93. When the Year Breaks You: Healing from Burnout, Holding onto Your Faith, and Finding Peace Again
October 31, 2025 • 24 mins
This episode we'll have a candid conversation about stillness, learning to pause before you pour, and why presence is so valuable.
If you’ve been the fixer, the driver, or the visionary who’s quietly tired, this is your permission slip to rest without shame, rebuild your confidence, and reconnect to your purpose.
You’ll unpack the three layers of peace:
1️⃣ Cutting chaos with boundaries.
2️⃣ Honoring your calling with obedience.
3️⃣ Evolving into a seasoned calm built on faith, clarity, and consistent action.
Healing from burnout| Faith and purpose | Personal growth | Mindset and alignment
I’ll walk you through how to find the courage, similar to episode 74 where we feel the fear and do it anyway, silence self-doubt, and rebuild a growth mindset rooted in self-worth and spiritual alignment.
Because overcoming fear, building confidence, and unlocking your potential are all part of your transformation — and peace is the proof that it’s working.
I’ll share what the pandemic taught me about healing, purpose, burnout recovery, and balance — how to go back to the root so you can move forward with intention. Less noise. More truth. More community.
Ready to feel the fear and do it anyway, overcome self-doubt, build confidence, and step out of your comfort zone to live a life that actually feels like yours?
Tap play and join the conversation about courage, transformation, motivation, and living in alignment with who you were created to be.
In This Episode
- Reframing stillness as synchronization
- The “pause before you pour” maintenance metaphor
- Mirror work for the fixer who needs fixing
- Duality of career + entrepreneurship without guilt
- Redefining peace beyond metrics and applause
- Vision casting with five-year questions
- Presence at home over performance online
- Letting go to reach the next level with faith
- Community, accountability, and proximity to peace
Real talk, real recovery, actually entertaining. Find Recoverycast now.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Check me out online! I want to hear from you!!! Listen, Rate & Review, Share & Subscribe (Follow)!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:52):
You don't want to make crowd on these transparent
stories and discussions thatreveal it on a moment and
nuggets that'll help you to growand glow.
SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
Hey, hey, hey, you are now tuned in to the It's the
Human Experience podcast.
I'm your host, Hazel Brown.
Thanks so much for tuning in tothe podcast.
If it's your first time tuningin, welcome to the It's to Human
Experience podcast.
And if you're a return listener,listen, if the podcast had a
voicemail, I already know someof y'all would have left me
messages like, uh, Hazel, areyou okay?
(01:35):
You breathing?
You good?
You coming back?
What's going on here?
I just had to be patient in theposition that I was in.
Sometimes you have to pausebefore you pour.
And that's what I did.
I got quiet.
I got grounded.
And I remembered what this wholething really is about.
The world's just been so loud.
(01:56):
Like loud, loud.
Like loud, loud.
Inflation, expectations,everyone shouting, book me,
follow me, believe in me.
Listen, I was just somewhere inthe middle of all that noise.
And then realizing with all thatnoise that the woman who helps
everyone else sometimes has tobreathe and catch her own
(02:17):
breath, right?
And that's exactly where I havebeen.
But here I am, I'm breathing,healing, laughing at myself a
little bit because it's like,girl, what are you doing?
You have whole episodes alreadyrecorded.
Why are you not sharing theinformation?
And I think the reality is, I'vesaid it before, sometimes it
(02:37):
doesn't matter if the clip isready.
Sometimes you still need topause.
I just want to say thank you.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for going through themotions and not giving up and
folding on you.
Thank you, God, for keeping meeven when I've been tired of
keeping it together.
Because the strong one getstired.
The visionary gets weary.
(02:59):
The builder sometimes wants toburn the blueprint and start
over.
Because listen, I know that hasbeen me.
Like, throw away social media,the whole thing, throw it away,
forget the events, forget thepodcast.
I just want a nine to five, andthat's it.
Like all of this visionary work,y'all could have it.
And the reality is, like, that'scool.
(03:22):
But what's life if you're notfulfilling your purpose, right?
I'm not your typicalentrepreneur that is like, nah,
forget the nine to five.
I'm very big on helping toimprove the care and healthcare.
And so that's why that becomesvery important.
But I also love the humanexperience, right?
Outside of the healthcareexperience, as humans, we need
(03:42):
connection, we need realness, weneed vulnerability, we need
growth, we need people showingthe duality of life.
And that is what I set out todo.
And so I've learned in thisseason stillness does not mean
you've stopped.
It just means that you'resynchronizing what's next,
right?
You're pacing yourself, you'rerecognizing that it's not always
(04:03):
go, go, go.
You know, I said before, maybein previous episodes, or just in
conversations with people, justbecause you can doesn't mean you
should.
And so that's what I've had torecognize a lot in this season.
Though I'm not traveling as apassenger in my life, right?
I'm in the driver's seat, I'mletting God lead the way and I'm
(04:24):
doing the work, taking theaction.
