Does your employee dare to be true to himself? And how do you help him do that?

Do you recognize that? Deep inside you feel that something is not right and yet you continue. Out of fear, to step out of a stable and safe environment or to lose connection with people or material things. And where your head does not dare to say 'no', your body does it for you. It happens to (too) many employees. What can we do about it? In our latest Anders Denken Podcast, family physician Juriaan Galavazi answers.

Juriaan Galavazi is a physician, coach and author of the bestsellers "From Complaint to Opportunity" and "You Are Love. According to him, body and mind are inseparable. In his work, he helps people feel truly fit again in both areas. Galavazi does this through coaching programs in which he lets people experience that they themselves have an enormous influence on their well-being.

Dare to be true to the person you are

Most clients of Galavazi do not come at all for the complaints they come for. That complaint is merely a signal from the body that something is not working in the current life. "We humans like to hold on to the story we've made up for ourselves, because, 'if I just hold on long enough, there will come a day when I'm happy.' In the meantime, we sit in the waiting room of our own lives. And that moment of happiness? It doesn't come. At least, not as long as nothing changes. Because happiness is not in persevering and enduring, to fit in and belong somewhere. Happiness is in being true to the person you are."

The waiting room of our own lives

Do we stick around too long in the waiting room of our own lives? Then, according to Galavazi, a precious instrument comes into play: our body. It sounds the alarm when you stray too far from your own course. "This body tells you exactly what is and what is not right in your life. It is then your own responsibility to listen to it, but we find that difficult. Often we try to 'fix' a symptom, when in fact we need to get back to the core: what is not right in our lives?"

What will others think?

According to Galavazi, therefore, the responsibility of one's well-being and wellbeing lies with the individual. "Does an employee experience too much work pressure (stress)? Then it is up to him to discuss this with his supervisor. And yes, he finds this extremely exciting, because the moment he puts this on the table, all kinds of programs start running: 'is this possible, is this the right thing to do, what don't people think of me and is my job now at risk?' Thus the fear of potential risks blinds him to the actual risks he is running at that moment."

 

What is your role as an employer in this situation?

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Escape from that toxic environment

By that, Galavazi is referring to the risks of stress. "Stress occurs when you are not able to take good care of yourself. If you remain stuck in an unhealthy (work) environment and you do not clearly define your limits and needs, too much tension is created. That makes your body sick. And yes, escaping from that familiar but toxic environment is extremely difficult. The question then is not whether you are going to be hurt, but when it is going to happen. And it is not a question of whether there are going to be times when people are not going to understand you, but when. How do you manage to stay true to yourself in such a situation? Through awareness. Happiness is a choice. Not an easy one, but a free one."

 

Want to learn more about conscious living and the undeniable link between body and mind?

Listen to the Different Thinking Podcast!