E201: Occupational Habits & How to Incorporate Them, Part Seven of The Science & The Spiritual Series
E201: Occupational Habits & How to Incorporate Them, Part Seven of The Science & The Spiritual Series
The Science & The Spiritual series finale! Thank you for making these seven episodes so fun and informative! The information and tools shared in these episodes could be a paid course! WOW! Enjoy…
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[00:28] Welcome back to the Science & the Spiritual Series here on the Women’s Empowerment Podcast. This is part seven of seven! As we wrap up this incredibly informative series, I wanted to give one more thank you to Ceri who inspired this series when she requested similar topics to what we’re talking about today and on the other six parts of the show!
If this is the first time you’re listening to the podcast or the series, WELCOME! It is a pleasure to have you here.
In this series we are discussing habits that fall under the seven dimensions of wellness. These dimensions are: physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, environmental, and occupational.
Each episode focuses on one of the seven dimensions. Within each episode I have chosen two to three habits to elaborate on and use as examples for building out this area of wellness. Also, each of the episodes talks about different tools that are either scientific or spiritual in nature.
And while each episode is part of the series, they are all completely different! We are not going over the same tools, or concepts more than once in the series, so if you haven’t listened to the other episodes yet, I highly encourage you to!
When we introduce the occupational dimension of wellness, we’re talking about “preparing and making use of your gifts, skills, and talents in order to gain purpose, happiness, and enrichment in your life.” (source)
Developing occupational wellness, more specifically occupational satisfaction, we are talking about your attitude as it relates to your work. This is important because achieving and maintaining optimal occupational wellness and a positive attitude leads to a better experience, pleasure and commitment to your job making it more than a job, but a purpose. It makes it more rewarding and meaningful.
The three “habit” examples for today’s episode are:
Create a vision for your future
Choose a career that compliments your interests, personality, and talents
Be open to change and learn new skills
I know these habits aren’t as simple or obvious as “drink a sufficient amount of water daily.” But the truth is, our vocational health IS a lot more complicated, and it’s also something very personal.
With that being said, if this is an area of wellness that you are looking for more customized support with, I would love to invite you to connect with me further to see if my 1:1 Make a Habit Mentorship program is a good fit for you.
You can go to my website for more details and connect me there.
[03:41] Occupational Habits: The Science
I mentioned earlier that no two episodes of this series are alike, and I wanted to share a quick recap of the science parts of this show with you in this last episode.
In episode one we deep dive into the power of WHY and the scientific benefits of doing, and not doing, our habits.
In episode two, we learn about different brainwaves and how to reach a balance between them for optimized growth, expansion, and lifestyle.
In episode three, we discover what self-directed neuroplasticity is and how to use the Habit Loop to create habits.
Episode 192: Intellectual Habits
In episode four, we break down the meaning and function of motivation with behavioural science.
In episode five, we looked at what it actually means to form a habit in the brain as our personality becomes our personal reality.
And in episode six, we learned about the functions of the three brains and how they help us create and maintain habits.
Episode 198: Environmental Habits
In today’s episode… We’ll cover solutions for finding the best method to creating and maintaining your specific goals. [WORKING]
The tricky thing I’ve learned about the science of habits, is that there are SO MANY SOLUTIONS. Everyone is looking for the one magic potion, or the one single formula that changes any habit – but the truth is… there isn’t one single formula. In fact, there are thousands! And really we’ve covered 6 of them in this series so far.
Here’s what we know for sure:
There isn’t one avenue to health
There isn’t one solution to a problem
There isn’t one method or formula to create a habit
Every human being is unique and wonderful in their own way. We all behave differently and have different goals. Because we are ever-changing, we’ll need to experiment with different habits ourselves to make them stick.
Something to keep in mind through your experiment is the reason why habits emerge. It’s simple: habits emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to work more efficiently. It’s about survival and comfort.
So when you’re creating a new habit, you want to make sure you keep things extra simple, at least to start!
Let’s use our first example to break this down more. Our first occupational habit is to create a vision for your future. What methods of planning, preparing, imagining do you already use?
Meditation: meditate on the vision for your future. Picture it vividly.
Journaling: write out the vision for your future, spare no details.
Crafting: get out the magazines, scissors, and glue and craft a vision board for your future – I do this on my phone using images I’ve saved from pinterest.
Use the tools or practices that work best for you. Not doing any of these yet? Choose one and experiment. To make this an ongoing habit, consider how far in advance “your future” is to you. Perhaps you have 1, 3, and 5 year goals. You can revisit this vision for your future monthly, yearly, or even weekly if the time frame is shorter.
When you’re creating a vision for your future, you’ll want to focus on “what is possible” and in your meditation, journaling, or vision boarding, make sure to think, write, and create “in the present moment.”
Another important thing to know about our existing habits, is that when the behaviour becomes a habit, the brain stops fully participating in the decision making process. Meaning it stops working so hard since the routines and habits are unfolding automatically. This obviously makes our brains work more efficiently, but it’s also why breaking a bad habit can be so challenging.
Let’s use our second example for this part. Our second vocational or occupational habit is to choose a career that compliments your interests, personality, and talents.
This habit, in my opinion, requires an ongoing relationship with the self. Firstly, to choose a career that compliments interests, personality, and talents, you’ll need to know what those are. And again, we’re experimenting. Perhaps our habit should be that we’re always experimenting… hmm. I think I’m having an epiphany LOL!
A.B.E.: Always Be Experimenting. Try new things, develop your interests. Relisten to part five of this series to learn more about personality and habits, and of course discover and develop your talents through experimentation and practice!
Let experimenting be fun! Be a “YES” person for a little while and see what cool activities or places you’re invited to. You never know what you will learn or discover – even about yourself!
