Read This When You’re Burnt Out & Ready to Give Up

More than anything, I believe the world will better place when women stop grinding themselves to the bone and start making their lives feel like paradise.

When people come into my work, they are usually feeling overwhelmed, unfulfilled and ready for serious change.

Does any of this sound familiar?

You feel like you’ve been racing on a gigantic hamster wheel and that if you slow down just a little, your whole world might collapse.

You want to stop feeling rushed, scattered, overwhelmed and overextended because if you could only catch up, you’d be able to create success in your professional and personal life.

You’ve been reciting affirmations that sound good (even though you don’t fully believe them), making vision boards and following every Oprah recommended author and expert, all the while asking, “What is my purpose?” “Am I doing enough?” and “Will I ever be able to do what I really want?”

You’re ready for a serious breakthrough but something keeps getting in the way.

You think you’re stuck because you’re “unmotivated” or “procrastinating”. What you DON’T know (yet!) is that you’re REALLY struggling because you’re working yourself to the bone and are completely disconnected from your deepest desires.

I’m here to help you slow down, get clear about what would make your life feel like paradise and develop the skills to actually do it – so problems like working past the brink of exhaustion then vegging out for hours (or days) just don’t happen anymore.

And ultimately, THAT is the point of my work:

To help you find balance between ambition & ease and make your life paradise.

There is one shift will keep you from burn out and save you from giving up:

Stop. Beating. Yourself. Up.

When I worked at Microsoft, I noticed something that repeatedly broke my heart. Women with impressive resumes, Ivy League degrees, a long list of noteworthy professional achievements and paychecks that would make the average person drool who were also miserable, unfulfilled and feeling trapped by their lives.

No matter what they accomplished or achieved, they always felt like they could be “doing better”.

In my day-to-day life at SisterFire, I work with women from all backgrounds and life experiences – entrepreneurs, corporate, government and non-profit employees, artists, activists and academics.

But no matter who they are or what they’re doing, they’re haunted by the same fear – that life will zip past and they will have squandered it all chasing unsatisfying goals and tolerating unfulfilling relationships.

Listen to me here. Listen to me now:

You are doing enough. Right here. Right now.

You have nothing to prove.

Everything is in its right place and you can change it all whenever you want.

I know, I know. It’s scary stuff.

There’s a rabid myth in our culture that if you slow down…even for just a second…and let yourself feel safe being where you actually are, that everything will go terribly wrong and the world will collapse on top of you.

We’re taught that with this kind of acceptance and permission, you’ll do nothing with your life and be stuck where you are forever.

I don’t believe that for one second.

Not about you, at least.

I know you.

You crave freedom, flexibility, fearlessness.

You’re burning with a passion so full and deep that sometimes you have no idea how to make the most of it.

You want purpose. Travel. Money in the bank and time to play with it.

You long to smile fully from your heart and become your own outrageous success story.

You yearn for peace of mind and unmovable inner stillness.

You want to know that you have everything you need to make everyday special and beautiful.

And you can do that. 100% guaranteed.

But if you don’t learn the art of self-compassion, no matter where you go or what you do, you will never be satisfied.

Nothing will ever be enough.

You could find the dream partner, beautifully balance your life & career, make all of the money you want and still feel achingly incomplete.

But instead of being hard on yourself for being hard on yourself, practice compassionately meeting yourself exactly where you are right now.

Loosen the reigns and let some ease in.

Remember:

Where you are right now is only temporary.
You aren’t perfect and you don’t have to be.
You can have everything you want and not “have it all together”.
You can have everything you desire and not always get it “right”.

What would it feel like to let yourself off the hook…even if just for now?
What would it be like to surrender some of the stress?
What if you could release some of the worry and set yourself free?

What would that feel like?

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that this reminder helped you be a little gentler with yourself.

It might not always be easy or feel like you’re on path.

But, you are.

You’ve got this and I’ve got your back.