AS A HIGH-ACHIEVER, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BURNED OUT? If you have been (or currently are) burned out, today’s guest shares how she got the career of a lifetime only to discover it was killing her… and how she overcame burnout WITHOUT using any medications!
15:01 The biggest decision you'll make in life is not WHAT you're going to do, but with your choice of life partner.
17:30 What's the important difference between running away and giving yourself space to clear the fog?
24:00 How am I going to deal with this issue?
27:37 Depressed? Here's another great case for the benefits of exercise.
30:05 Overwhelmed or burned out?
43:51 HIIT works! (to combat depression, anxiety, stress)
45:27 The common denominator in all your interactions is...
Connect with Maricela:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meditationfairy/
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/meditationfairy/
Clubhouse: @maricelarobles
Twitter: https://twitter.com/meditationfairy
Are you a high achiever who's looking to optimize your performance?
Check out Dr Brian's proprietary new system
The Gene Hack Boot Camp: limited offer!
https://drbriangbrown.com/genehack
Have a question you would like Dr Brian to address?
https://drbriangbrown.com/question
AS A HIGH-ACHIEVER, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BURNED OUT? If you have been (or currently are) burned out, today’s guest shares how she got the career of a lifetime only to discover it was killing her… and how she overcame burnout WITHOUT using any medications!
15:01 The biggest decision you'll make in life is not WHAT you're going to do, but with your choice of life partner.
17:30 What's the important difference between running away and giving yourself space to clear the fog?
24:00 How am I going to deal with this issue?
27:37 Depressed? Here's another great case for the benefits of exercise.
30:05 Overwhelmed or burned out?
43:51 HIIT works! (to combat depression, anxiety, stress)
45:27 The common denominator in all your interactions is...
Connect with Maricela:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meditationfairy/
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/meditationfairy/
Clubhouse: @maricelarobles
Twitter: https://twitter.com/meditationfairy
Are you a high achiever who's looking to optimize your performance?
Check out Dr Brian's proprietary new system
The Gene Hack Boot Camp: limited offer!
https://drbriangbrown.com/genehack
Have a question you would like Dr Brian to address?
https://drbriangbrown.com/question
Overcoming Professional Burnout
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
burnout, meditation, migraines, people, lawyer, happening, moved, depression, parents, meditating, decided, moment, gave, boot camp, zone, decision, remember, feel, changed, retreated
SPEAKERS
Dr Brian G Brown, Maricela Robles
Dr Brian G Brown 00:00
The mission is simple to help high achievers naturally eliminate emotional and physical obstacles so they can optimize their life for higher achievement. Welcome, you just entered the Genesis zone. Good day and welcome to another episode of the Genesis zone show. This is Dr. Brian Brown. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us. I know there are a million other places you could be and you've chosen to be here with us and we so appreciate it. Never ever take that for granted.
Today in our ongoing Wellness Warriors Series, we're joined by Maricella Robles. She's an environmental lawyer, turn children's author and certified meditation teacher who helps parents effortlessly introduce meditation to their children through bedtime, or anytime stories, her genius as a storyteller lies and writing storybooks. Like You Don't Need Your Body to Sail a Boat. And Why Does Mommy Always Sleep Sitting Up? that get children asking their parents to meditate instead of the other way around? After the very first reading.
In addition, Maricella provides parents with all the tools they need to start a meditation practice themselves and get their kids meditating through her website Meditation Fairy Maricella lives in Switzerland with her husband and young son. When not writing on her laptop or scribbling ideas on her Notepad. You can find Maricela analyzing the newest animated movie with her son or exploring mountain hiking trails. And in this Overcomer Segment, Maricella will be sharing her experiences in the area of overcoming professional burnout. Welcome Maricella how are you doing today?
Maricela Robles 02:57
No, I'm Excellent. Thank you so much for having me here. I'm super, super happy and excited to be sharing today.
Dr Brian G Brown 03:03
I'm so excited. You're here. Before we dive into the main focus of the interview, I think our audience would love to get to know you just a little bit better. Can you share a little bit about your childhood backstory with our listening audience?
03:23
Yes, of course. So I'm so even though I'm based in Switzerland right now, I'm originally from Mexico. So born and bred 100%. I grew up there in the city of Monterey. I don't know if you guys have heard it not to be confused with Monterey Bay. And Monterey is about sort of the third largest city I think in Mexico. You know, several millions of people live there. I don't know, I'd lost count probably about five at the moment. And yeah, so I grew up there. Lovely childhood, generally speaking. And both of my parents worked, always did, very workaholic. I was shown from a young age that to be good and successful, you had to work really, really hard, all of the time. And that probably dictated a big, big part of the decisions that I made that ended up sort of leading me to the career that I chose and what I wanted to do, because that's the example that I saw from my parents who had very little when they started and they created something very good for themselves through a lot of a lot of hard work and determination. But just constant and my dad is now 70 nearly 72 and he still refuses to retire.
