In this solo episode, I share my personal journey about working in the world of international development and sustainability, and the challenges I faced along the way. I explore how my drive to "save the world" and a deep-seated belief that "I wasn’t good enough" shaped my experience and the impact that heavy, existential emotions tied to climate awareness and the struggle of not living in alignment with my values, had on me. I share the real pivotal “AHA” moments that transformed my perspective and set me on a new path to find my own inner freedom that has led me on this path to support other changemakers who might be feeling disheartened, disillusioned and tired to find more joy, fulfillment, and create deeper systemic impact.
Having spent a decade working in the impact space and living through the struggles that many others are going through. I know how it feels to swing between the highs of feeling like you’re making a difference and the lows of feeling disillusioned, burnt out, and overwhelmed by the state of the world. This episode is for anyone who’s ever questioned if what they’re doing is enough, who feels the weight of the world's challenges, and who seeks to find inner peace and contentment, to live a life that feels aligned - where you are doing what you love and it aligns with whats important to you and what change you want to see in the world. You’re not alone in this, there’s many of us going through these experiences and I hope my story can offer some encouragement, insight and hope as you navigate your own journey.
To sign post you to other episodes where I explore more of the themes I touch on in this episode:
On aligning with your values and the challenges of working in sustainability - see the episode with Amelia Cookson
On the systems thinking course and the iceberg model - the episode with Sean Andrew
On how transformational being present and having a more mindful approach to life is - the episode with Catherine Nasskau
On understanding and managing climate emotions - upcoming episode with Emily Buchanan
On understanding what’s behind the saviour/rescue complex - upcoming episode with Marta Abramska
On understanding the root causes of the global crises and how to have a meaningful impact - upcoming episode with Benjamin Casteillo
On what it means to be regenerative and find happiness whilst contributing to systemic challenges - upcoming episode with Paul Pivcevic
In my substack @OnBecomingtheChange I share the resources that have helped me on my journey.
Thank you for listening and reading. If any of what we talked about in the podcast resonated with you, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please do share it with anyone else you think might be interested.
