The Truth About Burnout

"Girl, you are burned out," were the words my Life Coach spoke to me. Truth is, she was right!

Last year, I began studying burnout more intentionally, not from a textbook, podcast, or training, but from lived experiences. At the beginning of 2025, I was coming out of season that left me exhausted, mentally fatigued, anxious, depressed, and somewhat unbalanced. For a long time, I assumed burnout was the result of weak boundaries, perfectionism, overworking, or a lack of self-care. That’s what most people say, right? So why wouldn't I believe this? After all, that's what I kept hearing in self-care briefings, trainings, conversations, and interactions. But no one ever mentioned the possibility that even someone with balance, boundaries, and self-care could still experience burnout. Seems unlikely, but rule overload and ever changing environments, schedules, life circumstances without a real pause and real rest can burnout anyone out. But for today's conversation, we will narrow it down to workplace burnout.

But what if I told you that sometimes burnout isn’t about personal failure at all?

What if the real cause is being asked to do more with less, constantly? The pressure, the push, and the expectation to take on “just one more task” because no one else is available. What if it’s years of structural dysfunction, unresolved organizational issues, or environments that drain more than they give? Not anyone’s fault in particular, but the natural result of continual change without time to adjust, adapt, implement best practices, or evaluate the impact. Seasons where work keeps shifting, yet there’s no real rest during or even beyond the office hours, no pause for reflection, no space for people to recover before the next wave hits, and no support because sometimes even we as leaders and managers are burning out.

Either way, the truth is simple: burnout sucks.

Research shows that burnout isn’t just stress; it’s a chronic physiological and emotional overload that affects the nervous system, mood regulation, motivation, and health. Recovery often takes months to years, especially after prolonged strain, and real healing requires more than rest. It calls for restructuring workload, restoring boundaries, seeking support, realignment, new foundational practices and wellness strategies, and rebuilding identity and purpose.

For me, most of 2025 became a recovery year. It required rest, restructuring, release, counseling, and life coaching. I am only now beginning to feel a sense of normalcy again — where my nervous system is no longer stuck in constant alert mode, where my emotions are regulated, and where I am not always on defense or survival autopilot.

I’ve experienced burnout in assignment after assignment, even when I tried to set boundaries, build balance, and protect my peace. For a while, burnout felt inevitable.

But something shifted when I finally realigned my life with God’s purpose for me.

I realized that much of my exhaustion came from pursuing goals that were never meant to define me: productivity, performance, approval, and workplace success. This time, I chose a different approach. I placed God’s plan and purpose at the center of my decisions and sought His guidance in navigating the workplace, rather than letting the workplace dictate my life.

In that process, I held tightly to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Realignment didn’t remove every challenge, but it restored clarity, identity, and peace. It reminded me that God’s plans are bigger than pressure, deadlines, expectations, or burnout. I learned that true balance isn’t just about doing less, it’s about doing what God has truly called me to do.

Burnout taught me that healing is possible, alignment is powerful, and purpose matters more than pressure. I have now learn to rest well in God's hands, trust his purpose and plan, and set aside time to rest well, even when roles and responsibilities feel heavy, I know one truth, I never want to come back to the burnout version of myself.

With Love,

Coach Q

CEO, Focusing on Self