Maricella Robles 04:52
Exactly. He's saying, you're not kicking me out. Okay, dad. Yeah, but we had loving parents. What they did allow themselves was one huge holiday year. And when I say one huge holiday was about two weeks and for about for about six years, I think straight we ended up going I remember to Disney for about one week with having done it as an adult. I bless my parents to have that. My goodness, it's tiring. And then one weekend in the Caribbean. Just at the beach, scuba diving watersports, I'm a water baby in that sense. And so yeah, so that's from you. I remember most Caribbean portion was after Disney.
Yes. Smart that they exhausted themselves. And then were able to recover at the Caribbean. Yeah. And I'm very forward thinking. They put me and my brother in fully bilingual school. So, my accent at the beginning was very sort of American. And then when I moved to England, became a bit of a mesh of both. It's now a bit confused. But yeah, it's funny, because when I came out of high school, I sometimes I knew more words in English than I did in Spanish. Wow. So, I would be like, I remember looking…there was a plane going by, and I was like, what's that?
I would remember it. It was quite funny. So yeah, so that was a bit of my background, my childhood growing up in Mexico.
Dr Brian G Brown 06:43
Q: So was it US English? Or was it British English school?
Maricella Robles 06:48
No, it was us. There were a few. So, the teachers that we had, there were a few from the States and a few from Canada, as well. And they're just with a random sort of European teacher thrown in there for good measure who was not British. So but it was pretty. I mean, if I think about it, now with my own son, he's doing actually English and German, because we're in Switzerland. So, when I think about it, I had six hours of English and then one hour of Spanish. And obviously, the idea is that I was speaking Spanish anyway, with my parents and friends, etc. So sort of that whenever Spanish was very focused on the grammar, and you know, things like, I was there till I was about 23, I think. And then I said, Oh, I'm going to do a master's degree abroad in England for one year. And I'm still in that, year, 17 years ago.
Dr Brian G Brown 07:56
That's great.
Q: So you only spent one year in the UK?
Maricela Robles 08:02
So after that, then I because, and this is part of, I guess, I was very adamant that I wanted to do that I wanted to study abroad. And I had told my parents and this is all I had it from since high school, I said, When I finished my degree, I want to do a master's degree abroad, and I'm going to pay for it myself. So you guys, you know, you don't have to worry. And then I graduated, and I was like, I'm stupid. How am I going to pay myself? Like how, you know, I'm just like, I've just graduated, I'm not making any money really. Right. And I landed a job that was sort of commission based. And so I ended up making quite a lot of money for a 23 year old just out of of law school. Because it doesn't, it's not like in the US where you come out with a law degree. And if you land a big job in a big law firm, then you're set. It doesn't quite work like that. So I went for my degree for a master's in the UK. And then from there, I thought, Oh, I really need to learn French. And as you do, right, and I decided to go to Paris for a few months, and I had run out of money at that time and my parents very nicely. They said, Look, we'll support you for four months. And then at the end of that either you come back or you have to find yourself a job and find yourself to support yourself. I was like, Okay, okay, so I went with nothing, no idea. And then, and then I found this job opportunity in Amsterdam. And so I was like, Well, why not? Let's go to Amsterdam. And so I went to Amsterdam, and I lived there for about two and a half years, nearly three years. And then from there, they asked me to open up the office in London. And so then I went to London in the night, then I stayed in London for about 12 years after that. And then three about three years ago then we decided, you know, after Brexit and all that situation, that's a whole other conversation. We will not get into, then we decided to move to Switzerland. And yeah, we were in a good place. And I've loved it. It's really great. It's quite a difference from London. But beautiful and fun and amazing in its own way as well.
Dr Brian G Brown 10:16
Hmm. That's a great story. So, um, sounds like necessity was truly the mother of invention, because you were given a four month ultimatum and you figured it out quickly?
10:27
Exactly. Like, do I want to stay? Or do I want to go? having way too much fun. gone back. So yeah, I made it work.
Dr Brian G Brown 10:38
So for those of us, for those listening in the listening audience, or overcomer segment, we focus on exceptional people who've overcome obstacles and live to tell about it.
Q: Maricela, could you share with us the details of uh, you know, one or more obstacles that you overcame in the course of your either childhood or young adult years? or adult years, for that matter? And in the course of your life?
Maricela Robles 11:06
Yes, of course. So, I mean, for me, I think there's been obviously, depending on the context, one looks back and you think are, you know, at the time, you were sort of thinking, this is the end of the world, and then you imagine you're like, that wasn't the end of the world, really. I shouldn't have been looking at it in that perspective. Or as others, you do think, oh, gosh, okay, I sort of I, I struggled with that, and I was able to sort of, you know, overcome it as it were.
And I think for me, there's two, there were two points, probably, that I do remember very strongly have shaped in one way or another the person that I am today, and one of them happened when I was younger, when I was, um, I was dealing University, and I was about 19. And I had my first relationship, and it was a very, very toxic relationship, one would say, all sort of teenager and, whatever, and this and that, but it was very possessive, very, sort of, not physically abusive, but very sort of mentally abusive. Now, I recognize that that's what happening that was happening, sorry, you know, lots of jealousy, I wasn't, you know, didn't want me to see my friends, it can go out sort of without him couldn't, there's not. And that ended up with me really developing I was such a, such a sort of free spirit and such, I have lots of friends and very outgoing. And I became this really sort of retreated into myself, this person that just didn't want to talk to anybody or be with anybody anymore, except this person that I was with.