Although I believe self-discovery is an ongoing journey, I do believe that with enough play and experimentation, you will discover an interest, talent, or a few! In that case, get in the practice of building on your strengths and interests making these part of your new routines.
When you know these parts about yourself, you’ll be able to better choose a career that suits your interests, personality, and talents. I think all too often people end up in jobs they don’t love, or worse, positions they hate all because of the fact that our brain is choosing the easy route. So then you get in the habit of hating your job and then dreading each day, and well it becomes a horrible vicious loop. And unfortunately a lot of people are trapped in it. But you don’t have to be! Free yourself and reconnect to you!
And on that note, another thing we need to understand about forming a new habit, is that more often than not making a new habit means breaking an old one. More importantly, we need to believe that change IS POSSIBLE. Without belief, we’re S.O.L.!
Our third occupational wellness habit is to be open to change and learn new skills. I like this habit to specifically talk about believing in change, because this habit doesn’t start with the belief. It actually starts with openness.
It reminds me of Dr. Seuss' story “Green Eggs and Ham.” Sam I Am is all about the green eggs and ham, and the whole story he’s trying to convince the antagonist to try these dang green foods. But said antagonist is totally closed off and will not have any of it. You’re familiar with the story I’m sure! Anyhow, eventually Sam I Am is relieved and excited because the antagonist tries the green eggs and ham and LOVES IT! But he wouldn’t have discovered this unless he had been open to trying it in the first place, that’s all this is about, trying/experimenting/learning/discovering.
In total honesty I resist change all the time. We’re human, we all do. But there are a few examples of things that have really changed the way I do things because I tried:
On the theme of our green eggs and ham, I drink greens in the morning. I don’t love greens powder, however after about 6 months of this morning routine, I am starting to enjoy them more and also I really love how my body feels now that I’ve been consistent.
Another example is the photo cheque deposit function on my banking app. Learning something new can be annoying just because you’re not totally sure how it’s going to go and I’ve got to tell you, I LOVE THIS FUNCTION. I don’t even use it that much anymore but I used to a lot and it’s the greatest.
Lastly, I have been avoiding making a new business card like the plague because I want a QR code on it and I had no idea how to do that. I have been told it’s simple but I still have to do the research to figure out how to do this. It’s embarrassingly easy and took me less than 5 minutes.
One of the things I like to experiment with is more woo-ey type of modalities and methods, which brings us to the spiritual part of today’s episode
[13:08] Occupational Habits: The Spiritual
For this series I’ve been sharing different crystals and essential oils for each of the dimensions of wellness. There are a lot of these that can be used for each different area of wellness but I wanted to make each episode different so I don’t repeat any of the oils or crystals!
As a reminder, our three occupational wellness habits are:
Create a vision for your future
Choose a career that compliments your interests, personality, and talents
Be open to change and learn new skills
While I do believe they are all different, they also have a lot of similarities and I’ve compiled four crystals and five essential oils that could be used in combination with each other and since we’re talking about experimentation in this episode, I’d like to invite you to listen the the selection and choose one you feel called to, or perhaps start with the first few and see what works for you!
Alright, I found these crystals on the goop website, so here’s what I’ve learned… (source)
Pyrite
This crystal looks like and is also called ‘fools gold’ and is associated with attracting money and wealth into your life. Use this crystal to help you focus on bringing opportunities to fruition.
Tourmalinated Quartz
“If you’re feeling stuck, use tourmaline quartz to help break through writer’s block/ Meditate briefly on the protective energy of black tourmaline and the clarity of clear quartz to help clear your mind and release the negativity that is holding you back.”
Chrysoprase
“When fostering relationships and making connections, use chrysoprase to help focus on heighting your social skills.” This crystal is associated with strengthening your authenticity, opening your heart, and supporting heartfelt communication “so you can connect on a deeper level with those around you.”
Chrysocolla
This is a great crystal for motivation and initiating new projects. “It inspires a fresh perspective and stimulates ideas so you can take a concept and run with it.”
As for essential oils, I’ve selected ones I thought would be excellent for any business owner, entrepreneur, and anyone searching for more purpose and meaning in the work that they do.
Litsea the oil of Manifestation
This oil helps us follow our inspiration and urges. It helps us trust our intuition and act with confidence on the information we have.
Wild Orange the oil of Abundance
This oil inspires abundance, fosters creativity, and supports a positive mood. It teaches people to give without thought of compensation and know that in nature there is enough to go around. It also assists in individual natural creativeness.
Ginger the oil of Empowerment
This essential oil helps people be fully present and participate in life. Using this oil empowers people to take responsibility and infuses a warrior-like mentality based on integrity, personal responsibility and individual choice.
Coriander the oil of Integrity
This oil reminds people that there is more than one way to do something, and that fitting in often requires betraying the True Self. This oil of integrity, specifically integrity with oneself, moves us to a space of honoring and living from the True Self by giving us the courage to step out of the box and risking being who one really is.
Clove the oil of Boundaries
This essential oil helps us let go of the victim mentality and helps them stand up for themselves, be proactive, and feel capable of making their own choices.
Okay, well! I think you’re all set with the several different tools you need to help you incorporate these and several other types of habits. You’re ready to experiment and create new behaviours, rituals, routines, and habits!
If you are looking for customized support with your habits, I’d love to invite you into my 1:1 Make a Habit Mentorship program and work with you in creating the new routines that will help elevate and improve all areas of your life!
That is a wrap on our seven part series for Types of Habits and How to Incorporate them in Science and The Spiritual Series! Take care for now!
Podcast Host
Valerie LaVigne
Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!
