Burnout is hard to explain because it’s a full-body experience.
Sometimes your mind shuts down while your body keeps going. Other times, your body feels completely drained but your mind races endlessly.
- You find yourself staring blankly at the coffee machine, wondering if you even pressed “brew.”
- You wake up at 3 AM with an endless checklist running through your head.
- You sit at your desk with a thousand tabs open and no method to the madness, grinding through tasks until the day blurs away.
But the tasks never really end, do they?
Burnout begins with that relentless pressure to move faster, fix everything, hold it all together. You feel the heat rising in your body. You hear that inner voice whisper, “Slow down.” But you brush it aside because at some point, you taught yourself that slowing down feels dangerous.
Until burnout catches up. And when it does, it’s not just tiredness… it’s soul-deep depletion.
I Didn’t See It Coming Until It Was Everywhere
Burnout lives in a few areas of my life, and one area is my 9-to-5 job at a venture capital firm.
I support three executives and commute to the office (1.5 hours each way) four days a week. I’m resonsible for ensuring their lives run smoothly. I play professional calendar tetris, anticipate needs and fire drills. My mind is always “ON” and scanning for logisitical dangers. My job is to be 3 steps ahead at all times while maintaining composure, calm, and confident even when everything is a priority.
I enjoy and appreciate my job, and at the same time, it’s very fast-paced, thankless (at times), and inundated with challenges.
When I accepted the initial one-year contract, I knew I desperately needed this job. It provided my family with crucial stability while our fitness business recovered from COVID. I needed to pay the bills, and this was our lifeline. So I hustled hard. I said yes to everything. I worked through weekends, answered emails late into the night, and volunteered for tasks well beyond my job description. I kept telling myself, “I’m proving myself.”
When I was finally offered a permanent position in the company, it was the biggest relief, but I felt the need to push harder. My ego had to prove that I deserved to be there permanently.
My Body Knew Before I Did
Every time I tried to rest, my body simply gave in.
I remember one specific time before our annual Winter company shutdown. My vacation was almost within reach, but I felt compelled to “tie everything up” so that my partners could enjoy their three week vacation in peace. This meant overworking, pushing myself, and trying to anticipate every possible future task, so that they didn’t have to worry about anything. When Winter Break finally arrived, the rest never came for. The moment it was my turn to finally unplug, I came down with the worst flu I’ve ever had.
My body said, “We’re done.”
I spent two weeks of break confined to my bed. I missed Christmas!!! One of my favorite times of the year. Instead of being with family, I spent Christmas Day alone in quarantine.
“Why do I keep doing this to myself?” I asked myself over and over.
The truth was simple: I was out of alignment. One of my highest values is peace, yet I wasn’t living it. I was chasing approval and hustling for worth. Trying to earn rest instead of believing I deserved it.
And my body was screaming: “This isn’t it.”
A Quiet Realization Changed Everything
I started to see it clearly:
- The inner conflict.
- The voices that told me to do more, be more, prove more.
- And the deeper voice that whispered: “I’m tired. I’m not okay. This isn’t me.”
I realized I was living a life shaped by fear and urgency, and not truth.
And I was done with that.
In full transparency, I still work my 9-to-5 (going on three years), and I’m beyond grateful for what it provides: stability, safety, growth, and connection. However, I’m also choosing alignment, and taking tiny baby steps toward living life as the real me — who doesn’t succumb to burnout. I’m no longer abandoning myself to succeed. I’m slowly rewriting the story decision by decision, boundary by boundary.
This isn’t about walking away. It’s about walking home to myself.
What Burnout Taught Me
Burnout taught me that:
- My needs matter
- My voice matters
- Rest is not weakness, it’s wisdom
- Peace is a non-negotiable
- Alignment isn’t a luxury! It’s a lifeline
Coming home to myself has been the most healing thing I’ve ever done.
And now, I help other women do the same.
If any part of this feels familiar, please know you’re not alone.
I created The Life Reset Guide as a gentle starting point for women who feel stuck, stretched thin, or just… off.
This free guide is filled with soul-led journaling prompts and reflection tools to help you begin again, from the inside out.
👉 Download the guide here and start your reset today.
You deserve peace. You deserve alignment.
And you don’t have to hustle for either.
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