And that it's really interesting that the “advice” that you get from people. You know, I remember sort of, you know, my mom bless her, she said, you know, if you really love him, like you guys, you know, don't see him very well suited. But she's, and she said, Look, you have two options, you either give in and just flow with the current and basically change everything about yourself to be able to fit in that relationship, or you fight against it, and then you're always going to be fighting against it, and then sort of it's going to be a nightmare. Great advice.
And for me, I was like, and what ended up happening through a bunch of, you know, mental, also, let's say, mental abuse, I guess. And in that sense, I developed depression. Luckily, my mom recognized it, she was able to then take me to somebody who would help me, because I wouldn't have, you know, I didn't know I just sort of retreated and retreated and retreated. And luckily, she was able to sort of bring me out of it and take me to somebody who was able to help and who, through therapy, we work together. And were able to deal with that. And what I realized at the moment is that I needed to extricate myself from that relationship completely. And at the time, I figured that the easiest way to do that, which is to leave, like leave the country, if actually and so I decided, things appeared as they do sometimes. And I think once we make a decision, two things just happen. And these opportunities start appearing that you hadn't seen when you were there. And the moment I made that decision, like literally the next day, I was talking with a friend and he's like, I'm going over to do a math to do an exchange program in Holland. And I was like, I need to go there. I was like, I don't get it. I need to do that. And it was it took a lot of me to because I was still in the throes of that relationship and the very that you remember the teenage sort of love as it were. And it was very difficult for me to make the decision, but I was like, No, I need to do this.
And that me leaving, was the catalyst for that then changed sort of a lot of the things about myself, in what I realized and how I viewed life and working on becoming more aware and more conscious of the situations that I had let myself into, and recognizing that and deciding that I wasn't going to let somebody else dictate what I could and couldn't do, and that any partner that I had, had to be fully supportive of what I wanted to in my life without any restrictions. Alright. And that really, I mean, I have a wonderful husband, who I love, who is, who is exactly that. I got very clear.
And I think you may have heard this before, a lot of people say, one of your biggest decisions is not what you're going to study, but actually who who's going to be your life partner, you know, or who you're going to marry. Because that I believe that that relationship is so strong in terms of steering you in a good or bad direction of life. That actually, yeah, that can define your success in a way. And so that, for me was one of the things sort of recognizing which then, when we're coming to the next part of you know, when I when I had my burnout, actually, because I had had that experience, because I knew what it felt like.
The second time around, it was like, I was staring into the abyss, and I knew where it was leading. And I was on my own in a foreign country. You know, I had a little one to look after, you know, my husband's super supportive and loving, but who had no idea about how to deal with any of this. I didn't have, Mom, I didn't. So, but because of that experience, I was able to make a decision to say, Wait, actually, I am not in a good place to make any decisions. Now any big sort of life decisions, which I think is a big thing about what happens people in the throes of anxiety or depression, they end up making really, really strong life changing decisions, that they end up regretting bitterly, when their mind is clear. And because it's like a fog, you have a fog in front of you, and you can't see. And all you want to do is just run away and leave everything behind. Because you think once you've run past the fog, things will get better. But the problem is just keep running into the fog, and it just keeps going with you.
Dr Brian G Brown 17:54
Right. It's like the advice your mom gave. I didn't finish my thought I said great advice. But it's great advice. If you want to live in fear. Yes, used to live in fear and stay where you are, you know, your mom gave you two ultimatums. And neither one of them were really, really good. And it sounds like the same thing that you ran into professionally. Years later, that with the with the burnout, it's like, Yes, I can either stay here and give in. Or I can stay here and fight it and be miserable. And your third option that you learned through that experience was I can leave. Yeah,
Maricela Robles 18:30
exactly. I can leave. And I think there's a big difference between people thinking you're running away from something and you're running away from a problem to actually separating yourself and giving yourself distance from the person from the issue from whatever it is that you need. Because sometimes you need that distance for the fog to clear.
Dr Brian G Brown
that's a good word
Maricela Robles
Before you are able to see what it is that's in front of you and what you have to deal with. And, you know, my mom, she was able to recognize that, I guess, because she also had a sort of similar decision. And for her those were her two options. Right? And so I look at it now and I think, Hmm, yeah, she could have said, Look, you don't you don't have to stay like you don't have to, you know, you don't have to do that sort of you this is not a good relationship for you. This is not what I have heard her. I don't know sometimes when we're in that depth of, of denial and sadness and fear and physical and emotional fear. We sometimes don't listen.
And that's also where, you know, lots of friendships end because people feel like you're not understanding me and you know, they go away even though they can see it clearly because they're not in it. Right. But yeah, I think those were for me to two big sort of the two biggest decisive say obstacles are factors that i can remember that mentally and physically took a toll on me in that respect that I was able to okay I'm gonna get the silver I'm still gonna get you know I'm still gonna ace my testing university I'm not gonna let you know that was something that i also had like i was like I'm not letting a man sort of ruin my chance in some way i still had that sort of strong you know sense of like no this is my stuff so even if iIm crying and through my studies I'm still going to study and ace this exam so that little part of me was always was always there thankfully right otherwise it would have stopped
Dr Brian G Brown 20:43
so you talk through the relationship and the lesson that you learn there and you touched on the burnout the professional burnout years later and how you use that first example to kind of work through that.
