The $300K Wake-Up Call: Why Executive Success Starts with Wellbeing

I remember the moment clearly. Sitting at my desk, managing global teams across three continents, making well over $300K—and my body was screaming for change. On paper, I had achieved everything society deems successful. In reality, I was discovering the hidden cost of "making it."

Here's what most executive advice gets wrong: it focuses solely on external metrics while ignoring the internal infrastructure that makes sustainable success possible.

The Success Paradox

Traditional success metrics—revenue targets, team size, market share—tell only half the story. What they don't measure is the toll on your nervous system, the strain on your relationships, or the disconnection from your deeper purpose. These hidden costs compound silently until they demand attention, often through our bodies first.

In my case, success looked like a calendar packed with back-to-back meetings spanning multiple time zones, quick lunch breaks eaten at my desk while reviewing quarterly projections, and congratulatory emails about exceeding targets that I was too exhausted to celebrate. The metrics showed growth, but my body was telling a different story through chronic headaches, disrupted sleep, and a constant sense of being on edge.

The real irony? The more "successful" I became, the less I could enjoy that success. My achievements were piling up, but my capacity to appreciate them was diminishing. This is the paradox that many executives face – the very drive that propels us to success can also undermine our ability to sustain and savor it.

My wake-up call came during a global team meeting. As I led my fourteenth Zoom call of the day, my hands shaking slightly as I reached for my third cup of coffee, I realized something profound: my body had been sending warning signals for months, but my "success mindset" had trained me to ignore them.

The Real Currency of Success: Energy

What I've learned since then, after working with hundreds of executives through transformation, is that sustainable success operates on a different currency: energy. Not the kind you get from caffeine or adrenaline, but deep, renewable energy that comes from:

• Aligning your work with your natural rhythms

• Creating boundaries that honor your wellbeing

• Building recovery into your success strategy

• Leading from a place of wholeness, not depletion

The Neuroscience of Sustainable Leadership

Modern neuroscience confirms what many executives learn the hard way: chronic stress literally rewires our brains, affecting our:

• Decision-making capacity

• Emotional regulation

• Creative thinking

• Leadership presence

When we operate in constant fight-or-flight mode, we're not just compromising our health—we're limiting our leadership potential.

The New Executive Playbook

Through my journey and work with other leaders, I've developed a different approach to executive success:

1. Energy Auditing: Regular check-ins with your body's signals and stress responses

2. Recovery Integration: Building strategic renewal into your daily schedule

3. Boundary Architecture: Creating systems that protect your wellbeing

4. Purpose Alignment: Ensuring your work serves your larger life vision

Making the Shift

The transition from traditional success to sustainable success isn't always smooth. When I first began prioritizing wellbeing, I faced considerable resistance – both internal and external. My inner achiever worried that slowing down meant falling behind. My colleagues questioned why I was suddenly unavailable for 7 AM calls. My calendar fought back with its usual overflow of "urgent" meetings.

This transition requires courage and commitment, along with concrete strategies for implementation. Here's how to approach each key element:

Challenging Productivity Beliefs

• Audit your current "productivity rules" - what unwritten laws govern your workday?

• Question assumptions like "being unavailable means being unproductive"

• Track your actual output during focused work periods versus long, uninterrupted stretches

• Document when your best decisions and creative insights occur (hint: rarely during 12-hour workdays)

Redefining Success Metrics

• Create a weekly "energy profit and loss statement" tracking:

  • Energy gains (activities that energize you)

  • Energy drains (activities that deplete you)

  • Net energy balance

• Measure meeting effectiveness by outcomes rather than duration

• Track team engagement and innovation alongside traditional KPIs

• Monitor your sleep quality and stress levels as key performance indicators

Building Support Systems

• Identify your "wellbeing board of directors" - mentors, coaches, healthcare providers

• Create accountability partnerships with other leaders prioritizing sustainable success

• Invest in tools and resources that support your wellbeing (apps, devices, services)

• Design your environment to support healthy choices (standing desk, meditation space)

Leading by Example

• Share your wellbeing journey transparently with your team

• Make recovery visible (block "thinking time" on your calendar)

• Encourage and celebrate healthy boundaries in team members

• Create team rituals that promote wellbeing (walking meetings, no-meeting days)

📋 Leadership Wellness Audit

Take 15 minutes to assess your current state across these dimensions:

Physical Sustainability

• Hours of quality sleep per night: ___

• Number of breaks during workday: ___

• Regular movement/exercise sessions: ___

• Meals eaten away from desk: ___

Mental Clarity

• Hours spent in deep focus work: ___

• Number of context switches per day: ___

• Time spent on strategic vs. reactive work: ___

• Quality of decision-making (1-10): ___

Emotional Resilience

• Stress level (1-10): ___

• Recovery practices in place: ___

• Relationship satisfaction (1-10): ___

• Work-life boundary clarity (1-10): ___

Team Impact

• Team energy level (1-10): ___

• Cultural wellbeing indicators: ___

• Team burnout signals: ___

• Innovation/creativity metrics: ___

Score each category from 1-10 and identify:

• Top area needing immediate attention

• One small change you can implement tomorrow

• Long-term wellbeing goal for next quarter

• Resources needed for sustainable change

Review this audit monthly to track your progress and adjust your strategies. Remember, the goal isn't perfection but progress toward sustainable leadership.

