overworked, undervalued high-achieving servant leaders who give all to serve others and leave very little for yourself. You are an accomplished woman with many responsibilities and you often find yourself overwhelmed, exhausted, and burned out. I’ve been there. As a matter of fact, burnout almost cost me everything. Compassionate work can carry a high price tag: your mind, body, spirit and relationships may be in distress as you serve the needs of others. I am here to equip your hands and refresh your heart so you can serve in purpose and fulfillment and permanently break cycles of burnout.
Disrupting Burnout
96. Journeying Beyond Burnout with Anna Durkin
Ever felt like you're just going through the motions, trying to maintain a facade of perfection while juggling work, family, and personal well-being? Join me and my friend Anna Durkin, owner of Seek Wild Travel, as we share our own personal journeys of overcoming burnout and reigniting our passions through travel and self-discovery.
Together, we explore the magic of creating unique travel experiences, uncovering hidden gems in local coffee shops, and embracing the beauty of nature. Listen in as we reminisce about childhood adventures that sparked our love for travel and discuss how Anna found her calling in helping others explore the world. This episode is an inspiring conversation about the transformative power of travel and the importance of disrupting burnout to truly find ourselves. Don't miss out on this soul-stirring adventure!
Journeying Beyond Burnout Takeaways
● “My goal is to expose the world to people and allow them to travel and see the world in a different light.” - Anna Durkin
● I came home to myself.” - Anna Durkin
● “Beautiful things can be disruptive.” - Dr. PBJ
● “I create inspiring and rejuvenating experiences.” - Anna Durkin
● “I bring travel to people.” - Anna Durkin
● “You learn about yourself when you travel.” - Anna Durkin
● “Having an open mind to anything that will come up in travel is the key to having a good time.” - Anna Durkin
● “Travel feeds my soul.” - Dr. PBJ
Connect With Anna:
Instagram: @seekwildtravel | https://www.instagram.com/seekwildtravel/
Website: https://seekwildtravel.com/
Let’s Connect
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My goal is to expose the world to people and allow them to travel and see the world in a different light than maybe they're used to, and that really fills my cup.
Speaker 2:Hey friends, it's PBJ again and I have another episode of Women Who Define Disruption to share with you.
Speaker 2:If you all have been following my journey at all, especially the last year, you know that my travels have been one of the greatest sources of joy. In this whole journey that I am taking, i love going to a place that I've never visited and getting to know the people and the surroundings and the atmosphere and the scenery, and it just fills me with so much joy. I mean, one of the things I always think about is y'all know, my people are from Crockettville, south Carolina, and I love Crockettville, but many of my people have never gone very far from Crockettville and I have the blessing and the honor to travel and my heart desires so much more travel. So today, today, i have a friend that I am introducing you to, my friend, anna Durkin. Anna is a person that helps people travel and have beautiful experiences And I am here to introduce you all to her and Anna, thank you for being on Disrupting Burnout and I'm so excited to hear from you today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. So, anna, if you would just get started, because I know a little bit about what you do, but I would love to hear more about your story. So would you just tell the people who you are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm Anna, i'm well. First, i always I'm definitely a mother And that's right now. That's definitely my title for myself is a mother. I have a sweet four year old and a two year old, and so I'm right in the midst of being a, you know, a new mom and enjoying life so much with their energy and their positivity, and it's just so much fun. But beyond that, i, you know, have many hats.
Speaker 1:But, yes, i'm the owner of Sequel Travel and my goal is to expose the world to people and allow them to travel and see the world in a different light than maybe they're used to, and that really fills my cup. So I would say I'm still on the journey. For sure, it's never, you know, it's ever evolving. But, yeah, i really had a turning point. I had my son in 2018. And I kind of thought I could just keep rolling with it, right, i could just keep pushing and pushing and doing all the things And I started to just kind of pile on more. Right, motherhood was already a new challenge And I had, you know, i ended up having a C-section, which was unplanned, and then during that time that I had off which wasn't really, i didn't have any paid leave or anything like that Like a lot of people don't. And so during that time I decided to leave the job that I thought I was going to go back to, and I just couldn't imagine going back in that environment after I had become a mother. So, as I'm recovering from labor and birth and all of those things, i decided to start interviewing for positions. So I did that with like a five week old baby, because I just knew I needed something different And thankfully, something landed in my lap in just the right time.
Speaker 1:But it was a challenge. I started a new position. I was a new mom, i was pumping at work in the closet, and then you're trying to show up at work as if you don't have all these other things going on. So many of us show up at work as if we're not moms or fathers or have a loved one that we're caring for. And that becomes really difficult because all of a sudden you're putting on a lot of layers, a lot of protection, a lot of things to show up as this perfect employee. And yeah, it really took a toll.
