Oh my. Never say never. If I could go back and unsay those words, I would. As business owners, we so often think that our productivity level has to be high ALL of the time. And, when we are doing something we are passionate about, the stakes are extra high. But, the truth is, no one can ever be on all of the time. It isn’t possible. Just like nature has seasons of change, humans (yes, I’m talking to you bossbabe) do, too.

Unending productivity will surely lead to burnout. I am a prime example of someone who was at their computer or taking photos of clients non-stop, always working behind the scenes on my business when I wasn’t working in my business. It was exhausting. The thing is, though, it wasn’t just physically exhausting, it was mentally exhausting as well. I didn’t know thinking too much could lead to burnout, but, it does.

I was ALWAYS worrying – about my 4 year old crying when I walked out the door to a wedding, about my husband having to console her and put her to bed when she wanted me, about the house not getting cleaned, about not cooking healthy enough dinners, about my kids having too much screen time. The anxiety was real. The list was never-ending.

Want to know how I realized I was getting burned out?

I started to detract from the things that I once was so passionate about. Literally, those things made me recoil. Anything that took me away from my kids and had to do with my business brought up a feeling of resistance. This is surely a sign that I had some unhealthy boundaries. And as someone who likes boundaries, having none led to a LOT of bad feelings. I would stay up all night editing, crafting better questionnaires, fixing galleries. Were my clients happy? Sure. But, I wasn’t.

If you are reading this and thinking, OMG that’s me or great, but how do I fix myself?

The answer is this: a straight up shot of honesty. (A little hint – don’t ask others for their honest opinions. Only you can answer them.)

You need to ask yourself some questions. Do I really hate the thing I say I hate, or, do I hate that I feel like I am overwhelmed and have no time for myself? Do I have good boundaries, or, am I doing too much for everyone else and not enough for myself?

Please don’t let yourself get to the point of questioning your business, or your talent, or most importantly – yourself. Set some clear boundaries and don’t let people dim your light. And, if you need help, feel free to send me an email or a DM just to chit chat. I’m here for it!