: What did you find to be most helpful in in the professional burnout situation to help you navigate through it other than the tools that you would picked up from that previous situation?
Maricela Robles 21:14
well the burn at the professional burnout was like you know it almost felt like the other depression was like a mini like almost like a baby depression compared to what happens with the burnout because because it came with much heavier physical representations of it wasn't only sort of sadness or depression or tiredness it was actually it ended up with vestibular migraines and I don't know if you know what the stimulant migrants are you probably do but for your audience they're effectively so instead of just getting this really bad headaches, you are dizzy all the time and then you get vertigo. Being dizzy all the time means like it's as if you got off about where you're sitting i can't walk properly, and then i couldn't you know i had to hold things i couldn't drive anymore because it was dangerous
Dr Brian G Brown 22:18
it pretty much means you're laying flat on your back all the time
Maricela Robles 22:21
Exactly and if I wanted to get on the Tube so that the underground when I was in London, I would throw up because it was I was already dizzy and you add more movement and then it just made me sick so I couldn't get on the tube it was just so limiting physically that it just made me realize like okay now I need to properly listen I think what I was able to carry on from the first from my first experience was the you know because when it started I was so sad and so depressing. Yet I had everything. I had a baby boy who was healthy who I adored; I had the job that I had worked for years. I was at a top law firm in London, with my office on like the 25th floor enjoying amazing views of the city and I had a wonderful husband who loved me and supported my career and looked after our child.
We shared sort of the home, taking care of our home and our child in the same way and yet I was so so so sad and so depressed that all I could think about was everybody is better off without me. No, I just want to leave. I just hopeless exactly, very, very hopeless and I think I can understand when people are in that situation that they leave marriages, and they leave their families because you feel so in such in despair that you don't know what to do. And you love them, but you don't want to hurt them and the last thing that you want to do is stay there and sort of cause a problem and for me the presence of mind of I got to that point where I was like I just no longer want to be here. But it was remembering, wait this is the base, this is the top you know you're at the edge and if you make this big decision now without with the fog, not knowing what's happening, not having a clear mind; you're gonna regret it so as much.
At that moment as I wanted to just get up and go. Which I've seen over and over again, I've seen so many people do and then a year they're like I really shouldn't have done that I mean for me, I'm so grateful that I had that first experience to stop me. To stop me from running away from my family from running away from my marriage and to be able to just stay there and say, Okay, this is my issue, right? How am I going to deal with it? And how am I going to get through it? Because either alone or with them this still going to go on?
Dr Brian G Brown 25:12
Q: Just for perspective sake, how long? Did you kind of sit in that? That dysphoria that depression? How long did that last?
Maricela Robles 25:22
It was about a year and a half. Then the migraines
Dr Brian G Brown 25:24
occurred over that year and a half as well.
Maricela Robles 25:28
And then longer. Oh, wow. That took longer. That was about Yeah, that was about a year at it to that. Well, because I was because that's how the body works. Righ?. So it was first the depression, tiredness, exhaustion. I wouldn't stop. I still was working. I was still putting I was still at the office, nobody would know. How, like, you’re a lawyer and an office like who's gonna want to you know, you don't talk about that. It was a
Dr Brian G Brown 25:58
Q: Nobody knew that you were struggling with migraines?
Maricela Robles 26:01
Nobody knew well, well, nobody knew I was struggling with depression. And then once with the migraines, then that's when I had to tell them I was like, I need to work from home. Right? Like I can't, you know, I'm having this migraines head count. And then at that point, after about after several months, because it starts little, it starts small, it doesn't start to do. Exactly, exactly. It starts small. And so my body was like, okay, depression, okay, now you're tired. I should have stopped there. I didn't I kept on going. And then Okay, like a little bit. Oh, I'm feeling you know, I'm feeling a bit dizzy. I'm feeling that I just kept on going. And it was once I got hit by vertigo, I think not only by vertigo, but I think I remember my mouth that I lost feeling around my mouth, there was numbness around my mouth. Right. And at that moment was when I was like, Hmm, maybe I should see a doctor.
Dr Brian G Brown 26:59
out of curiosity.
Q: How long did it take before you knew that this was burnout related that this was stress related? Did you know immediately I know it's easy, in retrospect, to look back and say, Oh, you almost immediately, but in the moment, how long did it take you to realize that? Gosh, this job is killing me?
Maricela Robles 27:23
It was. So, once they identified and they said okay, you have migraines, you have vestibular migraines, then they said you need to now find out your triggers. Hmm. And it was that exploration of the triggers, which they were like, you need to cut out cheese and you need to cut out wine and you need to cut out chocolate. And I was like, I couldn't stop a chocolate.
