2023 is moving very quickly.

The pandemic is over and life is back to “normal” with everyone trying to catch up from all we have missed over the past 3 years.

.

Something about playing catch-up makes for a stressful time. The times are already challenging with political conflicts (vaxxed or unvaxxed, guns, wars?), work schedules, loneliness even when surrounded by others. But pandemic fallout continues with long frayed nerves and exhaustion bringing on a new intensity of stress and overwhelm. And You are wiped out.

Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries.

You feel resentful, angry and overwhelmed because you know your boundaries and values are being violated all the time, your needs and expectations are not being met.

You find that you are bracing yourself. You wonder which conversations you really have bandwidth for and which ones you should just let slide. And chances are, with the ongoing pandemic fallout, there are more issues at work. And it all feels like a hot mess.

You are already exhausted and so are your support networks.

You don’t always have to be the strong one.

If you need a safe empathetic space to let your hair down and catch your breath, a respite from all the drama, chaos and overwhelm of the upcoming vacation season, work and the demands of the year, while also getting teaching and personal/executive/leadership resources from me rooted in positive psychology, unbeatable mind and optimize frameworks, sparketype advising and Daring Way/Dare to Lead curricula (From Brene Brown), come join me in the RESPITE.

Respite is a year long membership haven for the Thriving Idealist Pledge To Align, Connect & Train (Thriving Idealist PACT).

RESPITE is a weekly, Safe, Empathetic Space. Initially created during the pandemic to support physicians and frontline workers, it is a program For You to Fill Up and Be Supported So You Can Serve Sustainably and Thrive.

RESPITE is like a warm hug, a place to let your hair down, put your feet up and be nourished after a stressful day.

A typical session starts with some breathwork, visualization and havening techniques to soothe and calm the nervous system and help you catch your breath from the chaos of the day, then an experiential session focused on a topic (see topics below) is facilitated by me to equip you and fill your cup for the week and then ends with some more breathwork and affirming practices to ground, inspire and support you through the week.

RESPITE starts MAY 9th, 2023! Sign Up

At RESPITE, You will:

• Have a safe place to breathe, vent, let your hair down, be supported rather than always having to support,

• learn skills for thriving including breathwork, cultivating connection, expressing boundaries, grief, asking for what you need, big 4 of mental toughness, how to delegate, antifragility, grounded confidence, cultivating vulnerability and courage, having hard conversations, dealing with overwhelm, rumbling with difficult emotions, practices for maintaining equanimity and calm during difficult times and many more skills for resilience, antifragility and thriving.

• You will have an intimate community of like-minded mission-driven, heart-centered individuals to connect with and know that you are not alone.

• Receive teaching and facilitation from me with a decade of experience coaching, facilitating and advocating for mission-driven, heart-centered professionals especially physicians and an increasing number of leaders in dentistry, clinical science and other helping professionals.

DETAILS

RESPITE will be weekly to starting May 9th, 2023

COST: $997 (Payment Plans and Pay What You Can Options are available for those who need it. Email me at thrivingideals@gmail.com)

Deadline to register – Rolling admission. NO REFUNDS. Payments will be applied to any other coaching programs or workshops in my store of equivalent cost.

RESPITE Enrollments end annually. You are welcome to re-enroll after each Respite year is over.

You are worthy of a safe, empathetic supportive space.

You are worthy of the time, energy, attention, resources and even money to address your needs and support you in the life you want.

Come join me!

During our time together, there will be Group coaching and teaching of all the topics I coach in personal, leadership and organizational development doing the work from the methodologies I am certified in: Positive Psychology, Daring Way, Rising Strong, Dare to Lead, Sparketype Advising, Unbeatable Mind coaching(mental toughness and emotional resilience), Heroic Optimize Coaching (I know, I know… #nerdlife)

We will explore and practice positive psychology tools, breath work, visualizations and meditations,  plus experiential work (finding joy at work, self trust, boundaries, values, strengths, permissions, rising strong from failure, having hard conversations, giving engaged feedback, showing up in the arena, taking off the armor, cultivating square squads and meaningful connections, life design, future me embodiment, plus restorative, restful and rejuvenative practices etc together. 

If you have attended my Respite Sessions or workshops you have an idea of what I am describing. 

Ready to give yourself the gift of RESPITE now? Click here to secure your spot.

