Dr. Jia urges us to create more space in our careers and lives: space for recovery, rest, compassion, self-compassion, and more. She shows us that space is not absence, but presence. Find Dr. Jia at publishedMD.com or email her at info@PublishedMD.com

Dr. Felice Russell describes how she navigated the difficult relationship she has always had with academia, leaning on self-trust, leaps of faith, and one-degree shifts to make the many career decisions that have gotten her to the place she is now: a school librarian who feels settled and content both at work and at home. Find Dr. Felice Russell on…

Marny Requa explains that life transitions such as becoming a parent and menopause are not just short-term changes and then everything returns to "normal." They are major life transitions that deserve to be acknowledged, honored, and planned for. However, as Marny explains, we are not doing these things well on institutional, cultural, nor societal…

"Time is so precious," says Dr. Martha Kenney. In this episode, Martha describes the importance of finding your why--a process of pausing, going inward, getting re-acquainted with yourself, and naming your values. Once you know your why, you can allocate your time accordingly, aligned to the intentions you have for your life. Martha explains that h…

Happy Equinox!! Welcome to the Spring 2024 Season of Self-Compassionate Professor! First, I talk about how honoring the change of seasons invites a more intentional approach to work and life generally: 1) helps us to see beyond the academic calendar, 2) opens us to a sense of spaciousness, 3) gives us a sense of "punctuation" between seasons, 4) gi…

Dr. Dan Lair, Associate Dean of Faculty and Student Affairs at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, talks about the benefits of perceiving our academic work as “just a job.” Specifically, Dan explains what work means to him, the pitfalls of tying your job to your identity, the impact overwork by his academic spouse (me!) has had on him, and…

Burnout and betrayal expert, Lora Cheadle, discusses how self-betrayal often masquerades as burnout, how we can begin the process of healing from self-betrayal, and how to "dance" our way to authenticity.

Dr. Cynthia Ganote describes hiding her artistic interests in graduate school, believing that if her academic community found out that she sang, acted, and danced, she would not be taken seriously. When she took her tenure-track job, she put all of her energy and effort into it, letting go of her artistic work completely. While on the outside, Cynt…

No matter the career decisions in front of you--big or small--making choices from a place of wellness is key to paving a self-compassionate career path. We invite wellness when we invite slowness, connection to self, and connection to inner wisdom. Find your own self-compassionate career path in the Sabbatical Program, which begins September 1, 202…

I explain how to know when boundary work is needed, how to use Christina Maslach's six sources of chronic stress (workload, values, reward, control, fairness, community) to find your boundary gaps, and I offer a meditation by Karla McLaren about how to feel an embodied sense of boundaries. Please remember to leave a review of the podcast!…

As she prepares to leave one career behind and pivot full-time to another, Dr. Cara Jones describes experiencing a "busy season" in her career. In her academic job as a tenured associate professor, she sets strong boundaries to protect herself from excess nervous system dysregulation while also approaching her work with as much integrity as possibl…

Happy Solstice! Today I discuss why pausing and feeling into your career vision every solstice and equinox creates a solid structure on which your vision may take shape in the "real world." I also explain how to do your own summer solstice planning session this season and in the future. Find out more about the Sabbatical Program here: https://danie…

Self-trust is an essential foundation on which one builds a self-compassionate career path. When we cannot trust ourselves to make decisions grounded in wellness, we can feel helpless, hyper-vigilant, or both, and get stuck in an unhealthy response cycle. In this episode, I discuss how we can break the cycle of distrust within ourselves in three ma…

In this episode, I explain how walking a self-compassionate career path is extremely difficult, but how doing the work can help you to feel supported in mind, body, and spirit. I also describe my list of "ingredients" for paving such a path: 1) naming honestly your wants/desires for your career, 2) connecting regularly to self, 3) noticing intent w…

Dr. Toyosi Onwuemene describes how healing from her people-pleasing behavior impacted the dynamics of her relationships at work, how she learned to find more supportive spaces and leave behind toxic ones, how she now invests in herself and those around her, and what she means by "fighting" for her career. Find Dr. Toyosi Onwuemene on Facebook and L…

I re-release my 2021 interview with Dr. Angela Gist-Mackey. She explains that her career journey began in advertising, but eventually she realized that not only was academia a better fit for her, it paved a path for her to fulfill a larger purpose. While in her advertising career, she experienced bullying by supervisors and was struck by the sharp …

Professor of STEM Education at the University of Colorado and creator of the Whole Professor Project Blog, Dr. Erin Furtak tells the origin story of her blog, the epiphany she had that her approach to work was exacerbating her migraines, her commitment to feeling whole, and her ongoing journey to feeling well. Erin insists that wellness among acade…