Sometimes you could park thecar, right?
Sometimes a car needs to becleaned.
Sometimes you got to take it fora car wash, sometimes you got to
take it for service.
Sometimes you just need to letthat baby cool down.
And so that's what I had to do,right?
I had to get some maintenance.
I had to cool down.
But anywho, take that to saytake a break, cool down if you
(04:48):
need to.
It doesn't have to be go, go,go.
And that is demonstrated in thispause, real time, right?
So let's talk about it.
My whole life, I've been the onewho fixes, helps, elevates,
inspires, the one who builds thesystems, safe spaces for others
to exhale.
But this year, it really flippedthe mirror on me.
(05:11):
It really had me realizing thatwhile I'm doing the thing for
everyone else, I really have totake more time in making sure
I'm doing the thing for me.
Because what happens when thefixer needs people around her to
be able to do the thing?
And I think that for me, I'verecognized that I do a lot of
(05:32):
things that help to pour intoothers, and I don't ask for
people to pour into me.
And so I just really startedrecognizing in my truth that a
lot of the growth that is takingplace has been beautiful to
witness while at the same time,like something should be left
for me.
And so that mirror reallyflipped because I always like to
(05:55):
reflect.
After I do anything, I'm gonnareflect.
And so after the event, I reallyreflected on what is next, what
am I doing?
What is this impact doing forme?
Not just what is it doing forothers.
And so clearly I got a lot oftestimonials.
People told me they love whatI'm doing, they see the vision,
it gets better every time.
(06:16):
Y'all gotta follow me onInstagram at it's humanaf so
y'all can see the last event ifyou weren't there in person.
Definitely follow me onInstagram at it'shumanAF,
because it's a whole movement,right?
It's a whole movement.
Like the magazine is launching,we're doing a docuseries.
Clearly, I have to podcast withit's the human experience, and
(06:37):
so it's a whole thing.
It's a whole thing to reallytake over, create disruption,
and make sure more peoplerealize that they could do the
thing, they could be the thing,but they can pause too, right?
Because it's a part of the humanexperience.
But make sure you go follow meon Instagram at it's humanaf.
Something else that I wanted toshift to is really the fact that
(06:59):
in my journey, I've heard somany times, like Hazel.
You know, I talked about theevents, I talked about the
podcast, I talked about themagazine and the docuseries.
And so people will say, like,Hazel, you don't need a nine to
five.
You're so sharp.
And they're right, I'm sharp,I'm sharp as hell.
Yep, sharp, but sharp stilllikes stability.
(07:20):
I like making impact withouthaving to chase it.
I like when my people find meinstead of me chasing
algorithms.
There's nothing wrong withwanting peace and a paycheck
with purpose and predictability.
And I've recognized that peoplejust don't understand like that.
There's duality.
Like it is okay for you to wantto be an entrepreneur full time,
(07:42):
it is okay for you to want to bea career professionalist, a
corporate girly guy, whateverthe case may be.
And it's okay for you to want todo both, right?
And I'm definitely that person.
Like it's very fulfilling to meto work in healthcare management
and have a career.
And it's also very fulfilling tome to see people and lead people
(08:04):
into finding fulfillment andwhat purpose looks like for
them, what true happiness lookslike for them, what living now
truly means for them.
Like that brings me great joyand fulfillment as well.
But it also takes a lot for meto truly be fulfilled.
And so that is the reason why Ido both.
So I love it when you guys tellme how sharp I am.
(08:26):
But trust me, I know.
I know, and I need you to know.
Like, I need you to know howsharp you are.
And within being sharp, you getto choose your lane and how you
want to have it happen for you.
It doesn't have to be all ornothing, it doesn't have to be
one or the other.
You can do whatever your heartdesires as long as you put in
the work and you don't give upon the vision.
(08:47):
But I'm gonna rewind because Ineed you to remember that
there's nothing wrong withwanting peace and a paycheck,
purpose, and predictability.
Because honestly, what I'velearned is my peace is not
something I'm going to chase.
My peace is in the clarity of myown lane.
I'll build a business, I'll postthe content, show up for my
(09:10):
calling.
But that hustle hunt energy,that's not my ministry.
It's not.
So I stopped trying to be whereeveryone else is going.
To be honest, I've never beenwhere everybody else is going.
It's just not me.
I've always been the lineleader.
You can follow me if you wouldlike to.
Not telling you to because I'mokay with being on my island by
(09:30):
myself, but I stand where Godplants me.
And you know what is peacefulhere is stable here.
It's a little unstable right nowbecause I'm still, you know,
trying to find the right careerfor myself because I like
meaningful work.
I'm also not the kind of personthat's just gonna do anything
for a paycheck.
It has to make sense, it has tobe providing impact, making a
(09:52):
difference, and really helpingto make sure that I leave the
place better than I found it.