The most challenging part? Accepting that this transformation isn't a linear journey. There will be days when old patterns resurface, when crisis mode feels necessary, or when the pull of traditional success metrics feels overwhelming. The key is not perfection but persistence in returning to your wellbeing practices.

The ROI of Wellbeing

The most compelling argument for this approach? It works better. Leaders who prioritize their wellbeing consistently report:

• Improved decision-making clarity

• Enhanced team engagement

• Better stress resilience

• More sustainable high performance

• Deeper satisfaction with both work and life

Your Next Steps

The journey toward sustainable success doesn't require a complete life overhaul. It starts with small, intentional practices that gradually reshape your relationship with work and wellbeing. Here are the foundational practices that made the biggest difference in my transformation:

1. Morning Body Scan: Before reaching for your phone or laptop, take 2 minutes to check in with your physical state. How's your energy? Where are you holding tension? This simple practice helps you start your day with awareness rather than reactivity.

2. Energy Mapping: For one week, track your natural energy peaks and valleys. When do you feel most focused? When does your creativity flow? When do you start to fade? Use this data to restructure your calendar, scheduling your most important work during your peak energy times.

3. Recovery Rituals: Identify small recovery practices that work for you – perhaps a 10-minute walk between meetings, deep breathing exercises, or a proper lunch break away from your desk. Make these non-negotiable by scheduling them in your calendar.

4. Boundary Setting: Start with one clear boundary – maybe no meetings before 9 AM, or no emails after 7 PM. Communicate this boundary clearly to your team and stick to it. As this becomes natural, add more boundaries that protect your wellbeing.

Remember, these practices might feel uncomfortable at first. They might even trigger guilt or anxiety about productivity. This is normal. The key is to start small and remain consistent, allowing these new habits to gradually become your new normal.

The True Measure of Success

The viral post stating "The true measure of success is a calm nervous system" sparked widespread resonance for a reason. We're collectively realizing that success without wellbeing isn't really success at all.

As executives, we have the power to model a new way of leading—one that values sustainable performance over short-term gains, and recognizes that our greatest asset isn't our strategic mind, but our overall wellbeing.

The corner office is a destination, but authentic leadership is a journey of integrating success with wellbeing. Your body already knows this truth. The question is: are you ready to listen?

Are you ready to transform your relationship with success? Start with a simple energy audit: track your energy levels for one week, noting when you feel most alive and when you feel depleted. This data will become your roadmap to sustainable success. Book a free clarity call to learn how I can help you build your own Burnout Recovery Blueprint and get your free executive wellness assessment workbook. https://calendly.com/ruscitto/discovery-call-50-minutes

Being a People Pleaser At Work is Costing You Your Health

Why You’re 3x More Likely to Suffer Burnout + Career Stalling

Find yourself having a hard time saying NO? Do you always take on more responsibilities than your job description? Do you find yourself working until the job is done to your satisfaction? 

If it’s easy for you to do - do you always say yes? Do you feel guilty for setting boundaries or always find yourself agreeing with what others are saying at work?

If any or all of these were a yes – these are signs you could be a people pleaser at work. Always saying yes to more things on your plate than focusing on your responsibilities and goals makes it much harder to stick to your long-term plans and find career success. According to a Harvard-trained psychologist, Debbie Sorenson, people-pleasing isn’t just dangerous for career-related burnout. Still, it can also lead to a complete erasure of your own mental health needs and professional goals. 

Saying no to asks in the workplace is hard enough. When you always feel like you have to say yes to anything asked of you, it makes recovering from burnout that much. harder. In fact, it’s creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. It will turn your burnout into a cycle of chronic stress when you can’t identify, uphold, and enforce boundaries and are ultimately to take time off, leave, or are fired for poor job performance.

So, What Can You Do About It?

Know you aren’t alone. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Workplace survey, 77% of workers reported experiencing work-related stress in the last month, and 57% went on to experience negative effects from workplace stress that can lead to burnout. 

The survey also found that “many workers are not getting the breaks from this stress that they both need and want. Only about one-third (35%) reported that their employer offers a culture where breaks are encouraged. Only two-fifths (40%) reported that their employer offers a culture where time off is respected, and only 29% reported that their employer offers a culture where managers encourage employees to take care of their mental health.” If our corporate culture doesn’t open promote mental health awareness and create measures

Here are some strategies for advocating for yourself. 

