Category Archives: Books I Love

June 2022 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

What’s Happening at Burnout Proof Academy This Month?

Burnout Proof Book Club: The Gifts of Imperfection 

Recording of the live discussion has been posted!

blue sky with white clouds, black text reads burnout proof book club, gifts of imperfection, 0.75 GS CEUs, tag: june 2022 Self-Care

“Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are.”

Join us as we read and discuss:

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brené Brown

From the book’s description:
“Now more than ever, we all need to cultivate feelings of self-worth, as well as acceptance and love for ourselves. In a world where insults, criticisms, and fears are spread too generously alongside messages of unrealistic beauty, attainment, and expectation, we look for ways to “dig deep” and find truth and gratitude in our lives. A new way forward means we can’t hold on too tightly to our own self-defeating thoughts or the displaced pain in our world. Instead, we can embrace the imperfection.”

All you need to do is:

  • Enroll in the course
  • Purchase and read or listen to The Gifts of Imperfection
  • Answer discussion questions for each section of the book
  • Watch the discussion recording or choose another final reflection project 
  • Receive 0.75 GS RID CEUs!

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 0.75 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access


Featured Burnout Proof Academy Course

Healthy Boundaries for Interpreters

ID: dark blue fading into light blue canvas background. White text reads: Healthy boundaries for interpreters, 0.2 GS CEU on-demand course, white line, white text continues to read burnout proof academy, online.self-care.ceus. To register: https://www.burnoutproof.me/p/healthy-boundaries-for-interpreters. Interpretek is an approved RID sponsor for Continuing Education Activities. This General Studies program is offered for 0.2 CEUs at the Little/None Content knowledge level.; tag: june 2022 self-care

What are healthy boundaries? What makes setting and maintaining them so hard?

How does this affect our work as interpreters?

Saying “yes” to ourselves requires us to say “no” to someone else. This is the heart of healthy boundaries that many of us struggle with.

Join me to discuss this tricky topic and develop tools to make holding clear, kind, healthy boundaries much easier.

Here’s what you’ll get:

  • 0.2 GS CEUs
  • Connection with other interpreters for support + community
  • A definition of what the heck healthy boundaries are
  • Practice identifying the triggers that make it hard for you to hold healthy boundaries
  • Practice tuning into your guidance system to identify your healthy boundaries
  • Practice communicating your boundaries to others – even if it’s scary

All you need to do:

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 0.2 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

May 2022 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

NEW at Burnout Proof Academy This Month

Burnout Proof Book Club: The Gifts of Imperfection

white background with green border and red quotations, black text reads "staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection." -- Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection, @burnoutproofinterpreters; tag: may 2022 self-care

“Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are.

Join the Burnout Proof Book Club to create community and grow your support system with other wholehearted sign language interpreters as we learn and practice what it means to embrace perfection.

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brené Brown

From the book’s description:
“Now more than ever, we all need to cultivate feelings of self-worth, as well as acceptance and love for ourselves. In a world where insults, criticisms, and fears are spread too generously alongside messages of unrealistic beauty, attainment, and expectation, we look for ways to “dig deep” and find truth and gratitude in our lives. A new way forward means we can’t hold on too tightly to our own self-defeating thoughts or the displaced pain in our world. Instead, we can embrace the imperfection.”

Group of women sitting close together on stairs, smiling at each other. Front row: white woman with long blonde hair wearing a black short sleeve shirt sitting beside woman with long black curly hair, brown skin, wearing a blue jean jacket. Second row: woman with long black hair, brown skin, wearing long sleeve black shirt looking at woman with platinum blonde hair, brown skin, glasses and white shirt. Third row: white woman with long blonde hair wearing white shirt and blue jean jacket smiling and looking at woman with long black hair, brown skin, wearing black shirt. Image Credit: Joel Muniz; tag: may 2022 self-care

All you need to do is:

  • Enroll in the course
  • Purchase and read or listen to The Gifts of Imperfection
  • Answer discussion questions for each section of the book
  • Attend the live Zoom discussion, watch the recording, or choose another final reflection project 
  • Receive 0.75 GS RID CEUs!

Don’t miss the upcoming Live Discussion, happening May 18, 2022 from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm pacific. Put it on your calendar now!