But it was all through that. That and they didn't go away. I stopped everything I then kept introducing. I did this, I did that I just kept going and going and going and going and it didn't go away. And I remember I said I need to exercise I need to do something. And I used to, I started going to a HIITclass, which is probably the worst thing that you should do when you're when you're having sort of a similar migraines when
Dr Brian G Brown 28:14
you have vestibular, but
Maricela Robles 28:15
Exactly. So I was like, I don't care. I'm going to this HIIT class. And during the HIIT class, I was fine. Like, I had no I was able to jump I was able to exercise I was able it was those 45 minutes, I was so focused and so engrossed, and so forgetting about everything else, and then I would finish, and then we start again.
Dr Brian G Brown 28:37
Wow. That is so important. And for those who don't know, when she says a HIIT class, she's talking about high intensity interval training. And it's very intense. But the research shows, as I've talked about on previous podcast episodes, is that exercise actually decreases stress, it decreases anxiety, it increases endorphins or natural painkillers, and increases your serotonin your mood enhancing neuro chemicals. And sounds like Marcella, that's exactly what was happening. You kind of surprised yourself that sounds like?
Maricela Robles 29:13
exactly and the only reason why I started the HIIT class actually was because at that point, I was I had already so, so they when they said okay, you have vestibular migraines and all of that. The doctor gave me something and gave me a pill that made me feel awful. And I was like, I can't take this. Like I got pain on my back and my hips and my legs. And the moment I stopped it, it all went away. And
Dr Brian G Brown 29:39
it's not that you can't take it. It's like I can't live this way.
Maricela Robles 29:42
Yeah, exactly. And so I was like, No, I can't do that. And he's like, what? And then his answer was, well, if you can't take that, then you're gonna have to learn to live with it. Now I was like, excuse me? Like what do you mean, to learn to live with it and he recommends this lady who was a vestibular migraine specialist, and it was a sort of rehabilitation. And, I started going to see her and I mean, and I'm going to tell you this, this is gonna sound crazy, but this is literally my first session with her. We got in, I was sitting down, and obviously I'm like feeling like I'm going sideways, right? And she starts, she says, okay, we start chatting a bit, and they're just Okay, now get up. And I was like, I can't get up. And she's like, okay, stand on one foot, and then the other, and then one foot. And then the other time they're standing, lifting one foot, lifting the other lifting one foot lifting the other.
And then she's like, okay, now I want you to tell me all of the fruits and vegetables that you know, and you can't repeat them. I was like, Okay, I didn't know what this has to do with vestibular migraines, but fine. And, I started doing that, and I was like, okay, apple, and then a melon. And then the third time, this and that. And I got by about I don't know, maybe one or two minutes, I stopped and I sort of I put my head down.
And she looked at me and she's like, Okay, sit down. And I just started crying and crying and crying and crying. And, and she's like, How do you feel? She's like, How does it feel? And I was like, I just wanted you to stop, like, stop harassing me about flipping vegetables. And she's like, Okay, good. She's like, what you just did there was effectively like a forced representation of what happens to you when you're under stress. She's like you're having to balance. So you're having to physically balance your body, you're having to recall memories of things that you know. And you have to calculate at the same time, what you've said, and what you haven't said. And all of that is stress, your body is under stress. And when we started working together, I was like, that's my trigger. My trigger is stress.
That together with HIIT with the HIIT sessions, where she was very encouraging, she's like, Look, to get over this, like, you have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations, and you have to do things, you can't just sit at home sitting down, like that, you're never going to get out of it if you stay at home sitting down, right. And so that's how I ended up with the HIIT sessions. And realizing that during the HIIT sessions, I just didn't have any of these, these sort of, yeah, symptoms. But once I finished, they came back. And so and that is what put me on the journey. Because I was like, I need to figure out a way to make this stop permanently. I cannot have a quick fix. I cannot have because it was like having a shot of whatever right that it made me feel good for an hour. Right. And then you go back to your normal self. And that's how I ended up then finding meditation and everything that happened after that.
Dr Brian G Brown 32:59
Yeah, I mean, you pull yourself out of the stress for an hour and then boom, you put yourself right back into it.
Maricela Robles 33:04
Yeah. Because mentally you didn't I mentally I didn't change anything. Right. And it's what happens as well, when people say, Oh, yeah, I practice meditation and you sit yourself for half an hour, 15 minutes or an hour or whatever it is long. And then you go back to being a crazy person. You can't outdo 23 hours of craziness with one hour.
Dr Brian G Brown 33:32
That's worth repeating. You can't outdo 23 hours of craziness in one hour. It's so true. And I think everybody has this tendency to think that they can. So that's an excellent piece of advice there is he really can't outdo 23 hours of craziness, something has to change on a grander scale.
Maricela Robles 33:56
Exactly, exactly. And so that for me was, I continued with my HIIT lessons, and I continue seeing this therapist who was amazing. And eventually the exercises became more complex thing. And we're like, I remember getting back home and my husband would be like, oh, what was your session today? And I was like, she made me stare at a giant rotating white thing with dark spots. And he's like, okay,
Dr Brian G Brown 34:33
it's like, I think she's trying to make me have a seizure here.