Think about how you want to spend your time versus how you are actually spending your time.

Think about your capacity and mental bandwidth for work-related matters, communication, and productivity expectations before you look at the list below. 

Though all of these can be used at different times, it’s always hard to ask for help initially.

We often feel fear about losing our jobs, shame for not being able to “produce” like we once were, or could even struggle to believe taking care and time for our mental health is a luxury we can afford (or is even a basic working right).

• Reach out to a licensed mental health professional - those in the US can search the type of insurance providers take on: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us. A quick Google Maps search can help identify a provider in your area.

• There are many professionally certified life and burnout coaches you can engage to help with proactive management strategies to help you get the rest, energy, and recovery you need during this time. Look for those who focus on Sleep, Stress, and Burnout.

• Identify some boundaries for yourself at work around your time, work hours, communication, and expectations around work product. 

• Technology can help you enforce boundaries if you feel guilty asking to reschedule meetings or trying to say no to extra requests for your time and focus. Use automated systems and settings to do expectation setting and boundary enforcement on your behalf and save yourself decision fatigue and the guilt for saying no.

• Set up your Outlook or Google Calendar to note your working hours. 

• Set your automatic meeting time to speedy meetings (so you can grab 5-10 minutes between meetings for a bathroom or water break). 

• When you sit down for the day before you do anything - note in your schedule where you will take a 10-minute and 20-minute break and walk away from your desk, screen, or Slack.

• Use an app like Clockwise that helps you automatically reprioritize and reschedule your day or week

• Set your calendar info to private so you don’t feel like you have to always account for your time

Ask your manager for help with understanding from your co-workers around new expectations and boundaries (chances are if you’re feeling this, so are your teammates); they’ll probably be thankful to have an expectation-setting conversation around team culture or practices. Maybe they’ve also felt the strain as they manage their responsibilities and workload. Teach team members about “send later” timings on emails or create an auto-email responder that sets up expectations for when you are available for communication or to expect a response.

• If you feel like you can’t get help for yourself from your manager, it’s time to seek out HR or a trusted mentor at your company. 

You’re not a machine – so don’t think you can work or act like one.

• Take personal or sick days, take a sabbatical, or take a medical leave of absence at work - in the US, you can use the FMLA act in the US (Family Medical Leave Act). Even with “unlimited vacation,” most of us never actually take the vacation we’re allotted because we feel we can’t, things would pile up too much, or we’d inconvenience too many people, or our job wouldn’t be there when coming back (and frankly, if that’s the case, it’s probably a company we shouldn’t be staying at anyways).

Seek support from friends, family, or professionals.

• In psychology, there’s a term for wanting to talk it out during times of stress, called co-regulation. When someone with a dysregulated nervous system (in a state of stress or anxiety) connects with someone with a calm nervous system, that calm, centered person helps you bring your dysregulated system back into a balanced state of homeostasis. After you talk to someone, take the time to listen and process their observations. If you feel you can’t talk to someone in your life or don’t feel that mental health professionals are accessible or affordable, - there are many free mental health hotlines for various topics available in many countries. 

• You can check out Help.Org’s list of different hotlines by topic in many countries here – these are free resources in case health care or work-related care plans aren’t available to you.

Create an essential self-care routine that helps calm your nervous system and returns your stress response to homeostasis. 

• One of the hardest things I learned was how to be a healthy, productive adult. AKA “healthy adulting.” Things like getting a good amount of regular, restorative sleep meant going to bed at a consistent time that allowed for 7-8 hours of sleep. If I didn’t sleep well, my day was already behind before I even got out of bed. My energy wouldn’t be as high, my ability to handle the stresses of my job was low, and my decision-making wasn’t nearly as creative or decisive. On the days when I woke up tired instead of rested, I found myself struggling to write cohesive thoughts, replies, emails, and business documents. 

• As a leader, I was more judgmental than curious, and my brain fog from a concussion after an accident would reappear more often. My self-care routine included doing things for my mental health BEFORE I started work for the day. This had different strategies (depending on the day and need), including journaling, the Emotional Freedom Technique (aka EFT or Tapping), stretching while listening to a YouTube channel with a seasonal landscape set to soft instrumental music, or a long walk with my dog. This also required me to get up earlier and to do that. I needed to lock in my strategies and bedtime routines for good sleep.

• At Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, there’s an office of wellbeing  that promotes self-care through the use of somatic exercises

Find stress management techniques that work for you (and are not what you read in every self-help article) 

• You may have heard about the vagus nerve and polyvagal theory in the last few years. The Vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the entire human body. It begins in your brain, connects with all the major organs and bodily processes, and helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system (the body’s calming system).

•  A way of putting the Polyvagal Theory into practice is through somatic exercises that can ease stress and its impact on your nervous system. It’s tough to get out of your head and into your body when you’re living in a state of constant stress and/or chronic burnout. Instagram has an endless pool of knowledge and easy, short videos on these practices.

