Burnout: How to Identify it, Avoid it and Overcome it

Connect with me on LinkedIn


Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

Follow me on Instagram where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.

Join my email list where I will lift you up, and send tactile advice weekly to support you to grow your experience in your senior living career.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Aspire for More with Erin podcast, where we really focus on mentoring, motivating, and creating momentum for you to create your success. It is a podcast specifically for leaders in the senior living industry led by a leader in the senior living industry. I believe your mindset is important. I believe your why is important and I believe how you create momentum for your community is important. So come on, let's hang out and let's create a community that everyone wants to work in, that everyone wants to live in. Hi there, it's Erin. Thank you for being here today. I know that your time is very valuable and I hope to really honor that and give you value today in a very vulnerable Way for me. I want to talk about overwhelm and burnout and my story. Um, and I know it sounds crazy who want to talk about my story and it is crazy and I'm actually pretty nervous about it. Because, um, being vulnerable with the masses, potentially, is a little overwhelming. But I do feel as if when we go through journeys in life that teach us things, that it's our duty to share them. And because I'm no longer inside of a community and have a team, I just view people in my community, my team. And I want to inspire you to aspire for more. I want you to take care of yourself. I want to affect the lives of people because I believe that is my purpose. And sometimes our pain is our purpose, right? So I want to talk about what I have struggled with my entire career. I came onto the scene in such a way to where I was like, this is why you should listen to me, right? This is why I, how I can earn your respect because I have been able to take these communities, these four communities from very low, underperforming, occupancy wise communities, regulatory wise. Um, and then turn them into these amazing, um, teams that accomplish some great things. But the truth is, I would rather be known for what I have overcome than for what I have done. And that's really a statement that was. Inspired by Nelson Mandela, because there's no greater honor than overcoming hurdles in life and doing amazing things because of it. Because through each downfall, through each journey, through each rejection, through each failure, if we use the lesson appropriately, we become such a great version of ourselves, much better than we were before. And that's what I want to inspire people to do. When we work in the senior living industry, we have the opportunity to dodge bullets and arrows and insults and expectations. Um, it can seem very overwhelming and... Too tough to navigate sometimes. I don't believe there's enough celebration. I don't believe there's enough positive and reinforcement. It's always a, what have you done for me lately? And I really want to be a source of change for that and a source of, yeah, that must be really tough. Feel your feelings, but here's what we're going to do to fix it. Or, great job! You really nailed it out of the park. What do you believe that you did this month that was different from last month to where if we're constantly learning and evaluating in a positive way, in a safe way, in a courageous way, then I believe we're not going to run into the burnout, to the overwhelm, to the anxiety. And on the flip side of that, if we're honest with ourselves as to what causes the overwhelm and the anxiety, what we are telling ourselves, what we're thinking, how we're processing, how we're not asking for help, that again can help change. And redirect the ship on a healthier, more effective way than a self destructive way, which is kind of what I did. So, I have been reading Brene Brown books, and The Gifts of Imperfection was the book that I read the last. And honestly, her research has taught me so much about myself that, um, It is like, I just have this burning desire to share it with people. I wish I could describe it because it doesn't make any sense if you want my honest opinion. Here is why. I feel compelled, compelled to share it. Fear of being perceived as being unworthy is enough to force us to silence our stories. But this only allows for shame to control our lives. And shame loves the shadows, the secrecy, and the dark corners of our mind. But belonging happens when we present our authentic and perfect selves to the world. Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self acceptance. And that is such a powerful thing for me because I have lived in shame and I didn't even realize it was shame, honestly, I, there's one sentence that I believe has steered my ship, whether it's right or wrong. Even if the positive angel that's on my shoulder was talking to me and steering my ship, the negative angel is on my shoulder right there beside it, like. Right there. Right point. I heard that each angel, one was fear and one was creativity. And I believe that. I believe that is an interesting analogy and I like it. But the sentence is, I am not enough. I'm an Enneagram 3 and pretty much an Enneagram 2. So if you combine those two, I am a people pleasing achiever. Which, in healthcare, is toxic, right? And the fuel... That propelled me was the sentence. I am not enough. No one ever told me that No one ever came out and said to me no matter how hard you work. You will never be enough No one ever told me that so that is a story that I created in my head I know why I created that in my head as a child and throughout my life and that is A personal thing and not necessarily a professional thing, but it is something that I am aware of and I am working on. And awareness actually gives you freedom from that because it no longer has a stronghold on my life. And yet I feel like telling people at the masses, because I don't want it to have a stronghold on my life. Because if I talk about it, it no longer controls me because shame can't live in the light. Right? So. If you are telling yourself that you are not enough, that's a lie, that's a spirit of fear, and it's going to burn you out. I like to call it a flame out. Because we can either do nothing because that sentence is so overwhelming, we cannot. Function, or we work so hard that we don't know how to stop to prove it wrong. And I'm just going to tell you that every time I hit a hundred percent, or every time we hit a milestone, that was a goal. That was a big goal. It wasn't enough for me. Which is sad. I celebrated it like it was enough. My team, we celebrated big. I celebrated, I started to learn how to celebrate the small things to kind of help alleviate the pressure, but it wasn't enough for me, for me, internally, because I wasn't enough and just like every personal development and professional development coach and mentor says, the process is where you identify. Success. But I didn't understand that concept yet. And so I put worth on outcomes. And when you get an outcome, the next expectation is that you keep that outcome or you do something better. In the senior living industry, my first sales and marketing job, I will tell this story because this company is no longer in existence, but I filled the community from like 75% to 100% in four months. My first time as a sales and marketing director. I mean, like. I'm 24 years old, and I did something I thought was really amazing. And at this point I was really young, and so I hadn't had all the life experiences of, um, expectations, I didn't understand a lot of things in the senior living industry yet. And the regional sales director came down, and she took me out to eat, which I thought was going to be celebratory. And we were eating, and she was talking to me about how, you know, you do a good job, you did a good job getting it full, but if you can't get a waiting list, we won't need you. And I just looked at her and I didn't understand, like, I didn't understand. What do you mean? You know, like, why would somebody be talking to me like this whenever I literally just filled the community at 100%? And you're telling me, like the next phase, I mean, like we're, we're hot off a hundred percent. And you're telling me that I'm not going to have a job if I can't build a wait list. That type of managing someone like me is lethal. And that type of management is rampant inside the senior living industry. Needless to say, I did not stay at that community because I can't work under that type of pressure. I have a passion that a lot of companies don't know how to deal with. Because I know that my purpose in this life is to change lives for the better. It's just been people with gray hair and people who need care and inside senior living. That has been where my focus has been. And so to me, being managed like that... Is suffocating and at 24, I was wise enough to leave knowing that that was not the right thing for me, but as I've gotten older, I chose to stay and it was not a wise decision for me because fed the sentence of I am not enough, even though my residents and my families loved me and it filled such a need and for me on a personal level. The business side of things fed the voice that antagonized me the most in my head, right? And I never figured out how to consistently silence that voice. But what I did learn how to do was kind of numb things. And not in a negative, I mean not like in, you know, an alcohol or drug kind of way, although there's a lot of people who do that. Um, but in a defensive way. Where you put on that armor. And you just become rigid and not allowing vulnerability to show. And so I kind of became two people, right? I became the person in the community that loved everybody and hugged everybody and was so excited and was this. Big motivator, uh, bigger than life energy, um, just a desire to serve people and serve people well and solve their problems. And on the other side, I became uncoachable is a strong word because I don't think that that was true because there are people that I felt safe with that I let in, but I just became very protective of me and my space because I knew that the way that I was. Potentially going to be managed too hard for me. So that's the story of how my mind works. My crazy, crazy, creative, protective mind. Um, and how wrong that is. I think, I think when we define what burnout is, everybody has a different. Road to