Want to chat about it first? I’d love to! Click here to book a free, no obligation 20 minute call with me.

When you sign up, you make a PACT with yourself. You PLEDGE to ACT: To ALIGN, CONNECT and TRAIN. You will have access to the Thriving Idealist Cultivating Academy library. You go at your own pace and you don’t have to do them all. I will cover the fundamentals during our sessions. 

ALIGN: 6 MODULES:

MODULE 1 – SELF-DEVOTION: PERMISSIONS and COMMITMENTS including self-compassion, empathy, authenticity and permission slips.

This will help you lay the foundation of commitment to yourself. You will design the life you want from a strong foundation. 

MODULE 2 – Rumbling with Vulnerability – Taking Off the Armor, Cultivating Shame Resilience and Grounded Confidence.

This is The foundational skill for courageous living, loving and leadership.

MODULE 3 – DESIGNING THE LIFE YOU WANT – Future Me exercises, Obituary, Mission, Purpose, Dreams.

This makes sure you’re moving on track to get to where you ACTUALLY want to be, not where everyone (or society) says you should be.

MODULE 4 – PRIORITIES

This is similar, but is going to help you focus your days NOW in the right places, so you get more done in less time (and actually enjoy the process!)

MODULE 5 – VALUES

If you’ve worked with me before, you’ll know that burnout occurs when you’re out of alignment with your values. This will help keep you on track to stay away from burnout (or pull you out of it if you’re already close) with actions to embody your values. 

MODULE 6 – STRENGTHS

We’ll get clear on what they are  and how they  empower you so you can build your life sustainably. 

MODULE 7 – ALIGNMENT INTEGRATION – Boundaries, Living BIG & Embodiment, Values X Strengths Integration and operationalization

This is where it all comes together to make it work for YOU!

2. CONNECT – 6 MODULES

MODULE 7 – SELF -CONNECTION AND VALUE– Reconnecting to yourself in a deeper way. Remembering who you are, what makes you you and what brings you joy 

MODULE 8 – EMPATHY – Empathy, Empathy Misses, Hard Conversations and Engaged Feedback

MODULE 9 – SELF-TRUST – Learning to trust yourself and becoming your own strongest ally, learn how to be a safe space for yourself with non-judgment

MODULE 10 – TRUST RELATIONSHIPS AT WORK AND HOME

MODULE 11- BUILDING SQUARE SQUADS and COMMUNITY

MODULE 12 – CONNECTION INTEGRATION – Communities Of Practice

3. TRAIN – 6 MODULES

MODULE 13 – DEVELOPING THE 5 ARENAS OF AN INTEGRATED LIFE – Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual & Intuition

MODULE 14 – CULTIVATING RESILIENCE, ANTIFRAGILITY and INNER AUTHORITY

MODULE 14 – CREATING CONSISTENT SUSTAINABLE ALIGNED HABITS USING THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARRIOR

MODULE 15- CREATIING PRACTICES FOR  MORNING RITUALS

MODULE 16 – CREATING PRACTICES FOR NIGHT TIME RITUALS

MODULE 17 – PRACTICES FOR DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE

MODULE 18 – THE BIG 4 OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS

BONUS MODULES:

MODULE 19 : RISING STRONG FROM FAILURE

MODULE 20: CULTIVATING PRACTICE as a WAY OF LIFE – Perfectionism, Consistency, Process, and Integration.

Sign Up FOR RESPITE HERE.

Want coaching and would like to upgrade to a smaller mastermind experience of 2-4 members with group coaching? Sign Up for TIME – The Thriving Idealist Mastermind Experience. You can specify if you want a physician-only group or a mixed professions group. You will still have access to all the RESPITE sessions and recordings.

Want to chat about it first? I’d love to! Click here to book a free, no obligation 20 minute call with me.

 All participants will have Access to all teaching videos, coaching videos and all the recordings from all the previous respite sessions.

You will also receive access the Values workshop  

We will meet for weekly for an hour on Tuesdays at 5pm PT. You will have access to all the recordings in case you miss a session. There will also be a facebook group for those who want it for connection and shared language.

The investment for Respite is $997.  This is for the inaugural class. The prices will go up in the next enrollment period.

Are you ready to finally have the support you need to build the tools you know can change your life? Secure your spot HERE or Email me for Pay What You Can.

