We recently connected with Farida Mazlan and have shared our conversation below.
Farida, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
It took me to reach 30 years old to understand that calling myself the “Queen of Burnout” was not something to be proud of at all. I raged through my 20’s, and prided in being dynamic, hardworking, and passionate in the projects that I embarked on. I had so many interests like art, music, fashion, equestrian, community work, and animal welfare – there’s just endless subjects and things to learn, and important work to do to support your community. Even through college and university, I worked up to 5 nights a week at music venues and festivals in order to live out loud, and afford the lifestyle I wanted to live, and volunteered at animal shelters until I made it part of my career.
Back then, I thought immersing myself productively in all the things I enjoy was the best way to live life, but there were hard lessons that helped me realize there’s only so much energy one can expend before you have to recharge, and that you don’t have to crash (burn out) in order to know your limits.
The lesson I’ve learnt to overcome these cycles is by understanding the importance of carving time for self-reflection, self-motivation, then practicing it. It can look like a day off to rest, a weekend away, a whole month if the burnout is severe – or it could be 30 minutes of silence and meditation in the morning to calibrate for a better day (highly recommended).
If you’re one apt for burnout, you can continue to be busy creating, achieving, and moving on to the next thing, but what really helped me most (especially now that I’m 40) is to check in as often as possible with my internal compass if my sense of purpose is still intact.
Some questions that may help: Am I waking up tense, or calm? Am I being gentle and kind to my mind, and what is my body really saying? What is the healthiest thing I can do about it? You have all the answers within yourself, you just have be present, give yourself the time to listen, process, and trust that you can, and will, find what feels right, feels good, and is comfortable for you to keep going.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My most recent professional development is a culmination of all the work I’ve done, and I call it Startivism. It is a pioneering approach of designing innovative platforms with art, service, and activism in mind
‘Startivism’ is a triple compound word for the process of starting + art + activism. It is what I do best: create intrinsically beautiful websites and projects that ensure positive, lasting impact.
As a designer, I create effective online and offline platforms to support growth, build community and generate capital. As a curator, I thrive on making visions into reality for individuals, organizations, and businesses to increase their visibility, and amplify their message.
Across 16 countries, I’ve created, curated, critiqued, consulted, collaborated, coordinated, organized, performed, and directed in various community-based projects, spaces, and festivals. Now based the East Bay, CA, I work alongside the Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network (BPPALN) and multiple other music and art festivals and projects.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Understanding empathetic body language to connect with others. The power of a simple smile goes a long way. Firm but gentle eye contact makes us feel connected as living beings, we can feel it even when animals do so! A little bit of safe but engaging body language skills allow for better trust and reciprocity.
2. My father used to encourage writing my favorite song lyrics in a book. It taught me prose, rhyme, poetry, and how to better express myself and understand others through writing and language. There’s so much meaning to be found in musical lyrics, and the supply is endless – find what resonates with you, and study it.
3. Be in service to one thing that helps others. There’s so many facets of our world that need your support. Whether its human rights, animal welfare, environmental conservation – every little thing that you can do can make a difference.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
I most enjoy working and helping established individuals, organizations and businesses who are multi-faceted in their service offerings, and consider themselves pioneering cultural change-makers.
There is often a historical significance, or story of a legacy to uphold with most of my favorite clients (ie: The Black Panthers, and Leonard Peltier), and I enjoy the work of archiving what can be looked back upon as lessons towards the future. I love working within teams whose values are aligned towards creating improved livelihoods for communities in need.
The extensive websites and community projects I’ve worked on are all community-based and integrated for effective altruism and impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://startivism.com
Image Credits
Photography by Matthew Kadi, Commons Archive, and the team at Fallout SF
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
