A lesson I learned from my father growing up: Give what you have. From food to rides to dental care (my dad is a dentist) to a listening ear, I watched my parents give what they had.

Have you found yourself stuck in a roundabout in your own head? A cul de sac of thoughts? A hamster wheel? It can be challenging to figure out how to move beyond a repeated story and to a new place.

On a coaching call with a client, they expressed the deep overwhelm that has culminated over the last year. “I am numb to it,” they explained.

Often in our state of overwhelm (or it can be the powerful draw of the status quo), we avoid dealing with the big change that is necessary.

In my book Show Up Hard: A Road Map For Helpers In Crisis I focus on individuals and what it takes to show up heart-forward and thrive, even as we do challenging work. It’s such a balance, a practice, a way of being.

“One thing I learned in Federal prison, I have everything I need inside me,” said the stranger in an online community gathering I hosted not long after the launch of my book. This wise one shared that a decade in prison had taught them to become still, to return to the breath, to look inward for resources.

Around me, the world is beginning to open up. Spring has arrived. Daylight savings time shifted sunset by an hour, even as the days get longer. With flowers blooming, allergies arriving, with warmer air I am ditching my heavy coat.

“My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—It gives a lovely light!” Edna St. Vincent Millay.

How many of you are overloaded? Again!

The conversation I had in the Summer of 2020 with the brilliant hosts of the In Trust podcast has stayed closely with me. The experience of preparing for the podcast interview, being changed by the conversation itself, and the follow up to the interview of working together to create a two-part panel series on Understanding and Addressing Medical Mistrust have deeply changed me.

A theme in recent coaching calls and workshops has been something beyond burnout. "Crisis mode has become the norm," explained one participant.