Balance & Beyond
Balance and Beyond is the podcast for ambitious women refusing to accept burnout as the price of success. Here, we’re committed to empowering you with the tools and strategies you need to achieve true balance, where your career, relationships and health all thrive and where you have the power to define success on your own terms.
Balance & Beyond
Belinda’s Story: The Hidden Cost of High-Achieving Her Brokenness
Burnout doesn't have to be the price of success. Just ask Belinda, who transformed from a corporate high-achiever working until 1am to a purpose-driven professional with true balance and joy.
This eye-opening conversation reveals what happens when an ambitious woman decides she's had enough of "high-achieving her brokenness." Despite outperforming at work and receiving bonuses, Belinda found herself burning food on the stove because she was answering "just one more email" and missing meaningful connections with her family. Her powerful story demonstrates that you can excel professionally without sacrificing everything else.
The turning point came with two simple but profound realizations: "I am enough" and "I've got nothing to prove to anyone." These mantras gave Belinda the courage to make the previously unthinkable decision to resign without another job lined up—something she'd never done outside maternity leave.
What happened next defies conventional wisdom. Belinda found a role at a not-for-profit organization using her property development skills for meaningful social impact. She now works four days a week while earning more money than in her corporate position. Most importantly, she's rediscovered joy through "micro-moments" with her children and reconnecting with passions like water skiing.
Perhaps most powerful are Belinda's reflections on limiting beliefs: the fear of judgment that kept her trapped, the "shoulds" that dictated her choices, and the myth that ambitious women must sacrifice wellbeing for success. Her advice for anyone feeling stuck resonates deeply: "When you're inside the jar, you can't read the label"—sometimes you need outside perspective to see what needs changing.
Whether you're feeling the creep of burnout or wondering if there's a different path forward, this conversation offers both practical wisdom and the inspiration to create a life where career, family, and personal wellbeing can genuinely thrive together.
Ready to write your own transformation story? Visit balanceinstitute.com to discover the toolkit that's helped thousands of women create lives of balance and beyond.
To view the Transcript from this week's episode, visit our Balance & Beyond Podcast webpage: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast/2025/94
Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!
If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.
Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute
Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!
Welcome to Balance and Beyond, the podcast for ambitious women who refuse to accept burnout as the price of success. Here we're committed to empowering you with the tools and strategies you need to achieve true balance, where your career, relationships and health all thrive and where you have the power to define success on your terms. I honor the space you've created for yourself today, so let's take a breath and dive right in. Welcome to today's episode of Balance and Beyond, where I am joined by the wonderful Belinda. Hi, belinda, thanks for joining me today. Hey, jo, thank you for having me.
Jo:Belinda has been on an incredible journey over the last couple of years and a really big part, I guess, of what we're often asked here on the podcast is you know, does this stuff really work? Are people able actually to get out of burnout? And Belinda's got such a beautiful, inspiring story and there are so many wonderful examples of all the shifts that she's made in her life, so I thought a great opportunity for her to come on and share, and I know paying it forward is a really big part of who she is. So, belinda, before we start, why don't you just tell everyone a little bit about who you are and where you live and to give them some context for our conversation.
Belinda:Absolutely. Thanks, jo, and thank you for having me. I'm based in Melbourne, victoria. I am a daughter, a wife, a mother. I have three school-aged children. They're 12, 9 and 7, so a busy household and work in the property development space. So you know, busy life but lots of fun as well.
Jo:Yep. So let's just be really clear. You don't live alone on a desert island with maids and servants to take care of all your beck and call.
Belinda:No, I certainly don't. Some days, some days and some weeks, that'd be nice, but no, certainly, certainly not, certainly not my reality.
Jo:No, no. So I think a beautiful place to start is talk us through where you were a couple of years ago and I know, you know even sharing your story is a really big part of your journey. You know, being here in a position now, coming out the other side, but where were you? You know, obviously, busy life, litt life, littler children yeah, but how are you feeling about life?