Speaker 1:And then that same year, along with being a new mom and new job, i decided that we needed to buy a house. So we went into that journey which was, you know, there's not a lot of options out there and you're going back and forth and it can just be so overwhelming. So, thankfully, we found a wonderful place for us to live and we made it happen and we made it possible. But as the summer came along, i had my child in October. I got really sick. I couldn't get over a cold that I had and I had a cough for months and I wasn't sleeping right. I had a newborn baby. I've tried to do so many things all the time for everyone and show up perfect and Finally that August my body was like you've had enough, you can't keep going on this path.
Speaker 1:But it took several years after that to finally kind of transition out of that phase and, like I said, i'm still on that journey and one of the powerful things that I started doing was meditating and the practice itself, you know, was a piece to the puzzle of kind of this recovery that I found and It really allowed myself to center and and Slow down and through that process things started to become very clear and very vivid and You know I sought help in other ways to support from family outside professional help, things like that. But It was really interesting how just coming to myself, coming home to myself, was kind of the magic in it. So As the years went on, i started to really dive into what. What does my passion look like? What do I want my day to be like? who do I want to serve? and That led me to where I am with this company, and I am just so thrilled to help people Go, finally, go on those trips that they've always wanted to go on and open up the passion.
Speaker 2:Oh, My goodness, Anna, so many important nuggets there Throughout your story. First of all, thank you for sharing your journey with us. I Have to stop and appreciate how you described that beautiful things can be disruptive. Right, beautiful things. Motherhood is a beautiful, beautiful thing. A new home is a beautiful thing. A new job often is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2:Beautiful things can be disruptive in a way that it Interrupts the flow that you're accustomed to. It stops the the cadence of what you have set for your life, And sometimes that's exactly what we need. Sometimes, in order for us to even consider that something else is a possibility, we need something to interrupt or disrupt that cadence. So thank you for giving voice to the fact that more than one thing can be true. I can be overwhelmingly joyful of this blessing in my life and overwhelmed, I can be exhausted and so grateful at the same time. More than one thing can be true. So that is just so important for folks to hear, because sometimes we feel like we're in the good part of my life, Like things are good. What is wrong with me? All of this is good, but I'm feeling heavy And our emotions are a gauge. We have to pay attention, because that's the signal that something in our life needs some attention. I also appreciate the way that you described how your body was speaking to you, because we'll keep going, We'll keep going. When can I stop? I can't stop. I have to do my best at work and I can't just chill When I get home. I have a new baby, So when we just keep pushing and keep pushing, and I always say burnout is the fourth stop, You don't have a choice. It's when your body, your soul or your spirit says we're done, We're done, Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then that final piece that I wanted to highlight is you started thinking about what do I want? And I just want to pause for a minute and I want to pose that question to someone who's listening What do you want? So often we allow ourselves to be stuck in a box that someone else created, or a career ladder where someone says choose one, two or three. Those are your only two options for promotion, or those are your only two options of moving forward, or your only two options for success. But you stopped and you said wait a minute. What do I want my days to look like? Who do I want to serve? And I know, to someone who's listening that sounds like some pie in the sky idea that you would even get to manifest what you want. But Anna is here as proof. I'm here as proof that when you pause and really ask and really, really dig deep.
Speaker 2:You said coming home to yourself. That reminds me. Dr Tama Bryant wrote a book called Homecoming And she talks about coming home to yourself. So often we are so conditioned to follow the rules and march in step that we've forgotten who we are, Or maybe we've not even discovered it in adulthood because we've been so busy succeeding and accomplishing. Yeah. So how does your work, your passion, now help people break that cast, that cadence, so that they can come home to themselves?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I always like to describe that I create inspiring and rejuvenating experiences. So some of the typical travel planning models are a lot of more chain properties, hotel, that kind of thing, and that has a place. But I focus on really off the beaten path travel, and so two things that I feel like I'm able to offer. One, take the burden off of people and the planning of trips, because that can be just very overwhelming. We're so busy There's not always time to fit all those things in, but people know the value of it. They really do. They know that they need to step away, and it's really important to step away because that is how you can find clarity. And so one is helping people navigate the complicated parts of travel. But really I'm bringing travel to people and showing what is possible. And when people go on these trips they are kind of awakened. They come back not feeling like they need a vacation from their vacation.
Speaker 1:Planning appropriately allows you to have breathing room and truly settle into the environment that you're in. And maybe you're traveling for the weekends Or maybe you're traveling across the world, it doesn't matter. Getting out of your routine can be such a way to transform your approach to your everyday And also learning. You learn about yourself when you travel. There's always little things that you learn about yourself. Whoever you're traveling with, you can form a better bond with them, and then, whatever environment you're going into, it really helps you to see how other people live.
Speaker 1:I think I always enjoy the simplicity of some places I go.