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 0.75 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

April 2022 Self-Care CEUs at Burnout Proof Academy

NEW at Burnout Proof Academy This Month

Burnout Proof Book Club: The Gifts of Imperfection 

blue sky with white clouds, black text reads burnout proof book club, gifts of imperfection, 0.75 GS CEUs, tag: April 2022 Self-Care

Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are.

Join the Burnout Proof Book Club to create community and grow your support system with other wholehearted sign language interpreters as we learn and practice what it means to embrace perfection.

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brené Brown

From the book’s description:
“Now more than ever, we all need to cultivate feelings of self-worth, as well as acceptance and love for ourselves. In a world where insults, criticisms, and fears are spread too generously alongside messages of unrealistic beauty, attainment, and expectation, we look for ways to “dig deep” and find truth and gratitude in our lives. A new way forward means we can’t hold on too tightly to our own self-defeating thoughts or the displaced pain in our world. Instead, we can embrace the imperfection.”

All you need to do is:

  • Enroll in the course
  • Purchase and read or listen to The Gifts of Imperfection
  • Answer discussion questions for each section of the book
  • Attend the live Zoom discussion, watch the recording, or choose another final reflection project
  • Receive 0.75 GS RID CEUs!

Don’t miss the upcoming Live Discussion, happening May 18, 2022 from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm pacific. Put it on your calendar now!

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 0.75 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

the gifts of imperfection book club promotional flier by burnout proof academy, tag: april 2022 self-care

Interpreter Self-Care Spotlight: Master Your Habits with Shanna Grossinger

white background with a white woman with brown curly hair wearing a tan shirt in a black photo frame with green magnolia leaves, burnout proof collective logo in the bottom right corner, black text reads: Interpreter self-care spotlight: master your habits with shanna grossinger of aslmentors.com, watch the recording: Burnout Proof Collective facebook.com/groups/burnoutproofcollective; tag: april 2022 self-care

Our lives are made up of habits! Over time these daily actions put us on a trajectory – but do they help us get where we want to go?

Watch Shanna Grossinger of ASL Mentors as she shares the gems from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. 

This livestream was in ASL and free to all interpreters.

Watch the live recording here


Featured Burnout Proof Academy Course

Self-Care for Stressful Times

black and lavender background with the saturday school logo and pink and white text that reads self-care for stressful times 0.2 gs ceus, tag: april 2022 self-care

Interpreting in times of stress is not business as usual. 

Worry and uncertainty make for more charged interpreting situations and personal lives, and can trigger reactions that aren’t always aligned with our values.

This workshop will teach tools from the Learning Zone Model, mindful awareness, and neuroscience to better work with our brains during times of stress.

We’ll create a triage-care practice to provide daily maintenance through stressful times while building empathy, emotional regulation, and resilience.

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 0.2 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

September 2021 Self-Care Workshops

Fall is an exciting time at Burnout Proof Academy!

We’ve been working on a new way to earn CEUs while getting burnout support and building community, and it will be available first exclusively to members of our Facebook group and email list.

Don’t miss out!! 

Join The Burnout Proof Collective private Facebook group here 


September 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Untamed – Burnout Proof Book Club 

red, dark purple, and light purple swirled background with a transparent white rectangle in the middle, black text on top of rectangle reads burnout proof book club untamed; tag: september 2021 self-care

Who were you, before you learned to be good?

Speaking directly to anyone who relates to putting others’ needs and feelings before your own, Untamed, by Glennon Doyle, reconnects us to the wild inside each of us.

Join Burnout Proof Book Club as we read Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Come create community and grow your support system as you learn and practice what it means for you to quit pleasing and start living.

All you need to do:

  • Enroll in the course
  • Purchase and read or listen to UNTAMED
  • Answer discussion questions for each section of the book
  • Participate in the Live Discussions or watch the recordings
  • Receive 1.1 GS RID CEUs!

Our first Live Discussion was held in ASL and focused on getting to know each other and discussing the prologue and part 1 of the book.

