In our very first guest interview, we host Dr. Roxanne Donovan, Professor of Psychology at Kennesaw State, Co-Founder of WellAcademic, and dedicated coach and consultant supporting women of color in developing ways to cope effectively with sexism and racism in the academy while maintaining a safe, healthy, fulfilling, and connected life. [Note: this was recorded prior to COVID-19 outbreak] ...
Part three in our three-part series about getting Unstuck. So much of the academic experience is about feelings of failure. It’s central to normally functioning academia (in the sense of job, grant and article rejections), but it’s far more relevant nowadays to the effort to leave the academy. Not getting the coveted job is still widely considered a “failure” and academics who have their identity wrapped up in academic achievement so easily take on the identity of “failure” – as in, I’M a failure – in the face of not getting an academic job, and deciding to depart for other career directions. How are you stuck in the quagmire by attaching narratives of the past – like bungie cords pulling you backward – and how do you break free? Kel and Karen offer some methods to move beyond these quagmire of failure feelings: 1) Spend time with your grief, and 2) stop expecting an apology (because the university will never give you one). As you do this, you learn to just pause, sit, stop striving, process your feelings of fear, rage, bitterness, and grief, identify the story you’re attached to, recognize where firm ground actually lies, and crawl forward one tiny step. *Like the new Art of Leaving program, which starts this month! And the Professor Is Out private FB group.) [Become a subscribing member for just $3.99 a month and get access to our subscriber only ...
An episode recorded pre-pandemic but even more relevant now. Karen and Kel talk resisting overwork, and recovering your joy. The key here is detachment from your work: neither misery nor joy; just a set of tasks. Put another way: it’s what you do, not who you are. Drawing from the work of Brene Brown, we dig into the culture of scarcity and the nature of resiliency. In our world of scarcity we wake up in “not enough” (sleep, work, time with kids, writing, etc etc.) and the competitive struggle of academia (“I only slept four hours last night!”). But accepting the reality of finitude (ie finite time, space, and energy), and gathering your own No Committee, you too can reduce what you agree to do, trim excess, and prioritize your own well being. Put on your own oxygen mask first. [Become a subscribing member for just $3.99 a month and get access to our subscriber only goodies like free webinar recordings, AMAs, the chance to suggest topics, early access to the podcast video that we record in our house in Oregon, and — new from this week – live videos with Karen and Kel on Friday mornings, all on our dedicated podcast member page on Mighty Networks! Not ready to subscribe? Donate here to send along some support. ...
