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Welcome to the Balancing Act, the space where we talk
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about the highs, the lows, and the lessons that help
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us keep going. I'm your host, Niki Marie. Today's episode
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is a personal one. We're digging into something I've seen
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play out in classrooms and offices and yes, even in
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my own life, mental health, in the workplace and in schools.
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We're gonna talk about burnout, the pressure to perform, the
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pursuit of balance, and the resources that are out there
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when you feel like you're carrying more than you can handle.
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For me, conversations like this always tie back to legacy.
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A few weeks ago, I was featured in Voyage magazine
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where I shared my values and why building a legacy
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matters so deeply to me. I said something during that
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interview that still drives me today. I can't miss the
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opportunity to build a legacy name for myself. I'm pretty
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sure you've probably said that to yourself as well, that
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you can't miss the opportunity to build a legacy name
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for yourself. Well, that legacy isn't about perfection. It's about honesty,
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resilience and lifting others while you climb. So with that
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in mind, let's get in today's conversation. Let's kick things
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off with the highs. You know that feeling when all
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your hard work actually pays off, chasing that promotion, getting recognized,
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nailing your grades, and earning that degree, making your family proud.
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It feels good right. Those accomplishments are what keep us
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going even when things get really tough. But the lows
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they're real. Burnout doesn't just show up overnight. It sneaks in.
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You start feeling exhausted, even after sleeping. You stop feeling
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connected to your work or your studies, and even small
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tasks become overwhelming, and that joy of achievement, well, it
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starts to fade. And here's what makes it harder. Burnout
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is normalized in schools. We hear college is supposed to
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be stressful. At work, we hear that's just part of
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the hustle. But why should stress be the standard? Working
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in higher education, I often hear what students are really
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going through. One student once told me I'm not even
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excited about graduating anymore. I just want it to be over.
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And that moment stuck with me because education should be
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about growth and discovery, not just getting through it. It
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made me reflect on my own life. Just the other day,
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I told a coworker, I want to spend more time
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with my kids on the weekends, but by Friday, I'm
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so drained that I can't even enjoy the weekend. That's
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when it hit me. I wasn't living in balance. I
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was living in survival mode. And here's the truth. So
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many of us are stuck in survival mode without even
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realizing it. But life isn't meant to be something we
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simply pushed through. It's meant to be experienced, enjoyed, and
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lived with intention. When I shared my story and Voyage magazine,
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I opened up about how my faith and my life
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are what keep me ground. My family is my why,
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because the truth is, I know what it feels like
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to be weighed down, to feel like you're just trying
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to make it through the day. But even those heavy moments,
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I remind myself that I can't stop. For me, It's
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bigger than just surviving. It's about creating something that lasts.
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Something my children, my students, and even people that I
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may never meet can look at and say she didn't
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give up. She just kept going. That's what legacy is.
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It's not about perfection or having everything figured out. It's
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about the willingness to keep moving, to learn from the lows,
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to celebrate the highs, and to honor the lessons in between,
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Because those in between moments that's where growth happens. That's
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where resilience is built. And when you can look back
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and see how those experiences shaped you, that becomes part
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of your story, your purpose, your legacy. I want you
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to take a moment and ask yourself, am I working
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to live or just surviving to get by? That answer
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says a lot about where you are and where you
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might need support. Have you ever woke up feeling like
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you've been running a marathon in your sleep? Well, that's burnout,
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and it's even more than just tired. It's when your mind, body,
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and spirit are waving a white flag signaling that they've
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been carrying too much for too long. Burnout often hits
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the people who care the most, the ones who give
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their all to work, school, family, and everyone around them,
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sometimes forgetting to save any energy for themselves. At first,
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it might feel subtle, a lingering fatigue, hear, a little
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irritability there, But over time it builds like a storm,
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quickly gathering strength. You tell yourself, if I can just
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get through this week, I'll be okay. But that week
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turns into another, and suddenly months have gone by. You're
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running on empty. Your joy feels muted, and even the
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things you once love seem distant and or exhausting. It's
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the kind of exhaustion that rest alone doesn't fix. Because
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burnout isn't just physical, it's emotional and mental. It can
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make you feel disconnected from the people and passions that
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you usually are fueled by. And the scary part, it
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often disguises itself as dedication or ambition, convincing you that
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pushing harder is the solution, when really your mind and
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body are begging for a pause. The truth is, burnout
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doesn't just show up one day. It builds little by little.