The hour was packed with poignant honesty and real-time revelations, including real talk about:

  • Our untamed selves (with pictures!) – who we are when we don’t care what others think
  • Why the term ‘people-pleasing’ might be just another way to beat ourselves up
  • The movie Frozen, and how our most powerful gifts can hurt us when we don’t know how to harness them for good
  • What we lost when we learned to please others over pleasing ourselves
  • Our own ‘snow globes’ – the ways we make ‘snow flurries’ to keep from acknowledging the dragon at our center

When you register, you’ll get instant access to the recording and all the info to prepare for the second Live Discussion happening September 29th, 2021 from 5 – 6 pm pacific.

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 1.1 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access


I can’t wait to spend time with you this month!!

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea

August 2021 Oil Protocol and Self-Care Workshops

 

August 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Burnout Proof Book Club – Encore Live Discussion
Aug 11th, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific

light pink, dark pink and dark yellow stripe background, burnout proof book club, burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle, tag: august 2021 self-careWe had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the first live discussion, here’s another opportunity!

 

 

Join the live discussion to real-talk about:

  • The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
  • How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
  • The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
  • Taking up a hugging practice.
  • The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
  • The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
  • That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs, with a Live Discussion opportunity. Click below to register and get instant access to everything!

Don’t miss the upcoming Live Discussion, happening August 11th 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm pacific. Put it on your calendar now!

Click here for instant access


Connect & Shine | August 2021 Oil Protocol

Summer is the peak of the harvest – bringing fullness of life and emotions. 

If you’re feeling energetic and expansive, this protocol can support you in enjoying your people and expressing yourself. 

This season can also bring up grief and sorrow. If you’re feeling it, this protocol can help you to remember you’re not alone, to connect with your body’s wisdom, and to express your emotions.

blue sky backgournd with white rays of sun shining in the upper left corner of image with green and white hearts; red and dark green text reads connect + shine august 2021 oil protocol cedarwood | lower belly, grapefruit | solar plexus, spearmint | heart to throat, @brighterfocus, Tag: august 2021 self care

As you apply these oils, bring your attention to your senses:

  • Inhale the fragrance of each oil separately, and the combinations
  • Feel your own touch as you apply them to your body lovingly
  • See the colors of the bottles and the amber drops of liquid
  • Set intentions with each oil application, grounding yourself in what you know to be true

Invite the properties of each oil to inspire your intentions:

  • Cedarwood – You are not alone. Identify the supportive people who love you unconditionally. 
  • Grapefruit – Develop awareness of your body and its important messages. 
  • Spearmint – Express yourself with confidence and clarity.

Safety + Efficacy

  • Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil for increased efficacy and decreased skin sensitivity.
  • Citrus oils like Grapefruit can produce photosensitive reactions. Use on skin covered by clothing if you’ll be in the sun.
  • Some oils are hot or ‘spicy’ to the skin, including cassia, oregano, thyme, peppermint, and spearmint. Dilute to decrease this sensation.

May the energy of this season work in and through you. May you enjoy the fruits of your labor and much needed rest. May you know the love that surrounds you, may you connect to your source and to others who help you remember your worth.

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea

July 2021 Self-Care Workshops

A backyard pool with 2 people in it. on left, a white young teen boy with a green pool floatie around his neck and his eyes closed. on the right, a white woman with a grey hat, orange and blue bathing suit, lying on a purple pool floatie, smiling. Tag: july 2021 self-care

Happy Summer!

So many cities across the country are already getting intense heat. 

Here in Portland temps are in the record-breaking triple digits. We got our pool set up and AC units in the windows (houses in Portland don’t usually come with AC), and we’re eating lots of cold fruit and salad.

I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool and safe!

 


July 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

Image description: background image is a teal underwater shot. White text reads, "Growth requires that we step out of our comfort zone and spend time with the discomfort of change, uncertainty, getting it wrong, and trying again" -Brea Cross-Caldwell, VIEWS August 2020. Tag: july 2021 self-care

Image: The Insightful Interpreter

Are you feeling exhausted?

Burnout and emotional exhaustion can have negative impacts on your health, relationships, and work.

It can be hard to know how to rescue yourself, let alone find the energy to take positive steps.

Good news! You don’t have to live like this. A long, fulfilling career is within your grasp. This course can help.