Speaker 1:I'm like, wow, you know, you don't have to have an open concept kitchen to have a wonderful life.
Speaker 1:It's really important to see the way other people live, hear their stories, you know, go to a pub and sit with locals and stay in a neighborhood that people that live there year round stay in, you know, and live in, and we have just fully become immersed in the environment around them while traveling.
Speaker 1:And then another little piece that I always like to say is incorporating some time in nature. I really think that we are so busy all the time and a lot of people have the best access to nature, and so I like to always throw in some of that to kind of help realize that there's some routines that maybe you can incorporate in your daily life. You know, maybe you wanna take a walk on your trip and you're like, hey, that needs to become part of who I am, or maybe you are, you know, on a trip and you see people doing an activity that you're like how that could become part of my life too, or wow, that really opens up my mind to this idea, and so travel just can really be an opening for you to look at life in a different way.
Speaker 2:Oh, i think that's beautiful And I agree with you. I agree with you. Sometimes in our normal routine we become so blind, we're so focused on what we're used to. It's possible to go from your home to the car, from the car to the office, from the office back to the car, back home to bed and get up and do it all over again, and you're walking through and walking by beauty every day, but you don't have the mindfulness to benefit from it because of the overwhelm and the routine and everything that has taken over. Anna, tell us where this connection and love for travel came from for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I actually, even as a young person deciding on a major for school, i decided to study hospitality and tourism because, as a child, my parents did such a great job of exposing us. We would, you know, with my mom, we would jump in the car and go what we call discovery, and that's it. You know, they were just day trips, but we would go discover the countryside and find antique shops or go to historic properties or go through gardens, you know things like that. And they just showed that you can do it in such a simple way. you know that you can just jump in the car or however, and kind of see the world. And I always just loved that.
Speaker 1:I loved the feelings that I had when I went into, you know, a beautiful garden. you know we would go to botanical gardens or historic homes and things like that, and there's just this overwhelming sense of calm and excitement of seeing some new place. And so I brought that all the way through and then I decided to go to school and study hospitality and tourism, and so it was kind of tucked away and I got out of that industry for a while and then was like this is why I did that. That's why, when I say to be home to myself, i kind of came back to myself as a child. you know where. how did I think when I was a child and what lit me up? and that same passion still lights me up today And so, yeah, it's just been really fun to come back to it.
Speaker 2:I love that you went back to those memories and those experiences from your childhood. We do a process called discover your brilliance And I always ask the question tell me who you were as a child, because a lot of our answers are there. Before someone told us we were wrong. Before someone told us you couldn't make money with that. Before someone told us what makes sense and what doesn't. Before we learned all of the rules of adulthood. There's a purity in going back and revisiting what we experienced in our childhood. So give us some examples, anna. So because you said your trips are kind of off the beaten path, not what maybe you normally get from travel agent. So give us an example of an experience that you might curate for someone.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So some examples can be well, maybe like a weekend trip somewhere. For example, say, you live near the Smoky Mountains or where I grew up. I grew up near Shando National Park And you can start your morning and go to the local coffee shop, right, and then find lodging that's like right at the entrance of the park so that you don't have to go far And then find three activities that you wanna do that weekend, right, don't overbook yourself. And go into the park. Maybe first you're gonna try just a simple nature walk. Maybe you're not super into hiking, but you wanna go on a little walk, right. So you go on the walk and then you drive a little farther through the park and you go to some overlooks and you step out and you see the view. And then you travel a little farther and you find the historic lodge in the park and you eat lunch and you eat at a leisurely pace And you talk to the waitress or the waiter and you ask them wait, what's something else really cool that we should do in the area? And they point something else out to you And then you go down that path of finding where they said it was a really cool place to go And you just continue that journey with a little bit of an open mind, right?
Speaker 1:And I think having an open mind to anything that can come up in travel because things do come up is the key to having a good time and discovering yourself and taking that breathing time. So, as far as a weekend trip, that's an easy thing you can do. You can just go and discover. But other trips that I plan for example, going to Scotland well, there's a lot to see in Scotland. Do you need to see it all? No, you can pick out a handful of things that you really wanna do and then decide this is what I'm gonna do. But I'm also gonna leave some room for any kind of experience that might come up, and so that's kind of the principles that I live by.
Speaker 1:As far as travel is, breathing room, enjoy every part of it. Transportation can be you think, oh, i'm just getting from point A to point B. Well, actually that could be a really transformative part of it. The flight, the people you're sitting near, the train ride, looking at the scenery There's so many parts of travel that can open your mind and be relaxing and fun and exciting. So, taking each piece of that travel experience in with you incorporating nature. I always think that's super important And it kinda helps you appreciate what we have right. Yeah, breathe in that fresh air and seeing what's out there. So I think that's also really important. And pack light, you know, don't overdo it, you're not moving there. That's why I always like to tell people So pack light, make your load light, make the trip of lightening up your load of life And so kind of incorporating that.