• Here are some of my favorite coaches and practitioners to follow online (they share fantastic, free resources). 

• Johns Hopkins recommends ten exercises about how to put these concepts into everyday practice. Here are some exercises and videos I found useful for education and awareness in my practice to help clients in high-stress jobs or those working to recover from burnout.

1. Full Body Scan - Helps you achieve a calming sensation throughout your body (note: a body scan can be harder for someone with chronic pain, so you may choose to attempt a graded body scan). 

2. Conscious Breathing - did you know breathwork can be both a stimulant and a calming practice?

3. Three-Dimensional Breathing

4. Releasing + Activating Your Nervous System Through Movement

5. Gentle full-body Swaying

6. Somatic Exercises for anger - Having Temper Tantrums as an adult

7. 10-minute stress meditation - a daily calming routine

8. 10-minute Daily Vagus Nerve Activation for times of stress to bring your body back to a relaxed state

9. Reducing Anxiety using Neural Plasticity and vagus nerve exercises

Setting boundaries to manage work productivity levels and expectations.

•  Whether with your direct manager, your team, or those you collaborate with, you must set expectations for how you work, when you work, and what you’re responsible for. Don’t be the usual overachiever and volunteer to do anything outside the scope of your work. Cut back on organizational participation, such as ESGs or things outside your role's scope. 

• Stop doing anything that is not essential. You need to focus on rest, recovery, restoring resilience, and your mental health. Your goal is to get as much time as possible back to focus on restoring your energy, drive, excitement, and ability to participate fully in your life. These suggestions have worked for many others, from high-level executives at large public companies to early-career professionals or mid-career managers and entrepreneurs. 

Figuring Out How To Say No Will Help You Get Ahead

• Sorenson also says, “Don’t look at saying “no” as a reflection of your self-worth or capabilities. Instead, think of setting boundaries as you protecting your energy, goals and priorities so you can be a more effective employee.”

• Saying yes repeatedly at work will often erode your focus, your productivity, and can start to reflect poorly on your performance reviews over time.

• On average, it takes people 23-27 minutes to be able to re-focus after switching tasks, and people in the workplace are interrupted on average 31.6x per day and task switch thousands of times per day. 

• Saying yes increases the likelihood of not being able to focus on your own work and responsibilities, and you can often get deprioritized for what you’re saying yes to. If you’re constantly feeling out of time, overwhelmed, and overworked – look at how often you’re saying yes vs. saying no to additional work or responsibilities. A sneakier thing to look at is how frequently you volunteer to do something in a group setting or with your manager during a 1:1.

Remember: Breaking Free Takes Time

The journey from being a workplace people-pleaser to setting healthy boundaries isn't linear, and it won't happen overnight. The key is to start small - perhaps with one boundary around your time, one "no" to a non-essential task, or one self-care practice that helps regulate your nervous system. Each small step builds confidence and creates space for more intentional choices about how you spend your energy at work.

Research shows that continuous people-pleasing behavior at work impacts your current performance and can have long-lasting effects on your career trajectory and health. As someone who has navigated this path personally and helped numerous professionals through it, change is possible - and it starts with recognizing that prioritizing your well-being isn't selfish. It's essential.

You don't have to figure this out alone. Whether you're feeling the early signs of burnout or are deep in the recovery process, there are proven strategies and support systems available. As a certified burnout, stress, sleep, and recovery coach, I specialize in helping busy professionals create sustainable work practices that protect their energy while advancing their careers.

Ready to break free from the people-pleasing cycle and reclaim your time and energy? Visit www.2122coaching.com to learn how we can work together to develop personalized strategies for your situation. 

Remember: Your worth isn't measured by how often you say "yes" or how much you take on for others. It's about showing up as your best self, setting healthy boundaries, and creating a sustainable approach to your career that honors both your ambitions and your well-being.

Let's work together to transform your relationship with work and reclaim your energy for what truly matters to you. Book a Free Clarity Call to understand your next steps HERE.

Why You Might Be Overlooking These Elements of Burnout

Lessons from a Recovered Workaholic that Can Save Your Health

When you hear the word burnout, a mental picture of exhaustion may appear. Yet, it is much more complex than ending the day exhausted and unable to finish your work on time. Burnout can affect everyone at any age, producing mental and physical exhaustion. 

You might think burnout only happens to others, but let me tell you—it's more personal than you'd expect. From my journey, I've felt its weight and ripple effects firsthand. In tech, I managed a 14-member team across multiple countries and collaborated with nearly every team at a large company. Later, at a 40-person startup post-grad, I had a vantage point of the entire company from my desk. Both roles, years apart, led to burnout." 

With burnout, you must know how to spot it early and understand how to advocate for yourself at work to get the respite and resources to reverse the effects before they become chronic, work-ending conditions. Reading this article, you will learn what burnout is, how it’s sneaky and easy to overlook, and how knowing the warning signs can save you from serious health issues.

