What is a Good Life? #13
What is a Good Life? #13
Building A Life With Compassion with David McQueen
On the 13th episode of the “What is a Good Life?” podcast, I am joined by David McQueen. David is an Executive Coach, a Keynote Speaker, and an executive and non-executive director for several businesses.
In this episode David takes us through the role compassion plays in his life - for himself, for others, in reconnecting with nature, in building community, and in contributing to others. While we also discuss anything from the supernatural, imposter syndrome, the importance of knowing when enough is enough materially and to ultimately following your own path.
This conversation resonated with me a lot, and David provides a great example of someone who is consciously carving out his own version of a good life. The episode is filled with insights and reflections that will give you plenty to ponder in terms of experiencing more compassion for yourself and those around you.
The weekly clip from the podcast (3 mins), my weekly reflection (2 mins), the full podcast (58 mins), and the weekly questions all follow below.
1. Weekly Clip from the Podcast
2. My weekly reflection
How much compassion do you have for yourself?
Is your love for yourself consistent or must you earn it by reaching the next milestone or goal?
In the interview this week with David, we touched on imposter syndrome, the extent to which people are rarely satisfied with what they have, and how much we buy and consume, and I can’t help but see how they are all, to some extent, rooted in a lack of self-compassion.
We are constantly telling ourselves that we need to be more and have more in a material sense; we even do it with mindfulness and spiritual practices where the goals can often be greater awareness, consciousness, or total virtuosity of behaviour.
Have you ever told yourself that you are perfectly acceptable as you are right now? Have you ever told yourself that if you are not “more” anything, that you will still love yourself?
If we are perpetually demanding that we do better, that we cannot rest or remain still, while it may drive some of us to greater goals, it also comes with a degree of self-intolerance for who we are now.
This is not to say don’t have goals, etc., but be careful of the narrative we engage in as we pursue these goals. And if we must always drive and push ourselves on, are they goals we really want to achieve, or are we scrambling to fill a hole, from the outside in, that our lack of self-compassion has left behind?
3. Full Episode - Building a Life with Compassion with David McQueen - What is a Good Life? Ep. #13
Click here for Apple and Google.
4. This week’s Questions
Do you continuously want more or are you ever satisfied with what you have?
Is there someone in your life right now that you could afford a little more understanding and compassion?
About Me
I am a Coach based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I left behind a 15-year career in Capital Markets after I became extremely curious around what life, myself, and existence are all about.
I create corporate programs for companies to foster greater psychological safety, trust and purpose (click here for reference). While I also work with high-performing, individual clients who have hit their material goals and are trying to understand what comes after performance.
If you would like to work with me, or you simply want to get in touch, here’s my email and LinkedIn.