Maricela Robles 34:37
Exactly. And actually, funnily enough, what she explained was that that is a similar training that pilots go through. So it's like it was this huge sort of really a round thing that just would go round and round and round and have all of the spots and then she would turn off the lights and they would glow. And so the whole point was, was to make me dizzy. In a sense, and for me, she said, You, you need to, you need to trust the rest of your body. And I think this was really, really insightful and important. At the time, she said, You're only trusting your eyes at the moment. And your eyes are telling you that you're dizzy because or that you're not, you know that you shouldn't be dizzy, because you can't know everything is moving around you. It's like, you need to trust the rest of your body, you're sitting down, you're not moving, you're not gonna fall your ears, you're everything else. And for pilots, that's what they do. They need to trust everything, and not just what their eyes are seeing, because a lot of the times they can't see anything. Right, right. And so that for me was like, wow, okay, I hadn't thought about that. I hadn't thought about how all of my body needs to work together. For me, to, for me to be okay. Right? You can't trust one part or the other. Otherwise, it's just, it's just not going to work. Right. And, and all of that. Yeah, eventually, you know, then they just went away. Once I started meditating, once I started everything, and I haven't had a migraine since then.
Dr Brian G Brown 36:11
Q: So did you had you in that process? When they went away? Had you already quit work? Or were you still working?
Maricela Robles 36:19
No. So I changed from the law firm, I decided, Okay, I decided I need to change, I'm going to go in house, because I thought that would be less stressful, which in a way it sort of was and it gave me more flexibility, I was able to work from home more in that sense. But it was still it was for an American company. So it was very sort of, it was very driven and very, like you have to perform, and you have to do this and you have to do that. Right. Um, but it was more I think, for me the realization that came together of, all I wanted to do, like, my mom tells me that it's that apparently when I was five, I was watching one of these shows, which would have been an American show, I'm sure. Because we don't have that in Mexico, where it was the court and the judge and the two lawyers were there. Right? And I and I didn't know what it was about. And I was like, Mom, that sounds really, age inappropriate. But she said that I turned around, and I said, Mommy, that's who I want to be when I grew up.
Maricela Robles 37:24
And so I had this thing about I want to be a lawyer, when I grew up, and I always and then I have, this thing to do drawings, please save the planet I had when I was like, eight. And so that's where the environmental part came up. And so all of my life, I was working to become this to become a lawyer, an environmental lawyer to prove myself to show everyone that it didn't matter that I wasn't, that I was Mexican, and that I was a woman that I could do the same, if not better as anybody else. And all of the Oxford Cambridge educated kids that were competing for places I could do it. Right, right.
And so I think the moment that I left the law firm, I knew that I didn't want to be a lawyer anymore, that I didn't want to have that life anymore. But I was not yet willing to accept it. And that caused enormous internal conflict for me, because I had been so defined by being a lawyer, and what that meant, you know, in whatever context, procedure north or whatever, that letting it go was really, really difficult. And, and I think I was only, it was only really when we moved to Switzerland, three years ago, when I was like, Okay, I'm, I am ready now. Like, I want to let it go. And it was a conscious decision of me saying, I'm going to quit my job, and then we're going to move, and then we're going to figure it out. And then I'm going to see what is getting what's going to happen.
Dr Brian G Brown 39:01
But I think the beautiful piece of that story is that you'd already moved into that place of healing.
Q: And healing occurs in stages, but as far as from a physical sense, the vestibular migraines were gone, correct?
Maricela Robles 39:13
By that time, I think yes, by the time we moved here, I think that I wasn't dizzy anymore. So I was in a much in a much better place. But they weren't they weren't fully gone until I started my meditation practice regularly
Dr Brian G Brown 39:34
coming into this because I know that's your that's your expertise. So yeah.
Maricela Robles 39:41
So when we moved here, and I was still you know, we're still going through certain things because sometimes other things happen that then throw you for a tailspin that that you weren't really expecting. Gosh, I don't think I've shared this publicly. But um, when before we moved, I was pregnant. And then sort of the week or two weeks before we moved, I had a miscarriage. Sorry, thank you. And, and I hit that, like my, like the automatic responsibility kicked in the lawyer persona that I was trying to leave behind, kicked in. I just need to get through this, we're moving, you know, it's fine. I'm gonna put it aside, right. Which was a mistake. Obviously, I didn't give myself time to grieve. I didn't give myself time to heal, physically and emotionally. And when we moved here, I then I wasn't, I was still in this really weird mental space and physical space. And that's when I remember my brother, actually, he said, there's this guy that I think you should go and see, he's going to be in Basel speaking. He's like, I don't know how far away are from Basel, but you need to go. And it was an I don't know if you know him. I just made me nervous, as well as Dr. Joe Dispenza.
Dr Brian G Brown 41:17
I've heard the name.
Maricela Robles 41:18
Yeah. And so I was like, Okay, my brother never tells me random things to do. So I should listen. And so I went, and I and I had done or I had tried meditation. In the past, when I was in London. I remember I used to go to it was like a Tibetans to do group meeting where you would do group meditations. And there were a lot of chanting and mantras and also silent meditations. But I never really stuck. You know, I went there once a week. And then but I wouldn't practice it. Like, I didn't know how to or I didn't know what to do sort of, or anything.