One morning I was thinking tomyself, like, wow, like the
feeling of peace that you'vegotten from trusting God, from
being rooted in faith, fromrelying on my first step, my
instincts, my gut, the HolySpirit to guide me, and then
(10:15):
seeing what happens as a resultof being obedient.
Not the money, not the metrics,not the likes, not the follows,
but the peace.
I feel like we're taught tochase degrees, titles, checks,
but no one teaches us to chasepeace, fulfillment, and
alignment.
And when life starts life in,you gotta ask yourself the real
(10:35):
questions.
What do I really want?
Why does this really matter?
Something that I like to askmyself here lately is if I only
had five years to live, whatwould that look like?
That question changeseverything.
Even at my events, I tell peopleto do vision casting and look at
themselves in five or ten years.
What do they want?
What do they see themselveshaving?
(10:57):
And then when you come out ofthat, know that all it takes is
action to make those things cometrue.
If you have a thriving business,that means you've been doing all
the things to make that businesssuccessful.
So what are you not doing nowthat will equal that in five or
ten years?
But I think more importantly,while that's so important and
(11:17):
that's key, we also need to askourselves that if we only have
five or ten years to live, whatwill we do?
Like, would we do any of thosethings?
And if the answer is no, thentry to let them things go.
Like, you want to at the end ofyour day love the life you've
created, you want to enjoy itevery day.
That question just truly changeseverything.
(11:39):
It makes you realize thatmeasuring success by what you
could produce instead of how youcould preserve your peace and
love your life, because peacedoes not come from, yeah.
I guess I really should godeeper, right?
Because peace does not come fromjust like no one getting on your
nerves, you not being annoyed.
Peace comes from fulfilling yourpurpose, peace comes from
(12:02):
feeling like you're doing whatGod put you here to do.
Peace comes from feeling likeyou're being obedient and he
chose you for it and he'spleased.
I probably should have definedthat a long time ago, because
that's the piece that is proof.
Not the peace because I'mcutting out the drama, the piece
(12:23):
that I don't let people likejust create chaos in my life.
That kind of piece is importantnow.
I'm I'm hope that you've donethat a long time ago because
you're gonna have to learn howto create boundaries with that
kind of peace before you caneven have the attention span to
acknowledge what God has youdoing and honor his work to get
this kind of peace.
(12:43):
Two different kinds of peace,both important.
One I would say is a first step,then the other is a second step.
And it's funny how there'slayers to everything and there's
different meanings for everyword.
And so as I was saying it, I waslike, wait, hold on.
There's two different kinds ofpeace, and there probably is a
third kind of peace, right?
As you evolve on your journey,you're like, wait, this is a
(13:06):
different level of peace.
And if you're listening and youfound that level of peace, share
it with me.
Listen, DM me, let me know.
I'll share it with the people.
I'm here for it.
If you're listening on Apple,you could leave it in the
comments.
So I know I just asked you tocomment what being present,
having peace, and all the thingsfeel like.
(13:27):
But I just want you to know likewe're not built for presence
that you post.
It's really presence that youfeel, presence that looks like
enjoying your living room,enjoying your kitchen, enjoying
your backyard, your porch, oryour bedroom.
Listen, I'm here for uh enjoyingmy bedroom.
That is my favorite place in thehome.
(13:48):
Listen, but laying with yourkids, like going into their
rooms, checking on them, beingpresent with them, right?
Being a good steward of thethings you already have, your
partner, your pet, yourself.
Listen, I had to sit in yourselfbecause I feel like we ignore
ourselves as beings, and we justperform and we just do.
(14:13):
And maybe I'm talking to mebecause I've really been
enjoying the moments that I justtake a step back and recognize
you are not a human doer, youare a human being, you are
enough, like listening, singing,dancing to the oldies but the
goodies, right?
Like really not rushing theexperience of your human
(14:37):
experience.
We're built to be here to liveon purpose, and it just doesn't
require an applause.
It just doesn't require anapplause.
Social media has got us thinkingit has to be a follow, it has to
be a like, it has to be arepost, it has to be a reshare.
Listen, go ahead and do all thatwith It's the Human Experience
(14:59):
Podcast on it's human AF onInstagram.
Listen, do it.
Listen, oh my god, pot callingthe kettle black.
No, but anyways, I digress.
I couldn't help myself, I justhad to.
No, but for real, for real, Ifeel like our growth is really
measured by our progress.
And for so long, we're taught todo, to be, to get the ache, to
(15:24):
get the award, to make ourparents proud, to you know, do
the thing.
How much I learn about history,how much I learn about the
world, how much I learn aboutmyself.
That is not progress.
Listen, I'm gonna take a stepdeeper.
How much resilience I have toendure and ensure I'm not the
reason I'm I'm not where Ishould be.
(15:45):
How many times have I toldmyself that?
Like, how many times do you tellyourself that?
Like, it is so important to makesure you're not in your way.
But I need you to recognize thatwho gauges how far you should be
and where you should be otherthan you.
You are the only person thatgauged that, not society.
