Hello my friend,

I don’t know about you but I always vibed with the rebels, trailblazers and misfits who didn't fit in the molds.

Growing up I knew I wanted to be independent and chart my own course, even if I wasn’t always sure what it was.

I thought it meant living at high intensity.

Yep I might look calm on the surface but there’s my Aries Sun blazing inside 🔥 Perhaps you feel it too this season?

Shaking things up, breaking rules and taking risks seemed like the most interesting strategy - which is perhaps why I ended up working with entrepreneurs.

I decided to side with the modern rebels and join the startupsphere. It was a wild ride and I enjoyed a lot of it.

But it also carried a whole new set of norms of “shooting for the stars” that I followed a bit too blindly at times.

The problem with fiery energy is that it can consume itself.

In my idealism, I confused overwork with passion.

Everything became about my job. I didn't make room for much else, bending my life to fit whatever mission I was given.

It was thrilling but relentless. I was on a constant adrenaline high with no tools to get off the ride.

I spent my weekends blowing off steam in pretty unwholesome ways.. 🙄 not realising I was stuck in a negative loop of overstimulation & exhaustion.

There were a lot of contributing factors, which I can share another time. But naturally, I burned out.

So was I really as empowered and free as I desired? Looking back, I’m not so sure!

I wanted to follow an unconventional path, but in doing so I bought into an unsustainable way of working that left me depleted & out of touch.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we should always play it small or safe either. As you’ve gathered by now, that’s not my motto ;)

Instead I’ve learned that the real revolution starts inside.

By examining what drives our actions and why we (as both individuals and as a collective) maintain this crazy cult towards overwork and not feeling like we are ever enough.

I believe that true resistance is taking responsibility for our wellbeing by pushing back against burnout culture.

This is a call to…

Ditch the hustle 👉🏼 learn to pause & refill your energy with self-care skills

Get out of the work hard play hard cycle 👉🏼 find a healthy balance of work, play AND rest.

Untangle our sense of worth from our performance 👉🏼 develop an internal container for sense making & joy

This is best done (imo) through the frameworks that were developed by the original rebels: yogis!

☽ Did you know? The first Yogi was Shiva, the ultimate outlaw, a weirdo cast as an outsider, an avant-garde figure often depicted as half male half female. This one broke ALL the rules.

Stay tuned for the next few posts as I’ll start sharing the mindset & tools that can help you avoid / overcome burnout, develop resilience, and return to your badass self.

Things I love

1/ These words about burnout recovery inspired this newsletter:

Shared by Cait Donovan burnout expert and host of the FRIED prodcast which I urge you to listen to!

2/ I just finished The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest and I understand what all the fuss is about. It's packed with wisdom.

3/ I'm by no means an astrology buff but this post on this week's Aries New Moon made me chuckle + was scarily on point for me.

Let's connect

Thanks for reading all the way. Once more this is quite a personal share. I promise it won't always be about me in this newsletter!

I’m only sharing all this because I don’t think I’m very special. I bet this is a story that many could personally relate to. Sharing stories is a way to normalise the conversation around this topic.

If you'd like to chat I'm always available, and also...

... my FREEBIE offer still stands (until April 15th)

You can get a 30min private yoga session with me to help you rest, destress & build resilience. All I ask for in exchange is to talk about your own experience as this will help in my research.

To participate, simply reply to this email with 🔥

Shine on you crazy nugget x

Lou