You will explore:

  • Your stress cycle: what it is, how to complete it, and how it affects you when you don’t
  • Techniques for self-regulation that you can use during your work day
  • How to form and integrate new, healthy habits to help heal and prevent burnout

0.35 GS CEUs through The Insightful Interpreter, processed by Interpretek

Healing Burnout Group Study Guide

Get 0.2 additional CEUs for gathering your friends and discussing what you learned in the Healing Interpreter Burnout course.

If you like to learn and grow within community, we have a treat for you! The Group Study option is scheduled to be available for the Healing Interpreter Burnout course through The Insightful Interpreter, the week of July 6th, 2021!

 


Support for Insecurity and Self-Doubt 

light blue background with yellow squares and lines and a dark green rectangle at the bottom with a picture of white woman with curly dark blonde hair wearing glasses and a green plaid shirt unbuttoned over a black shirt, Dark green text on image: Recording posted, Sign Language interpreter imposter syndrome? Close the gap in confidence, skills + self-analysis with shanna grossinger founder of aslmentors.com in asl, facebook/com/groups/burnoutproofcollective/ Tag: july 2021 self-care

Close the Gap in Confidence, Skills, and Self-Analysis for Sign Language Interpreters with a Deaf Mentor

Did you miss the Facebook Live with Shanna Grossinger in our Burnout Proof Collective Facebook group?

Good news: the recording is posted!

Click here to watch now

 


Burnout Proof Book Club – Encore Live Discussion
Aug 11th, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific

light pink, dark pink and dark yellow stripe background, burnout proof book club, burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle, tag: july 2021 self-care
We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the live discussion, here’s another opportunity!

Join the live discussion to real-talk about:

  • The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
  • How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
  • The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
  • Taking up a hugging practice
  • The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
  • The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
  • That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs, with a Live Discussion opportunity. Click below to register and get instant access to everything!

Don’t miss the upcoming Live Discussion, happening August 11th 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm pacific. Put it on your calendar now!

Click here for instant access

 


The book club survey results are in!!

Text reads: Book Club Survey Results. Image: Arms reaching up holding books. Tag: july 2021 self-care

Book Club courses will return in the Fall with some great picks. We learned many helpful things from this survey, thanks to all who participated!

A few key takeaways:

  • Wednesday evenings were a clear winner
  • Imposter syndrome was requested as a topic for reading, and I’m happy to say just about every one of these books will support us there!

And the winner is…..

UNTAMED, by Glennon Doyle
Live Discussions September 1st & 29th, 2021

Left image: multicolored glittered background Untamed, Glennon Doyle. Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Love Warrior. Right image: photo of Glennon, a white woman with blondish brown hair past her shoulders, a white tank top, leaning forward clasping her hands together. Tag: july 2021 self-care

We’ll be trying out a new format, meeting once to kick off this new read – getting to know each other and discuss first impressions of the book – and then again at the end of the month to discuss the rest of the book, share takeaways, and connect more deeply with each other.

Thanks to those who suggested this new format! I’m looking forward to meeting with you twice!

Get on our email list to be the first to know when registration opens

 

You selected the remaining books from the survey + your additions in this order:

Second Place Tie
The Body is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love, by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown book cover for The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. A Black woman lying on a bed of red, yellow, and blue flowers, appears to be nude with blue flowers over her nipples and on her leg.

Third Place
Codependent No More, by Melody Beatty

Fourth Place Tie
Hope in the Dark
My Grandmother’s Hands

Watch for these book club offerings Fall of 2021 and Winter of 2022!


Recalibrate | July 2021 Oil Protocol

This is a time of taking stock and opening to recalibration. Be with yourself in the discomfort.

Locate the gaps between where you are and where you want to be. This requires getting radically honest with yourself about your current experience.

Can you allow it?
Can you name every nuance of it?
And even more, can you feel it and stay with it as long as it wants to move in you – without inflating or stoking the flames?

Apply this protocol and then follow your body as it wants to move: dancing, crying, resting, or punching pillows.

Allow what’s alive in you to be honored and expressed, and allow it to subside when it’s over.

