Meet Liv Bowser

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liv Bowser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Liv, 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?
7 years ago, I landed my dream job at a high-growth start up. I hustled hard, put in the hours, and received regular promotions. But behind my success and excitement about the company was debilitating stress and isolation that led to burnout. Burnout looks different for everyone – for me, I experienced loss of appetite, anxiety tremors, inability to sleep, and even visual impairment. I felt lonely and lost in managing my stress at work. I leaned on physical fitness to try to feel better, but no amount of running on a treadmill made me feel like I had a better relationship with my anxiety or that I was less burnt-out. So I left my dream job and high-earner salary in order to prioritize my mental health.

I downloaded a meditation app and began therapy, both of which helped me to make progress toward mental wellbeing. I continued to dial in my own mental wellness practice, and as the months went on, I found that a balance of guided meditation, journaling, and yoga was helping me feel more confident and capable on a daily basis and sharpen my stress management skills.

What became clear to me is that while I can’t make my stress disappear, I can build a toolkit to help me better manage my stress. And, when I have a stronger relationship with myself, I notice the signs of burnout earlier on and can give myself a break or a wellness day to reset.

Proactively building mental strength is they key to avoiding burnout. For me, I didn’t realize I was burning until I was burnt. So now, checking in with myself on a regular basis is important to avoid burnout again in the future.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Liv Bowser is a leading voice for wellbeing and mental health in the workplace. Liv was listed as Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024 as the visionary behind mainstreaming mental fitness at work and in life. Liv is the CEO & founder of Liberate and is a certified meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and breathwork teacher. She has been featured in renowned publications such as Business Insider and Thrillist as a mental fitness expert and has led Liberate classes for Google, WPP, Netflix, Dell, Anheuser-Busch and many more global organizations. One of Liv’s most proud accomplishments is earning the Amazon’s Choice Badge for the Liberate Mental Fitness Journal. Liv combines her startup background and acumen with her passion for the space and practices what she preaches, spending her limited free time on 7 Day silent retreats and deepening her own mindfulness practice.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Confidence: As they say, confidence is key. The quality that has propelled me forward is a belief in myself and my abilities. It’s the conviction that I am capable of achieving what I set my mind to. Using tools like affirmations and visualizations help me fight off imposter syndrome and approach my work with an abundance mindset. I also recommend to surround yourself with a positive support system that uplifts and encourages you.

2. Curiosity: My desire to learn and grow is key. The fact that I am willing to pivot, embrace new ideas, and be open to change is crucial in a fast-paced start-up environment. My advice is here is to seek out opportunities to learn through books, online courses, networking events, and the like.

3. Resilience and Perseverance: Building a business is not easy; it requires resilience and consistent perseverance. Expect obstacles, setbacks, and moments of self-doubt along the way – they are inevitable. Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, learn from failures, and keep moving forward with unwavering determination. Build a resilience toolkit of people, places, and things, that help you through tough times, so you always having something to lean on.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The Book of Awakening helped me create a mindful morning routine and start every day on the best note possible. Every page includes valuable wisdom to contemplate. Beyond the content itself, the act of reading a page of each morning offers a ritual to create space for myself with slow, purposeful mornings. Every morning I meditate, read The Book of Awakening, and practice yoga. It’s a rather time consuming ritual, but by creating time for it I’m creating space in my mind and a calmer inner state to carry with me throughout the day. This helps me listen better in meetings, speak more thoughtfully, and breathe more consistently throughout the day. All extremely important things!

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Image Credits
Lila Seeley

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