Speaker 1:But really in the heart of it too is where do you wanna go? You know, i always ask people that what has always been your bucket list? They may think it's so pie in the sky that they can't do it. Oh, there's no way I can do that. And they put up a lot of excuses. I start to say wait a minute, let's back up, let's. Can we make this possible for you? Where do you wanna go?
Speaker 1:And sometimes they have to come back and say you know, give me some time to really think about that, because they just thought it wasn't possible for so long. All of a sudden it's come to light that they oh, you know I've always wanted to do this, but you know I don't think so. And then I'll do some research and figure out if it is possible for them, and most of the time it is. So it's just about planning and but really reaching down deep, where do you wanna go And come up with a plan for the next five years? Where do you wanna go? You know what's gonna let you up, what's gonna help you maybe, get through a tough time. Maybe you need a trip plan in the next two months, and so, yeah, that's kinda there's just so much to dive into and each person's so different, and so I like to take each client in as its own special case.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you went exactly where I was gonna go next with my next question, because I was gonna ask you what are some of those limiting beliefs or excuses that people make to say, oh, i can't do that And like that's not available to me. So you mentioned, you know, maybe financially right. What are some of the other limiting beliefs that you hear from folks that you don't know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, i would say the other limitations are time. I would say that's probably actually one of the biggest things is people can't figure out how to pick a time to go Because they have this, they have that, they have so many obligations that they can't see past that. They can't see past all the to-dos, and so then I can even help them, guide them through that process as well. You know you're going to have to go on a trip that you've always wanted to go on. You may have to sacrifice one thing or another, and that's okay. That's okay. You might have to tell the office that you're out for a week. It's okay.
Speaker 1:You may take your child out of school for one week, because the destination you want to go to happens to be the best time to go is during the school year. You can still learn on that trip a week. Second, to hurt anyone Even two weeks isn't going to hurt anyone. Time seems to be one of the most limiting things. That's part of what I've come into is let me plan it for you, so all you have to do is pack your bag. I've taken a huge chunk of that time that people think they don't have to. At least plan it for them, and then all they have to do is go through their schedule and pick a time to go. So that is a big limiting factor is time.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Listen, I know at this point folks are probably ready to pack their bags and go. I'm already thinking okay, I want to go to Scotland, I want to go to France. It's like wow. So, Anna, how do people connect with you? What does your process look like?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so first we usually start with a 30 minute discovery call just to kind of dive into exactly the nitty gritty of my process and kind of help them think it through a little bit. And then from there we start building an itinerary and it can be really fun and I can really help guide people on that so they don't have to really think too hard about it. I'll ask them the right questions And then I'll give them a proposal of you know, here's your trip, what do you think? And so then once they say, hey, yeah, that looks really good, let's tweak a couple things, then I present them with the final proposal. Then after that they can either go and book the trip on their own or they can have me go ahead and book it. So it's kind of a three tier process. You know a temporary proposal, then we have like our final itinerary and then booking. So yeah, it's, it could be just such an easy process. I walk you through the whole thing, so there's no, no stressing on it.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, no, no excuse. And I can tell you that travel is just one of those things that feed my soul. You know, I it's having a trip, whether it's a weekend trip, a day trip, having a trip on the calendar, that's. I'm looking forward to that, so that that's my goal. I've got all this to do, but I know that that is coming And it just fills my cup.
Speaker 2:And it's not the same as having a day off, because a day off at home, you're literally just consumed. You're looking at all the things that you should be doing or you feel like you should be doing, whether you are doing there or not, even if you're sitting on your couch, you're, you're grinding in your mind, thinking about all the things. Going away physically helps you to disconnect, it helps you to take a break from everything And really, like you said, be clear. Be clear because even if you need to do it, you're not in the space to do it And you can let it rest for a day or a weekend or a week, and you will come back and be able to accomplish those things better and faster because you allowed your brain a break, a real break, a real break.
Speaker 2:So I encourage all of you to reach out to Anna to explore with her. Have the conversation. Don't let the excuses stop you. You don't even know enough to make a decision yet. Give, connect with Anna. Make that connect, call and explore. It's time for you to see something different, and I'm so excited for you, anna. How do folks connect with you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so they can reach out on my website, seekwhiletravelcom. You can also find me on Instagram.
Speaker 2:I love communicating that way too, And that's seekwhiletravel Yeah awesome And all of this will be in our show notes so that you can connect with Anna and have that connect. Call and go exploring. Give yourself that gift, that break. You deserve it, friend. All right, as always, you know that you are powerful, you are significant and you are loved. Love always, pbj. Bye everybody.