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It starts when you skip lunch because you're too busy,
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when you stay up late finishing that one last thing,
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and when you keep saying yes even though your heart
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and body are begging for a break. You might notice
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that you've stopped enjoying the things that you used to
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be excited by. You might get irritable, disconnected, or feel
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like you're just going through the motions Physically Burnout shows
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as constant fatigue, headaches, sleepless nights, even body aches that
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don't seem to go away now. Mentally, it's that fog
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that makes it hard to focus. Emotionally, it's feeling empty
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even when you're supposed to feel accomplished. And here's the kicker.
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Burnout often disguises itself as ambition. But we push harder
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thinking we're productive, when really we're wearing ourselves down. The
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hardest part is that burnout can make you feel like
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you've failed, like you couldn't handle what life threw at you.
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But the truth is, burnout isn't failure. It's your body's
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way of saying, hey, something's got to change, So pause,
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take that break, set boundaries without guilt, ask for help
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if you need it, because you can't pour from an
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empty cup, And burnout is your reminder that even strong
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people need rest. And you know what's powerful when people
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finally admit I'm burnt out. It's a simple statement, but
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it carries so much weight because admitting burnout means you're
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acknowledging that the pace you've been running at mentally, emotionally,
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and physically just isn't sustainable anymore. Burnout doesn't always start loud.
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Sometimes it looks like snapping out the people you love
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for small things, forgetting a appointments, or feeling numb instead
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of proud when you achieve something. It creeps in quietly
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until one day you realize you're not just tired, you're empty.
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So let's take a real example. Imagine a mother named Jasmine.
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She's struggling with a full time job, helping her kids
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with homework, keeping up with the bills, cooking, cleaning, and
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still trying to be emotionally available for everyone around her. Now,
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on paper, she's doing it all, but behind that she's exhausted.
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Just picture this. Every morning she wakes up already drained.
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She rushes to get the kids ready, skips breakfast, and
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tells herself she'll rest this weekend. But the weekend comes.
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Instead of resting, she's catching up on laundry or answering
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work emails because she doesn't want to fall behind. And
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one night, Jasmine sits in her car after d off
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her kids at soccer practice and she just cries. There's
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no music, no phone, just silence. That's burnout. It's that
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moment when your body and mind finally say we can't
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keep going like this. The impact can touch every part
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of her life. She might start feeling detached from her kids,
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even though she loves them deeply. Her performance at work
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might be slipping', not because she's careless, but because she's overwhelmed.
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She may even begin to doubt herself, wondering why she
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can't handle what used to feel easy. Burnout doesn't just
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drain energy, it drains joy. It replaces excitement with anxiety,
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connection with distance, and purpose with survival. The truth Jasmine's
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story is one that so many people especially can relate to.
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The constant juggling act, the endless to do lists, the
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pressure to hold everything together even when you're falling apart inside.
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But here's the thing. Burnout doesn't mean you're broken. It
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means you've been giving from a place of love for
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so long that your spirit is asking you to slow
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down and refill. The first step to healing from burnout
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isn't pushing harder. It's giving your self permission to pause,
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to breathe, to rest without guilt, to ask for help
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without shame. It's learning that rest isn't a reward that
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you haven't earned or that you have to earn. It's
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your right, So start small. Maybe it's five minutes of
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quiet before your bed, you know, before your day begins.
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Maybe it's saying no to one extra task this week.
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Maybe it's scheduling time for something that brings you joy,
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not just because it's productive, but because it's nourishing to you.
