Self-Compassionate Professor Podcast

In this nourishing conversation with therapeutic coach, Henny Flynn, we discuss navigating difficult seasons in career and life, the importance of trusting one's own body, and the healing nature of movement and the natural world. Find Henny Flynn at https://hennyflynn.co.uk/ or on Instagram.

If you are feeling blah in your work, this episode is for you! As we welcome the new season, I invite you to pause so that you can actually FEEL yourself and your relationship to the people and things around you. I build on the concept of a “pausing practice,” which I introduced in Episode 200, where I define pausing as “intentionally doing nothing in particular and letting go of the sense that time is always fixed to an agenda.” I also introduce two other steps to pausing: trusting career wellness and building connections to those places in your work (and life) where you feel disconnected. Happy Solstice! I’m sending a wish that you pause in this seasonal transition. 

Dr. Jennifer Costanza shares her journey from perfectionism, imposter syndrome, intense stress, and difficulty healing to feeling an overall sense of mental and physical well-being. She explains the importance of knowing your body’s stress response and emphasizes how making time to focus on your physical and mental health—finding ways to feel grounded, getting quality sleep, finding joy, etc.—makes you better at your job. Find Jennifer Costanza at https://www.rooted.life/ or @rooted.life on Instagram.

Dr. LuElla D’Amico describes how her own suffering during the tenure process opened up a whole new joyful adventure where she now shows up more fully for her family, her faith, her teaching, her university, her scholarship, her communities, and her own well-being. She offers inspiration, encouragement, and advice for academics who also aspire to be more whole. 

Dr. Victoria Wright shares her own story about leaving academia as a full professor. She now finds herself running the Ph.D. Life Coach Podcast and membership experience, helping PhD students and academics overcome overwhelm and procrastination. This work, as she explains, represents the culmination of having weaved together her research, skills she developed working with Ph.D. students, and the personal calling she answered during the pandemic. Find her podcast, The PhD Life Coach, anywhere you get podcasts as well as on her website at https://www.thephdlifecoach.com/.