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countering perfectionism

Reframing Burnout and Recognizing the Collective Experience

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Higher Education, Racial Justice By Beth Godbee May 6, 2022 Leave a Comment

This screenshot shows Inside Higher Ed’s preview of the article and reads: “Career Advice. Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout. Dealing with burnout should not be an individual responsibility but a collective one, Beth Godbee writes.” Text appears against a white background with the orange and white Inside Higher Ed logo and a small figure propped against a tumbling stack of papers.

Today, I have a new article published in Inside Higher Ed: “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout.” Here’s the opening: In the past few months, nearly all my conversations have focused on burnout. One friend is running on fumes, another wonders how to keep teaching when her body says no and still another rattles off a near-endless list of what’s not getting done. Such stories are nearly endless, too. The recent Inside Higher Ed opinion piece “Academe, Hear ... Read more ...

Interrupting Writer’s Block: Writing (and Pausing) Through Resistance

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism, Higher Education By Beth Godbee April 13, 2022 Leave a Comment

This image shows a yellow pencil snapped in half with crumpled paper in the background. It shares the blog post's title: "Interrupting Writer's Block: Writing (and Pausing) Through Resistance."

This blog post responds to a question I received recently and offers some ways to interrupt writing resistance or writer’s block. My hope is that it offers support for writers (because we all face resistance, right?), while also providing a glimpse into one-with-one coaching. I offer this post with gratitude for the writer who shared permission to use the question and response. And I offer many good wishes to writers feeling the pressure of due dates. The Question: ... Read more ...

New Year Reflections: Hanging by a Thread Is Better Than No Thread at All

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Recipes By Beth Godbee December 31, 2021 Leave a Comment

Image reads “2022 downloading,” alongside a spider dropping down on a single thread. Confetti lights appear at the top and bottom against a dark blue background.

In these weeks leading up to the new year—during the holidays and covid surge—I’ve found myself saying, “I’m hanging by a thread.” And friends have reminded me that one thread is better than no threads at all. It’s true. I’ve witnessed spiders suspended in air by a single thread. I’ve seen them descend to the ground gracefully with that same thread and use it as a first step to rebuilding webs. (Spiders teach me a lot!) As we welcome the new year, I’m reminding myself ... Read more ...

Grief and Gratitude: Reflections on a 3-Year Anniversary

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee December 17, 2021 Leave a Comment

Image says “Subscribe for the New Year” with a light pink background of a blanket, tray with tea, candles, and open book.

This Saturday (December 13th) was my 3-year anniversary as a Patreon creator, and this week I'm reflecting on how much has happened and changed over these three years. In the midst of this internal review, I am grieving bell hooks, who I know will continue to guide so many of our lives, though I'm experiencing her loss as magnifying the many losses of this year and the last. I recognize again—through emails and text messages and phone calls and blog posts (like this one ... Read more ...

Reflection Questions for Committing, Creating, and Pacing This Summer

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee June 9, 2021 Leave a Comment

This photo shows a late summer afternoon. The corner of a green picnic table points toward a green field and blue lake stretching out to blue-green hills. Leaves hang down, and puffy white-grey clouds float overhead. The scene, hopefully, captures the possibilities of summer: open, outdoor space inviting contemplative practices.

Recently, a Patreon subscriber shared that they appreciate reflection questions, and their feedback prompted me to consider which questions feel especially important for this summer (summer 2021). Spinning off the original Q&A response (shared as part of the Q&A newsletter for subscribers), here are some questions I’m sitting with. These are influenced by the CHANI app (“astrology for self-discovery, mindfulness, and healing” by Chani Nicholas and team). The app ... Read more ...

Countering Imposter Syndrome: Workshop Handouts and Resources

Filed Under: Everyday Feminism, Higher Education, Racial Justice By Beth Godbee April 30, 2021 Leave a Comment

This screenshot captures the registration page for “Countering Imposter Syndrome and Affirming the Right to Belong”: an event sponsored by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The image shows a calendar; event date, time, contact information; the start of the event description (also shared in this post’s text); and an image of blended navy, blue, white, and orange.

Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the upcoming presentation “Countering Imposter Syndrome and Affirming the Right to Belong.” Designed for students and faculty, this presentation is sponsored by the Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The event will be held remotely via Zoom on Tuesday, May 4th 6:00-7:30pm Central time. Workshop Description How can we (researchers, mentors, advisors, ... Read more ...

Reflections on Silence, Fear, Courage, and Writing: Always Come Back to Writing

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee March 1, 2021 Leave a Comment

This book cover for Your Silence Will Not Protect You, an essay collection of Audre Lorde’s work (published posthumously), is pink with Lorde’s name and the title/quote appearing along with her image.

This past month I’ve read Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals: one of the books I’ve heard and thought and talked about long enough that I’ve felt a knowing of it, yet never read it. And the timing of reading it now—during a global pandemic, in the midst of winter, and at a time when I’m trying to figure out my relationship with worsening asthma—has felt miraculously timed. It’s felt particularly significant to read Lorde’s oft-cited quote “your silence will not protect ... Read more ...

Career Discernment for Academics: An Interview with Self-Compassionate Professor

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism, Higher Education By Beth Godbee July 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

This screenshot shares the Self-Compassionate Professor podcast page with a grey and brown color scheme. In addition to sharing the podcast’s name, creator, and theme—“helping academics and former academics find wellness, meaning, purpose, and freedom”—it shares episode 19: “Career discernment with Dr. Beth Godbee,” along with a photo of Beth wearing black and pressing against a grey rock formation.

I’m grateful to Danielle De La Mare of the Self-Compassionate Professor for inviting me to do an interview that’s become “Episode 19: Career Discernment with Dr. Beth Godbee.” This interview relates both my career discernment story and how I understand career discernment as a lifelong, ongoing process of finding and following the “strong yes.” Here’s what Danielle says about the interview: “Former professor, Dr. Beth Godbee, joins me for the first episode of Season 2! ... Read more ...

Unraveling Whiteness: A Call for More Courage

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice By Beth Godbee May 28, 2020 2 Comments

This image shares the quote: “It’s lifelong work to unlearn whiteness … And as lifelong work, this is everyday work: work in the moment and work over time”—in black font against a light orange textbox and white border.

I’m thinking about whiteness—the structure, ideology, and everyday enactments—as I try to process (yet again) how white people weaponize whiteness. My heart is hurting with rage and grief from recent events, explained in these articles from The Root: “‘There’s an African-American Man Threatening My Life’: Karen Calls Police on Black Man for Asking Her to Leash Her Dog” “Outrage in Minneapolis after Black Man Dies in Custody Following Brutal Police Arrest: ‘I Cannot ... Read more ...

Wailing with the Wind: On Disrupting Work During the Pandemic

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Higher Education By Beth Godbee April 10, 2020 1 Comment

This photo shows scattered papers (page proofs) across a wooden floor in a bedroom—with a colorful bedspread, pillows, blanket, sweater, plant, air purifier, bedside table, books, window, and white walls all part of the scene.

It’s windy today—the sort of wind that announces springtime. The sort of wind that lulls and gusts. The sort of wind that howls and rattles windows. The sort of wind that whips through rooms, scattering papers. As it has here: The wind has scattered page proofs that I’ve been pushing myself to review, responding to an email that came out of the blue, asking for proofs to be returned in under a week. On the one hand, these proofs represent good news: a chapter written ... Read more ...

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Embodied knowledge matters. So do commitments. And especially acting on commitments as part of everyday life, BIG and small. This website—a mix of blog posts and research writing, courses and offerings—shares ongoing efforts toward everyday living (feeling, thinking, and doing) for justice.