Belinda:yeah, look at um in coming on the podcast today, who sort of gave me that cause to reflect back on on where I was, you know, two and a half, three years ago, um, and the one word ants would be broken, um, and it's really hard to sort of reflect back on that time. I think you know a bit like women who have had children and childbirth. It can be really traumatic at the time and then you move on and you put it in the past. So I was working for a big corporate in the property development space. I started a new role with them right as COVID hit. So my first day in the new job I got couriered out a laptop and was working from home.
Belinda:My husband works in international travel, so once international borders were closed, his business was shut down and rolled the clock back three years. We had three very, very young children, so I was absolutely killing it in the new job at work. But where I found myself was that I was prioritizing that over everything else, um, and found myself at a point where, um, whilst I was kicking goals at work, um, every other aspect of my life was suffering. And you know, there's only so long that you can sustain that, sustain that for, and I got to a point where I was just, I was just completely broken, um, and reflecting back now, you know, I just wasn't holding any boundaries. I didn't know what boundaries were, I didn't know how to hold them.
Belinda:You know my modus operandi. You know, if you can't get through what you need to get through, just work harder. You know, head down, butt up and just work harder. But that found me in a position where I was, you know, finishing up my workday at 5, 5, wrangling kids, doing dinner, doing the dishes, and then getting back on the computer at 10 o'clock at night and working through till midnight, 1 am in the in the morning, um, but more, that is a badge of honor. I was like no, no, I've got this. And you know when people like, oh, you're on the, on the uh on the computer late last night I was like yeah, yeah, just have to get through it. You know it's all good.
Jo:Um, until I got to a point where it wasn't and it was just unsustainable but, as you said, if anyone had asked you, then you know you were crushing it at work by all your you know.
Jo:So no one at work would have had any idea that any of this was going on. Your performance wasn't impacted, but it was more that sort of personal feeling of like oh, like this, this isn't how it's meant to be, like I, I want to see my children and I want to have energy for them, as opposed to just putting everything into work. So I think that's always a really important distinction that we, often people, feel like well, you know, my life falls apart. Well, it doesn't always have to. On the surface, it can look fine because you're a high achiever, you can get a lot done, right, you know, you would have been juggling all the balls and and all those things. So that's a, I guess, a really important distinction that I want to make sure you know anyone listening is that it's not like Belinda was, you know, bedridden and couldn't work and was like like she was high achievering her brokenness, which is, you know, an interesting insight in itself, right?
Belinda:yeah, yeah, 100. You know performance reviews of outperform, getting paid big bonuses, earning good money, you know. But, yeah, when you're, you know, not having a proper conversation with your husband or your children because you're trying to respond to emails and you know, and there are a few real tipping points For me, one was, you know, burning something on the stove because I was back down in the office, the kids were out the back something on the stove and just had to, you know, respond to one more email, get one more thing done. That you know being able to multitask and again seeing that as a superpower, but instead doing nothing. Doing nothing well, and just constantly distracted, you know, and running at a pace that just wasn't sustainable.
Jo:Yeah, you know, and and running it at a pace that it's just. Yeah, it wasn't, wasn't sustainable.
Belinda:Yeah, and so now you know you said so much has changed. Where are you now? How would you describe your life? Yeah, look in a, in a really in a really great place, joe, and I think part of that was, um, you know and obviously I'm on on your podcast I did the uh, the balance issues foundations course, which was just life-changing for me. Um, and I was an absolute, absolute skeptic. Even when, uh, joe sent through the first invoice, I was like, oh, you know, I was like, no, no, I just I need to do some background checks on you here, joe, I need to make sure that I'm not getting, I'm not getting, scammed. Um, and you know, it is certainly, it's certainly, it's certainly not, it's certainly not a scam. It's a brilliant course that gives you the tools. So where am I now?
Belinda:I resigned from the job at the big corporate, which was one of the scariest things I'd ever done in my life. The only time I had been out of work was when I'd been on maternity leave and always had another job, always had another job to go back to. But doing the course and working with the women in the course gave me the courage to actually walk away from what I thought I wanted and I needed and allowed me to reset. And I found a role where I use my property development skills at a not-for-profit, delivering projects that have really meaningful social outcomes, which, again, I didn't realise because I was so caught up in the busyness and climbing the corporate ladder. And the next job and the next role that you know, whilst the job was ticking, that sense of achievement, it wasn't filling the sense of purpose that I needed. And I needed to find a role where I could actually use those skills in a setting where I was actually contributing and had a real sense of purpose.
