Reclaiming Me Podcast

Redefining Success After Burnout: Creating a Life That Feels Aligned, Not Overwhelming

• Ariana • Episode 12

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In this episode of Reclaiming Me, Ariana Reinhart expands on the discussion of burnout by exploring how to redefine success in a way that feels aligned, peaceful, and true. 

She guides listeners through practical steps to rebuild goals, routines, businesses, and a sense of purpose post-burnout. 

Ariana shares personal anecdotes and offers techniques like journaling through limiting beliefs and creating a life anchor. Listeners are encouraged to simplify their lives, align with their energy, and move forward in flow and joy. 

This episode aims to help listeners find their spark and sustain forward momentum, creating a life and business that supports their well-being.


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Ariana:

Hello, lovely and welcome back to the show. I'm so glad you're here with me today. If you listened to the last episode about burnout, you already know that exhaustion isn't the end. It's an invitation to begin again, but this time in a way that feels aligned and joyful. You should have a good insight on what burnout is, how it shows up for you, and some practical techniques on how to combat it. But if you haven't yet listened to From Exhaustion to Energy, go back and start there. It'll help you reconnect with yourself before stepping into this new version of success. Today's episode expands on this topic, but in a slightly different way. We're going to be discussing what success looks like after burnout. And this is your chance to define, or redefine, what success looks like for you. And if you've been through burnout, then this episode is your gentle reminder that it's okay to start again, but this time in a way that feels aligned, peaceful, and true to you. Once you've hit that wall of exhaustion, you can't go back to who you were before, the old way of doing things. You start to crave a slower, more simple, more meaningful way of life. So today we're talking about redefining success after burnout, how to rebuild your goals, your routines, your business, and your sense of purpose in a way that feels good, not draining, without slipping back into overwhelm. And by the end of this episode, my hope is that you'll feel that spark start to reignite in a way that gets you excited to build forward momentum and makes you feel ready to overcome any challenges that you may face on your journey of designing that life that you truly want to live. If you haven't thought about what you want for your life yet, I strongly encourage you to sit down and take a few moments to tune in and ask yourself what you desire. Because in order to become the most successful version of you, you need to know what success actually looks like for you. You need to have a vision. And if you don't, then there's a good chance that you're gonna just coast through life on autopilot, suddenly realizing that 20 years went by and you feel like you haven't accomplished anything meaningful to you, or done any of the things that you really wanted to do. But that's not what we're here for. What goals do you want to achieve? Where do you wanna travel? Who do you wanna become? Get clear on this because you cannot create a life that feels aligned if you don't have anything to align it to. And if as you're listening to this, you're noticing those sneaky little thoughts that say things like, I'm not ready. Who am I to do this? Or, my dreams are too farfetched for me to ever accomplish them. You're not alone. And I used to believe those two until I started journaling through them. And I actually created a limiting beliefs journal to help you do the same. It's full of prompts to help you uncover and rewrite those stories, and you can download it for free. The link is in the show notes. And by the way, if you can't wait to hear more from this podcast, hit the follow button or share your thoughts with me on Instagram at Balanced Soul Awakening. It truly inspires me to hear your stories and your aha moments from the episodes. Now it's time to grab your favorite drink, settle in and let's get started. You are not too much. You are not too sensitive. You are not too late. Welcome to Reclaiming Me, the podcast for the woman who's ready to stop shrinking and start coming home to herself. Whether you're driving home from another long shift, walking your dog under a quiet sky, or trying to outrun the voice that says You're not enough, this space is for you. I'm your host, Ariana Reinhart, speaker, coach, and your guide on this journey of undoing the noise, shedding the pressure, and rising into who you always meant to be. The show explores what it really means to heal from toxic patterns, rebuild your confidence and reclaim the love and life you actually deserve. Here we talk self-worth, healing, boundaries, power, and the sacred process of becoming. Because you were never meant to fit in. You're on the journey back to who you were before the world told you who to be. This is your invitation. Let's begin. So after burnout, success takes on a whole new meaning. It's no longer about how much you achieve, but how good you can feel while you're doing it. Maybe success used to mean ticking every box, saying yes to everyone, or doing everything perfectly. But now it might mean waking up with peace, having time for yourself, or feeling proud of how gently you move through your days. Yes. For me, it meant removing or unlearning the narrative that success and my worth was tied to my accomplishments. Growing up, I was an athlete, and throughout the majority of my life I was an A plus student. My life was incredibly busy, always chasing the next move, and never allowing myself to actually sit with my thoughts and feelings. I didn't particularly like to compete in sports because I've never been one to really enjoy having the spotlight on me, but as we all know, competing is part of the game. And success meant winning, being the best, giving it your all. It meant pushing myself even past the point of exhaustion. Which eventually led me to almost resent the sport. It was no longer fun, but it felt like work, and I just wanted to do my thing and enjoy every moment of it. Consistently striving for external validation such as money, status, or likes on Instagram pushes you beyond your limits because it never feels like enough. It never fills that hole. It keeps you from feeling fulfilled. So you go after that next achievement trying to perfect what you're doing because maybe that will make people notice you or bring in the money that you're searching for. But it never comes, and then you just end up burning yourself out all over again. Now, after doing plenty of mindset and energy work, being successful means that I'm living in flow. It means I'm being a kind person and brightening someone's day. It means that I can get through work without feeling frustrated or completely depleted by the end of the day. It means that I'm putting myself out there as my authentic self, Whether that attracts or repels people. It means I'm showing up for myself every damn day, keeping my commitments to myself, that was something that I did not do before, and striving to be the best version of me that I can be. And some days, like this past week, that might mean that I have to take a mental health day. It might mean I need to slow down and rest, I need to replenish my energy. In the past that would have like rocked me to my core. My ego would've been like, you mean I