(16:09):
Because why are we trying tokeep up with societal
expectations, societal trends,societal how-tos?
It's a mindset shift I had toshift from.
I don't want to be the strongone, I just want to do my best,
and I share that because peacedoesn't require the same kind of
grind, like there's a sense ofpeace that is provided from not
(16:33):
grinding, but knowing you areenough as long as you are doing
your best, right?
And I feel like there's adifference between that level of
peace that comes from fulfillingyour purpose.
We talked about it already, andactually just kind of getting
checkboxes, like they're twodifferent things.
(16:54):
It takes courage to not perform,it takes courage to not need to
be booked and busy, it takescourage to not show you're doing
all the things because who thehell are you on stage for?
Who's really watching?
If everyone is really trying tolive their life, who the hell is
watching you?
And who are you distracting todo it?
(17:17):
To give yourself that pat on theback, to make yourself feel like
you're doing the thing.
This is a part of growth that wedon't talk about enough.
The part that doesn't sparkle,it doesn't trend, it doesn't
deserve a highlight reel, ormaybe it does.
But I want you to pause andreally ask yourself, am I
holding on to who I used to be?
(17:38):
Or is life actually as hard as Ikeep saying it is?
Is it life or is it you?
Ask yourself that.
Is it life or is it me?
Resisting the next level thatGod's been trying to show me.
Because if I can be real withyou, in order for you to get to
that next level, you gotta letgo.
Because the next level needs adifferent you.
(17:59):
It has different actions,different tasks, different
things it has to do.
Its mindset is different.
It can't only be worried aboutsocietal goals when it's worried
about really fulfilling itspurpose.
Let's be real, it's bigger thanyou.
If we follow the naturalprogression of life, you already
know like seasons shift, tideschange, flowers bloom again,
(18:26):
which means that at some pointthey dry, these trees are dry,
all the things.
Like, listen, you don't have tobe on top at every season.
You get to go vertical sometimesand just trust the process.
I feel like we live in a worldthat's just so obsessed with
climbing.
I live in that world, I'mobsessed with climbing until my
(18:46):
knees start hurting, right?
Until my knees start hurting.
But guys, we sleep for a reason.
The sun even needs to set.
So I have to ask you, whereexactly are you climbing to?
I'm asking for you.
Because you want to know too.
Where are you climbing to?
(19:06):
If your last climb didn't leadto where you thought it would,
right?
Why are you so afraid ofrepositioning?
Why is rest such a bad thing,right?
Why is the R word such a bigproblem?
Like, why?
I'm asking for a friend,actually, I'm asking for you
(19:27):
because going vertical meansreturning back to faith, back to
your purpose, back to theversion of you who didn't need
to be seen to feel significant.
And here's the truth (19:39):
this is where you learn that mindfulness
was never a buzzword, is nothype, it's substance, right?
It's substance, it's showing youthat your mind is full of a lot
ofness and mindfulness.
I'm so cute, but no, like noperformativeness,
(19:59):
programmedness, perfectioness,people pleasingness.
Listen, I like to sayawesomeness, right?
We're gonna do the awesomeness,but all of thatness leads you to
somewhere where you don't evenrecognize that you arrive, but
you don't even feel home whereyou've arrived.
(20:21):
Listen, listen, COVID might haveended on paper, but its
fingerprints are still all overour lives in our hustle, in our
health, in our hope.
Because ever since COVID, it'sbeen like inflation that keeps
going up.
We're not even gonna talk aboutthe president, like we're not
going to talk about thepresident, but what I am going
to talk about is your growth,your success, you're enjoying
(20:45):
life while you're here.
And that's why we gotta goforward.
We gotta go back to go forward,back to the root, back to the
truth, back to what actuallymatters when the noise stops.
And if you're listening rightnow and you found yourself
nodding, I need you to do onething.
It's this one thing that got metripping.
(21:06):
I love singing to y'all, and Ifeel like I haven't been doing a
lot of this, but the one thingthat I need you to do is follow
me on Instagram at it'shumanaf.
Yes, I know I'm literallycreating noise.
I just told you to tune out, butit's intentional noise because
human AF isn't for the masses,it's for the mature, it's for
(21:26):
the ones who've done the workfalling apart, but still show
up.
Like we still show up.
The ones that know that healingand ambition, it can coexist in
the same heartbeat.
It's for the people whounderstand the community isn't
cute, it's critical.
It is so necessary, and justreality is that proximity,
(21:48):
proximity to peace is priceless.
That iron sharpens ironenvironment, even when we're
tired, is priceless.
I love building a community withsharp people who are
authentically open about wherethey are, what they're growing
through.
(22:09):
Yes, they're growing through it,and they don't give up no matter
what, right?
But we also don't keep goingwhen we know we need to pause.
So I need you to DM meseriously, because I have a
membership that's not all aboutthe hype, it's about healing
because we have to growtogether, and it's time to be
consistent to grow to heal withpeople who get it, and you know,
(22:32):
essentially lovingly hold youaccountable while you do the
thing.