I offer an update about Dr. Melva Robertson's academic career as well as re-release her 2021 interview. In it, she describes both her research about Covid and the Great Resignation as well as her own career pivot into academia after the Covid pause provided ample reflection time and insight. Melva explains that self-care, mental health, and finding…

Dr. Geneviève Taylor, Associate Professor of Career Counseling at the University of Quebec in Montreal, discusses the foundational role mindfulness has played in her career wellness journey, saving her time, inviting clarity and creativity to her work, helping her to set boundaries with ease, among other benefits. Find Geneviève at https://professe…

Check in with yourself, take a self-compassion break, and sign up for the FREE "Digest, Rest, and Envision" workshop series May 23-25, 2023. Register here: https://danielledelamare.com/?page_id=1066

I announce my FREE workshop series, "Digest, Rest, and Envision," which will be offered May 23, May 24, and May 25 in one-hour sessions. Tuesday's workshop will help you to process emotions left over from the academic year. Wednesday's workshop will help you to rest and trust the process of rest. Thursday's workshop will help you to envision a new …

Dr. Kimine Mayuzumi discusses her graduate school journey as an advocate for change in academia, her research and blog writing about the need for academics to slow down and be lazy, and how academics may apply elements of the Japanese Tea Ceremony to their work so they can come to enjoy their work more. Find the blog post she refers to here: https:…

I describe the ways academic institutions socialize us into deficit thinking where we often come to believe we are not enough. And while having a deficit thought or story is not a problem in and of itself, believing such stories and allowing them to drive our careers is a big problem. I talk about how to disrupt this type of thinking as well as how…

In this interview conducted by Dr. Sanne Frandsen in her Facebook group, Next Level Career Community for Women in Academia, Sanne interviews Dr. Patrice Buzzanell. Patrice explains what led her to academia, how her motherhood journey began in graduate school, her struggles, and the great success she has enjoyed overall in her academic career while …

Continuing with our theme of connections, I discuss how all roads lead back to Dr. Sanne Frandsen! In this episode, I introduce Sanne as next week's guest host and tell several fun stories of connection and coincidence. I also re-release my interview with Sanne where she describes the power of narrative, explaining how many of our career problems m…

In the spirit of connecting to those beyond our immediate circles, I re-release my interview with Dr. Alex Ketchum, author of Engage in Public Scholarship: A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication. Alex explains the value of engaging in public scholarship--a hopeful message for individual scholars, the academy generally, as well as soci…

Originally airing on the Papa PhD Podcast with David Mendes, this episode represents our "connections" theme for the month of March 2023. "...an incredibly insightful conversation about the impostor phenomenon in academia and beyond with Marc Reid, PhD, author of You Are Not a Fraud – A Scientist’s Guide to the Imposter Phenomenon. Imposter feeling…

Dr. David Mendes, creator and host of the Papa PhD Podcast, explains when and why he began the podcast, the waves of uncertainty he has undergone throughout his career, how he has transformed, and how meaningful conversations have fueled his transformation. Also, catch my interview with David on the Papa PhD podcast on March 2, 2023! Find David on …

Dr. James Hedges, Dean of the Division of Online and Continuing Education at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, discusses his career journey from faculty to administration. He also offers lessons learned: chaos can create opportunities, negotiation and confidence is key, discussing workplace issues with colleagues is important and therapeutic, …

Corona Pritchard discusses how the burnout she experienced in her work was largely due to organizational dysfunction, her decision to make a career pivot, and the challenges around identity she encountered when she arrived in her new position. She also discusses what a healthy organization looks like as well as how to implement wellness practices i…

Dr. Jen Harrison discusses the challenges of working as a full-time adjunct and how the pandemic forced her to pause and reassess the direction of her career. As she explains, she eventually realized that building a business as a dissertation coach enabled her to be the supportive teacher she always wanted to be. Jen also lists five practices profe…

I argue that spiritual practice allows you to relax into the task of paving a self-compassionate career path. Drawing on Brené Brown's definition of spirituality, I offer examples of spiritual practice and explain how such a practice may support a person in career crisis.