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This grid shows four colorful cacti (two above and two below) the event information (black font against white background): “Monthly Gathering Space: Recharge and Recommit. For details, see Heart-Head-Hands.com.”This e-course announcement shows a yellow sunflower and blue sky. It includes a textbox with the following information: “E-COURSE AVAILABLE NOW! Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments. Self-paced study, exercises, coaching, and more ...”

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bethgodbee

I’m really excited about @soulsupportlc and hope I’m really excited about @soulsupportlc and hope you’ll check out David (@dgs425)’s coaching support. 💗 See you at the launch?

#Repost @ericdarnellpritchard with @make_repost
・・・
Congratulations, David! 💜😭✨🌻🎉💃🏿💕 Today my beloved announced that he has decided to leave his position as a tenure-track faculty member in order to create more space to serve his purpose as a healer. Doing so, he has formally launched his life coaching practice, @soulsupportlc. I say formally because David has been a life coach to me and many of our kindred for a very long time. I am so glad he has chosen to share his gifts and serve his purpose more widely. Please follow his work at @soulsupportlc AND if your time permits, please register and attend the Soul Support Life Coaching virtual launch on June 30. Link in my bio!
vacation mode = cloud watching [Photo is taken l vacation mode = cloud watching 

[Photo is taken looking up at trees, clouds, and blue sky.]

#learningfromnature #cloudwatching #lookingup #trees #sky
I'm starting some time off for hiking and visiting I'm starting some time off for hiking and visiting family this week. And here's a photo of me at a North Carolina welcome center, high in the Appalachian Mountains, standing before a wall of blooming rhododendrons. I'm tired from all-day driving, but so happy to be deep in the mountains and surrounded by blues, greens, and even pinks! <3

#appalachianmountains #rhodadendron #blueridgemountains #home
Today’s newsletter points in multiple directions Today’s newsletter points in multiple directions, much like this turkey tail mushroom. (I love the striations of copper, cream, and olive green on these curly tails.)
 
Here’s a link to the newsletter on tending to brokenheartedness and burnout: https://mailchi.mp/99bd4ad2e962/burnout --> link in bio, too.
 
And if you aren’t receiving my newsletter but would like to, there’s a link to subscribe at the email’s end (just scroll to the bottom).
 
#LearningFromNature #HeartHeadHands #newsletter #brokenheartedness #burnout #resources
🧡🧡🧡 This touches my heart. Grounding and 🧡🧡🧡 This touches my heart. Grounding and guiding.

#Repost @yallaroza with @make_repost
・・・
The first person to show me the power of bearing witness was Helen, my first year Women and Gender Studies professor. Helen was a fierce feminist whose lectures felt more like prose, poetic and passionate. She made me want to take a hammer to patriarchy, and I loved it. 

With Helen, I felt safe enough to say the things I could barely articulate to myself. To name my wounds, to language hard truths, to let someone else in on my hurt. And with Helen, I felt held in those lived and living realities. There were no therapeutic interventions, no life adages, no solutions. There was simply a human being listening, honouring and affirming my experiences of misogyny, racism and sexual violence.

Years later, I forgot this wisdom. I went through therapeutic training(s) that, over time, left me feeling like that wasn't enough. That listening, and presence, and holding space for hurt wasn't enough. And in many aspects of life, I started to feel like I always needed a brilliant intervention that would offer an "aha moment." 

This week, I was reminded in many ways of the power of being present, of listening, of bearing witness. That you don't always need to have the answers, or offer your critical feminist thinking on a topic. You don't always need to have a solution, or advice. And you don't always need to intellectualize what someone's going through. Sometimes, you can just climb into the emotional fort they've built, grab a pillow, and be there. 

Yup, you can just be there, friend. And that's enough. 

(Consensually*)

♥️✨ Gratitude Tag: tag someone in your life who shows up in meaningful ways.
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About Beth Godbee

I'm an educator and former college professor who believes our fully embodied selves matter in the world. We can’t just think our way out of the incredible injustices, dehumanization, violence, and wrongdoing that characterize everyday life. We must feel and act, too. [Pronouns: she/her.] Read more ...

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