What I learned about caring for my nervous system
It took me eight years to realize how important my nervous system was to my performance and long-term career sustainability.
I am sharing what I learned so it doesn’t take you eight years to do the same.
Keep following along as I share the same mindsets and strategies I use with clients to scale my business in this ‘building-in-public’ mini-series. I’ve covered my business strategy and now its on to the topics that are just as important for success: mindset and inner work.
So the nervous system…this loosely falls under the “mindset” pillar. While it might not technically be a mindset, your nervous system is critical to feeling 100% during an interview process, onboarding into a new role and sustaining your success.
If you’re like me a few years ago, you’re probably wondering,
“What is the nervous system? And / or “what does it have to do with my career!?”
Here is a quick crash course:
In very simple terms, your nervous system has two settings - flight-or-fight and resting - which manage the neurological and physiological systems in your body.
(There is also freeze, which is mostly triggered by extreme situations so we’ll skip that for concision).
When you’re in flight-or-fight mode, your body is flooded with adrenaline, your heart rate, blood pressure + breathing quicken.
It’s an evolutionary response intended to help you manage danger.
And, it does allow you to temporarily think quickly and make sharp decisions.
Your nervous system is meant to flex between flight-or-fight and rest (or colloquially referred to as ‘rest and digest’), so you can literally digest and release the stress from your body, recover and recharge for the next time you need to switch into flight-or-fight mode.
However, too often in the modern corporate world, your nervous system is stuck in flight-or-fight which over time, leads to fatigue, frustration and inflammation.
As mine was for the first eight years of my post-MBA career, as I was constantly on high-alert responding to fire drills, blocking and tackling slack notifications and my to-do list in between preparing for high-stakes meetings.
I spent four years after graduation consulting – the first two years in a 100% travel model and the second two years traveling a few times / month and working six days / week.
I spent those entire four years fueled by coffee and adrenaline.
You can imagine the state of my nervous system.
After doing some deep introspection with my coach, I pivoted into an internal People + Culture leadership role, which came with a more manageable pace and workload.
However, that honeymoon was pretty quickly disrupted by the pandemic.
My workload spiked again, but more critically, I was responsible for the well-being of a staff of 35 which quickly grew to 70.
I had to figure out how to scale the culture, guide our company’s antiracism commitment and ensure my team was providing the right support as staff managed through Covid, mental health challenges, cancer diagnoses, parental leave and more.
I was sleeping more, but still drinking too much coffee (haha).
I didn’t have the words to describe it then but by the end of 2022, my nervous system was just shot.
I felt strung out, exhausted and pretty constantly, always on edge.
Why is this important to your career?
[Brief intermission]
This is a big meaty topic that I don’t want to rush, so tune in next week for how I’m intentionally caring for my nervous system as I grow and what it means for your career.
In the meantime…
I’m thrilled to share that I’m hosting a brand new masterclass, “Calm Without the Craze: 5 Proven Strategies to Thrive at Work While Staying True to Yourself.”
I will be unlocking the inner shifts and tangible operating habits you need to let go of overthinking, overwhelm and overwork to feel more confident and steady in your capabilities, make time for what matters and deliver great work without overwork. In one hour, you’ll walk away with actionable changes you can make to sustain your success without sacrificing yourself.
(Managing and caring for your nervous system, and overall wellness, will be a big piece of this!)
These strategies are near and dear to my heart as they’ve been so pivotal to my career - the ups and downs - and I’ve seen how transformational they’ve been in helping my clients feel more confident, grounded and whole.
I truly think this session will benefit every single woman on this email list - whether you’re a few days or several years into your role, hunting for the right thing or building the conviction to bet on yourself - we can all use a reminder and new tools.
I would love to have you join us.
This is the first *free and live* masterclass I’ve done since 2023, and I’m opening up spots to this community before the general public.
Grab your spot now and don’t worry if you can’t join live, I’ll share the recording.
12pm ET | 11am CT | 9am PT
Thursday, February 20th