In this episode, I discuss the importance of regulating your nervous system in the service of cultivating a relationship to yourself. Drawing on the message in Episode 119 about the power of self checkins, how to do them, and the benefits, I add an additional layer to the checkin process: regulating your nervous system. As we experience more calm, …

When you soothe your nervous system, you begin to hear your inner wisdom guiding you in your daily life. And these tiny callings should be taken seriously because cumulatively, they lead to a bigger vision based in self-compassion. Such work requires a practice of pausing, self-study, regulating your nervous system, and focused support from others.…

I discuss Parker Palmer's notions of career discernment and how his philosophy aligns with my group coaching program, The Sabbatical Program. I also describe how the program is intended for those who want to do the deep work of connecting deeply to self and others as well as my intention to cater to those who are willing to turn into a slower pace …

In an effort to contextualize last episode's trauma discussion, I re-release my interview with Dr. Sara Taylor who explains that academia was a perfect holding container for her trauma. Since trauma affects every aspect of our lives, including our career decisions, Sara makes a convincing case for all of us to do the deep inner work required to rel…

Stephanie Lagana and I intentionally create space for "whatever conversation needs to happen." She describes what healing looks like on individual and collective levels and what we can do to begin and continue the healing process. Find Stephanie Lagana on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-lagana/ or on her website at https://www.thedian…

Mona Penn-Jousset describes the challenges of working at a Dutch art academy, where issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion were either largely ignored or perceived with contempt. Feeling alone in her mission to create safe educational spaces for black, brown, and LGBTQ students while also navigating intense challenges in her personal life, Mona…

Laura Hoyer discusses her career pivot into instructional design, the challenges she encountered, and how she came to more deeply understand (and act in accordance with) her own values. Laura also explains how trusting your gut is an issue of wellness. After the lessons she learned on her own long and difficult journey, she now helps other teachers…

In this re-release of one of the most popular interviews on the podcast to date, Dr. Jenn Berg explains how her work as a tenured math professor came to take over her life. After developing a meditation practice however, she started noticing patterns that indicated she had an unhealthy relationship to work. As she watched herself in a new way, she …

Dr. Leslie Wang helps listeners to re-conceptualize their relationship to academia so they may make intentional decisions about the future of the relationship (look for her upcoming book on this topic!), shares her own "break-up" story, as well as describes how the relationship she once had to her work negatively impacted her physical health. Find …

Dr. Noah St. John discusses "the shower that changed everything"--a moment of realization that would not only transform his own life, but many others. He soon implemented the idea and eventually named it "afformations." Immediately after using afformations on himself, he went from being stuck in the process of writing a book to completing the writi…

Dr. Ginger Lockhart describes how academia fed her addiction for hyper-achievement. Later, when she admitted to herself that she had never been passionate about the work, she still struggled to admit it to mentors and colleagues. In the end, Ginger realized staying in her academic career was not only a disservice to herself, but a disservice to her…

Dr. Maureen Meyers tells about the toll academic mobbing took on her mind, body, and spirit, the difficult decision to leave her tenured position, and the harsh circumstances within which she found herself leaving. Maureen also explains her healing process and the freedom and gratitude she now experiences in her non-academic job. Connect with Maure…

I offer a strategy to navigate midterm stress: 1) Climbing back into your body, 2) Feeling and listening to your emotions, 3) Finding trust that this process is time well spent, and 4) Taking Martha Beck's "3Bs" strategy (bag it, barter it, better it) to your to-do list. You may find the written version of this guide as well as my upcoming career w…

I discuss how to begin practicing self-compassion and argue that the deep inner work of self-compassion is essential to re-orienting along a self-compassionate career path. Additionally, drawing on Dr. Kristin Neff's work, I discuss the essential elements of taking a self-compassion break: a) acknowledging your suffering, b) noticing that you are n…

In this episode, I offer an update about Dr. Matthew Goodman's unfolding entrepreneurial career now that he has stepped out of his academic position as well as re-release the interview we did prior to his exit. Based on Dr. Kristin Neff's research in Mindful Self-Compassion, Matthew defines self-compassion, describes its power, the benefits and cha…

Dr. Rose Aslan describes the intense burnout she experienced as both a single mother and as a Muslim scholar of Islam during the tumultuous Trump years. She explains how deep rest transformed her relationship to her body, her work, and her life. She now experiences great freedom as a business owner who lives in the city of her dreams. Rose urges ot…

I discuss the "space-conscious" philosophy of my one-year group coaching program for academics as well as the ways I help you create daily, seasonal, and even physical space so you can access your inner wisdom, answer difficult career questions, and take focused, values-aligned action toward your big (and often scary) career goals. Registration clo…

Both music faculty, Dr. Emily Martin and Elizabeth McDonald realized their students needed better career guidance than their departments were providing. In response, they founded em2CONNECT to facilitate career clarity, confidence, and connection in artists at all stages of career. Emily and Elizabeth also share about their own career stories as we…