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I mean, healing begins when you stop treating rest as
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a luxury and start seeing it as essential. And remember this,
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You can't pour it into others when your cup is empty,
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but when you take time to refill it through rest,
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self care and boundaries, you show up stronger, calmer, and
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more present. You deserve peace just as much as you
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deserve purpose, So give yourself grace. The world will keep spending,
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but you only have one body, one mind, and one heart,
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so you have to protect it. You have to honor
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it and remind yourself daily it's okay to slow down.
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You're not falling behind. You're finding your balance again. That's
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what you're doing. You're finding your balance again. Resources for
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employees now, you can ask HR your human resource about
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employee assistance programs or EAPs. Many offer free counseling, coaching,
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and family support. You have to review your mental health benefits.
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Many assurance plans now cover teletherapy, mindfulness apps, and stress
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management tools. Advocate for flexible scheduling or hybrid options. If
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your workload feels overwhelmed, participate in workplace mental health trainings
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and stress management workshops. For students, you can use campus
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counseling centers and wellness services. They're often free or included
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in your tuition. Meet with academic advisors if you need
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help manage course loads or accommodations. You can also join
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peer support groups or wellness clubs for community and connection.
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Take advantage of mental health apps and mindfulness tools that
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many schools now provide at no costs. Now people will
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ask what kind of questions should I be asking? Whether
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it be my employer or at school. So the key
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questions to ask at work? What mental health resources are
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part of my benefits? How do I access the employee
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assistance program? Is flexible scheduling or hybrid work possible? And
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what is my company doing to support well being? For school?
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What support is available if I'm overwhelmed? How do I
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request academic accommodations. Who can I talk to for mentoring
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or peer support? Ord what wellness programs or services are
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included with tuition, and as always, there are emergency and
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support hotlines. Sometimes pressure feels heavier than what we can
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carry alone. If you are someone you know is struggling,
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here are the numbers you can call right now. You
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can dial nine eight eight anytime in the US for
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free twenty four to seven crisis support crisis text line.
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You can text Hello h E L l O to
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seven four one seven four one to connect with a
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trained crisis counselor you can also call one eight hundred
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sixty six y two Help H E L P or
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one eight hundred sixty six two four three five seven
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for treatment referrals and mental health resources. Remember, asking for
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help doesn't make you weak, it makes you wise. Pressure
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may be part of life, but you don't have to
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face it alone. Support is out there and your well
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being is worth protecting. Let's talk about pressure because pressure
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is often the root of burnout. You know, for students,
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it's the weight of grades, scholarships, internships, and trying to
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make your family proud. For professionals, it's deadlines, quotas, proving
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yourself and job security yay. So pressure to perform that
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invisible weight that makes you feel like you always have
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to be on, whether it's at work, at school, at home,
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or even online. The world tells us that our value
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comes from how much we achieve or how productive we are.
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We live in a culture that praises the hustle but
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rarely celebrates the rest, and that constant push can quietly
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chip away at your confidence, your peace, and even your joy.
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I mean, from an early age, we're taught to chase success,
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the perfect grades, the perfect body, the perfect career, and
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when you finally get there, the goal post moves again.
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Suddenly you're asking what's next instead of celebrating how far
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you've come. That feeling of never quite arriving can be
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existing exhausting, leaving you on autopilot, running on deadlines and
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expectations instead of purpose. The pressure comes from everywhere. Your
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boss expecting more, your family looking up to you, your
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peers posting their highlight reels on social media, and let's
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be real, sometimes the biggest pressure comes from within. You
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might find yourself working longer hours, saying yes to everything,
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or constantly comparing your pace to someone else's progress, and
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over time that way can start to feel like it's
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defining your entire life. The danger is that performance pressure
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tricks you into thinking that's slowing down means you're falling behind.
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But here's the truth. You're supposed to live life at
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full speed all the time, right, Actually, you're not supposed to.
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The danger is that performance pressure tricks you into thinking
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that's slowing down means you're falling behind. But here's the truth.
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You're not supposed to live life at full speed all