Proverbs 31 as a professional woman – Part 14
Embodying and manifesting godly wisdom in the workplace
Dear loyal readers, I trust you’re blessed and highly favoured.
“Even if I think I am a superhuman, my body has a way of reminding me of my human limitations.” I wrote these words during Covid-19 in a two-part opinion titled 'Mental Health in the Legal Profession'. Part 1 was published on 25 August and part 2 on 1 September 2021 by Namibian Sun newspaper.
In the above article, I was touching on a seemingly taboo subject, which is the unspoken issue of how lawyers often struggle with mental health issues due to a lack of self-care and an insane obsession with mental resilience and fortitude built on putting in the hours. The legal profession is a noble profession and for many years I was guilty of priding myself on how much work I did and how efficient I was in beast mode.
Exhibit A: I was part of the team that worked for 23 hours straight during the preparation of the second Covid-19 regulations in 2020. We came in on a Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and left at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. I laughed it off until I woke up on Monday with a body that was sick and tired of me. My doctor booked me off for three weeks and instructed me to rest and SLEEP.
It wasn’t the 23 hours that finished me. It was the combined effect of many years of harmful patterns that had the cumulative effect of making my body shut down completely on that fateful Monday morning.
I broke down and cried because I knew that I was out of alignment with my spirit, my soul and my body. I didn’t know what to do, but I certainly knew that I couldn’t go on like that any longer.
There’s nothing wrong with success, but how successful are you when that success damages your spirit, soul and body? When that success robs you of a quality life and time to enjoy it?
Is it truly success when it translates into negative life experiences that include “increased tension, nervousness, mood changes, depression, low self-esteem, insomnia and burnout?” ('Mental Health in the Legal Profession' – part 1 by Yolanda Kalenga).
In those three weeks that I was booked off, I lived under grace because I couldn’t pray, I didn’t have an appetite and all I wanted to do was just run away from my own life. I needed to assess myself and the underlying issues that led me to where I was. I was a type A personality who took it too far and I needed to slow down and adjust my priorities, expectations and deliverables.
In the midst of it all, I discovered the beauty of having an adult colouring book, drinking tea before bed, making time to do a bit of exercise and finding ways to decompress my mind. I learned to start asking the Lord to lead me in everything that I do, as opposed to starting something and trying to apply the strength of Jesus Christ to make it work.
How many times have you perhaps tried to push yourself beyond human limitations, ignored warning signs from God and lived to regret it?
Pick me – I used to be the poster child for making bad life decisions and then blaming it on God (even after He warned me).
This concern brings us to success principle 7, which says that Proverbs 31 as a professional woman is “nourished and healthy – spirit, soul and body."
Next week, we’ll unpack success principle 7 in greater detail. For now, I encourage you to reflect on the state of your spirit, soul and body – do you feel nourished and healthy? If not, what are you doing about it?
Shalom.
DISCLAIMER: ‘Proverbs 31 as a Professional Woman’ under the theme ‘Embodying and Manifesting Godly Wisdom, Success Principles and Effortless Femininity in the Workplace’ is not posited on trying to read the professional woman into Proverbs 31 because this will produce an absurd result. However, I have opted to take a principles-based approach that widens the scope to be applicable to any professional woman – regardless of her age or status.
*For more context about who I am and why I’m writing this column titled ‘Spirit, Soul and Body’, I encourage you to Google search my previous articles titled ‘A New Season’, ‘Seeing God’s Glory Through My Tears’ as well as ‘Proverbs 31 as a Professional Woman’ (the introduction as well as parts 1 to 12) – all published by the Namibian Sun newspaper. I welcome your comments, inputs, queries or concerns. Kindly address them to [email protected]
“Even if I think I am a superhuman, my body has a way of reminding me of my human limitations.” I wrote these words during Covid-19 in a two-part opinion titled 'Mental Health in the Legal Profession'. Part 1 was published on 25 August and part 2 on 1 September 2021 by Namibian Sun newspaper.
In the above article, I was touching on a seemingly taboo subject, which is the unspoken issue of how lawyers often struggle with mental health issues due to a lack of self-care and an insane obsession with mental resilience and fortitude built on putting in the hours. The legal profession is a noble profession and for many years I was guilty of priding myself on how much work I did and how efficient I was in beast mode.
Exhibit A: I was part of the team that worked for 23 hours straight during the preparation of the second Covid-19 regulations in 2020. We came in on a Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and left at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. I laughed it off until I woke up on Monday with a body that was sick and tired of me. My doctor booked me off for three weeks and instructed me to rest and SLEEP.
It wasn’t the 23 hours that finished me. It was the combined effect of many years of harmful patterns that had the cumulative effect of making my body shut down completely on that fateful Monday morning.
I broke down and cried because I knew that I was out of alignment with my spirit, my soul and my body. I didn’t know what to do, but I certainly knew that I couldn’t go on like that any longer.
There’s nothing wrong with success, but how successful are you when that success damages your spirit, soul and body? When that success robs you of a quality life and time to enjoy it?
Is it truly success when it translates into negative life experiences that include “increased tension, nervousness, mood changes, depression, low self-esteem, insomnia and burnout?” ('Mental Health in the Legal Profession' – part 1 by Yolanda Kalenga).
In those three weeks that I was booked off, I lived under grace because I couldn’t pray, I didn’t have an appetite and all I wanted to do was just run away from my own life. I needed to assess myself and the underlying issues that led me to where I was. I was a type A personality who took it too far and I needed to slow down and adjust my priorities, expectations and deliverables.
In the midst of it all, I discovered the beauty of having an adult colouring book, drinking tea before bed, making time to do a bit of exercise and finding ways to decompress my mind. I learned to start asking the Lord to lead me in everything that I do, as opposed to starting something and trying to apply the strength of Jesus Christ to make it work.
How many times have you perhaps tried to push yourself beyond human limitations, ignored warning signs from God and lived to regret it?
Pick me – I used to be the poster child for making bad life decisions and then blaming it on God (even after He warned me).
This concern brings us to success principle 7, which says that Proverbs 31 as a professional woman is “nourished and healthy – spirit, soul and body."
Next week, we’ll unpack success principle 7 in greater detail. For now, I encourage you to reflect on the state of your spirit, soul and body – do you feel nourished and healthy? If not, what are you doing about it?
Shalom.
DISCLAIMER: ‘Proverbs 31 as a Professional Woman’ under the theme ‘Embodying and Manifesting Godly Wisdom, Success Principles and Effortless Femininity in the Workplace’ is not posited on trying to read the professional woman into Proverbs 31 because this will produce an absurd result. However, I have opted to take a principles-based approach that widens the scope to be applicable to any professional woman – regardless of her age or status.
*For more context about who I am and why I’m writing this column titled ‘Spirit, Soul and Body’, I encourage you to Google search my previous articles titled ‘A New Season’, ‘Seeing God’s Glory Through My Tears’ as well as ‘Proverbs 31 as a Professional Woman’ (the introduction as well as parts 1 to 12) – all published by the Namibian Sun newspaper. I welcome your comments, inputs, queries or concerns. Kindly address them to [email protected]
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