burnout, my road, I was living two different people, right? I was the fun loving, vulnerable, serving people, meeting expectations, exceeding expectations inside the community. And I either shrunk myself so small or puffed my chest out so big, from a corporate standpoint to protect myself from being vulnerable with them. That it was very confusing for people, I'm sure, because it was confusing for me and living those two different lives became very challenging for me. And so I think the first point is burnout is more of an emotional, psychological component than physical, although physical burnout can certainly happen where your body physically stops moving. I can't go anymore. I have been there. That does require you to take a few days off to rest. Um. You know, during COVID, when people were like, you don't want to burn out, you need to figure out what it is that you need. I didn't know what that comment meant either because, what do you mean? We don't have the option. Like, we don't have the option to take a week off or take a couple days. I mean, we're, we're, we're just trying to survive. They were talking about a physical sense of burnout. But really, the biggest threat to senior living is the emotional, psychological, spiritual component of burnout. That I don't believe Senior Living even understands how to deal with. I think that if there are people like me who are struggling with, I am not enough, and you are a people pleaser, and you work so hard to solve problems, to prove yourself wrong, to get the validation of others, and you... You know, every month you're either not meeting goals or meeting goals, but it's not good enough. And it's just this repetitious of not good enough, not good enough, not good enough. That's hard to manage if we're not having the same percentage of input of positivity and you're doing great type of. Leadership. So today is just to honor your feelings. If you're listening to this feeling overwhelmed, it's real. If you're listening to this and you always feel like you are not enough, that is a real feeling, but we got to change that because that's not sustainable. And really shame is self doubt. I mean, one of the big things, like there are seven roads that led me to my biggest flame out. To date that really influenced a change inside of me and self doubt is being one of them. I am not enough is shame. That is a shame sentence. But what it's rooted in is self doubt and lack of confidence. there's this quote from the book of The Gifts of Imperfection, and it says be careful what you look for, right? If I, if I have a sentence that says that I am not enough and I am looking for evidence to support that sentence, guess what you're going to find? You're going to find evidence to support that sentence. But if I'm looking for validation that I am doing great and that my residents are happy and that my mission on this life is is succeeding, I'm going to, I'm going to find that evidence too. But you have the choice to figure out what you believe. What are you going to choose to believe? and what is it going to be that you remember? Remind yourself over and over again. So, self doubt to me is one of the most critical beliefs, that will prevent you from success. What's interesting is that it takes just as much energy to believe in yourself as it does to doubt yourself. And then the question is, well, why can't I consistently believe in myself? And it's interesting to me when I asked myself that question, that when I got out of the community life and I decided to start this business, Aspire for More with Erin and start these podcasts and really want to be a coach and a motivator and a speaker to the industry, I learned more about being an executive director, learning how to become an entrepreneur. I learned about me through other women who were struggling with the same things. Now maybe that's my fault because I didn't share or, I didn't find groups, but are there groups out there where senior living leaders get together and share what's the biggest challenges, what the biggest hurdles are for them? Because if there were, I would love to join them. Because I feel like we've all been set to be competitors against each other and not soldiers in this world. healthcare battle, right? Shame lives in the darkness. Self doubt lives in the darkness. But if we could get together and talk about our wins and our losses in a positive way and uplift each other, it's really one of the most liberating things that can happen because where I thought self doubt limited me. I now reframe it to where self doubt is actually a signal to challenge me because I've learned to embrace the suck in life instead of fight through it because I'm better than what I believe. The defensiveness that I created for myself worked for me, and it made me successful, but it also prevents me from reaching my full potential, because vulnerability was something that I did not know how to be, but really it was being my authentic self, right? Because I wasn't enough, I could not show my true self. One way that I have always overcome self doubt and lack of confidence was I knew my purpose and my purpose was greater than my pain. But really there comes a point, and let me be your visual here, where the pain becomes greater than the purpose if