#Chill: Turn off Your Job and Turn on Your Life

Discover a new way to face work/life challenges, build resilience and learn how to turn roadblocks into stepping stones with these daily meditations. These 365 meditations are designed to support those of us struggling with work/life balance and work addiction—many of whom have demanding full-time jobs, children, marriages, and household obligations—juggling pressures from careers which expect optimal performance. As we navigate these sometimes tumultuous ups-and-downs, #Chill encourages us to step back, take a breath, and imbibe a tried-and-true message geared to widen our resilient zone and free us from the clutches of work/life woes: an impossible deadline, a hard-boiled boss who has no empathy, self-imposed pressures to hurry or perform, anxiety to get it all done, emotional pressures from family members, and the seismic rumble of our own self-doubt. Dr. Robinson describes himself as having once being a chain-smoking, caffeine-drinking work junkie, dogged by self-doubt with no close friends. His colleagues were breathing down his neck and didn’t really appreciate his hard work, at least that’s what he told himself. His memory got so bad members of his family wondered if he was developing early onset Alzheimer's. He scoffed at the idea of work/life balance, yet he couldn't stop working. He joined Workaholics Anonymous, entered therapy, and stumbled into yoga and meditation. But what ultimately brought him through the ordeal was the practice of meditation—present-moment attention to his feelings and a compassionate, nonjudgmental connection with himself. The practice enabled him to climb out of the work stupors into a saner life.

About the Author :
Dr Bryan Robinson is professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina and a licensed psychotherapist in Asheville. He has published three books which have been translated into 13 languages. He is an avid contributor to Psychology Today, Total Health and Psychotherapy Networker and has a strong media profile.

Review :
‘Only when I, like Bryan Robinson, was forced by one too many episodes of burnout to uncover childhood sadnesses did I begin to see work as an irreplaceable part of my life, but not the whole of my life. And only then did I begin to focus on what I could uniquely do instead of trying to do everything—thus beginning to be far more effective as a worker.’ —Gloria Steinem activist/politician, from Overdoing It: How to Slow Down and Take Care of Yourself (Deerfield Beach, FL: HCI Publications, 1992, p. x). ‘I have been a work addict since I was a really young person and because it has been so praised in culture, it took me a long time to frame it as the corrosive addiction it is and find ways to enter into recovery. It is a primary addiction for me, and finding Bryan Robinson saved my life!’ —Alanis Morissette, singer/songwriter from the podcast, ‘Conversations with Alanis Morissette’, (Alanis.com, January, 2018). ‘Perhaps the biggest challenge to practicing mindfulness is being mindful enough to remember to be mindful. Bryan Robinson has solved that problem by offering daily tidbits of insight, encouragement, and advice to remind us to focus on what’s important in our busy lives. Reading each day’s reflection is a step toward greater clarity, balance, contentment, and peace.’ – Mark R. Leary, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University ‘The suffering of addiction runs deep and wide in this world; work addiction, in particular, is an important and underestimated one. I’m truly grateful to Bryan Robinson for bringing it to greater awareness.’ – Tara Brach, Ph.D., author of Radical Acceptance; tarabrach.com