Description

In a world where there had always seemed to be a dichotomy between the extremes of becoming a success in your career or having lots of time and energy for family, Jessica DeGroot, over 20 years ago had already discovered a "third Path" -- the road to becoming successful in both. This is exactly what her national nonprofit, ThirdPath Institute, is about -- helping people become more integrated. That means pursuing a big career without compromising the things that matter more to you, especially family. For many working parents, it was the pandemic that has brought them into deep introspection of how their whole life has been eaten up by their jobs, and how a pandemic blessing has been to finally learn how to slow down and make more time for the things they value most in life. For Jessica, it has always been about learning how to blend the success of her father's career in medicine as well as the success of her mother in home-making and child-rearing. The trick to getting there was finding a partner who shared the same set of core values. ThirdPath Institute is the embodiment of these values. It has also expanded to a community of parents and leaders who want to support other working parents to follow in their footsteps.


Highlights:

• The pattern: Her college research showed having the right "mental mindset" at the start of your career and having a partner who shares the same mindset guarantees success
• The benefits: flexibility (being able to identify time for  work and time for family); and capacity management (being empowered to say how much one can handle and to say "no" when necessary)
•  The steps: Being intentional about priorities and preferred schedules, as well as being transparent about how capacity is (elicited from the work-life score capacity test)
•  The challenge: It is complicated and it can be very unnerving, but being transparent about one's own capacity through the work-life score is needed so help would be possible 
• The key to its success: Modeling transparency and honesty is the best way for leaders and managers to ensure workability in this unfamiliar territory

For ThirdPath Institute, being "integrated" means having time and energy for all the essential things in life. Instead of always prioritizing more money or more things, integrated professionals also value more time. Having deeply thought of it about 15 years ahead, leaders in the ThirdPath community were more ready for the pandemic. Unlike most companies, their teams did not disproportionately lose women at the height of skeletal work schedules. This is on top of sparing their employees from chronic overwork and third-degree burnout. Too often, those who work the longest get monetary rewards and a badge of honor. The ThirdPath community is changing this. Though new to many, this set of advocacies has been Jessica's rally for over 20 years. If this resonates with you, give her and ThirdPath Institute a follow on all socials and learn more about how you can be truly successful in life without sacrificing your health and relationships. Take advantage of their free materials too by looking up Free ThirdPath Resources.

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52 Weeks of Me is hosted by Jacklyn Osborne and Erika Brooks.
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