you don't stop. And to me, that is where overwhelm and burnout comes in. Burnout, really, we can be overwhelmed at anything, but when you can cease to function anymore is when the pain becomes greater than the purpose. So we've got to reframe the self doubt that the sentence is, I am enough. And this self doubt is a trigger for me to explore and to embrace the hard part of what this challenge is for me and to prove to myself that I am enough because I am. Because I have proof, right? With self doubt and lack of confidence comes fear. And it is my experience that fear is a huge motivator. And if you're an entrepreneur, I think that fear and pain are excellent motivators for you to get started, for you to be disciplined, to achieve something that you want to achieve. But eventually, fear, self doubt, and lack of confidence becomes not the motivators you need to continue to succeed. At the beginning of everything, fear and anger are huge motivators and certainly can be used for vast success. But there comes a point where we gotta heal those motivators and use them, use some that are in a healthy way. And I think there's three major fears inside senior living. The fear of rejection, the fear of judgment, and the fear of failure. And that's probably a fear in every industry. And I primarily worked inside the senior living, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. But in my experience, I don't like to be managed through fear. That doesn't work for me. And when people come to me and treat me a certain way, I absolutely refuse to deal with those people. Unhealthy boundary, I guess. So instead of talking about it, I just basically, Guard myself from it and become very rigid and not vulnerable. And that is certainly not the best way to handle it. But most of the fear that we have, like the fear of judgment. There was no one that could judge me harder than me. And when somebody did, it cut like a knife because it was double judgment. Because it came from me and it came from them. And so then I became defensive because... You can't talk to me like that because I'm already talking to myself like that. You know, I mean, so if you find yourself in this cycle, just know it's because you're more difficult, more judgmental of yourself than anyone could ever be. And so when somebody comes at you in that way, you struggle a little bit with that, more than most, potentially. But one of the things that helps kind of reframe the fear of judgment, is Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, when you realize that... there's great freedom in realizing that people don't think of you the way that you think of yourself. Sometimes we allow judgment to stop us from making a fool of ourself in an activity or speaking up on a conference call and giving ideas or best practices to kind of show up and brag on yourself a little bit because you deserve it. Judgment, the fear of judgment stops us. From doing those things and really sells ourselves short. The fear of rejection and the fear of failure, I believe, go hand in hand. And Jamie Kern Lima has taught me through her book, Believe It, that really failure and rejection are actually protection in the big picture. Because sometimes things have to be removed in order for us to grow. Or sometimes we're not growing in an environment that's not the right soil for us to grow. And sometimes we have to have that separation and that quiet time and that desert time to really become who we were made to be. To live out our biggest potential in our life. I love those definitions of the fear of failure and the fear of rejection. Because what the definitions were before... Was I am not enough and it solidified it and there are plenty of people in life who will reject you. There were so many people who didn't understand me because my passion and my purpose was bigger than a company and I didn't fit in all the time. And there's a lot of details in success and honestly, companies, big companies don't want to handle the details. The devil's in the details, but so is success. And I lived in the details, and the bigger picture. But, when you live in the details, and it doesn't stop you, right? From moving forward. Like, Disney, right? Disney's all about details. But in order to make a magical experience a life changing experience, details have to matter. but sometimes big companies don't want to deal in the details. And that's okay. But then we're gonna speak two different languages. And that's where the communication breakdown comes in, you know? So, rejection and failure can be crippling. And sometimes, just that fear alone will prevent us from asking for what we want, asking for what we need, speaking up, Showing up. Which then can lead to resentments. Resentments is... To me, and based on my research, one of the biggest indicators that you are heading down a wrong path for peace in your life. I had a lot of resentments. I had a lot of resentments that I didn't realize, um, whose fault were those resentments? They were mine because I never communicated what I wanted. And honestly, I didn't think what I wanted mattered. There was evidence to support that. And I listened to it, but the issue is, is that. Even if that story is true, it doesn't serve me. So if you're walking around your community or