Beyond Burnout; Harmonizing Professional Ambitions with Personal Fulfillment
Mar 14, 2024Season 2Episode 15
Penelope Magoulianiti
Ever felt like you're walking a tightrope between your dreams of career success and the bliss of a vibrant personal life? Let's shatter the illusion that you must choose one over the other.
In this episode I'll share my own stories of navigating this intricate landscape and provide practical advice to keep you thriving both in the boardroom and at home, with a special focus on the unique challenges women face in this balancing act.
We're tearing down the myths that suggest ambition and fulfillment can't coexist, particularly for women who are often under immense pressure to excel in every facet of life.
I'll guide you through coaching tips and actionable strategies that champion self-care, boundary setting, and rediscovering joy beyond your work desk.
Join us for an episode that promises to uplift and transform the way you approach the delicate dance of work and life.
I would also love to invite you to a conversation. You can join me on this link.
Ever felt like you're walking a tightrope between your dreams of career success and the bliss of a vibrant personal life? Let's shatter the illusion that you must choose one over the other.
In this episode I'll share my own stories of navigating this intricate landscape and provide practical advice to keep you thriving both in the boardroom and at home, with a special focus on the unique challenges women face in this balancing act.
We're tearing down the myths that suggest ambition and fulfillment can't coexist, particularly for women who are often under immense pressure to excel in every facet of life.
I'll guide you through coaching tips and actionable strategies that champion self-care, boundary setting, and rediscovering joy beyond your work desk.
Join us for an episode that promises to uplift and transform the way you approach the delicate dance of work and life.
I would also love to invite you to a conversation. You can join me on this link.
Welcome to Unbound Ambitions, the podcast where aspirations meet action, dreams fuel drive and every ceiling is just another floor to break through. Here we celebrate the power of persistence, explore the art of balancing career and personal life and unlock the secrets to growth and fulfillment. Whether climbing the corporate ladder, navigating entrepreneurship or finding harmony in your daily life, unbound Ambitions is your companion in journeying for your highest goals. Join us as we get real about challenges, present valuable information and equip you with insights for a life that's as thriving as it is grounded. Because here we believe your ambitions are just the beginning. And now your host, penelope Magdalniti.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
Hello and welcome to Unbound Ambitions, the space where we dive deep into the stories of women who are redefining the meaning of success on their own terms. And today we are embarking on a particularly close to heart journey, navigating the tight rope between our ambitions, personal life and the quiet, often unspoken struggle with stress, fatigue and, yes, even our sex drives. It's a conversation that's long overdue. In a world that constantly pushes us to do more, be more and achieve more, it's easy to find ourselves trapped in a cycle of endless striving, often at the expense of our health, happiness and relationships. But what if I told you it doesn't have to be this way. What if there's a path to success that doesn't leave you feeling depleted at the end of each day? Today, we are peeling back the layers of this all too common narrative. We are talking about the balance, or often the imbalance, between professional success and personal fulfillment. How do we manage it all without losing ourselves in the process? This is the big question. How do we maintain our health, our relationships and a fulfilling intimate life while also pursuing our career goals? Well, today we will explore together actionable strategies, real-life examples and insights, and my goal for today is to empower you with the tools you need to create a life of balance. The right balance for you is not the same for everybody a life of fulfillment and joy, a life that where you can thrive in every sense of the word. So, whether you are listening on your morning commute, during a quiet moment of reflection, or as you wind down from a busy day, I invite you to join me on this journey. Let's redefine success together. Let's learn, grow and find that elusive balance that makes life not just something we manage, but something we truly love. Let's get started.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
I know how it feels like you have to prove yourself continuously, to work double hard to be taken seriously and, when you finally have that seat on the table with the big boys, to believe that you have to become someone else to keep it. I know, no matter how much you do within your day, there is always so much more because you keep accepting requests from others, believing that if you don't, they might think you're not good enough or you don't know enough, meaning that deep down, you're afraid that you're going to be rejected. And I know how heavy the guilt can be when you come home exhausted, sometimes dragging your feet, but you don't stop because you shouldn't. You are a mother and a wife and you have duties, so you don't speak up, you don't tell your loved ones how you feel, you just keep pushing yourself beyond your limits. There are many challenges managing and demanding career, building a career, household responsibilities but I believe the heavier ones are the societal expectations to be a perfect partner, mother, friend, and the internal pressure to excel in every aspect of life. These are the challenges that lead us to stress and burnout. And then we are wondering why our libido is non-existent and what we feel is this chronic stress and fatigue.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
I experienced all this. My obsession with being the perfect mother, performing at the top of my abilities and never refusing to take on roles, projects and extra responsibilities, almost destroyed my health and my relationship. I never had time for myself. I didn't have time to rest, exercise or take a nap. There was always something that I had to do. So I pushed and pushed, drinking too much coffee and eating too much chocolate. Well, you can guess the result I was overweight, extremely tired and very angry.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