If this episode touched you, Ineed you to share it.
Don't just keep it in yourdownloads, send it to your
friend who's been quiet lately.
Listen, I needed this episodebecause I've been quiet lately.
The one who's strong but tired,the one who keeps saying, I'm
(22:55):
fine, but you know they're notfine.
You know they're not finebecause that's how movement
grows.
Not by like promotion, but bypeople reminding people that
being human isn't a flaw.
It's our freedom.
DM me to tell me what you thinkabout the podcast, share it with
your people, and just knowyou're built for more, more
(23:18):
alignment, more peace, morepresence.
You don't need a title, you needyour drive.
Let's go.
SPEAKER_00 (23:26):
We hope you caught all those gems.
So here for all of it.
Be sure to subscribe so that youdon't miss a gem.
Write a review so that we knowto keep bringing new episodes
like this.
And check us out online atinstanthumanexperience.com to
keep up with it.
Keep growing and glowing.
You don't want to make crowd on these transparent
stories and discussions thatreveal it on a moment and
nuggets that'll help you to growand glow.
SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
Hey, hey, hey, you are now tuned in to the It's the
Human Experience podcast.
I'm your host, Hazel Brown.
Thanks so much for tuning in tothe podcast.
If it's your first time tuningin, welcome to the It's to Human
Experience podcast.
And if you're a return listener,listen, if the podcast had a
voicemail, I already know someof y'all would have left me
messages like, uh, Hazel, areyou okay?
(01:35):
You breathing?
You good?
You coming back?
What's going on here?
I just had to be patient in theposition that I was in.
Sometimes you have to pausebefore you pour.
And that's what I did.
I got quiet.
I got grounded.
And I remembered what this wholething really is about.
The world's just been so loud.
(01:56):
Like loud, loud.
Like loud, loud.
Inflation, expectations,everyone shouting, book me,
follow me, believe in me.
Listen, I was just somewhere inthe middle of all that noise.
And then realizing with all thatnoise that the woman who helps
everyone else sometimes has tobreathe and catch her own
(02:17):
breath, right?
And that's exactly where I havebeen.
But here I am, I'm breathing,healing, laughing at myself a
little bit because it's like,girl, what are you doing?
You have whole episodes alreadyrecorded.
Why are you not sharing theinformation?
And I think the reality is, I'vesaid it before, sometimes it
(02:37):
doesn't matter if the clip isready.
Sometimes you still need topause.
I just want to say thank you.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for going through themotions and not giving up and
folding on you.
Thank you, God, for keeping meeven when I've been tired of
keeping it together.
Because the strong one getstired.
The visionary gets weary.
(02:59):
The builder sometimes wants toburn the blueprint and start
over.
Because listen, I know that hasbeen me.
Like, throw away social media,the whole thing, throw it away,
forget the events, forget thepodcast.
I just want a nine to five, andthat's it.
Like all of this visionary work,y'all could have it.
And the reality is, like, that'scool.
(03:22):
But what's life if you're notfulfilling your purpose, right?
I'm not your typicalentrepreneur that is like, nah,
forget the nine to five.
I'm very big on helping toimprove the care and healthcare.
And so that's why that becomesvery important.
But I also love the humanexperience, right?
Outside of the healthcareexperience, as humans, we need
(03:42):
connection, we need realness, weneed vulnerability, we need
growth, we need people showingthe duality of life.
And that is what I set out todo.
And so I've learned in thisseason stillness does not mean
you've stopped.
It just means that you'resynchronizing what's next,
right?
You're pacing yourself, you'rerecognizing that it's not always
(04:03):
go, go, go.
You know, I said before, maybein previous episodes, or just in
conversations with people, justbecause you can doesn't mean you
should.
And so that's what I've had torecognize a lot in this season.
Though I'm not traveling as apassenger in my life, right?
I'm in the driver's seat, I'mletting God lead the way and I'm
(04:24):
doing the work, taking theaction.
Sometimes you could park thecar, right?
Sometimes a car needs to becleaned.
Sometimes you got to take it fora car wash, sometimes you got to
take it for service.
Sometimes you just need to letthat baby cool down.
And so that's what I had to do,right?
I had to get some maintenance.
I had to cool down.
But anywho, take that to saytake a break, cool down if you
(04:48):
need to.
It doesn't have to be go, go,go.
And that is demonstrated in thispause, real time, right?
So let's talk about it.
My whole life, I've been the onewho fixes, helps, elevates,
inspires, the one who builds thesystems, safe spaces for others
to exhale.
But this year, it really flippedthe mirror on me.
(05:11):
It really had me realizing thatwhile I'm doing the thing for
everyone else, I really have totake more time in making sure
I'm doing the thing for me.
Because what happens when thefixer needs people around her to
be able to do the thing?
And I think that for me, I'verecognized that I do a lot of
(05:32):
things that help to pour intoothers, and I don't ask for
people to pour into me.