having a moment of pity and rage for yourself, right? And the sentence is, I am not enough. It doesn't matter what I do. I'm never noticed or I'm not seen or I'm not heard and I never get what I want and all this other kind of stuff. It is good to get those out because they don't need to stay in. But that story doesn't serve. And I lived in that frame of mind for quite a long time, but the story that serves us in that instance is what do I need to do to make my wants and needs known? And now this can be in your personal life and your professional life. And this kind of ties into what is success for you, right? Because I never even knew my own definition of success. So. Why would I know what I wanted, And I think it's important, in order to overcome resentments, you have to be real clear on what you want and why you want it. And then the next thing you have to do is communicate it. And I think timing is everything in those. I carried so much resentment about certain situations that when I did talk about it, it was not the right timing and my emotions... We're high, not disrespectful, but high. And so the term passion, I'm passionate became more of a threat to me than a positive. Right? So it's important to get clarity about what those things are. So it doesn't. Go into a conversation with you on a personal note. This is a really funny story. That kind of helps me understand what resentment is and how it affects relationships. My husband and I, um, Really struggled in our marriage for about eight to ten years, and that's putting it lightly if I'm honest with you. We have a special needs son, and there was a lot of stuff that happened in 2012 that triggered a lot of grief, a lot of shock, and a lot of trying to understand this new life that we live. So everybody's grief journey is different and his took us on some Paths that I wasn't prepared for at all, but we managed it and we're in a much better place now, but during that time The number one thing that caused the most problems for us were resentments And it's funny because this can be taken in a professional way, too. We had the same fight, where I asked him to do something, simple, just this one thing. And he did everything else that he could think of, except for that one thing. And then he would get mad at me because I was ungrateful. Because I was upset that everything else but that one thing was done. And in his mind, how could you be upset with me? I did all of this other stuff. I just didn't do that one thing because I can do that anytime. Because you didn't listen. Because you didn't give me what I needed. And isn't that the point, right? Sometimes, this can be used from an operational standpoint and a sales standpoint, right? When, when you give people what they want and don't give them what they need, you're not going to have satisfaction. Satisfaction cannot live when you give people what they want, but not what they need. In sales, you can certainly sell them on what they want, but yet give them what they need and now you have satisfaction. But if I need to eat and you are giving me nothing but toys. I'm not going to be happy, right? Because I'm hungry. And so in leadership, and even in ourselves, we think we want all these things and we go after them, but really what we need... Is peace in our mind, confidence in ourselves, an understanding of our self doubt, rest. A true definition of what success is for me. Communicating what is bothering me in a safe and courageous way to where I can move on. Like, these are things that we need in order to overcome burnout, to completely bypass burnout, or to identify it. I can give a building 100% of me, I can get the building to 100% occupancy, I can get a building there pretty quickly. That's taken a lot of work for me to say that to you. That was not something that I would say a year and a half ago. But is that my definition of success? Because what I really want is to be respected and called upon and Appreciated, honoring the sacrifice and I want time with my family and I want boundaries where I can have time with my family and I want to feel successful. I don't want to be successful. I want to feel successful and what's interesting is that I didn't realize that was what I wanted and that's what I was resenting and a lot of that is aimed at myself because I didn't understand I didn't have clarity on what my needs were, on what success was to me. You know, there's the phrase of time and money and every point in our life, money becomes more valuable than time. And then time becomes more valuable than money. And I needed peace and I needed respect and I needed to be seen and I needed growth, but I didn't tell anybody that. I expected them to see my hard work, to honor the sacrifice and to give me opportunities because. That was the old school way of doing it, but that wasn't how it happened. And so instead, I was very rigid, unable to be vulnerable, didn't feel safe, and resented things that were inside of my control. And ultimately, the end thing is that I wasn't in the right place at the right time. And that's okay too. If I understood and had clarity of what my success was for me, I would have understood that at that time. So, clarity will prevent you from burnout. Resentment, and not talking about it, will propel