Over the last month I have been brought to my knees with humility.

The risk of burn-out is back and real, knocking at my front door.

Almost one year ago today I launched The MoMentum - a transformative mindful coaching program for mom changemakers + entrepreneurs wanting to grow their vision and see results. And, nearly every day for the last year, I took time to visualize what I wanted to create, I completed actions I set out to take and, when I noticed myself wanting to play small, I persevered in spite of my fear towards growth. 

It’s been one year and I’ve achieved my goals: My business is profitable and I’m more inspired than ever by the work I get to do and the impact it’s having on others.

But the threat of burnout is back, knocking.

This place is eerily familiar.

It’s a space I inhabited over a decade ago as a journalist working in a high-pressure newsroom.

Despite this last year’s success and exciting future opportunities for growth, I’ve been humbly reminded this past month of what happens when my aptitude for perseverance overpowers everything else.  What happens is, quite honestly, I stop prioritizing my morning practice, I start drinking an extra caffeinated beverage in the afternoon, I stay up past my bedtime to make a dent in emails and I begin to recognize that familiar treadmill feeling we all know so well. Before long, work starts to feel overwhelming and my spark to persevere begins to dim.

Burn-out whispers first and then shouts. 

For me, the whispers show up physiologically in the form of shallow breathing. They show up as mental noise, with anxious thoughts and confusion over how to do simple things, like organize my day. Eventually, the mental noise becomes deafening and the physiological symptoms extremely uncomfortable (insert: shingles…yes, I had them last year!).

Burnout is a sleeping dragon which I’ve learned comes with the territory of being an entrepreneur and changemaker. What I know for sure today: As a conscious mom, I don’t have the dubious luxury of burn-out. In order to sustain the big and beautiful vision I am growing, I need to have the energy and capacity to also show up for my kids, my partner, my family, my clients, my community.

MY ANTIDOTE TO BURNOUT: TIPS + TOOLS

For those of us growing a vision, we need an ability to heed the warning signs and we need regular practices to keep ourselves supported and thriving.

1) Starting your morning by stopping

Morning Practice. Seven minutes. This is a simple, guided mindfulness practice I do to help me ground all my engines, focus on breath and quiet the mental noise.

2) Joining me next month on RETREAT

Off Grid Retreat. August 9-11th.

Harmony Dawn Retreat Centre in beautiful Northumberland Country. Away from the hustle. A rare space of simplicity. To press pause. Into nature for expansion.

To rest. To rediscover, recharge and reset.

Click here for more details and to register.

3) Embrace Ritual as Primal

Rituals are not a luxury. They are a necessity, especially for moms. All animals survive and thrive with ritual.

One of my rituals is using essentials oils. There is something grounding and comforting about using essential oils to care for my body. I love using Sahajan’s Ritual Body Oil because it’s the purest and most nourishing one I’ve come across. And I happen to know the founder too. Sahajan’s founder, Lisa Mattam, is a fellow mom entrepreneur and she spoke on a recent The MoMentum Panel about the painstaking evidence-based approach she brings to her product creation - all grounded in mindful living with the rich heritage of the Ayurvedic traditions in which she was raised.