14 Comments

“Holding on while you are misaligned and losing yourself is harder” - I’ve been trying to find worlds to say this. Without accountability to myself, I don’t feel grateful. I do things at surface level and wonder why it’s not sinking in, why I don’t feel grateful. I’ve been misaligned and losing myself. Now that I know better, I will do better. Thanks, Alex, for your word choices - I’m grateful that they caught my eye and I slowed down to align myself.

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Beautifully said! I can relate to this so well and feel like we need to keep the conversation of balance and rest at the forefront of how we prioritize ourselves. It is so important and what will allow us to keep creating and contributing. Thank you for your work.

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All this! Perfectly said and captures the sentiment that many of us are feeling.

“No more self-sacrificing in the name of ’I love my work.’ I can love my job and rest, too.”

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I’m a stay at home mom, and I used to be a 9-5 worker. I never imagined that being a stay at home mom would actually be harder, being a 24/7 job. I’m finding that I need to start asking for help so I can have “me time” and start advocating for myself without feeling guilty. I used to separate work and life much easier when I had my job, so this is a new feeling for me. Although I’m not working outside the home for now, this article still resonated with me.

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👏🏼🤍 so much wisdom! As entrepreneurs we sometimes tend to forget about boundaries we NEED to enjoy our work & keep on creating from a place of gratitude. I had a very similar experience with my brand. I began to hate working on this I know I love, so that was for sure a breaking point for me. Now that I’ve had like a 5 month pause for recovering from that burn out, I’m begining to create & enjoy while I do so. :)

Thanks for sharing!

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Thanks Alex! In my own version of this, there was a hidden compulsion driving the always on work thing that was disguised. The story that I was conscious of was that I was doing it because I loved it. Only when we sit and allow ourselves some space can we often really see whats going on. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

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I've been thinking a lot about radical accountability in my relationship to myself, around work. And I've realized in order to be accountable and show up, I need to pull back a little more, lower my expectations, set goals that I can reach, and just breathe more air into it all.

Thanks so much for all your work.

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“I had to get real with myself and ask if I was working a 9 to 5 for someone else, would this be okay with me?” - such a powerful question, Alex. THANK YOU. It’s transformative to explore this territory - especially inside our culture.

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I’m going through a phase of accountability which is making me grateful as a result. Just the simple things of keeping the house tidy and the gratitude to myself when that optimum environment means I can write, read, rest more. It’s a definitely a theme right now!

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This resonates with me so much, I love that we can share our experiences here, feeling less alone. The effects of burnout for me has been deep. The lessons keep coming. So good to read your journey. 🤍

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this resonates with me so deeply. thank you for sharing!

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Perfect. All of this. Thank you for the inspiration, the validation, and setting the example.

I'm a writer and a writing teacher. I love what I do for work, I'm so fortunate in that way, but I am perpetually burnt out. Which, of course, burns some of the love right out of the work and I can't give it my all. I recently decided that from here on out when I schedule my 8-week workshops I will build in one week where we don't meet as a class. It doesn't mean I get a week off, of course, or even a full day off, but it means there will be one night when I don't have to teach.

It was actually a few of my students who suggested this to me because _they_ are trying to take more mental health breaks for _themselves_. I said, "sh*t, what am _I_ doing then?!?!" I have been "holding on while misaligned." And that only creates more severe misalignment. A cumulative effect. And not enough room to heal. SO. This is a start. Hoping to redirect that cumulative effect in the other direction. <3

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I needed this today. I took on a new position and it has been chaotic from the start. I feel so off balanced and not like myself. I love the work that I do but i can’t love it more than I love myself and my health. Thank you for sharing this. It reminded me that I need to set boundaries when it comes to my career.

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This is right on! I love my work! Towards the end of 2022, I started to notice a change in my attitude about work, feeling more irritable, and realized, after having covid and being off work for 8 days, how much more I looked forward to work(thank you CV, one benefit.) I made my decision during that 8 days to build more time into my schedule for replenishment of me. Now, I am thankful for my work and I look forward to the time I have scheduled for me.

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