The Burnout Question That Changed Everything
Have You Ever Faced a Question That Changes Everything?
For years, I lived with a steady career, a clear identity, a role everyone around me understood. I was a nurse. It was safe, respectable, and predictable. And I was facing burnout.
But under the surface, I was unraveling. Burnout had drained me, and the idea of leaving nursing felt terrifying. Who was I without that title? What if I failed at something new? What could I even do?
Those questions haunted me — until one day, a deeper one demanded my attention.
Wrestling With Burnout and Family Identity
Burnout wasn’t just mine anymore. My oldest son is neurodivergent, and I reached a point where I realized I couldn’t keep showing up for him the way he needed me while also pouring myself into a job I resented.
I was torn between two loves: the career I had built and the family I was responsible for.
Ultimately, I chose my children. I left nursing and stepped into being a stay-at-home mom. At first, pieces of me felt free — but that’s also when the shadows got louder.
The Shadows That Followed
Even though I had escaped burnout, I quickly learned that leaving my career wasn’t the end of the struggle. It was the beginning of new shadow work:
- Fear of failure: What if I tried something new and completely flopped?
- Fear of judgment: What would people think of me now that I wasn’t “achieving” in the traditional sense?
- Imposter syndrome: Homeschooling my 3- and 5-year-old boys, I constantly felt unqualified — despite my Master’s Degree in Education.
- Scarcity mindset: Relying financially on my husband triggered deep discomfort, especially as an independent, rebellious Aquarius.
- Fear of being seen: Sharing my thoughts online felt exciting and terrifying — especially the “woo” parts of me.
The middle of that transition was disorienting. Identity collapse, grief, ego death. And yet, in that same process, I created The Ashes Journal to help myself write through collapse and come out stronger on the other side.
Questions That Carried Me Through Burnout
In that season, I found myself asking clarifying questions like:
- Is this burnout temporary, or is it pointing me toward misalignment?
- Am I living a life that drains me, or one that nourishes me?
- Am I willing to choose myself — and my children — over a role that no longer fits?
Those same kinds of questions became the foundation of the tools I now share freely with others navigating burnout: the Career Burnout Breakthrough Checklist and the Should I Stay or Should I Go? Clarity Map.
If you’re standing at your own crossroads, you can find both of these free resources on my Freebies page. They’re gentle invitations to pause, reflect, and begin listening to what your soul is really saying.
Closing Reflection
That one question — Who do I want to be for my children, and for myself? — changed everything.
Leaving nursing didn’t give me instant clarity. It gave me space. Space to wrestle, to collapse, to grieve, and eventually, to awaken.
If you’re at that point of questioning too, know that it’s not weakness. It’s the start of something new. Your path doesn’t have to look like mine, but if your soul is nudging you toward change, maybe it’s time to listen.
And if you need support in reflecting, you’ll find tools like the Career Burnout Breakthrough Checklist waiting for you — because sometimes the right question really does change everything.
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August 29, 2025
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