So it didn't really stack and, and when I heard him speak, who uses a lot of science based and evidence based information on meditation. That's when I was like, Okay, okay, this interests me now. Okay, I want I want more of this. And talking with my brother and seeing the changes that he had in his life and his wife had in his life, who was a completely different person. I said, Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna start meditating every day for at least, 45 minutes, no matter what, Sunday, Saturday, it doesn't matter. Every day, I'm gonna wake up, and I'm going to do it.
And I decided I'm going to do that for a year, and then see what happens. And now remember, before that sort of my brother, he was like, Oh, you need to, you know, genuinely need to get into this and do it. And I was like, you know, typical, I don't have time. And, you know, he's like, I said, I have a child, you don't, and you don't know how it is. And he's like, well, what time does he wake up? And I said, six. And he's like, well wake up at 5am. And I was like offended. Me, wake up at five. But I was like, You know what, you're right
Dr Brian G Brown 43:11
That's almost as bad as taking away chocolate.
Maricela Robles 43:15
Exactly. And I was like, Okay, I'm gonna wake up at five. And I'm just going to see what happens. And his convincing, his most convincing point I have to give it to him was like, Look, you're gonna wake up, sit down, and then close your eyes again. So it's really like you're sleeping. Now it's like, okay, maybe, maybe you have a point. So I started, I started that. And then after about two months, I started feeling massive, massive changes. And I was like, right, I want to go to a retreat. And so I went to a retreat, one week retreat, which was amazing. And then after that obviously, the whole sort of meditation, you know, start writing books for my son, and everything that happened then and then and then I decided to, okay, I want to learn more, and I decided to become a meditation teacher, and all of that, and now everything is just so different for me, and that has changed massively.
And I still, you know, I still meditate every day and if I miss if I miss one or two days, like, I think the most that I've been, without meditate without meditating since I started was probably has been like, four days. And I could start feeling myself again. And I was like, why am I doing this to myself? Just sit down, and do it and, and that to me is, yeah, that just changed completely, Everything. So So that's, that's where all of that started.
Dr Brian G Brown 44:51
That's great. So it just kind of recapping, you know, through your journey, you found out that high intensity interval exercise Held of short term, but it helped the right therapy. Very, very targeted therapy to work through the vestibular migraines helped. And then meditation was kind of what sealed the deal, so to speak. And that's the one that's been ongoing and long term. Is that correct?
Maricela Robles 45:19
Yes. So I think meditation was Remember to the 23 hours, right? You can't do so I was doing the one hour trying to HIIT let's say, trying to compensate for the other time free. Meditation helped me sort out the other 23.
Dr Brian G Brown 45:35
Well, so yeah, it's like a magnifier.
Maricela Robles 45:39
Yes, because you then become; what it gives you really, it's awareness, and consciousness about what you're doing, and why and how you're reacting to it, and the emotions and the thoughts and the triggers. And if you don't have that awareness, you're not going to be able to get off this crazy wheel. Because for you and your mind, you're right, and everybody else is wrong. Right, it's their fault. They're the ones being mean to me. So, they are making me feel bad. So, they are angering me, my son's meltdown is making me uncomfortable, it's his fault. When really, it's all us, right? If you start thinking about each and everything is like, no, it's you, right? You are the one who you can control. So you are the common denominator in all of those interactions, right. And so you need to figure out how you are going to decide what you think and what you do, and, and how you react. And it's when you do that with curiosity, and a bit of also humility, trying to sort of accepting that, look, you don't know everything, you're probably wrong about a lot of things. And that's when things start changing. And where you can get away from that craziness and, and not let yourself fall prey into that.
And you find the one thing that works for you. And that may be HIIT or that may be, even if I was only doing a one hour meditation, and then again, the 23 hours, you have to still work on that awareness in that consciousness for the rest of the day, you can't just rely on those 20 minutes or 45 minutes that you do, right to be able to, to lift you out of whatever it is that you want to be lifted out or to take you to whatever it is that you want to be, take yourself.
Dr Brian G Brown 47:46
That’s good advice. Great advice.
Q: Related to overcoming burnout, are there any other last nuggets? Pieces of advice that you want to share?
Maricela Robles 48:00
Yes, I think so. I made a decision when I was feeling really, really ill. And I just decided I was going to talk about it. And I was going to tell you no, actually, I didn't tell my boss, I told my boss's boss at the time, because I had sort of told my boss in a way and at the time, she said, Oh, are you sure you just don't want to take a few days off. Because I said I need to take time off, I need to take in I think I took about a month off in the end. This is I got you know, you should just take it as holiday. And I was like, and I know in the States, it might work a bit differently.
But I mean, in the UK at the time, you are really protected in terms of sort of illness or, or a sort of taking time off and all that is really respected. Right? And I could have very easily gone like oh, yeah, should just take a few days off for a week or take it as holiday. I don't want to impose on them. I don't want to hurt them. But I was like, You know what, no, I need to make this decision for myself. I need to put myself first now. Because at any moment, when you're working for a company, and that's just the reality of it, whoever you're working for, at any time, they can just say thank you and goodbye. Right, at any time.
