In This Season

Everybody at some point in their life has looked at someone and instantly thought “shucks! They are cool!” For whatever reason, this person‘s appearance or personality or brain or wit or style, made them look cool to you, but why is that? How do we get that? Can we create that and when does it go too far?

“The reason we fail at keeping to our resolutions is because we try to reinvent ourselves from the ground up, which is too much to do and then impossible to execute all the checklist items.” So this year, I’m choosing not to reinvent myself, because what plant can flourish if it keeps being ripped out of the ground?

Half a million Rand in debt, and still jobless? Is university even worth it? Recently, on the radio, a presenter was arguing that a university education is no longer needed…especially in South Africa. Here’s my take on this question and my experience having gone to university while I couldn’t afford to…If you’re enjoying the poddy, please consider rating the show! Until next week Tuesday! Mwah, Rae

Has adulting made me a bad friend? Between deadlines, distance and my own emotional exhaustion - friendship feels harder than it used to. This episode is a confessional, a reflection and a gentle reminder that we’re all still figuring it out. I feel like I’m constantly dropping the ball. In this episode I unpack the guilt, the growing pains and the good stuff surrounding adult friendships.

In this season of disconnection the world appears to be a machine that is designed to get us to neglect what is really important about life. Poor social relationships, isolation and loneliness can increase heart disease by 29% and increase risk of stroke by 32%. If this is such a big public health crisis issue, then why aren't we talking about it more? Has society been brainwashed to the point of believing the American Dream to a fault where hyper individualism is king and connections are merely a hinderance? Join me uncover the hard science behind why loneliness is so bad for us and why it is more relevant now than ever before. I fully believe human connection is the medicine this world so desperately needs, but nothing is going to change unless we do. As Derek Thompson said: "the cure is us." Here are more resources for search: Juliana Schroder, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Johann Hari, Deb Dana and Polyvagal Theory.

In this season of almosts…I was journaling one night and recounting my success in sticking to some of my goals and celebrating this discipline, only to have the streak broken the next day by an emotional hiccup. This was not a one time incident; it appeared that whenever I told someone (or my journal) about my accomplishment of a specific goal, I would go backwards shortly after. It got me thinking; is something wrong with me? Why does this recognition of success appear to cause a spiral into failure? Is this self sabotage? And why would I do that? It turns out there is a psychological reason behind this self sabotage and fear of completing goals. If you’ve ever experienced dragging your feet coming into the finish line, or feeling uncomfortable with success, this episode is for you. Join Rae as she discovers reasons why we sabotage our goals and ways to overcome this fear…

Join me (Rae) as we chat about why we act scared of the finish line by procrastinating and putting off tasks that we claim we “have” to do. Good news is, you’re not broken! Bad news is, you have to get yourself out of this loop. But don’t worry! In this episode we not only talk about why we’ve misunderstood procrastination, and how it’s a symptom and signal more than anything else, but we also talk about science backed strategies for overcoming your “instant gratification monkey” (as Tim Urban calls his procrastination mind).Thank you to Dr Fuschia Sirois, Dr Timothy A. Pychyl and Tim Urban for their research findings into this topic and Mary Oliver for your poetry’s wake up call: “tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Why smart people stay stuck. How I’m learning to ensure I didn’t peak in high school and how I’m actively choosing to achieve more by aiming for imperfection.

We live in a world that glories the grind. And I used to think that the more busy I was, the more worthy I became. The problem? There’s no finish line. Join me as we uncover the art of slow productivity and doing enough without doing it all.

Long time know hear! It’s so good to be back to recording this podcast - I’ve missed it. Although I needed the break and the time to reflect, stepping back has shown me how much I love this creative process and the personal journalism In This Season gives me! The podcast needed a new direction, I needed a new direction. So welcome back to In This Season hosted by Rae. This episode chats about one of the biggest lessons I learnt in my “step back” period, about our humanness (mine especially) and the importance of having grace with yourself.

A friend asked me earlier today what is one thing I learnt going from first year to second year in my university journey, I gave her two things:1. Audit the wall on which your ladder is leaning (ensure that your habits now are aligned with where you want to end up someday in the future) 2. Have grace with yourself (don’t use it as an excuse but forgiving yourself for human errors and moments of weakness is actually much more productive than harboring bitterness and disappointment).

How can we live above the line? The line that we are talking about it the line between “thriving and surviving,” the line of burnout - the red zone. God does not desire for us to be living on a hamster wheel, He wants us to have abundant life and enjoy His creation. But in a world so obsessed with statistics and climbing the success ladder, how can we ensure that we remain emotionally healthy whilst still fulfilling the call of God for our lives?

While burnout is commonly linked to working too hard, and taking too few breaks, it is also, and perhaps more frequently, a result of unresolved, distressing conflict with others. It is a trap I often fall into, getting anxious about tense relationships leading to me living in a burnt out state. This week we’re exploring another element of Elijah’s emotional energy journey band assessing how his life as a prophet applies to our lives and how we can ensure we’re being sustainable in our following of Christ’s plan for us.

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “they are so much more capable than me”? You think, “I would never be able to carry all that!” Actually, if God has called you to something, He will equip and strengthen you. Our job is to ensure that we are making sustainable decisions. Your ability to extend God’s Kingdom through individual projects He calls you to, rests on your capacity to maintain emotional well-being. In this month’s season, we chat about emotional energy and drains and how to ensure we “live above the line.”

How can we know when to stop asking and start trusting or keep seeking and knocking? I’ve found that if you think of it as two different channels it makes things clearer; you need to trust the heart of God and His will for your life. That’s channel one. And then you need to seek His word and how He wants you to live and demonstrate His love here on earth. That’s channel two. Separating these two has made all the difference in my questioning seasons.

How can we deal with uncertain answers in the Bible? What if there is no clear answer? We are not living in the same conditions as the authors of the Bible were so how can we ensure we interpret the lesson from the story correctly and accurately without taking it out of context and adding our own personal doctrine? We can use both the Spirit and the Word.

Luke 18:17 talks of having faith like a child. And this faith is not passive but active, curious and seeking. I’m part one of the questioning season talks about the danger of accepting scriptures and sermons at face value without looking deeper into the context for yourself.

Join Rae in a quick recap of her time on church mission and the lessons she learnt along the way. Following that conversation, Rae opens up about some changes to the podcast that you’ll want to hear.

“Be made new in the attitude of your minds and…put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” We are currently in a battle. A battle for our peace, our sanity, our attention, our lives. How can we properly prepare for and protect against negative thinking patterns that lead only to disaster? The answer lies in how we think.

Jana Gous is a student at Stellenbosch University as well as a young up-and-coming Afrikaans poet. As a dear friend of Rae, she agreed to sit down and unpack her creative process, recent accomplishments and advice for other artists. Join Rae and Jana in this episode to discuss how to overcome writers’ block, where to find inspiration, and a sneaky peek into Jana’s first poetry book. This is an episode no one should miss!