Overcome Burnout and Find Your Purpose: Faith-Based Strategies for 2025

welcome fearfully and wonderfully made human to a solo minisode of the holistic counselor podcast it's me Diana and as we step into a brand new year I wanted to take some time to reflect on closing the door on 2024 and embracing the hope of coming alive in 2025 I know it's cheesy and cliche but if you get to know me I'm sort of both sometimes anyway let me start by asking you what would it look like

if you stepped into 2025 with Clarity purpose and Faith what if this year instead of being over overwhelmed by expectations you allowed yourself to be molded refined and truly transformed today I'm sharing pieces of my own Journey from 2024 what I learned through trials therapy and Faith yes this therapist goes to therapy and I'm glad I do and giving you some practical tools to help you step boldly into 2025 if you've ever felt stuck unsure of

your purpose or overwhelmed by transitions well this episode might help you 2024 was a challenging year for me and I know it likely was for many of you too for me some of the grief and struggles from 2023 lingered on like losing my sister navigating my own physical and mental health challenges and facing fears headon it was also a year of milestone starting my blog and this podcast letting go of my youngest son as he married

and saying to my husband what's next for us one of the hardest moments was traveling and speaking for the first time in years I faced my fear of flying took a long trip and even spoke at an event in North Carolina while these were incredible opportunities they stretched me beyond my comfort zone meanwhile I tried to stay afloat and energetic enough to hold space for my clients which led me to some tough realizations in therapy I

needed deeper inner work at the same time I was navigating my mother's accident the ongoing grief of my sister's passing and feeling like I was suffocating under the weight of it all there were moments when I asked myself am I really doing what God has called me to do or am I checking box boxes or was everything just forced on me due to Childhood trauma and other things so many questions not enough answers so I continued

to stay busy professionally I HIIT a Crossroads with through the valley therapy for years I had been spreading myself thin trying to be everything to everyone I've always been ambitious the kind of person with a ideas but I realized I wasn't stewarding my calling well I wasn't setting the boundaries I needed to thrive at the wise practice Summit that I went to in October and I also spoke at uh it was a turning point listening to

all those speakers I had this Moment of clarity my boundaries were porous and I was burned out it was humbling but it was also the wakeup call I needed to make real changes and let's not forget my ongoing battle with a LoveHate relationship with money questioning my worth pricing mindset around finances I mean I even wrote a poem about it that's in one of my books I'll link it to the show notes it was uncomfortable to

face but you know what growth often is as I tell my clients being refined like gold and sifted like wheat is part of life it's how God shapes us into who we're meant to be learning to be comfortable in the uncomfortable embracing the solo surrendering that's what becoming truly means it's a process not a destination one of the most transformative practices for me this year was spending a day fasting praying and diving into scripture I also

bought this book I think I heard it on a YouTube video or something like that I was kind of curious so I started reading it it was called the gift of Being Yourself by David Benner I read the entire thing now I know there's been a lot of debate about tools like the enag or psychology being labeled as new age but is it really didn't God make everything anyway to me it's only an issue if it

pulls us away from Christ and it becomes an idol so you know some of these tools that I utilize in therapy for myself and for others you know I'm trying to encourage people to understand who they are in Christ and so if it pulls you away from Christ then you you're probably in your flesh and ego so you got to check it and it puts you towards Christ then it's a good and perfect gift from above

anyway I sometimes that's how my brain goes I just go off into a in a little rabbit hole so back to what I was saying it's only an issue if it pulls us away from Christ rather than helping us uncover areas where we need his grace and healing where we need him you know sometimes we go spend so much time chasing the Healer I mean chasing the healing and we don't understand and the Healer well anyway

when used correctly these tools can serve as a mirror to better understand the person God created us to be not to boost our ego or fuel our selfishness so back to the book there was one part that absolutely punched me in the stomach the idea that as an indiagram 2 I'm like Martha in the Bible okay it's funny because I have clients with similar Tendencies and I've been able to guide them in a ing these things

