Empower Yourself at Work

By Hélène van Oudheusden

In her latest book Hélène van Oudheusden shows you how being true to yourself in the workplace can be of benefit to everyone: you, your colleagues and, yes, even your boss. 

Many people struggle to strike a healthy work/life balance. But do they have to be so separate? Personal coach Hélène van Oudheusden gently illuminates an alternative path – one where you bring your full self to work, and you integrate your work into your personal journey of growth. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Apollo Books
• Release date: May 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9789081440042

Hélène van Oudheusden

Hélène van Oudheusden is a Dutch personal coach and author on personal spiritual growth. She works with individuals and organizations. Hélène works from the Netherlands and from Greece, her second home.

Book preview

www.helenevanoudheusden.com

© 2021, Hélène van Oudheusden

Editor: Maudie Fraser

Original title: Maak een Krachtplek van je Werk

ISBN: 9789081440042

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of Hélène van Oudheusden, Apollo Books.

Reviews

This guidance to mental health is a good friend in a busy life. | Lea Dam-Jensen, Denmark

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This book is revelationary! I felt so much of my own experience reflected in its lines, and even more so of many friends in corporate jobs, who came to my mind through countless passages as I was reading it. I can really see it helping them take greater charge of their work life and get more out of it on a personal level.  | Charlotte Johnson, physical therapist, United Kingdom

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Empower Yourself at Work helps me to do a regular job performance review with myself. It gives me strength and ideas about my next step at work. | Hanneke Steenbergen, human resource specialist, Switzerland

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This is the first time I have read about the nine Muses in a book on work happiness. They provide so many practical insights, why don’t we integrate them more at work? | Ben Philips, manager, Belgium

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I now look at work situations as a signal for change. And if you think Is this a spiritual book?, it is about time that we can read more books with a strong spiritual and practical foundation! | Ilse Vlietstra, school counsellor, Netherlands

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Why wait until small work issues become problems? The tools in this book help you to positively change work dynamics. | Peter Rose,  renewable energy manager, Belgium

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Empower Yourself at Work also offers recognition and inspiration for less conventional work relationships, such as in the O.R. This book has the potential to transform your own I into a source of energy in your daily work environment. | Xandra Schyns – van den Berg, anesthesiologist, Netherlands

When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.

Circe, Madeline Miller

Prologue

Does this sound familiar? You started your job enthusiastically and then life changes. You now feel that you are not getting the best out of yourself and you are too busy. Who doesn’t feel tempted, then, to conform to ‘this is how things are done in the organization’ instead of wondering how what you are doing feels? Have you ever thought about taking charge of your work happiness based on your personal leadership? 

Personal leadership means that you live your life according to your innermost beliefs and wishes. As one of my clients was saying the other day I want this, this is my life.

As a personal coach, I am touched when you wonder how to trust your inner voice. Do you think it is too vague or spiritual? Or haven’t you met your inner voice yet? Experience shows that if you do not trust the whispering - or sometimes shouting - of your inner voice, you may be relying on the outside world too much. You believe that the other person, or your employer, knows what is right for you and you might be too sensitive to the belief that your opinions do not matter. You will lose energy, and then inspiration slowly disappears from your work. That is a pity because when you start to lose your inner fire your talents will no longer shine.

Fortunately, personal leadership is growing in society. We are more and more open to understanding that it is time for feminine qualities such as connection, (self-)care and loyalty to be recognized as valuable, indispensable work assets.

A special note for women

As a Western woman in the 21st century you have the freedom to follow your inner wishes to (re)create the life you want for yourself. Worldwide there are millions of  women  without access to work, health care, education and without the freedom to marry the man or woman they love. Source: Melinda Gates Even when you are in a difficult place right now please try to be mindful of all the privileges we can enjoy.

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Personal growth supports your professional growth. After all, you are a sensitive man or woman first and a professional second. In my 25 years of experience as a personal coach and speaker about personal leadership, I have noticed that hard workers are increasingly looking inside, engaging in self-reflection. ‘How am I doing?’ is an inspiring check-in question during the day. What do I need at this moment and how can I get it, in my personal life and at work?

Empower Yourself at Work helps you to establish and grow your personal leadership. We start with empowering you to be authentic at work. With the Hero’s Journey (Joseph Campbell) you will discover how personal leadership is both your tool and your purpose. You need your strength and commitment to lead you to become your authentic self. The Seven Signposts for Self-care will support you during each step of your journey.

This book is written for you if you wish to be in charge of your work happiness – wherever this happiness may lead you. You don’t need to be a leader at work, the book is also for you if you wish to share the talents of your innermost self with the world.

Enjoy your journey!

Hélène van Oudheusden

2021

Part I  Self-care

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Why do you do what you do today?

Introduction

Life is constantly changing and provides us with new opportunities every day. We are increasingly given more space to live and work based on our talents and deepest wishes. Besides feeling joy, this can also feel challenging – what do you do with so much freedom of choice? If you say yes to one thing, something else is no longer available or possible. How do you choose consciously? Do you weigh all the pros and cons and/or do you allow yourself to choose intuitively? In Part I we will explore the essence of self-care and working in changing societies.

1.1 What is self-care?

Talking about self-care, we tend to focus on our physical well-being, but self-care goes beyond that. Self-care means gently caring for your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. You become aware of what feels good and what may be blocking you from growing. When you believe that your work is a place to grow, you can already feel abundance and fulfillment. This (new) focus ís your fulfillment. With effective self-care at work you are relaxed and alert to how what you do feels. In any given situation, your personal values, thoughts, feelings and actions ​​are aligned. You can experience a sense of flow at work when you realise that time has passed you by without you even noticing.

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Stay true to yourself when things are not easy

If you do not feel comfortable with what you are doing over a longer period of time, you may want to look inward to see what is going on. We all experience moments of stagnation, resentment, impatience or haste. You cannot be blissfully happy all day. This book is about staying true to yourself when things are not easy. About gently taking care of yourself while surfing the waves of challenging work situations.

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Discover your true wishes and desires

It is essential for your personal growth to create space for your wishes, your desires and your soul. Your soul is your essence, your true self. You are in touch with your soul