S1 E8 - Two Burnouts and a Vipassana - with Vicky Johnson (Co-Founder Museum of Happiness)

Knowing When to Quit

‘I had all the external support I could have hoped for, but it still wasn’t making me happy. There was a deeper, bigger, issue within me.’

This week we talk to Vicky Johnson - Co-founder & Director at the Museum of Happiness, an organisation which uses the Science of Happiness to spread more love, peace and happiness into the world.

You'd imagine that to run a Museum of Happiness you'd have to have a pretty sunny disposition, and you wouldn't be wrong. Vicky is one of the most positive people I've worked with - uber-resilient and full of the joys of life. And yet, the uncertainty of running a start-up combined with a job that focuses on supporting others with their well-being eventually took it's toll on her own mental health.

In this episode Vicky shares how on 3 separate occasions she was ready to walk away for the Museum of Happiness, and how each time it forced her to go deeper into her internal world to resource herself and understand what was really going on.

This is an honest account of burning out, facing up to the mud and coming out the other side with the tools, wisdom and humanity to lead the organisation of her dreams.

In this episode we discuss:

🤗 The success of Museum of Happiness and how their first happiness event went viral

✋ The 3 times in the journey of the start up that she really wanted to quit

📞 Moving away from ‘I’m the helper / I’m the teacher’ and getting support

🚪 The turmoil of two of their venues closing in quick succession

🏆 Being nominated as one of the top 100 community leaders in the world by Facebook and how meeting other founders changed her perspective.

🏝 The difference between needing a holiday and actually taking some proper time off to return

🤫 Meeting the Dalai Lama straight after Vipassana(!) and what 10 days of silence taught her

❤️ How she used to run the organisation when she was burned out and how she’s put self-care at the heart of organisation now

🥳 How upping the volume on the joy can help combat stress

🗣 How Vicky has sharpened her ability to say NO

Links:

Museum of Happiness Facilitator Training - https://www.museumofhappiness.org/teach

Happier World Club - https://www.museumofhappiness.org/happy-world-club

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in May 2021

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