Belinda:But that's a scary, you know, that's a scary decision to make. And I was reflecting back and I remember saying to you, jo, you know, if not this, then what. You know. I don't want to do this anymore. Stop. To you, jo. You know, if not this, then what you know. I don't want to do this anymore. Stop the bus, I want to get off, but I don't know what else I can do. You know, I've invested, you know, 20 years of my working career in developing these skills. How do I transfer them to something else? How do I do something else?
Belinda:And there were two things that came out of one of the coaching calls that we had, one of the group tribe coaching calls, and they were I am enough and I've got nothing to prove to anyone. And I never saw myself as a people pleaser. But the biggest fear I had in resigning from that job and leaving was what would people think and that I couldn't cut it and that I was a failure and that, oh know, there were a few signs there, you know, she was never going to be up to it, um, and that cutting through that and just getting to a point where I don't have anything to prove to anyone, um was a big change, you know. And then to to now find myself in a role, um, where I've working a full-time job over four days. I have that day where I can help in the classroom with the kids, where I can get the life admin done, which means on the weekend I can have some genuine time with the kids and the family.
Belinda:I'm not constantly racing, I'm not working evenings, I'm not working crazy hours, but still doing a job that gives me a sense of satisfaction, a job where I'm still earning good money and I'm not earning I'm actually earning more money now than I did when I resigned from the big corporate which again was a myth I told myself that you know, I'm not going to get paid this money somewhere else, I'm not going to get the flexibility and I think some of the myth we tell ourselves when we've got runs on the board in an organisation and we've built that credibility and they'll give us flexibility If I go somewhere else, I haven't got those runs on the board. If you've built those runs on the board where you are, you'll build them at the next place too. You know that's the reality and you know doing more of the same and just continuing to stick your head in the sand and work harder isn't going to produce a different outcome.
Jo:But, as you said, there's a lot of limiting beliefs that you had to overcome there. That took a huge amount of courage for you to deal with that whole. You know, I am the the perception that you worry, that people think you're a failure or she's tapped out or whatever else. And here you are, you know, earning great money, great, great flexibility, great benefits and meaning and purpose and still being a top performer. So none of that's changed because you're still Belinda. So you're still going to be a top performer no matter where you are, but with a much better balance to life, right On top of everything else. Yeah, a hundred percent. And how has that shaped over the last couple of years? As you made this career shift and, you know, didn't have to work as long and stop burning food on the stove and all the things that we do when we're pushing really hard? What are some of the, I guess, new emotions or new experiences that have been opened up for you as a result of, you know, beginning this journey, in this shift?
Belinda:Yeah, look, I think some of it is really around that tool, around owning our own emotions and and resetting our own emotional home. And you know, oh, you know, thoughts, you know, impact our beliefs, impact our actions and all of those things. So there was a real shift around, you know, no longer being stressed and rushed and all of those sorts of things, but actually cultivating an emotional home, around a sense of being more calm and around bringing joy and fun back into my life. I don't want my kids to reflect back and you know, and mum was just always busy and she was always rushed, and again some of those limiting beliefs. And you know, I think we do it with exercise and you use this example, jo, that you know, if I don't have an hour and I don't have the perfect runners and the perfect gear, well then I just can't exercise.
Belinda:I found that's a limiting belief around spending time with the kids If I didn't have half an hour where we could go, or half a day where we'd go to a playground or a play centre. It's actually taking those opportunities in the moment and a few years back, when my, my youngest, was still in kinder and driving home from school drop off, and can we stop at the playground? Um, and my automatic response was no, got to get the shopping done, got to get the folding done, you know too much, too much stuff to do, and and just shifting that and saying, yeah, actually we can. You know, we can stop for 10 or 15 minutes and we can play at the playground, and we did, you know. And the joy that comes from that and just finding those micro moments where it's actually, yeah, we can.