And so I just really startedrecognizing in my truth that a
lot of the growth that is takingplace has been beautiful to
witness while at the same time,like something should be left
for me.
And so that mirror reallyflipped because I always like to
(05:55):
reflect.
After I do anything, I'm gonnareflect.
And so after the event, I reallyreflected on what is next, what
am I doing?
What is this impact doing forme?
Not just what is it doing forothers.
And so clearly I got a lot oftestimonials.
People told me they love whatI'm doing, they see the vision,
it gets better every time.
(06:16):
Y'all gotta follow me onInstagram at it's humanaf so
y'all can see the last event ifyou weren't there in person.
Definitely follow me onInstagram at it'shumanAF,
because it's a whole movement,right?
It's a whole movement.
Like the magazine is launching,we're doing a docuseries.
Clearly, I have to podcast withit's the human experience, and
(06:37):
so it's a whole thing.
It's a whole thing to reallytake over, create disruption,
and make sure more peoplerealize that they could do the
thing, they could be the thing,but they can pause too, right?
Because it's a part of the humanexperience.
But make sure you go follow meon Instagram at it's humanaf.
Something else that I wanted toshift to is really the fact that
(06:59):
in my journey, I've heard somany times, like Hazel.
You know, I talked about theevents, I talked about the
podcast, I talked about themagazine and the docuseries.
And so people will say, like,Hazel, you don't need a nine to
five.
You're so sharp.
And they're right, I'm sharp,I'm sharp as hell.
Yep, sharp, but sharp stilllikes stability.
(07:20):
I like making impact withouthaving to chase it.
I like when my people find meinstead of me chasing
algorithms.
There's nothing wrong withwanting peace and a paycheck
with purpose and predictability.
And I've recognized that peoplejust don't understand like that.
There's duality.
Like it is okay for you to wantto be an entrepreneur full time,
(07:42):
it is okay for you to want to bea career professionalist, a
corporate girly guy, whateverthe case may be.
And it's okay for you to want todo both, right?
And I'm definitely that person.
Like it's very fulfilling to meto work in healthcare management
and have a career.
And it's also very fulfilling tome to see people and lead people
(08:04):
into finding fulfillment andwhat purpose looks like for
them, what true happiness lookslike for them, what living now
truly means for them.
Like that brings me great joyand fulfillment as well.
But it also takes a lot for meto truly be fulfilled.
And so that is the reason why Ido both.
So I love it when you guys tellme how sharp I am.
(08:26):
But trust me, I know.
I know, and I need you to know.
Like, I need you to know howsharp you are.
And within being sharp, you getto choose your lane and how you
want to have it happen for you.
It doesn't have to be all ornothing, it doesn't have to be
one or the other.
You can do whatever your heartdesires as long as you put in
the work and you don't give upon the vision.
(08:47):
But I'm gonna rewind because Ineed you to remember that
there's nothing wrong withwanting peace and a paycheck,
purpose, and predictability.
Because honestly, what I'velearned is my peace is not
something I'm going to chase.
My peace is in the clarity of myown lane.
I'll build a business, I'll postthe content, show up for my
(09:10):
calling.
But that hustle hunt energy,that's not my ministry.
It's not.
So I stopped trying to be whereeveryone else is going.
To be honest, I've never beenwhere everybody else is going.
It's just not me.
I've always been the lineleader.
You can follow me if you wouldlike to.
Not telling you to because I'mokay with being on my island by
(09:30):
myself, but I stand where Godplants me.
And you know what is peacefulhere is stable here.
It's a little unstable right nowbecause I'm still, you know,
trying to find the right careerfor myself because I like
meaningful work.
I'm also not the kind of personthat's just gonna do anything
for a paycheck.
It has to make sense, it has tobe providing impact, making a
(09:52):
difference, and really helpingto make sure that I leave the
place better than I found it.
One morning I was thinking tomyself, like, wow, like the
feeling of peace that you'vegotten from trusting God, from
being rooted in faith, fromrelying on my first step, my
instincts, my gut, the HolySpirit to guide me, and then
(10:15):
seeing what happens as a resultof being obedient.
Not the money, not the metrics,not the likes, not the follows,
but the peace.
I feel like we're taught tochase degrees, titles, checks,
but no one teaches us to chasepeace, fulfillment, and
alignment.
And when life starts life in,you gotta ask yourself the real
(10:35):
questions.
What do I really want?
Why does this really matter?
Something that I like to askmyself here lately is if I only
had five years to live, whatwould that look like?
That question changeseverything.
Even at my events, I tell peopleto do vision casting and look at
themselves in five or ten years.
What do they want?
What do they see themselveshaving?
(10:57):
And then when you come out ofthat, know that all it takes is
action to make those things cometrue.
If you have a thriving business,that means you've been doing all
the things to make that businesssuccessful.
So what are you not doing nowthat will equal that in five or
ten years?
