Uplift! A journey from burnout to inner peace
“Whatever you choose to do in life,
make sure that you’re also doing it to help others”.
I was 16 when my late father said this to me. With such an intense gaze, he said these words.
I heard him, loud and clear. I remember it like it was yesterday. He didn’t have to say it often. I experienced him being consistent with this all throughout his life – dedicating his life to science to improve lives. He also followed his passion to develop young scientists in any way that he could.
His words have been staying in and with me since.
I experienced a burn out at the end of 2008. Not many people knew in-depth the ins and outs of it – what happened to me; what impact it had on my life; and how I came out from it. Only a handful of people; after I managed to move forward from its worst point.
This experience changed everything in my life, progressively. If my life then was a house, that house collapsed to the ground.
Since then, I’ve been rebuilding my “new house”, one layer at a time, and one area at a time. Carefully, with a lot of support.
It has been a journey filled with realisations, decisions, and forgiveness.
When the opportunity to write and share my story showed up in February this year through “Ignite Your life for Women” book, I jumped in full heartedly.
The book consists of real life stories about how 35 women moved forward after facing life crises, such as grave illnesses, divorces, separation, death, burnout, financial ruins, grieve, career dip, fear of aging etc when one has to start over from the ground up.
“It’s time”, I said to myself. I felt called and ready to share my story about the burnout.
I had only one intention: to offer what I’ve learnt about how to rise from the ashes, like a phoenix, and start to thrive again in a different way. It was about bringing my learnings to be of use for others.
What excited me more was that the proceeds from this book’s sale are going into charities that empower women. Perfect!
“Papa, this is for you”.
I closed my eyes, sent my prayer and pressed “send”. My application email to be one of the authors in this book made its way. The rest was history.
Burn out, like divorce, death, illnesses, etc. are one of the mini-deaths that can happen to anyone. Overwhelming and lonely often describe the emotions that come with it. That was also how I felt.
Not anymore now. It doesn’t need to be.
Get this book (through this link, you can download it in kindle for free until May 20th 2019), read my story “Uplift! A journey from burnout to inner peace”, read other stories that call you in this book, and let these reflections accompany your journey. Write a review, share your thoughts on what you feel about it. Afterwards, share this book with others. Regardless of the title, the content in this book is helpful for all.
No, you’re not alone. You don’t have to be. And YES, you can rise.
In loving memory of my beloved Dad, Dr. Suwarto Martosudirjo, the man who showed me how to be a loving support for others.
Love and light,
Astuti