Green background, grey and yellow lettering. Text reads: July 2021 Oil Protocol. recalibrate. In yellow boxes with blue accents: melaleuca > third eye. cypress > belly. cardamom > navel. tangerine > heart + wrists. @brighterfocus. Tag: july 2021 self-care

As you apply these oils, bring your attention to your senses:

  • Inhale the fragrance of each oil separately, and the combinations
  • Feel your own touch as you apply them to your body lovingly
  • See the colors of the bottles and the amber drops of liquid
  • Set intentions with each oil application, grounding yourself in what you know to be true

Invite the properties of each oil to inspire your intentions:

  • Melaleuca – between eyebrows – tune into your energetic boundaries and seal the leaks.
  • Cypress – rub on belly in a circular motion – encourage movement and flow throughout your core.
  • Cardamom – inside navel – allow deeper emotions to surface and be attended to.
  • Tangerine – heart + inside wrist creases – activate creative energy to process and move with your emotions.

Safety + Efficacy

  • Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil for increased efficacy and decreased skin sensitivity.
  • Citrus oils can produce photosensitive reactions. Use on skin covered by clothing if you’ll be in the sun.
  • Some oils are hot or ‘spicy’ to the skin, including cassia, oregano, thyme, and peppermint. Dilute to decrease this sensation.

Oil properties inspired by Emotions and Essential Oils: A Reference Guide for Emotional Healing and the teaching of Desiree Mangandog.

Seasonal, astrological, energetic information inspired by Sarah Faith Gottesdiener of Modern Women.


May the fullness of this new season bring abundance to your life. May you recognize it. May you receive it. May you listen deeply to its gifts.

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea. Tag: july 2021 self-care

What are your summer self-care plans?

Luna, olive-skinned person with short brown hair, lying on stomach reading a book on a green mat in the grass. Next to Luna is Athena, a white Pitbull, lying on her stomach with a book in front of her, looking up at the camera. Tag: summer self-care

Summer Self-Care Plans

The past year has been a doozy!!! As more people get vaccinated, COVID restrictions are lifting, and we are navigating the potential return to more face-to-face time.

Gathering with others in person might be what you’ve hoped and dreamed for, it might be stirring up your deepest fears and anxieties, or you may be feeling both excitement and dread simultaneously. Here’s a helpful article I read this week titled, Advice to the anxious for eventually meeting in person again.  I’m definitely in the anxious/excited mixed-emotions camp!

The bottom line is: whatever your reaction to this transition…

You’re normal!!

This is a good time to create or update your self-care plan to support your transition to summer and to ease your nervous system through another shift. Here’s part 1 of a series to help you be with difficult feelings – like the ones you might be having now – and to give you tools to take with you into the summer:

Click here to read Self-Care Strategies for Fear part 1


Summer 2021 at Burnout Proof Academy – What’s on your summer reading list?

light pink, dark pink and dark yellow stripe background, burnout proof book club, burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle, tag: summer self-care
We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the live discussion, the recording is now posted here.

 

This hour was packed with poignant honesty and real-time revelations, including real talk about:

  • The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
  • How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
  • The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
  • Taking up a hugging practice
  • The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
  • The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
  • That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access


Cast Your Vote for Fall Burnout Proof Book Club

Text: What book should we read next? Take our short survey to cast your vote! Image: white distress wall with stack of old books to the right of the picture with a variety of colored pages and binding. Tag: summer self-care

Our first book club was so much fun! I can’t wait until we get started on our next book in the fall 2021. But I need your help deciding which book we’ll be reading next.

Currently tied for first:

Vote for your choice here!


Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

Group Study Guide coming soon!

Image description: background image is a teal underwater shot. White text reads, "Growth requires that we step out of our comfort zone and spend time with the discomfort of change, uncertainty, getting it wrong, and trying again" -Brea Cross-Caldwell, VIEWS August 2020. Tag: summer self-care

Image: The Insightful Interpreter

Are you feeling exhausted?

Burnout and emotional exhaustion can have negative impacts on your health, relationships, and work.

It can be hard to know how to rescue yourself, let alone find the energy to take positive steps.

Good news! You don’t have to live like this. A long, fulfilling career is within your grasp. This course can help.