Belinda:The kids now, and it's not always a yes, but hot day can we go to 7-Eleven and grab a Slurpee? Actually, why not? Sure, let's go grab a Slurpee. So there was that real shift. But also the exercise that we did around desire pulling. Actually, we get so busy and caught up in life around what do I actually want? What do I want from my life, what makes me happy? And prioritising that and making the time for that and it doesn't have to be today and it doesn't need to be during the workday, but actually setting some goals around those things so that you can find that time and genuinely engage.
Jo:Absolutely. And what was the result of some of your desire pulling? If you've never heard of this before, this is some beautiful exercises that we do in our community because, to Belinda's point, we're so caught up in what we should want and what we think other people should want that we never actually connected to our true desires, whatever they are, whether that's for more fun, for more playfulness. And when we can connect to that, then when we deliver we're able to meet those desires, whether it's for a slurpee or a cartwheel at the park or whatever it is. Well then we find that when we get those things, they actually do bring us joy rather than those empty, hollow things that we do and we're like oh, you know, it was meant to feel better than this. So I think you know you've had some beautiful example of new experiences, new toys, new things that you know that you've invested in, but they're for the right reasons, because they're what you want, not what anybody else wants?
Belinda:Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, the big one for me was reflecting back on what brought me joy when I was younger and we grew up camping and water skiing and had family friends who had a boat. And one of the outcomes of, you know, of this evolution of me is that we've, uh, we bought a ski boat for the family, um, last summer. And now, getting out behind the boat and and me up on a ski which is the first thing I ever bought, when I was 15 years old and working at the pizza shop, um, you know, back up on, back up on that ski and and that's me in my happy place, like you know, and I hadn't skied in, you know, probably 20 years, um, because life was just too busy and they, you know, there wasn't the ability to do that. So, um, you know, pretty amazing.
Belinda:And then, to you know, get the kids and invite other friends and families out on the boat with us, um, has just been, you know, it's just been so much fun and brought joy not just to me but to, you know, to others as well, um, which is, yeah, which is so much, so much fun to be able to, you know, feel that, that pure joy in myself.
Belinda:But also, you know, I get so much joy out of watching others, um, you know, learn to kneeboard, or, you know, get out on the biscuits or be thrown in the water out of the biscuits, and you know, I think, yeah, they, they say when your kids are little, um, you know, the days are long but the years are short and I think, as the kids get older, you sort of think, you know, you spent 95% of the time you get to spend with your kids is, you know, between zero and 18. And as they, you know, start to head into high school, it's, you know, for me, trying to find those opportunities where you can connect with them, you know, in a really fun and genuine way.
Jo:Which is just so beautiful, because that's the type of thing that, even though you loved it as a kid, as you said, the old Belinda was no time too busy stuff to do, shopping to do, decluttering to do and now you've opened up this whole new way of living, this whole new way of being that you're also passing on to your kids. So they're now getting to experience joy and they're now getting to experience all these new things and seeing mum like laughing and being silly and, as you said, a completely different experience of a mother that they're going to have now as a result of that.
Belinda:Yeah, absolutely.
Jo:Yeah, which is just, I think, so beautiful and a testament to all the work you've done. You know, belinda's finished our foundationals, your signature program, and has then gone on to our mentorship and she's been there for a couple of years and has developed beautiful relationships and just keeps leaning in like, just keep saying, all right, what's the next level? What's the next level? Uh, what would you say? I know you mentioned a couple of key words before that really gave you the courage to, uh, you know, take that big leap out of corporate. But what would you say? Some of the biggest lessons you've learned about yourself in the last couple of years. You've alluded to some, but are there any in particular that come to mind?
