What the Otters Know

Yesterday a sea otter at the Portland Zoo brought me back to myself.

Today a podcast episode from my friends Angie Huber and Rebecca Rutherford on #perfectionism helped explain why.

This week was one of the best I can remember recently on the surface but underneath I was getting more and more overwhelmed. Every decision, including a mundane one like what to eat for dinner was JUST TOO MUCH.

Overwhelm is often a sign of fear.

Fear is often a sign of trauma.

Perfectionism can be a sign of overwhelm.

I was trying to do everything perfectly to protect myself from fear around my own work.

What if I failed? What if not knowing EXACTLY what could happen at work was unsafe? What if something terrible happened? (Again.)

(We will leave the clear appearance of my Hypervigilant Saboteur, Taz, for another day).

Angie + Rebecca asked this question (among many) in their podcast:

How to combat perfectionism? (aka fear).

You can listen to their answers for yourself but for me it meant removing myself from EVERYTHING I was swirling around in my head and on my computer.

A voice inside my head said "Go to the zoo."

And I did. No thinking, no planning, no judgement.

Just letting my brain go and watching the otters (and more) just being.

It was all #goodenough .

Today I am calm and present. Fear is tucked away where it belongs.

Are you struggling with fear in any form as a result of your #distressingwork?

I would love to help. So would the otters!

Schedule a free session to talk more.

#coaching #careerchange