You will explore:

  • Your stress cycle: what it is, how to complete it, and how it affects you when you don’t
  • Techniques for self-regulation that you can use during your work day
  • How to form and integrate new, healthy habits to help heal and prevent burnout

0.35 GS CEUs through The Insightful Interpreter, processed by Interpretek

Click here for instant access


June 2021 Oil Protocol

Give yourself over to review, renewal, reflection, and rest, as you cross the threshold from spring to summer. 

Slow down. 

Give yourself permission to feel the sun on your cheek, the breath in your lungs, even the frustrations and the hurts. Make a deal with yourself to offer patience and curiosity whenever possible.

This oil protocol will serve as a reminder and energetic guide.

light blue background with a white box, rest, release, renew june oil protocol thyme sacrum, wintergreen navel to solar plexis, ylang ylang heart space, basil across back at waist, magnolia heart, throat forehead, frankincense, crown, tag: summer self-care

Thyme – release and forgive
Wintergreen – surrender
Ylang ylang – connect with your inner child
Basil – renewal
Magnolia – compassion
Frank – truth

Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil for increased efficacy and decreased skin sensitivity.


Leave a comment and let us know:

What are your self-care plans this summer? How will you rest, play, renew, and release?

May you find a growing softness within that buoys you through any storm. May the crossing of this seasonal threshold bring you a renewed sense of peace, presence, and patience. May you receive all the love, support, and grace that surrounds you.

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea. Tag: summer self-care

Cast your vote for our next book club read

Text: What book should we read next? Take our short survey to cast your vote! Image: wooden lap tray with cozy throw blanket, book, and tea with lemon. Tag: book club read

Vote for our next book club read

We had such an amazing time reading Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle and now we’re excited to be gearing up for our next book!

What should we read next?

Click this link to cast your vote!

Get 1.65 CEUs for taking care of yourself this month

Photo of adult, short bleached hair, golden tawny skin tone, wearing glasses and headphones, tattoos on neck and hand, hand on chest, smiling at the camera with tongue playfully out. Tag: may 2021 self-care

Image: Joshua McArthur on Unsplash

May 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Welcome to May! We’ve been busy creating new burnout support offerings, and are so excited to share them with you.

Burnout Proof Book Club

burnout proof book club, burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle tag: may 2021 self-careWe had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the live discussion, the recording is now posted here.

 

This hour was packed with poignant honesty and real-time revelations, including real talk about:

  • The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
  • How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
  • The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
  • Taking up a hugging practice
  • The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
  • The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
  • That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

 


 

 Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

0.35 GS CEUs through The Insightful Interpreter, processed by Interpretek

Why complete your stress cycle?

You might be experiencing burnout. Burnout and emotional exhaustion can have negative impacts on your health, relationships, and work.

It can be hard to know how to rescue yourself, let alone find the energy to take positive steps.

Good news! You don’t have to live like this. A long, fulfilling career is within your grasp. This course can help.

You will explore:

  • Your stress cycle: what it is, how to complete it, and how it affects you when you don’t
  • Techniques for self-regulation that you can use during your work day
  • How to form and integrate new, healthy habits to help heal and prevent burnout

 

Click here for instant access


May 2021 Self-Care Oil Protocol

Are you growing in new or uncomfortable ways?
Do you feel like you’re shedding an old skin?

orange background. brighter focus logo. text reads: shed the old. oregano | along spine. marjoram | across chest. arborvitae | navel + crown. neroli | heart + inside wrists. @brighterfocus Tag: may 2021 self-care

 

Oregano – Stop trying to play God. Reconnect to your own and others’ humanity. Sidestep judgement and invite compassion. Accept your imperfections while opening to curiosity and grace.

Marjoram – Connect. Connect with yourself, connect with others. Loving relationships can heal the most painful scars. Invest in them. Open to them.

Arborvitae – Grace surrounds you. Receive it. Rest in it in every moment that you’re able. Soak it up and learn to trust in it. 

Neroli – Partner with Life. Believe that it’s on your side. Acknowledge the way it works in you – your feelings and intuitions are a part of Life’s communication network.


 

May we find peace and growth in the in-between times. May the rain showers and sunbeams remind cleanse and warm us. May we keep reaching deeper inward, and ever toward one another.

