My Christmas Eve celebration reminded me why so many people get bored at work and are stuck in a loop.

Let me tell you about it.
If you don’t celebrate Christmas, you can apply this to any traditional holiday you celebrate.

This is how I celebrated Christmas Eve this year.

Picnicking on a California beach with a friend, her baby, and her dog. (socially distanced)



…and contemplating a majestic sunset. 

This was one of the best Christmas Eve celebrations I’ve had.

Do you know why it was one of the best?

Well, because it was different than the norm, what is said “we are supposed to do” to celebrate Christmas.

  • what we learned “we should do.”
  • what we keep repeating over and over again automatically without questioning it, without asking ourselves if we enjoy it or not. 

We just follow the rules we were taught.

And we get bored; things get flat, uninteresting. They lost their flavor. 

We are on automatic pilot.

Have you experienced that?

The same happens with work for many people.

  • We follow the rules of society about what work we should do, why we should do it, and how to choose it.
  • We don’t question them.
  • We continue on automatic pilot.
  • We don’t ask ourselves if we like that type of work or not, if we enjoy ourselves. Asking if we like it is out of the equation.
  • We follow what the mainstream is saying we should do. 
  • We make choices based on society, instead of our own. 
  • We lose joy; we get bored; work does not have flavor or meaning and we wonder why.

We need to break the rules to find our joy and nourishment again. 

As I did for Christmas.

  • Break the rules of conditioning.
  • Find what makes you happy, what brings you joy.

To discover the work I do now and that brings me joy, I had to break the mold of what I was told I was “supposed to do” to follow what made my heart sing.

It is not an easy path. It requires facing your fears and sometimes the judgment or incomprehension of others, maybe even people close to you. But this is the only way to find joy again in your work. It is one of the most rewarding journeys you can take in your life. When you love your work, everything changes for the better: your relationships, your happiness, your health, and more.

Having a guide on the journey makes it much easier. A guide who has been where you want to go.

If you—or people you know—are interested in getting support to discover the work that lights you up, apply here to have a conversation with me. 

I’m currently taking some time off for the holidays, but I’ll follow-up with you as soon as I’m back in my office in early January.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

However you celebrate (or don’t), do it your way, the way that makes your heart sing!

Isabelle 


P.S. to clarify, when I’m writing about “breaking the rules,” I’m not encouraging to go against the Covid safety guidelines. All of this is done in the context of keeping ourselves and others safe. We can stay safe and find creative ways to enjoy ourselves.