you to burnout. To burn out much quicker. All of that leads to your own personal and professional development. I love this John Maxwell quote, and honestly, it is just like the sword I will die on now. It is my soapbox. Like, sales is service. Leadership is sales, which is influence. And leaders have to make themselves more valuable. In order to give value to other people, I love to give value to other people. Love it. That is, to me, that's how you grow. That's how you create a team. You make people more valuable. They will work better. They will be better people. They will work together as a team because they understand their role and how valuable it is to the mission. But as a leader, If you're going to give away value, you've got to make sure that you have value to give away. And this is what I don't understand, and maybe this is just my own experience, but personal development and professional development is not a priority. Within my experience inside the senior living industry where I understood the importance of personal and professional development was when I became an entrepreneur and I'm sitting here thinking to myself, why do we not do this for our leaders inside senior living? It would prevent burnout. It would prevent, a lot of unnecessary drama if we could understand and make a priority our own personal and professional development. I understand leadership better now. I understand my own... Deficiencies and some of my leadership practices. I now understand how to reframe thought processes. I understand how I could have done things differently. You know, of course, hindsight's 2020, but that's who I am. Now I'm here to tell you that your own personal and professional development is your path to success is your path to peace. It's your path to not being burned out. And you are responsible, not a company. When you invest in your own personal and professional development, you create skills, processes, and... Opportunities to change patterns in your life that you will take with you forever. I was under the mindset that senior living, my companies that I worked for, I had to get fed, grow from within their systems. But I'm sorry, there's only so much Reliance training or other things that can take you if you can't talk to somebody who understands, who's been in the arena with you. Who understands what it's like, right? To be beat up and how to overcome that. That's our responsibility as leaders. And you can do that for yourself. And you can do that where somebody pours into you or you don't have to do that by yourself because I was doing it by myself and it was a lot. And then I paid to have somebody pour into me their knowledge and only care about my success and my life changed. It. Changed dramatically and I became aware of things that I didn't know before so if you hear anything Today you have to make yourself more valuable in order to give value if you're a parent you have To make yourself more valuable so you can add value to your kids. If your spouse, right, to your spouse, you have to be more valuable for you. So you can add value to them, for your team inside the community. What is value? Rest, knowledge, motivation, mentoring, and understanding of who you are and what makes you tick, great leaders. Understand who they are. Great leaders understand their triggers of emotional reactivity. Great leaders inspire and motivate others. You can't do that if you have nothing to give. Anxiety is contagious. Hope is contagious. Fear is contagious. Faith is contagious. Excitement is contagious. You gotta have a lot of that in order to give a lot of that. You want your community to be... Contagious with the right feelings, not the wrong ones, because no matter how much data is thrown at you, senior living is a feeling based industry. When a tour comes in, they want to feel like they're at home. They want to feel like they're welcome. They want to feel as if residents are happy. Give them numbers. It doesn't matter. They want to feel safe. So make yourself more valuable. Invest in yourself through podcasts like this one. Invest in yourself in books. Invest in yourself in time of understanding what you want, why you want it, and what you're holding on to that is not healthy. Figure out how to let it go. And then find you a mentor, find you a coach, find you a friend that you can trust, that understands. Because not a lot of people understand what it's like to work in the senior living industry. So make yourself more valuable. And then the last few, the last two topics are comparison and self worth. Now, we all know that comparison is the thief of joy. When you compare to criticize yourself, that is shame. That is self doubt. That is confidence. A lack of confidence. If you compare yourself to somebody because they succeeded and it motivates you to follow, That's healthy, but if you compare yourself and you don't feel good or motivated by that, you feel less than, stop. That's negative because your worth It's the same. The outcomes are different. And the other thing that I've learned is that everybody's journey is different. And there are different motivating factors, different paths that people go on. And so some people burn really bright at the beginning and then they fade out. And what I've learned through other mentors