Belinda:yeah, I think the two that I mentioned before have really, um, have really sat with me. One is I am enough, um, and it. It's really interesting because if you had have said those, those words out of, out of context and not as part of the you know, I would have said yeah, yeah, you know, I've always been pretty self-confident. I've been, you know, um, I was a high achiever at high school, I'm fit, I'm healthy, but clearly there was something underlying that made me feel like I wasn't enough and I had to continue, particularly in a work environment, to continue to prove myself. And it was actually, you know, really leaning into that. You know, I am enough. And do I still have wobbles? Absolutely. Do I suffer from imposter syndrome? Yes, absolutely. Have I reached the pinnacle of my career? No, I haven't. But the other I have not looked to anyone. I was so worried about what other people would say and that judgment. And that's really flipped. Now, where I talk to people who are in that high performance, high achieving, you know really, in the uh on on the treadmill, and you know I actually look at them with some empathy and go I, I don't want that. I don't want. You know that busy doesn't equal importance. Um, so I think the the learning for me was that you know, some people are really driven by being the next ceo. Will I continue to progress in my career? Yeah, absolutely, um, but finding that ability to sit in the duality of being ambitious and wanting more and wanting that sense of achievement that I get from work and working you know, I'm never going to be a full-time stay-at-home mum.
Belinda:I had a really lovely break between the current job I'm in and leaving the last job. I had a three-month break and that was beautiful. But you know, I was absolutely ready and I saw lots of women in our community Jo, you know, the same as McKernie Lee ready to get back in, you know, and make a bigger contribution, you know, to society, to the workforce and around that. So you know, there are a number of different layers. Part of it was having that courage to actually walk away and start fresh. But the other part was, yeah, I don't need to prove anything to anyone. You know it's finding what works for me. Um, you know, and I've had a lot of mentors on my journey who are like giving me opportunities to move through different parts of an organization, because you know you need that broad exposure if you're going to be the CEO.
Belinda:And it's like, well, what if I don't become a CEO? Am I going to disappoint them? Have I not lived up up to my potential? And that potential was one that was really cutting for me. It's like, you know, I was a top performer at school. I went on to university. I, you know I graduated with honours from university. You know I should, you know I should be operating at a higher level. I'm at this stage in my career and I should be higher. And should's just a really crappy word. You know, that's one of the things that I've learned. You know there is nothing good when you use the word should in any conversation because you're doing it, because you feel an obligation to do it for some reason, be that, you know, for somebody else or but you know it's. It doesn't matter what context it's used. It's a really crappy word and I think you know anytime I hear myself saying I should, it's a red flag that actually that's not what I need to be doing right now yeah, beautiful observation.
Jo:And we see, as you said, you can now see so many women who aren't living the life that they want, whatever that is, whether they're, you know, a stay-at-home mom and don't want to be, or you know, stuck at this level. But there are so many women who I think it's let me start again there are so many women who want to hear stories like yours that you can walk away, that something better will come, because there are so many women trapped in this, as you said, the treadmill, the hamster wheel of roles that they don't like, stuck in proving yourself. And you can start to see it now, can't you? When you speak to those friends, you're like, oh, I know where you are, like this is the beauty of doing this work right. You can now start to see it in others and, rather than judge them, you can just have compassion.
Belinda:I've got nothing but admiration for women who, you know, climbed further up the corporate ladder than I have. There's zero judgment from me, and if that's what they want to be doing and that fills their bucket, hats off.
Belinda:You know, and there's times that I get, you know, twinges of envy, or, you know, scrolling through LinkedIn and think oh they're in a director role or they're in a, you know, a general manager's role or this or that, and you know, and I have to check myself and go, you know, if that's what I want, you know I can make different choices and I can go after it and I can go get it and yeah, so I think it's that constant. Just, you know, checking in around, is this still what I want? You know this is right for me now, but it doesn't have to be right for me forever. But that being a decision, not an obligation, you know, if I feel compelled, feel compelled, you know, to further my career, you know, at a, at a later stage, then then that's okay. You know it's my choice and I can choose to and I can choose to change, you know, to change that. And to the women you know who are, you know, right at the top of the corporate ladder and in CEO roles, like, thank you, you know, thank you for being a role model that lets us know that women can, you know, can do that and can be there. So you know it's that. You know that we get to make the choices that are right for us.
Belinda:You know, at a point in time which is, you know, is nice, and that's not, you know not where I felt. You know, three years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago ago me reflecting back it's not the organization. You know, sometimes you're not in the right environment and for me, when I hit that stage of burnout through COVID or coming out the back of COVID, you know I wasn't the right fit, you know I was a square peg in a round hole at that organization. But um, but yeah, it's um, you know. But it's okay to realize that and make a different and make a different choice yeah, absolutely.