And so for me at that moment, I had lived through that actually, the first law firm that I worked for, had basically crashed and burned. When I was on my honeymoon that I had fought to take time off for when the partner at that time had told me No, you shouldn't take so much time off. And I was like, thank goodness I took the time off because when I came back, they didn't exist anymore. When I came back, there was nothing there.
Maricela Robles 50:00
Yeah, exactly. And, that sort of learning that lesson, certainly while as well here, because I was like, Wow, now I need to take this time off for myself. And I was really afraid about what that could mean. And I know for a lot of people, you can be really concerned about whether you will have a job afterwards coming back to it. But for me, it was so bad, it was so bad that I was like, it's not worth it, I can find another job, I can find something else. So, it was honoring that space that I needed to take.
And so, I think things have changed. I mean, this happened, quite a few years ago, and I think over the last few years, it's become better the whole talk and the conversation around mental health. I think it's far more open and accepted. But if you are in that moment where you're not sure about, do I, should I do it? Should I say it? Should I take that time off? You need to take toll of Okay, how important am I to me? Is my wellness to me?
Because and that's another nugget from my mama, she once said, Look, you can have everything in the world. But if your mind is not right, you don't have anything, right. And that is true. Because if you know, it doesn't matter if you're technically “healthy” if your mind is all over the place, if you can't concentrate, if you can't focus, then you can't work, you can't do anything. And you need to sort that out first, and then everything else will follow
Dr Brian G Brown 51:40
Q; How much is your sanity worth?
Maricela Robles 51:44
There's always going to be another job. And it might not be what you thought you wanted. But it might be what you needed at the time. And so don't be afraid to lose something. Just because it's familiar. There might be something better, or the same that is uncertain at the moment. And hence it makes you feel uncomfortable because it's unknown. But don't stay out of fear of familiarity and what will happen.
And I recognize that not everybody might be in that position. If you're the breadwinner and the family is relying on you. But either way, at some point, it's either that or things can get worse. Because that's what leads people to suicide. That's what leads people to accidents and etc. And you don't want you don't want to get there. Right?
Dr Brian G Brown 52:47
Yeah, that's a great piece of advice. I know and a good way to kind of wrap this up. I love ending the show with a with a fun question. So, bear with me on this.
Q: What would you do if you could be invisible for a day?
Maricela Robles 53:09
How much fun! What would I do if I was, if I could be visible for a day? Oh, my goodness, I would probably go and eavesdrop on really important people, shadow them through the day and see what they're doing.
Dr Brian G Brown 53:27
Or saying.
Maricela Robles 53:29
But this probably has to do, because I sometimes think that things are so much better for others. If I only had that job. If I only worked for that company, if I only had that, then my life would be better. Then I would be good. But if we could really be a little fly on the wall, we would realize that actually, things are not quite what we think they are. And it makes you appreciate a lot more what you have. And where you are thinking that sense probably to try. I mean that.
Can I still eat if I'm invisible? Because I would then just go into the Lindt factory and just eat all the chocolate first.
Dr Brian G Brown 54:20
That's great. I mean, there's still consequences to being invisible and eating but sure you can eat.
Maricela Robles 54:27
Well, that's my decision.
Dr Brian G Brown 54:29
There you go. Awesome. Awesome, awesome. Um, I just love your story of overcoming, you know, professional burnout. Thank you for sharing your insights and your wisdom from your experiences. There are plenty of high achievers out there who've either dealt with burnout are currently dealing with burnout to some degree and they're afraid to step out into the unknown and I think you laid out a really solid, some easy steps people can take to overcome that. And I appreciate that. Thank you. It was an honor to have you on the show today.
Maricela Robles 55:09
No, you're welcome. It was really my pleasure. And I hope, you know, this goes to the ears of somebody who needs to hear it.
Dr Brian G Brown 55:16
I know it will. I'm banking on it. There's someone out there that needs to hear this, and they're going to benefit from it greatly. I can assure you that.
Maricela Robles 55:26
Thank you.
Dr Brian G Brown 55:27
As we wrap up, I'd like to make our listeners aware of something new. I recently launched my brand new Gene Hack Boot Camp. And it's, it's getting rave reviews. And that means I'm going to be doing another boot camp soon. In the gene hack boot camp. Using my proprietary Genesis Zone method, I teach you how to know exactly which of your five zones are creating lower physical, emotional and mental performance for you. And I'll show you exactly which genes need to be checked within each of those zones in order to propel you to higher levels of physical, mental and emotional performance.
So if you want to be put on an early registration list for the next boot camp, go to https://drbriangbrown.com/genehack and we'll get you on the early notification list for the next boot camp.
If you have any questions about that, about the boot camp or just in general, you can direct message me on Facebook or Instagram at Dr. Brian G Brown or simply go to my website. https://drbriangbrown.com/question and click the button right there in the middle of the page and leave your question I'll be glad to answer it.
So tune in tomorrow at noon eastern standard time for my In The Zone segment, where I'll be recapping today's interview with Maricela showing you how the nuggets that she shared from this interview fit into the Genesis Zone Advantage. I'll be answering any questions and again as usual, we'll be exploring a current event relevant topics related to peak performance and high achieving high achievement.
Most informed most trusted and most grateful you spent this time with us today. Until next time, stay in the zone. I'm Dr. Brian Brown.