I'm so sorry I thought I turned off my phone oh my gosh this is going to be such a raw episode and I'm not going to edit it because you know why this is me uh let me just put it on Focus oh my word I'm so sorry guys but really I'm not sorry because this is just who I am and that's what I'm trying to encourage you guys to do is be who you are authentically

okay so it's funny because I have clients with similar Tendencies and I've been able to guide them in addressing their pride their shadows and blind spots but wow I had not taken the log out of my own eye and I realized sometimes my pride is often disguised as service and that kind of took me a back I'm like oh yeah that could kind of be like covert narcissism and I don't want to be that I really

really want to serve others and I have to be careful that was hard to confront but it was so necessary for my growth at that point I wanted to close up shop and run like Jonah seriously I think I called uh my best friends and said I'm done I'm done being a therapist I am done doing this job I don't want to do this at all I'm over it but but then again that was my flesh

ego talking I had to sit still and become like Mary burnout compassion fatigue exhaustion made me want to throw it in the towel I told my husband let's sell everything move into the woods and build a commune how many of you have felt that before but thankfully he's the more logical and study of the two of us and I'm really grateful for him being that way even though sometimes it could just drive me insane and I

also Revisited Revelation using Pastor Steve Armstrong's Revelation study from verse by verse Ministry the same one I listened to during the pandemic in 2020 that that time in scripture brought me back to my calling God made it clear I needed to simplify set hard boundaries and lean into the work he's called me to do because it's not about me through reflection and prayer I realized my sweet spot has always been psychoeducational teaching coaching and encouraging others

I've been doing this for decades from the start of my counseling career to my time in the film industry as a producer spending time at Jesus's feet like Mary I began disentangling what is truly me and what was shaped by the world or my ego this process of deep healing and surrender has been humbling and transformative that's when the vision for transformed mind Consulting and coaching began to solidify I mean it came to me back August

September where you know I'm a woman that constantly prays and sits still I tried that's part of my morning routine is to take that time time at least 15 to 30 minutes to meditate on God's word listen to prayer prayer Pray and just be still in nature and that's you know do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind Romans 122 it just kept beating in my heart

beating in my heart and then I was like okay then the logo came to me and then I realized I'm like okay is this where you're taking me next Lord I don't want to do it I do want to do it and it made sense because then that's when I went and spoke for really my first time in front of a bunch of people on cultural competency and and I'm thankful for Whitney for allowing me that

that time I learned a lot and met some really amazing people anyway I'm not replacing through the valley therapy but this is just a new way to serve others in a different way honestly it's a daily process of surrendering taping up taking up the cross and nurturing my spirit flesh and ego or spirit and humility it's a constant practice to discern which one I'm stepping into taking ownership of oneself and connecting daily to surrender to surrendering

everything to Jesus is incredibly challenging but it's very transformative it remind reminds me of my favorite Christian song by Brandon Heath your love if you haven't heard it I encourage you to check out the lyrics those lyrics really resonates with me since the first time I ever heard it and it is it's about understanding God is love and that's the Legacy I want to leave behind and I want to reflect and sometimes what happens just like

all of us being human we just go in and out flesh ego Spirit humility some people just stay in flesh and ego some people just don't understand and that's okay because we're all interconnected God made us that way okay so back to you here are practical tools for growth in 2025 if you're navigating transitions or feeling stuck here are some practical steps and tools to help you okay with intention identify your strengths yes identify there are

so many tools out there to identify your strengths inogram Myers Briggs Clinton strengths um the shape test to know your spiritual um gifts and stuff like that these aren't just labels they're insights to help you understand how God uni uniquely designed you and I'm going to put all these links in the show notes address your weaknesses this is something that many people do not want to do they want to address everybody else's weaknesses but not themselves

and when I say address your weakness it's not about that inner critic you know I get it I get that inner critic I hear that inner critic I understand if you come from a hard background with complex PTSD and Trauma that inner critic probably has overshadowed your strengths and that's what I'm talking about it's it's neuroplasticity it's rewiring the brain it's understanding that you have the power that sometimes the labels of others and the ego that

has been formed inside of us it is due to self-preservation and protection but little by little you can peel that onion and Chip it away and this is why it's important to do the work to really look within without putting you know with compassion this is why I'm really into the internal family systems ifs I'm just learning so much about that and of course I love CBT I mean that was the beginning of my my counseling

career and actually I've learned this stuff since middle school and high school in Psychology so many different tools and and thinking anyway address your weaknesses okay self-awareness isn't just about knowing your strengths it's about acknowledging your blood spots too acknowledging in it growing from it understanding it realizing when it's creeping up you know there's tools for that I mean I I've worked hard on my own and I know that I can help others with it and