Jo:I think it's like I said. I said this before and I'll say it again we have to share more stories of women who don't subscribe to the status quo, who turn around and say I want something different, because in you doing this differently, you've, you know, there might be someone listening to this who's like, oh, maybe I should, you know, quit my job. Or maybe, you know, I feel like Belinda. If she did it, I can do it too. So we've got to lift each other up and not compete with each other and not judge ourselves against this. You know, crazy ideal, but yeah, I think it's so important that we shed light on you get to do what you want, right, you get to do what makes you happy and, most importantly, it's not forever. So, as you said, I love your confidence that if I wanna put my foot back on the pedal at some point in time, sure, and who knows, that might happen next week, it might happen next year, but that's on your terms, when you want. And that check-in of not, oh, you know I should by now be, and I know that temptation can be real. But even if you that thought comes up, I think you've got really good at catching it. Now You're like oh, hang on, I'm shooting myself. Nope, let me check in what I really want. And because you've got that connection now, you fly much faster.
Jo:So you mentioned earlier on you were a sceptic. What would you say to anyone who is thinking of investing in themselves, whether it's with us or somewhere else? You know the whole thing with you, like so many women was. You know, work harder, push harder, just keep going. What advice would you give them? What would you? What advice would you give?
Belinda:them. My advice would very much be to do it, and the reason for that is that you know I wouldn't try and sell my own home. I'd, you know I'd go and get a real estate agent. I you know I don't draft contracts, I get lawyers to do that. You know we're smart, ambitious women, but it doesn't mean that we have to have all the skills to do all the things, and I think the same applies to um, our careers and our and our health and our well-being, and you know, sometimes we need to tap into resources that can actually help us, um, like the. The example I I really like is that when you're inside the jar, you can't read the label and, and I think what the course did for me was allowed me to get outside the jar and and read the label and go. Actually, that's that's not. That's not what I want, um, but you need others, and the coaching that um the balance institute provides allows you to actually get outside of the jar, read the label and work out what, what it is. You want um from you, from your life, um, and it's you want from your life, and it's helped me in numerous ways in my career, but also every aspect, and I think we need to be able to consider ourselves as a whole person and not just as a wife, a mother, an employee, a daughter. There's all the cliches around, you know, putting our own oxygen mask on first, but all those things are easier said than done and I think what the course and working with you and the team Jo has done is actually give me those tools and skills and strategies.
Belinda:Before doing the course, I was exercising, I was keeping fit, I was eating was exercising, I was keeping fit, I was eating well, I was listening to podcasts. I'd um, yeah, I'd had a few sessions with a psychologist because I was like I just need some strategies to deal with that and and whilst all of those things were helpful, they weren't enough. Um, and you know, I found doing, doing the course, you know, and is it a big investment? Yes, um, isn't a big investment of time, and trying to do it when you don't feel like you've got any more space in your life to do one more thing, um, but it was one of the best things that I, that I ever, that I ever did, um, because it it gave me that, that shift in perspective and and I just wouldn't have been able to get there on on my own. I would have kept doing more of the same and and clearly that wasn't working.
Belinda:You know, and that is the definition of insanity, isn't it Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? You know most. You know most jobs. Where you're working at a high level, there's always more you can do. You know, and doing more and doing more isn't going to get you a different outcome Absolutely Well.
Jo:Thank you for sharing your story, belinda. Your journey has been such a beautiful one and I hope that if you're listening today, you get inspired by not just Belinda's courage, but know that if she can do it, you can do it too. And, as always, you know where to find us, reach out. I'm booking a call if you want to find out what Belinda went through, and, who knows, maybe you'll be water skiing on a boat or, you know, working four days being paid for five. All of the amazing results uh, we love seeing that in our community. So thank you so much, belinda, for sharing your story.
Jo:Thanks for joining us today on the balance and beyond podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself. If, if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend who might need to hear this today. And if you're feeling extra generous, leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice would mean the world to us. If you're keen to dive deeper into our world, visit balanceinstitutecom to discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women avoid burnout and create a life of balance and beyond. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll see you next time on the Balance and Beyond podcast.
.png)