We see self-care as an indulgence, a luxury, and we dismiss it as unnecessary. But there are so many things we can take on without proper care. Looking after ourselves is an indulgence for the wealthy. It's a necessity, it's a crucial part of maintaining our overall health and well-being. Setting aside time to relax during the day, taking on a hobby that we love and practicing it once or twice a week, or practicing mindfulness and meditation, isn't a burden or time wasted. A rested body and mind can become more productive, can have more patience and can help us to reclaim the spark in our relationships. It will reinforce our appetite, let's say, and it will bring us closer to our partners.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
As women, we pay close attention to how we feel. When we feel rested and relaxed, we are more open to our partners. This is the truth. But to do all that, we cannot approach this with the same attitude that created the problem. Something has to change, and we can only change ourselves. We cannot change others. We don't have that kind of power, but we do have power over ourselves and on the way we think and feel about ourselves.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
So the first step is to understand what we want from our lives and where we are settling. We settle for less than we want because we are probably allowing others' demands to dictate our day or other people's opinions to guide our decisions. Even worse, we are so afraid not to fit in with the crowd that we force ourselves to become one of them, even though we secretly despise it and feel like frauds. And every time we neglect to look after ourselves, we abide and agree to someone else's terms because we give our permission to be taken for granted, not to be nurtured and not to be approved. And we do all this to ourselves first by not ensuring we perform at our best. We run our lives without boundaries based on other people's agendas and end our days frustrated, tired and unfulfilled. And if you want to see change, you have to change first. And this is the first step becoming aware of where you are settling, understanding what you want.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
The second step is to ask for help, seek support if you cannot change these outdated beliefs and habits on your own. Prioritize yourself and things that matter to you and delegate the rest. There is nothing wrong delegation. There is power in delegation. Spend time with your loved ones to connect and stop spending countless of nights connecting with projects and charts. Learn to be a leader who influences people because she inspires them to step up, not someone who takes on jobs because she cannot make her team understand the importance of teamwork. Sharing responsibilities and communicating needs can strengthen relationships and reduce stress. Share responsibilities with your kids. Teach them to be responsible. If you have kids, share responsibilities with your partner, your husband. Tell him how you feel. Show him how he can help. You Men want to help if we ask them. So step number two is to ask for help. Step number three, if you don't want to lose your relationship, if you want to recognize your relationship rest.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
Stress and fatigue can affect sex drive. There was a time when I was so exhausted that I fell asleep the minute I sat on the couch. It didn't matter what time it was. I couldn't function and my relationship didn't function either, not in the way we wanted it. Anyway, if you are in a similar situation, communicate your struggle with your partner. Don't keep things inside. Tell them how you feel and what your needs are and find solutions together.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
And know that many women feel the same way as you do. In my conversations with them, there are many struggles around feeling guilty for not having enough time for their families and their relationships. Feeling of stepping back from a career they love because they cannot continue the way they live their life. Feeling burnout, feeling like running on a treadmill and going nowhere. Every Sunday, they dread starting in the new week because they don't know how to start from the many things they have to do, feeling inadequate and like they are lacking something. And the one thing all these women have in common is a lack of self-care. They neglect themselves because they never thought they could demand more time. Culture never taught us this. Our mothers never taught us this Most of them anyway.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
The society's messages are based on the sacrifices that women have to make. We believe all these narratives because we have never questioned them, and it's time to do so. Seeking balance is not a sign of weakness, but of wisdom and courage. There is a great power of community and solidarity among women. Seek out women who have walked the path and reached the other side. You don't have to do things alone and you don't have to feel shame because you cannot do everything. Stop putting yourself down with judgment and start up lifting yourself by recognizing how many things you bring to the table. I am creating a community for women who want more, deserve more and want to be an apologetically themselves. Women who believe there is another way, another way other than sacrifice, and they need to figure it out, and we are going to figure it out together in this group.
Penelope Magoulianiti:
Reach out to me if you would like to learn more. I would love to hear more about your experiences, about your stories, about how you overcome this burden of doing it all, and if you haven't, I would also like to hear that story. Ok, this is what I had for you today. Share this video with someone who might benefit from it. Subscribe for more supportive materials or content like this, and if you feel like you need to talk to someone who is going to listen without judgment and give you the space to express yourself freely, then let's have a chat. I would love to chat with you Until next week. Much love. There are several myths and misconceptions that exist about women who want to have successful careers and maintain fulfilling and beautiful relationships, and this is what I love to do. I love to debunk these myths, to coach and guide women to a new way of thinking and doing. If you are interested in learning more about my work, I would like to invite you to a conversation. Go to PenelopeMagoulianiti. com/letstalk.