Defining Burnout: A WHO Perspective

As defined by the World Health Organization, “Burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion,

• increased mental distance from one’s job, feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job, and

• reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.” Though it doesn’t originate from other areas of your life, finding yourself in a state of burnout does impact every other aspect of your life and can have long-term consequences on your health, including repeated vulnerabilities to colds, an impact on your mental health, and compounded long-term effects of stress. When chronic stress is not addressed, it can lead to life-altering diseases such as heart disease, obesity, Type II diabetes, Arthritis, Anxiety disorders, and, in some cases, suicide, as cited by Yale’s School of Medicine. (source). 

The Challenge of Identifying Burnout

Though many societies worldwide are increasingly recognizing the need for accessible mental health resources and open public discussion, it is still very taboo in many areas and across many cultures and societies. According to Sift Consultancy, in 2022, 47% of 18 - 24-year-olds, 43% of 25 - 34-year-olds, and 42% of those aged 35-44 were experiencing burnout.

Burnout is a silent killer, much like stress. Because it’s silent, it can be hard to recognize and ask for help, especially if that does not feel like an option in your job or circumstances. What happens when your organization's culture expects a certain level of performance? It usually doesn’t feel like you have a choice if you want to keep your job or get ahead in your career, so we usually just chalk stress up being a necessary evil —- however, that’s far from the truth.

The 5 stages of Burnout Help You Identify Where You’re At

As you enter any new job, change careers, or are in the middle of a current role, to be able to these silent effects, it’s essential to know the 5 stages,

The Honeymoon Phase - the anticipatory + optimistic start to any new role or job - is when information is a fire hose! Your brain is lit up with problems to solve and new information to absorb and integrate. You feel fulfilled and are fully engaged in proactive problem-solving. This is like a phase of eustress (also known as good stress, much like exercising); because this only feels like a one-time stressor, it’s much easier to disengage and return to an even state than the later, chronic, persistent stages of stress and burnout.

The Onset of Stress - After you’ve settled into the role a little bit. The high energy of the honeymoon phase comes to an end. This is when stress (and stress occurring more often) starts to set in. Maybe you notice a manager beginning to micromanage or realize you are expected to work as late as needed to get the job done or answer emails at 11 p.m. and again before work starts. Be on the lookout for the inability to focus, a lack of enjoyment in the usual things outside of work, any new persistent anxieties, a more challenging time meeting deadlines, or difficulty in being able to wind down, sleep well, or turn off your brain for more nights a week than you sleep well.

Burnout Phase -  In the burnout stage, you feel continual physical and emotional exhaustion. 

• You may wake up each day feeling tired, regardless of how long you slept or were in bed. 

• Your enthusiasm and passion for your work may have diminished significantly, and you may feel cynical about the impact of your role 

• If you begin to withdraw from social interactions, isolate yourself, and struggle with persistent feelings of sadness or numbness (autopilot) – it’s important to flag these with a medical professional and work with your manager or HR to get the resources needed as quickly as possible.

Chronic Stress Phase -  If your stress is not addressed, it can become chronic stress, leading to mood swings, poorer work performance due to irritability, apathy, continual need to call in sick, or persistently come down with colds. Becoming a vicious cycle that impacts your work performance and your health. If you experience increased irritability and a shorter temper, you may instantly yell or lash out instead of reacting with compassion or curiosity when there’s an accident. Poor decision-making is also a hallmark of chronic stress and a consistent lack of sleep – where you may become unfocused, miss important meetings, deadlines, grants, and events, or make a risky decision you might not usually make at work (or while driving on your way home one evening).

Habitual Burnout - When stress has become not only a majority of your days but also a persistent part of your everyday life. It can be harder to calm down in time for bed, leading to your inability to get consistent restorative sleep. You may find yourself doom scrolling for hours or getting lost in a Netflix binge as a form of bedtime revenge procrastination when you know you need to be up early for a big meeting tomorrow. A consistent state of stress and lack of sleep can lead to serious health complications that can land you in the emergency room, on medical leave, or cost you your job.

Knowing that burnout can happen in as little as three stages is essential. Not everyone experiences these stages in the same order. 

Recognizing Burnout in Your Life

Even after reading this, it may still be hard to recognize the signs of burnout in yourself. Here are some specific scenarios you might encounter: 

• Do you dread getting out of bed as soon as you wake up? 

• Does a sense of fear, anxiety, or a total lack of emotion happen once you walk into work daily or log on each morning at your desk?

• Do you have less time outside of work for what you used to do?

• Do you find yourself getting stuck in the weeds, focusing on smaller tasks that seem to take up all your time rather than executing larger strategic vision-setting work?

• Do you struggle to stay awake even when you’ve had caffeine? Do you feel extreme fatigue or a new persistent chronic pain?

