You'll need curiosity and an open heart

Welcome to the first-ever edition of GRR: A Gently Rebellious Read - a weekly newsletter that invites you to dive deeper into The Gentle Rebellion.

“What is The Gentle Rebellion?” Great question, thanks for asking.

The truth is, I know and don’t know. And that is A Very Good Thing.
 

It took me 20 years to complete my psychology degree. Not continuously, obviously, but persistence, sacrifice and the obliteration of any social life got me there in the end. And then suddenly I became aware of how little I knew - an insight that has kept me curious and playfully sceptical ever since.

The Gentle Rebellion found me. It is how I rebuilt my life after imploding it in 2018. It is a reflection and creation of daring to believe that I could have the full life I desire without sacrificing my health and sanity.

It’s my new way of living after rejecting the old, damaging way. I started by rejecting the overwhelm-exhaustion-crash-recover-repeat cycle, and having burnt all my bridges, somehow found the courage and tenacity to gently, but firmly, rebel until I got my life back.

I just wanted to feel ok - no more pushing myself until my body hurt and the screaming banshee emerged from the tiniest trigger. I wanted to feel well, calm and happy. I wanted a life that worked for me. I wanted to stop surfing the verge of burnout and breakdown. I wanted to heal, feel free and safe from the unbearable weight that holding together my life had unexpectedly become.

I wanted to feel at home in my life - at home in myself.

But it didn’t stop there. As I shared on my podcast last year, along the way I found freedom - I realised that this process I had used to rebuild allowed me to have so much more. There is no destination, just an upward spiral of greater self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-love.

I have spent the winter diving into this process and summarising it to try to make it simpler. I wanted more clarity and confidence to talk about it and teach others what I had found because there is too much unnecessary suffering among big-hearted, driven people. And enough is enough. You didn’t work this hard to work this hard.

You can read the summary on my website under The Gentle Rebellion tab. But it’s not done. Like all of us, it is both perfect and a work in progress.

Perfect because there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it and a work in progress because it is, by definition, an adventure into the known and unknown.

I invite you to join me each week as we delve deeper into an aspect of The Gentle Rebellion.

You'll need curiosity and an open heart.

In return, I intend for you to find the courage and freedom to be more and more fully yourself.

Because you matter.  How you are in the world matters. 

Thank you for reading. 

Wishing you freedom from overwhelm.

Heidi