No Refunds. Payment can be transferred to another program, workshop or coaching package of equal value. Payment plans are available.



I know it’s hard right now. There is a way through. You can find respite and hope even in what’s going on with you.


As always, if you are struggling or know someone mission driven and heart-centered who has sacrificed a lot to make a difference and is struggling, or just want support on your journey, or to help you transition to the next level of your journey  reply to this email.

You are not alone.

Do not go through this year without support if you need it. 

You Matter. I see you, I love you and you belong. I am glad you are here. 

Sending you love, peace and strength,

Yvonne Ator, MD, MPH

Certified Personal And Executive Coach for mission-driven and heart-centered professionals

Certified Dare To Lead Facilitator

Certified Daring Way Facilitator

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”― Fred Rogers

Fondly called “The Helper For Helpers and Sheepdog for Sheepdogs”, Dr. Yvonne Ator is deeply passionate about serving those who serve and lead. 

As the Founder of Thriving Physicians and Thriving Idealist, she has spent the past several years coaching mission-driven Physicians and other helping professionals who desire to serve and lead sustainably and thrive in their personal and professional lives while making their positive impact in the world without succumbing to disillusionment, moral injury, compassion fatigue or burnout. As a sheepdog for sheepdogs, she equips helpers and leaders struggling with overwhelm, overwork or feeling stuck with tools and resources to master themselves so they can live authentically and serve to their fullest potential. Yvonne is also passionate about creating daring  leadership and courage cultures in the workplace. 

An immigrant born in England, raised in several states in Nigeria and the United States, Yvonne was the quintessential multipassionate idealist who wanted to change the world through medical missions and music. However, after finding herself at a crossroads, overwhelmed and compassion-fatigued as a new mom having to choose between her mental health and burnout in the medical profession she had sacrificed everything for, Yvonne became an avid advocate for physician wellness, courageous service and leadership,  suicide prevention and a more wholehearted culture in the workplace. 

After losing her comatose dad during a physician strike and finding herself homeless, divorced and financially destitute, Yvonne realized the pitfalls of burnout and quitting medicine without a safety net. She now empowers helping professionals to step back from the tunnel of overwhelm and burnout, rediscover their values and strengths with a new lens and mindset to see the options before them and make more aligned and empowered decisions.

In addition to a doctorate of Medicine from the Brody School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, she has attained several certifications in resilience, wellness, personal, leadership and organizational development. She is a certified Personal and Executive Coach in positive psychology, Certified Daring Way Facilitator, Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator (Brene Brown’s work) and a certified Unbeatable Mind Coach (Integrated Training in Mental Toughness and Emotional resilience with  Retired Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine!).  

 A physician, musician, coach, writer, author, speaker, advocate  and serial-quester, Yvonne is tireless in her mission  to empower, equip and inspire those who have sacrificed to serve. She co-created the Veterans Integrated Program with the Courage Foundation to help veterans with post-traumatic stress cultivate the tools and practices to thrive. She has served schools, non-profit organizations, hospital teams and mixed professional groups as a sought-out keynote speaker, executive coach and workshop facilitator on leadership, resilience, work culture and emotional development topics such as Daring Leadership, Rumbling with Vulnerability, Living Our Values and building TRUST, disciplines of the warriors and the big 4 of Mental toughness. 

She has also spent the pandemic hosting Respite sessions for frontline workers to help with stress, overwhelm and burnout. She has internationally published several articles including laughter as medicine, caring for caregivers, mindfulness meditation, grief, crisis intervention, trauma resilience and cultivating values. She serves as a Founding Executive Board Member of the Mindful Healthcare collective. She is a co- author of the book “Thinking About Quitting Medicine?”  and her story is featured in the bestselling personal development books “SPARKED” by Jonathan Fields and “I Quit!” by Coonoor Behal. She has also served as  adjunct professor at  the Cal State University San Marcos Master of Public health program. 

When she isn’t being chased around by her two unbeatable warrior-princesses, she is either playing guitar in bands, meditating, latin dancing, wanderlusting, hosting free virtual Respite sessions for physicians and other Frontline workers during the Pandemic, doing burpees to support Courage Foundation’s mission to help veterans with Post-traumatic stress, dreaming up her next quest or geeking out on values, leadership, antifragility, emotional intelligence, Unbeatable Mind and Oprah!