• Do you have severe trouble falling asleep because you’re worrying about work or a situation that happened at work (more than 3-4 nights a week)?

• Do you keep getting sick or hurt, and it prevents you from working as you previously would?

• Do you actively avoid looking at your notifications on your devices in the morning or at night?

These questions all come from signs I missed in my own life, friends, and those I’ve coached who have also experienced significant effects from workplace burnout. We often become so adept at coping and getting by that we may not recognize active avoidance, anxiety that’s crept in, or understand that what we’re doing to get by is not normal. Living with these persistent stress levels is unnecessary and should not be considered a necessary evil. Don’t just manage these symptoms to keep working. Your body will stop you from working altogether and keep you from returning to work for more extended periods when it can no longer mask, manage, or cope with your constant stress levels.

Where to Go From Here

By recognizing these symptoms, you’re likely in the burnout stage. It’s important to advocate for yourself and help as quickly as possible. If you’re unsure, and none of these sound exactly like you, or maybe they feel too familiar, take this burnout quiz to learn more.

Here are some strategies for advocating for yourself around your time, energy, availability for work-related matters and communication, as well as productivity expectations:

• Reach out to a licensed mental health professional - those in the US can search the type of insurance providers take on: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us 

• Identify some boundaries for yourself at work around your time, work hours, communication, and expectations around work product. Technology can help you enforce boundaries if you feel like you can’t yourself. Set up your Outlook or Google Calendar to note your working hours. Set your automatic meeting time to speedy meetings (so you can grab 5-10 minutes between meetings for a bathroom or water break).

• Ask your manager for help with the enforcement and any understanding with your co-workers around this (chances are if you’re feeling this, so are your teammates).

• If you feel like you can’t get help for yourself from your manager, it’s time to seek out HR or a trusted mentor at your company.

• Take personal or sick days, take a sabbatical or medical leave of absence at work - in the US, you can use the FMLA act in the US (Family Medical Leave Act).

• Seek support from friends, family, or professionals.

• Create an essential self-care routine that helps calm your nervous system and returns your stress response to homeostasis.

• Find stress management techniques that work for you - including polyvagal theory and somatic practices that can ease stress and its impact on your nervous system.

• Setting boundaries to manage your workload better, whether it’s with your direct manager, your team, or those you collaborate with, it’s important you set expectations for how you work, when you work, and what you’re responsible for. Don’t be the usual overachiever and volunteer to do anything outside the scope of your work. Cut back on any organizational participation, such as ESGs or things outside your role's scope. 

Stop doing anything that is not essential. You need to focus on rest, recovery, restoring resilience, and your mental health. Your goal is to get as much time as possible back to focus on restoring your energy, drive, excitement, and ability to participate fully in your life. These suggestions have worked for many others, from high-level executives at large public companies to early-career professionals or mid-career managers and entrepreneurs. 

Conclusion

Recognizing and addressing burnout is not just about self-awareness; it's about self-preservation. 

Burnout doesn’t discriminate, seeping insidiously into any profession at any age, affecting both physical and mental well-being. My personal experiences underscore this modern-day working disease's silent yet overwhelming nature. While understanding the World Health Organization's definition or identifying burnout stages is crucial, our awareness and proactive steps to remedy the issues are what truly matter. Everyone owes it to themselves to set boundaries, seek support, and prioritize self-care. 

In denying or dismissing burnout, we risk our careers, vitality, and health. If health is wealth, and we have nothing without our health, remember, burnout is more likely to happen than ever before in human history; respond before it redefines you.

If you want to learn more about burnout and actionable ways to reduce stress, subscribe to the Resources for Life Substack for in-depth research and new monthly resources on different topics about life and how to live a better one.

What’s different about 2122 coaching?

You’ve probably heard by now hustle culture is over. I would agree. Being busy is no longer a badge of honor, and understanding therapy language has become part of the cultural zeitgeist.

How does all of that apply to your life? What’s helpful vs. a passing TikTok fad? What is the latest trend that requires you to spend more money on gear, gadgets, or goods to achieve your goals? The truth is – you can make impactful changes in any area of your life without spending much money or acquiring more stuff.

However, not going with the quick fix requires that we start with more foundational and big-picture practices. Together we’ll start by exploring your values, looking at the quality of your sleep, and how you move throughout your day to understand why you have certain levels of energy. We’ll also look at your unique stress levels, how your nervous system tends to react in different situations, what healthy looks and feels like to you (not society), and clarify how you want to live and show up in all areas of your life.

Knowing your WHY for wanting to make significant changes, your values, and if you are living in or out of alignment with them become your compass, helping you navigate your course when you can’t see your destination over the waves.

We can make a plan, break it down into action steps, and block schedule you to within a minute of your day, but if we don’t understand how you react to resistance when something challenging comes up, it could stop you from ever moving beyond a certain point or cause you to give up on your goal altogether.