But I think more importantly,while that's so important and
(11:17):
that's key, we also need to askourselves that if we only have
five or ten years to live, whatwill we do?
Like, would we do any of thosethings?
And if the answer is no, thentry to let them things go.
Like, you want to at the end ofyour day love the life you've
created, you want to enjoy itevery day.
That question just truly changeseverything.
(11:39):
It makes you realize thatmeasuring success by what you
could produce instead of how youcould preserve your peace and
love your life, because peacedoes not come from, yeah.
I guess I really should godeeper, right?
Because peace does not come fromjust like no one getting on your
nerves, you not being annoyed.
Peace comes from fulfilling yourpurpose, peace comes from
(12:02):
feeling like you're doing whatGod put you here to do.
Peace comes from feeling likeyou're being obedient and he
chose you for it and he'spleased.
I probably should have definedthat a long time ago, because
that's the piece that is proof.
Not the peace because I'mcutting out the drama, the piece
(12:23):
that I don't let people likejust create chaos in my life.
That kind of piece is importantnow.
I'm I'm hope that you've donethat a long time ago because
you're gonna have to learn howto create boundaries with that
kind of peace before you caneven have the attention span to
acknowledge what God has youdoing and honor his work to get
this kind of peace.
(12:43):
Two different kinds of peace,both important.
One I would say is a first step,then the other is a second step.
And it's funny how there'slayers to everything and there's
different meanings for everyword.
And so as I was saying it, I waslike, wait, hold on.
There's two different kinds ofpeace, and there probably is a
third kind of peace, right?
As you evolve on your journey,you're like, wait, this is a
(13:06):
different level of peace.
And if you're listening and youfound that level of peace, share
it with me.
Listen, DM me, let me know.
I'll share it with the people.
I'm here for it.
If you're listening on Apple,you could leave it in the
comments.
So I know I just asked you tocomment what being present,
having peace, and all the thingsfeel like.
(13:27):
But I just want you to know likewe're not built for presence
that you post.
It's really presence that youfeel, presence that looks like
enjoying your living room,enjoying your kitchen, enjoying
your backyard, your porch, oryour bedroom.
Listen, I'm here for uh enjoyingmy bedroom.
That is my favorite place in thehome.
(13:48):
Listen, but laying with yourkids, like going into their
rooms, checking on them, beingpresent with them, right?
Being a good steward of thethings you already have, your
partner, your pet, yourself.
Listen, I had to sit in yourselfbecause I feel like we ignore
ourselves as beings, and we justperform and we just do.
(14:13):
And maybe I'm talking to mebecause I've really been
enjoying the moments that I justtake a step back and recognize
you are not a human doer, youare a human being, you are
enough, like listening, singing,dancing to the oldies but the
goodies, right?
Like really not rushing theexperience of your human
(14:37):
experience.
We're built to be here to liveon purpose, and it just doesn't
require an applause.
It just doesn't require anapplause.
Social media has got us thinkingit has to be a follow, it has to
be a like, it has to be arepost, it has to be a reshare.
Listen, go ahead and do all thatwith It's the Human Experience
(14:59):
Podcast on it's human AF onInstagram.
Listen, do it.
Listen, oh my god, pot callingthe kettle black.
No, but anyways, I digress.
I couldn't help myself, I justhad to.
No, but for real, for real, Ifeel like our growth is really
measured by our progress.
And for so long, we're taught todo, to be, to get the ache, to
(15:24):
get the award, to make ourparents proud, to you know, do
the thing.
How much I learn about history,how much I learn about the
world, how much I learn aboutmyself.
That is not progress.
Listen, I'm gonna take a stepdeeper.
How much resilience I have toendure and ensure I'm not the
reason I'm I'm not where Ishould be.
(15:45):
How many times have I toldmyself that?
Like, how many times do you tellyourself that?
Like, it is so important to makesure you're not in your way.
But I need you to recognize thatwho gauges how far you should be
and where you should be otherthan you.
You are the only person thatgauged that, not society.
(16:09):
Because why are we trying tokeep up with societal
expectations, societal trends,societal how-tos?
It's a mindset shift I had toshift from.
I don't want to be the strongone, I just want to do my best,
and I share that because peacedoesn't require the same kind of
grind, like there's a sense ofpeace that is provided from not
(16:33):
grinding, but knowing you areenough as long as you are doing
your best, right?
And I feel like there's adifference between that level of
peace that comes from fulfillingyour purpose.
We talked about it already, andactually just kind of getting
checkboxes, like they're twodifferent things.
(16:54):
It takes courage to not perform,it takes courage to not need to
be booked and busy, it takescourage to not show you're doing
all the things because who thehell are you on stage for?
Who's really watching?
If everyone is really trying tolive their life, who the hell is
watching you?
And who are you distracting todo it?
(17:17):
To give yourself that pat on theback, to make yourself feel like
you're doing the thing.
This is a part of growth that wedon't talk about enough.
The part that doesn't sparkle,it doesn't trend, it doesn't
deserve a highlight reel, ormaybe it does.