I have um helped I mean I think that's why I'm still in business people still reaching out for me to be their counselor or coach or consultant so um so it's for me it's meant to confront you know for me it meant confronting my boundary issues and pride disc this service and I'm confronting it still with my therapist Sarah Jane hopefully you're listening to this anyway um reframe challenges when You Face difficulties instead of asking why

is this happening to me why not ask what is God teaching me through this what is it that I'm supposed to learn because some people get into that victim mode and they stay there and you know what though that is part of healing and I actually created a PDF that I use with my clients um it's like a little booklet if you want it you could always email me and I'll send it to you that's to

me I love to give out information and help the the world out by teaching them new ways of thinking and learning and growing and healing um so yeah what is God teaching me through what's going on celebrate progress ress whether it's a small win or a major breakthrough take time to acknowledge how far you've come yeah that that's one thing that I have quite a few of my clients do is like okay we're here now and

you're still feeling these feels but let's celebrate the small winds because that rewies your brain because guess what your brain's always looking to protect you and so if you stay focused on what's not happening for you or the feeling the feeling the feeling the emotion the emotion the emotion and not understand that you're you can rewire your brain and honestly utilize it to to grow and to you know surrender and to create new neurop Pathways in

order for you to continue on this journey on Earth you know we're not stuck even though we feel like we're stuck that's that's the situation when people are really sad or depressed or anxious you know it's a stuck feeling and and you guys like I get it I I I've had all those emotions I come from you know genetically wise too from mental illness and physical illness and but who doesn't like I really don't know anybody

in this world that has a normal life normal is like what society says but honestly we all are here together trying to do the best we can with the knowledge we know and the resources we have unless you're a true true psychopath which sometimes I understand I mean there is evil in this world but we are talking about not everybody else right now I want you to think of you of what you want of who you

want to become in 2025 okay create accountability this is super important because sometimes because of depression or anxiety or the inner critic we think like you know that that's devil that's the devil's Ploy is to steal kill and destroy seriously think about that he wants you alone he wants you just listening to that inner critic he wants you to to remove yourself from society and be by yourself so then what what for we're not meant to

be like that I mean really think about it really think about just like in the beginning of time father son Holy Spirit three in one like we are meant to be in community I mean if you look at history you look at anthropology at all of that you look back into mammals and just science itself we're meant to be in community we're all intertwined so creating accountability share your goals with someone who will encourage you and

hold you accountable if you're looking for a coach or mentor you know like I have a few openings um and I might be your cup of tea or I might not be but either way find somebody and then pray with intention prayer isn't just about asking for things God is not a vending machine okay or that we have some kind of power that it's like you know some people just think that way to me it's a

humbling experience I'm in awe there's this entity that goes beyond our thinking his ways are not our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts he created this whole universe when I sit still in in his creation I'm I I become overwhelmed knowing like the flower the lizard I mean I'm just naming things that I see every morning the the birds like he's got it all under control even when things feel chaotic that peace that goes beyond

all understanding anyway so prayer is about aligning your heart with God's will not your will I get it I want things yeah I do I I want a big farm I want a 100 Acre Wood you know now I sound like um Winnie the Pooh Guy what's his name anyway you know I want to be sometimes left alone I just want to hug trees all day and sing Kumbaya in a drum circle with people from all

over the world and just get along with everybody yeah I've been wanting that since I was young but that's also because I grew up in chaos so I just want peace but understanding like we got to celebrate these times we do have peace and when we don't feel the peace that's really when we need to sit still and not get so busy all the time and ignoring what God is trying to tell us okay so one

verse that carried me through a lot in the last few months is 2 Corinthians 129 my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness think about that I mean that was Paul talking and saying take this Thorn for me and what did Jesus say my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness wow anyway as we wrap up I want to leave you with this you are

not here by accident God has a purpose for your life and every struggle every Victory every tear is part of his plan to shape you into who you're meant to be it is your story for his glory so if you're ready to take ownership of your journey and embrace 2025 with faith and Clarity I invite you to check check out my blog post on Liberation Lunas come alive in 25 for more practical tips and tools you'll

find links to the assessments I mentioned and even more insights to help you grow you can also sign up for my blog or go to the Past ones and read it maybe some of them will help you hey it's free therapy you could also book a free 15minute consultation with me in Florida you could go through um my website through the valley therapy.com and if you're out of Florida remember I cannot be your therapist but I

can be your coach and consultant so you could go to transform M Consulting and oh nope sorry that's the name of the company but it's www.tr mind cc.com listen I'm pretty raw and real um and so I just started that um I'm still figuring stuff out I'm still learning from others I'm still trying to help others too so you can check it out and if I'm your cup of tea let's set up that consultation if I'm

not that's okay so whether you're looking for coaching mentorship or psychoeducational support I'm here to help with boundaries of course and if you enjoyed this episode please leave a review it helps me to reach more people and continue sharing these faith-based tools thank you for joining me today here's to a year of growth purpose and faith-filled transformation Happy New Year's and don't forget to trust in the Lord guard your heart and renew your mind bye and

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