Have you ever wondered why you haven’t been able to make changes that stick despite throwing a lot of money at a problem or buying a new course? Perhaps you’re flummoxed as to why you just can’t seem to get to the last 10% of that big idea and launch the thing.

We (as humans) have a negativity bias in our brains. We may see opportunities for growth as real danger when situations are asking us to be more visible or stepping into a position of leadership — taking us out of our perceived realm of normal and safe, and all of a sudden you’re self-sabotage your dreams because your mind and nervous system are screaming this is SCARY AND UNSAFE.

That’s why working on your nervous system, discovering your mindset patterns, and understanding your personal or family “stories” are essential while working towards making changes and achieving your dreams. 

We’ll help you make room for the important things and create action plans that work for your unique lifestyle and commitments while identifying and proactively managing potential roadblocks. We’ll find where those blocks could be coming from, such as unconscious limiting beliefs like your family always calling you the irresponsible one, societal programming telling you that you can’t be a leader because you don’t fit the usual narrative, or feeling that success is unsafe because of some lessons you inherited growing up.

That’s what’s different about balanced life and healthy success coaching for busy people here at 2122coaching. We’ll make time for your dreams while helping you make sustainable and healthy progress that has a lasting impact in all areas of your life. 

If this sounds like a better way to work, book a free discovery call where we can take some time to understand your goals, why you want to achieve them, and if coaching is the right fit for you.

Welcome to 2122 coaching & Advising

I’m Elizabeth, and I’m on a personal mission to help busy professionals and entrepreneurs who struggle with fatigue, stress, and overwhelm — regain their energy and embody a healthier version of success with more ease and fulfillment.

Regardless of the change in front of you – I aim to help you accomplish your goals, feel your best health-wise, and have sustainable energy physically, mentally, and emotionally to show up as the authentic person you want to be throughout your life. 

What does 2122 mean? Founded in 2022, the sentiment across these companies is to help businesses and individual legacies be around for the next 100 years (2122). Whether we’re building your dream business or coaching you to new heights of personal and professional growth, I’m invested in your long-term success — not just a transactional engagement.

What does 2122 mean?

The meaning behind the name is simple. We were founded in 2022, and my goal is to help companies and individual legacies be around for the next 100 years (which would be 2122). Whether we’re building your dream business or coaching you to new heights of personal and professional growth, I’m invested in your long-term success — not just a transactional engagement.

In this post, I will break down the different services, cutting-edge coaching modalities, practical experience, and methodologies that I use to help clients find more success, joy, fulfillment, peace, and balance in their lives.

What is business coaching?

Business coaching is all about helping you make progress on your professional dreams. Whether you’re a solopreneur, an executive, a manager, or a new or experienced business owner looking to scale their company - business coaching can help you grow to the next stage of your business. 

Business coaches are usually profoundly experienced professionals who help executives and entrepreneurs by weaving together their real-world experience with coaching skills to help improve personal and corporate performance and productivity and achieve sustainable success. I use KPIs, OKRs, and SMART goals to get actual results based on your accountability type and energy levels. 

Business Coaching through the lens of serving the whole person looks at more than your productivity or executive presence. It considers how you want to show up as a leader, how your stress levels, ability to recover, and levels of health and energy impact your teams, company culture, org-wide performance, and management style. We know that work in western culture often bleeds into all areas of our life, and allowing ourselves to show up authentically and as a whole person at work is more important than ever.

What is Stress Management Coaching?

Did you know there’s good stress and bad stress? A stressor is anything that brings your body out of homeostasis or its natural baseline. Eustress (good stress) is anything that makes us grow and change in productive ways. Bad stress (Distress) is stress that breaks us down and depletes us. 

Modern lives are filled with stress. We get into potentially harmful patterns when we don’t have the strategies and tools to recover from stressors and cannot bring our bodies back to baseline or turn off our vigilant state, only to become hypervigilant.

By working from a deep-health perspective, including stress management, movement, and sleep strategies, we can build some key recovery practices that help us return to homeostasis no matter the level or duration of stress(es) we experience.

In Business and Life Coaching, we often work on changing behaviors. Whether it’s around productivity, making time in your hectic schedule to work on your new business, or trying to develop new habits that will stick  – Health in all dimensions can affect people’s ability to change.

For instance, if we’re:

• feeling low from the flu or being on our feet all day (physical stress);

• overloaded by information (mental-cognitive stress);

• grappling with work anxiety (emotional stress);

• feeling lonely (social-relational stress);

• feeling adrift with no apparent purpose in life (existential stress); and

• annoyed by clutter and noisy neighbors around us (environmental stress)

We are less open to change.

