The balance between joy and overwhelm
How have I found myself here again? (And can I be kind in the process?)
Hello Carousellers,
And welcome to the new subscribers! If you’re new here, Carousel is a life philosophy, which helps us honour our varied interests and spend time on what feels most alive.
I’m writing to you from a school where I’m about to run a workshop with teachers on Avoiding Burnout.
This feels particularly live for me as I spent most of yesterday frantically cancelling plans and trying to claim back some space to breathe after a series of things piled up at once. I joked that I’ve been having too much fun and the universe has given me some boring, detailed admin for balance…
I find that even though I’ve massively scaled back my life from my busy teaching days, overwhelm still graces me with its presence from time to time. I’m grateful that I’ve now built in flexibility to be able to adapt, but it never stops feeling hard.
As a friend pointed out yesterday, the self-criticism around the overwhelm is the ‘second arrow’: I’m already feeling overwhelmed, but now I’m berating myself for it too…
I’m taking all this into my workshop today, not directly, but as empathy: a humbling reminder that avoiding burnout is a constant piece of work in today’s society. It’s not something you ‘sort out’ and then never feel again. And we have to add kindness to the mix as we get it wrong, and then re-route once again. I’ll be delivering this workshop from a place of gentle exploration, rather than another thing to have on the teachers’ to do list.
This January I left lots of space at the front of my Carousel to hyper-focus on a project that felt really alive: making a parody music video of Wiley’s Wearing my Rolex about moving to Brighton and ‘Wearing my Dry Robe'.
My friend and fellow Brightonian
interviewed me this week for her newsletter. You can read all about how the song came about and its unexpected reaction here.
The whole process was a reminder to me about the way I love to work: catching the start of a wave and not getting off the surfboard until the project is finished.
It was a reminder that when you’re genuinely excited by something, it’s not hard to get others involved. (And that when things feel forced, one can feel almost apologetic about asking for help / sign ups!)
It was also a reminder that when things feel in flow it’s not hard to prioritise them. (And that conversely if things feel like a huge slog it may be a nudge to put them down for a bit.)
With the Carousel model, when things start to feel a bit sticky, I suggest putting them to the ‘back of the Carousel’. This doesn’t mean we’re giving up on then, but giving ourselves breathing space from them.
Sometimes in this space we realise we no longer want to do them.
Other times they come bouncing back with new energy.
What in your life do you need a break from?
What does have your attention?
What’s on my Carousel?
🌳 I’ve set up a linktree with handy links to all the various projects I’m working on right now. Have a browse!
🎓I’m continuing to coach teachers in school. I can’t tell you how much I love this work: spending deep 1:1 time with people, feeling like I’m making a difference, and also healing a part of myself that got burned out working in education…
🎙I’m finishing up series 3 of my podcast - Knowing When to Quit
🏃🏻♀️I’m training for the Brighton Half Marathon (pretty hardcore during winter!)
💕 I’ve hired a flirting coach! I’m learning a lot and documenting my process through some creative writing… to be shared at some point…
🐍
and I are still working together on ‘Snakeskin’, which charts her journey of stepping down as CEO from Huddlecraft.WORK WITH ME
👯♀️ Want to reconnect with your creative spark, follow your joy and make stuff happen? Book a 1:1 coaching session with me, or explore working together over 3 months.
🎹 Late Night Piano Sing-a-long - Got an event that needs an injection of joy and silliness? Book me + my team for a night of nostalgia - from Madonna, to Backstreet Boys, to Robbie. Email me sarah@powerofuke.com
🎶 Power of Uke - I’ve got a range of team-building experiences using the ukulele to unlock creativity, and build team connection. My team is full of festival performers, choir leaders, and world-famous improvisers: we go deep but also have a lot of fun.
🧡 Beautiful Endings - do you have a project you’re bringing to a close right now? Would you like support in marking this in a meaningful way? Get in touch to explore how we can work together on this.
Leaving you with some beautiful pics of Brighton in its wintry glory…
Until next time
Sarah x
Loved reading this and your wisdom. Thanks Sarah. xx
Wow, series 3 of the pod! Brilliant! Still waiting for my turn :)
Also feeling overwhelmed so this was v pertinent for me too. Thanks for sharing!! ❤️❤️