I look forward to all the ways we’ll connect in the month ahead!

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea

February Oil Protocol and Self-Care Workshops

Welcome to February!

This new month brings with it a fresh look for Brighter Focus, as we unveil our new logo created by my talented and intuitive dear friend, Makenna O’Keeffe

 

brighter focus yellow background with green mountains, blue river, and orange sun. tag: february 2021 self-care

Look for this beauty to be popping up on social media, in emails, and on our websites – give it a like and let us know what you think!


February 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

We’ve been busy creating new burnout support offerings, and are so excited to share them with you! 

Burnout Proof Book Club

The long awaited Book Club is finally here! Join us for this deep dive into a foundational and transformational Burnout Proof text:

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

burnout proof book club, burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle tag: february 2021 self-care

This course is available on-demand, so you can read along at your own pace and go deeper in the online discussion forums. We’ll do a live discussion through zoom on April 28, 2021 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific – I hope to see you there! If you can’t make the live discussion, the recording will be posted so you won’t miss a thing.

Register Here

 

Self-Care Spotlight | Juggling: How To Learn About Daily Life Through Circus Skills

self care spotlight juggling life, how to learn about daily life through circus skills live in the burnout proof collective facebook group february 11th 2021 4 pm pst with sandra leith. tag: february 2021 self-care

 

Self-Care Spotlights are returning to The Burnout Proof Collective Facebook group! I’m so excited to kick off a new round with Sandra Leith, sharing her passion for juggling and how we can use circus arts to practice flexibility with LIFE.

You can catch her live broadcast in the group on Thursday, February 11th, at 4:00 pm pacific.

Healthy Boundaries has a new look!

 

After hosting the live Healthy Boundaries workshop in November, we’ve been editing and processing of the 2-hour long video to get bite-sized chunks you can stream on-demand. Online activities get added, captions are created, and now we’re ready to share the finished product with you!

You can begin the new + improved Healthy Boundaries workshop today!

Register Here

 


Who’s ‘we’?

You may have noticed that Brighter Focus is now a ‘we’ – I’m so excited to introduce you to the organizational brain behind Brighter Focus, Courtney Williams. She keeps all of our projects running on time, and has added so much joy to the process!

woman with husband and four kids standing in front of a christmas tree, tag: february 2021 self-care

Courtney began her virtual assistant journey in August of 2019. She’s an Enneagram 2 so helping people brings her so much joy! When she’s not helping Brea manage all of her projects, you can find Courtney snuggling with her 5 kids on the couch watching Disney movies, drinking sweet tea, and eating chocolate. 

Courtney also has a website where she talks about her grief journey of losing her 4-year-old son, Sam in 2017. You can read her story of loss and hope at www.unlockingjoy.com.


February Oil Protocol

February Oil Protocol. Oregano - crown of head. Lemon Eucalyptus - solar plexus. Siberian Fir - tops of shoulders. Petitgrain - soles of feet. Sandalwood - heart space. Neroli - inside wrists. @brighterfocus tag: february 2021 self-care

February entered with fresh hope and much work to be done. The focus is on embodying qualities of focus, perseverance, and wisdom – while gathering comfort and gentleness for ourselves. It can be a tricky balance some days!

As you apply these oils, bring your attention to your senses:

  • Inhale the fragrance of each oil separately, and the combinations
  • Feel your own touch as you apply them to your body lovingly
  • See the colors of the bottles and the amber drops of liquid
  • Set intentions with each oil application, grounding yourself in what you know to be true

Here are some properties of each oil*, to inspire your intentions:

  • Oregano – humility and non-attachment
  • Lemon Eucalyptus – comfort during rapid change
  • Siberian Fir – grief, perspective, adaptability 
  • Petitgrain – cultivating healthy traditions and connections
  • Sandalwood – spiritual clarity
  • Neroli – empathy, cooperation, resilience

*From Emotions and Essential Oils: A Reference Guide for Emotional Healing


May this new month bring you comfort and continued growing self-awareness. May you feel the strength to persevere in the work that’s yours to do, and may you know the grace of rest and joy. 

I’m so glad to be on this journey with you.

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea. tag: february 2021 self-care