is that if you have a product that's so good, if your community is worth it and you really are trying to have good roots for long term success, it's going to take you a long time. It's going to take you a long time because it's worth it. And so you have to realize that the worthiness of long term success is worth the work that it takes to put in it. So stop comparing. And start working on good roots in leadership and teamwork, because consistency compounds. And one day you're going to find yourself in a situation that you're like, Oh my gosh, how did we get here? All the work that you did six months before. There's this concept of the future self, right? Like a year ago was my lowest point. A year ago this month, I could no longer function. Really. I had ceased to exist, Um, and I took a leave of absence. My son had surgery, and I just really started reading books. And I started understanding all the things that I had done wrong. And I started putting into practice, a year ago, things that led me to where I am today. But I didn't feel that way three weeks. After I started putting things into practice, and I went through a lot of worthiness issues self doubt issues Comparison issues all these things, but where I am today is probably the healthiest place I've ever been emotionally and physically and it's because of the work that I did a year ago And honestly, I'm not even close to where I want to be but I am so much better than I was And I'm okay that I'm building roots for long term success, both emotionally, professionally, and personally, because I'm worth it. And so if you find yourself feeling uncomfortable when somebody's talking about how amazing you are, or you find yourself feeling like you have to explain how cheap you got this purse, if somebody says, Oh, that's a nice handbag or a nice purse, and you have to downplay the insignificance of it or the significance of your success, You don't believe you're worth it, but I believe you're worth it. Accept the compliments, believe them, let them sink in, and take hold. Because you are worth it. You are you. You don't need to compare yourself to anybody else. The first step toward change is acceptance. And once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. You are worth it. You are amazing. There is no other you, so stop comparing. Your journey is your own. And your self worth will motivate you and propel you to whatever success you want. So you better start putting some worth deposits into your bank, right? The truth is, the most precious moments that we have in life are the ordinary moments. And we work so hard. To get extraordinary moments, because we believe those extraordinary moments will add to our worth. But it's the little moments, the little signs of grace, the little signs of difference, the little signs of love. That really inspire us to keep going. So look for those little hints of change in a positive way. And add those to your worthy bank. To your success bank. To your confidence bank. Because those are the signs of success. Success leaves clues. Find them. The universe is not short on wake up calls, folks. We're just quick to hit the snooze button. That's a Brene Brown quote in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection. There's pains in our life that we can really look back and say that we're most thankful for. And I am thankful for several different pains in my life. And I'm also thankful that I am capable and willing to evaluate them and what my role is. And how I can change the outcome for the future me. Because when you own your story, that's the bravest thing that you can do. Because when you blame people, the power goes with them. But when you own it, the strength comes to you. You are worth it. You are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, blessed and highly favored, and more than a conqueror, and you can do the hard things, and I am available. I love to help people. If you are struggling, Get on my calendar. Take an hour with me just to let me encourage you, help you solve problems, and get you back on the right path. We can define success for you so you know what it is you want to get the clarity that you need and to let go of the heavy burdens that you carry. Because when you make yourself more valuable, life is a little bit easier. Have a great day. The Open Enrollment into Aspire for More with Erin's Mentorship Program is going on now. I'm so excited! If you need more guidance with the small things that make a big impact in your community, if your mindset Is struggling and you need a little help and it's preventing you from being the leader that you want to be, or if you've gone through some hard rejections lately and you know that you can be successful and you want to be successful in this industry, then this program is for you go to the link in the show notes and let's get you enrolled. This is an investment in you. And lucky for everyone listening, it is very affordable. 2023 is my year to give back, to add value, and make an impact in the industry that I love so passionately. There should be nothing standing in your way to becoming the best leader in your community and creating a future that you want, caring for the residents inside your community and beyond. I hope to hang out with you soon.