On the other hand, if we’re:

• Well-rested and well-nourished (reduces physical stress);

• Clear and focused (reduces mental-cognitive);

• Feeling optimistic and upbeat (reduces emotional stress);

• In supportive and secure relationships (reduces social stress);

• Doing activities that feel deeply meaningful (reduces existential stress);

• Comfortable, safe, and have just the right amount of stimulation for us (reduces environmental stress)

Then, we are much more open to change and growth.

Because we can’t have 100% healthy and optimum performance every second, building stress management and adaptation skills are also vital. These skills can "unlock" your ability to change by making life’s obstacles and change process easier to deal with — without being perfect. The balance between stressors and recovery determines our overall health, performance, and quality of life. It also shapes how we function, feel, think, form relationships, and act.

What is Transformational Coaching?

Transformational Coaching empowers you to access your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behavior patterns that could limit your capacity to meet your goals. Transformational coaching also uses partnering and collaborative inquiry to address overarching parts of your life to support you through a significant change to help you grow, develop, and redefine your current existence. 

Transformational vs. Transitional (or Traditional) Coaching

Transformational coaching differs from transitional or goal-oriented, where the coach works with you to address a specific challenge with a focused outcome. A transitional coach could help you move from one job to another, while a transformational coach will empower you to rethink what’s possible professionally. 

I combine modalities and methodologies to suit a unique individual. There are excellent characteristics to transitional and transformational coaching approaches that will help you change the structure of your life to meet your terms of success while successfully moving you through moments of transition. We may flow between both states or weave them together to meet your specific goals.

What are the Benefits of Transformational Coaching?

The most significant benefit of transformational coaching is long-lasting, positive, sustainable change. Through collaborative inquiry, transformational coaching will help you become more aware of your unique gifts, zone of genius, strengths, and perspective to share with the world.

While long-lasting, sustainable change is the biggest benefit, there are many different rewarding outcomes, such as: 

• Gaining awareness about your talents, motivators, dreams, fears, cultural influences, and assumptions, then exploring how they are shaping your worldview

• Moving into an empowered perspective and mindset, shedding old stories and self-limiting beliefs

• Defining what fulfillment, success, and happiness are according to your unique terms

Why do you talk about sustainability and transformation so much? Can’t we just put together a quick action plan?

Maybe you’ve listened to all of the podcasts and read all the books to help you achieve your goals, but you can’t seem to make real progress. In coaching, we take the time to determine why successes may not have happened yet and anticipate any potential roadblocks to reduce friction as we work towards your goals. We’ll explore whether there is some unconscious block you’re facing. Perhaps there is a fear of success where your new business might require more time in an already hectic and overwhelmed life. Or maybe you’re unknowingly carrying childhood or adolescence experiences that bring out perfectionistic tendencies because of a fear of failure. Our discovery work will get to the heart of the issue and help us chart a path to healthy success that fits your unique lifestyle.

By the time they come to coaching, most clients have already tried MANY things to achieve their goals and create lasting change. They have usually read all the “how to habit” books, all the medium articles, and even signed up for a course or two (much as I did), but nothing led to a consistent change year after year. I combine transformational, transitional, and embodiment methodologies to help you achieve long-lasting, positive, sustainable change. 

Small, consistent actions can create sustainable progress toward a thriving, healthy existence without burning ourselves out. 

Specific Modalities and Methods:

• Clinical EFT, known as “tapping,” is short for Emotional Freedom Technique. Validated in more than 100 clinical trials and recognized by many national health systems, clinical EFT is an evidenced-based method combining acupressure with methods from cognitive behavioral and exposure therapies to help you ground yourself and bring down heightened emotions, fear, distress, and pain across countless topics.

• Breathwork Therapy practices: clarity, transformational, holotropic, and grounding

• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (“NLP”) for personal and professional growth helps you create a vision for your future that aligns with your values and allows people to understand how their language and communication patterns create programming in the mind and your nervous system. 

• Accountability Type helps you understand how you deal with outer and inner accountability for better follow-through and accountability actions.

• Sustainable Model of Change - is a proprietary methodology that takes your unique brain, lived experiences, identity, and behavioral tendencies to create a new model of change using neuroplasticity and NLP.

My Approach:

My approach is more than the latest life hacks, traditional time management strategies, or general business blog exercises. We’ll identify your goals, your unique accountability style, a working schedule that works for you, personalized frameworks for decision-making, and an action plan to achieve your goals that work for your unique brain.

I believe we should design our ideal lives first and then craft our work to meet our lifestyle objectives. Productivity should give us back more time, not require more of us. More balanced ways of productivity give you the freedom to choose what you want to focus your precious resources (time, energy, and attention) on.

Whether we’re building your dream business or coaching you to new heights of personal and professional growth, I’m invested in your long-term success — not just a transactional engagement.

I combine decades of personal development education, academic research, and professional experience with working on a sustainable change model that is unique to you as a whole person to help you get tangible, measurable, and SMART results. 

If any of this sounds helpful, book a free discovery call to see if coaching fits you.