But I want you to pause andreally ask yourself, am I
holding on to who I used to be?
(17:38):
Or is life actually as hard as Ikeep saying it is?
Is it life or is it you?
Ask yourself that.
Is it life or is it me?
Resisting the next level thatGod's been trying to show me.
Because if I can be real withyou, in order for you to get to
that next level, you gotta letgo.
Because the next level needs adifferent you.
(17:59):
It has different actions,different tasks, different
things it has to do.
Its mindset is different.
It can't only be worried aboutsocietal goals when it's worried
about really fulfilling itspurpose.
Let's be real, it's bigger thanyou.
If we follow the naturalprogression of life, you already
know like seasons shift, tideschange, flowers bloom again,
(18:26):
which means that at some pointthey dry, these trees are dry,
all the things.
Like, listen, you don't have tobe on top at every season.
You get to go vertical sometimesand just trust the process.
I feel like we live in a worldthat's just so obsessed with
climbing.
I live in that world, I'mobsessed with climbing until my
(18:46):
knees start hurting, right?
Until my knees start hurting.
But guys, we sleep for a reason.
The sun even needs to set.
So I have to ask you, whereexactly are you climbing to?
I'm asking for you.
Because you want to know too.
Where are you climbing to?
(19:06):
If your last climb didn't leadto where you thought it would,
right?
Why are you so afraid ofrepositioning?
Why is rest such a bad thing,right?
Why is the R word such a bigproblem?
Like, why?
I'm asking for a friend,actually, I'm asking for you
(19:27):
because going vertical meansreturning back to faith, back to
your purpose, back to theversion of you who didn't need
to be seen to feel significant.
And here's the truth (19:39):
this is where you learn that mindfulness
was never a buzzword, is nothype, it's substance, right?
It's substance, it's showing youthat your mind is full of a lot
ofness and mindfulness.
I'm so cute, but no, like noperformativeness,
(19:59):
programmedness, perfectioness,people pleasingness.
Listen, I like to sayawesomeness, right?
We're gonna do the awesomeness,but all of thatness leads you to
somewhere where you don't evenrecognize that you arrive, but
you don't even feel home whereyou've arrived.
(20:21):
Listen, listen, COVID might haveended on paper, but its
fingerprints are still all overour lives in our hustle, in our
health, in our hope.
Because ever since COVID, it'sbeen like inflation that keeps
going up.
We're not even gonna talk aboutthe president, like we're not
going to talk about thepresident, but what I am going
to talk about is your growth,your success, you're enjoying
(20:45):
life while you're here.
And that's why we gotta goforward.
We gotta go back to go forward,back to the root, back to the
truth, back to what actuallymatters when the noise stops.
And if you're listening rightnow and you found yourself
nodding, I need you to do onething.
It's this one thing that got metripping.
(21:06):
I love singing to y'all, and Ifeel like I haven't been doing a
lot of this, but the one thingthat I need you to do is follow
me on Instagram at it'shumanaf.
Yes, I know I'm literallycreating noise.
I just told you to tune out, butit's intentional noise because
human AF isn't for the masses,it's for the mature, it's for
(21:26):
the ones who've done the workfalling apart, but still show
up.
Like we still show up.
The ones that know that healingand ambition, it can coexist in
the same heartbeat.
It's for the people whounderstand the community isn't
cute, it's critical.
It is so necessary, and justreality is that proximity,
(21:48):
proximity to peace is priceless.
That iron sharpens ironenvironment, even when we're
tired, is priceless.
I love building a community withsharp people who are
authentically open about wherethey are, what they're growing
through.
(22:09):
Yes, they're growing through it,and they don't give up no matter
what, right?
But we also don't keep goingwhen we know we need to pause.
So I need you to DM meseriously, because I have a
membership that's not all aboutthe hype, it's about healing
because we have to growtogether, and it's time to be
consistent to grow to heal withpeople who get it, and you know,
(22:32):
essentially lovingly hold youaccountable while you do the
thing.
If this episode touched you, Ineed you to share it.
Don't just keep it in yourdownloads, send it to your
friend who's been quiet lately.
Listen, I needed this episodebecause I've been quiet lately.
The one who's strong but tired,the one who keeps saying, I'm
(22:55):
fine, but you know they're notfine.
You know they're not finebecause that's how movement
grows.
Not by like promotion, but bypeople reminding people that
being human isn't a flaw.
It's our freedom.
DM me to tell me what you thinkabout the podcast, share it with
your people, and just knowyou're built for more, more
(23:18):
alignment, more peace, morepresence.
You don't need a title, you needyour drive.
Let's go.
SPEAKER_00 (23:26):
We hope you caught all those gems.
So here for all of it.
Be sure to subscribe so that youdon't miss a gem.
Write a review so that we knowto keep bringing new episodes
like this.
And check us out online atinstanthumanexperience.com to
keep up with it.
Keep growing and glowing.
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