can't be super productive? Uh, that's not okay. There's so many things that I have to do, and so little time. That's what my inner critic would've been telling me. But now I realized that rest during those times is the best and the most productive thing that I can do for myself. All of those chores or whatever thing I figured I needed to do will still be there tomorrow. They're not going anywhere, but if I don't take care of myself, I'll end up being burnt out again and actually way less effective. So being in a state of flow and ease and joy is what I strive for now. And the truth is the universe and money don't like the frequency of lack. They don't like scarcity. And other people can sense when you're coming from a place of desperation. You actually end up repelling exactly what you're trying to call in when you come from a place of lack, of uncertainty, of fear, or any lower vibrational feelings and emotions. And if you really pay attention, you'll actually start to notice this and notice these patterns. And that's why, like when it comes to relationships, people who aren't happy and comfortable with themselves and are like desperately seeking someone to make them feel better, to come save them, they actually end up repelling those people. Opportunities come to you, and collaborations come to you, money comes to you when you're in a state of gratitude. When you're in flow and alignment, when you're having fun and you trust that what is meant for you will come. Money is playful. She likes to surprise you. She likes to move and to be appreciated. She likes to go on adventures and do fun things. And money is energy. Energy doesn't like being stuck or stagnant. I know I've kind of talked in the past about some of the techniques that I used for inviting more money in, but recently I've been doing a money meditation and it is insane how there have been so many new ways that money has been just flowing to me without me even realizing, like all of a sudden it's like, oh. I have this raise or this money came in, or I'm receiving more money than I thought, or something went on sale when even the person who was selling it to me had no idea. And it is when you really embrace it, it actually truly works, and it is so incredible how it works. So I want you to stop here and take a moment to ask yourself. What does success feel like for me now? Not look like, feel like. Pause, and really feel into that. What comes up for you? When you're rebuilding your life after burnout, it's important to start small. Don't rush to set huge goals and fill every space again. Instead, start by asking, what would feel light and exciting right now? Or what's my next best move? And here's a gentle three step, aligned goal reset that you can implement. Step one is to release. Let go of the goals that came from pressure or comparison and goals that were rooted in proving yourself. Step two is to reimagine. Ask what would feel peaceful and fulfilling right now? And step three is to rebuild. Choose one aligned intention or goal or action that excites you and feels sustainable. And then write these goals as if they've already happened. An example is, I'm so happy and grateful now that my life supports my energy and joy. Or if you have a business, it could be, I am so happy and grateful now that my business supports my energy and my joy. And if breaking down your large goals that seem too farfetched into attainable steps is something that you would like to dive deeper into, I highly recommend listening to the podcast Unfuck Your Brain, and it's podcast episode 3 87. It's titled The Thought Ladder and Thinking Versus Believing. The episode pertains more to the thoughts and beliefs that we have versus like what we want to have. But you can easily use the same method for your goals as well. And a lot of the time it all starts with those beliefs that we have. So that's an episode that I listened to, and I really found value in for when I'm trying to implement a new belief that, or a new goal that seems so far fetched for me and I'm like, oh, I just, I can't get there right now. That's too much. That seems too far away. I can't get there. And so it helps you to break down those steps and what you can do and what you can start with and slowly work your way up, so that eventually, you can get to that goal. You can get to that belief, and all of a sudden it feels attainable. So if you wanna dive into that more, I highly recommend listening to that podcast episode. A meaningful life doesn't have to be busy to be wonderful. Something that I've learned over the last few years is to create a rhythm that honors your energy. Understanding my human design helped me immensely with this. In human design I am a four six manifester. And as a manifester, I am great at coming up with ideas and initiating them, although I'm not like a generator where I can sustain the workload over a long period of time. My energy also does not do well with the typical nine to five job, five days a week. I can get burnt out very easily in these situations, and then my body needs rest. So it is common, um, for me to become sick or injured when I am being overworked in those situations. Whereas for a generator, they would easily be able to do those nine to fives and it does not bother them at all. And just a little side note, if you are interested in learning more about human design, I intend to have a guest speaker come on the podcast to discuss it soon. So stay tuned. And also as a Taurus moon and rising, I tend to enjoy slow mornings. I prefer to do my journaling and my energy work so that I'm in a state of flow before I start doing what is traditionally considered to be productive. My energy typically peaks like mid-afternoon and then again later in the evening. I often get a second wind around 10 or 11:00 PM. I'm not kidding you guys, it was very common for me, like when I was in school, I would be studying and then I'd fall asleep from like nine to 11:00 PM or even till midnight or something, and then I'd wake up and just start studying again and just be like re-energized and good to go. Like I have the weirdest times where I am super energetic and ready to just take on the day or take on my workload. But I have realized this about myself, so I do what I can to make sure that I'm completing the tasks that will move me forward during my most energetic hours. So what does this rhythm look like for you? Are you the type of person who desires a slow morning, evenings that allow rest and days, that have bursts of energy with plenty of joyful moments? Or maybe you're more like my mom and kinda like my partner where you're most productive in the morning and the early afternoon, and then you like to take time to rest and replenish in the evenings and you hit the hay at an earlier time. Understanding the most effective structure for your energy, no matter what it is, can help your days to be more effective and enjoyable. I also want to encourage you to simplify your days if they feel too busy. So that might mean making fewer commitments and having more presence. If it's not a fuck yes, then it's a hell no. That's something that you can keep in mind when you're trying to make decisions. Maybe it means getting away from electronics and the noise of the city and spending more time out in nature. You could go for a walk, find a new place to hike, book a cabin for the weekend, go kayaking, meditate in the grass, or by the river, spend time gardening. Although if you live in Canada like me, we're a little past that point this year. But find something that replenishes your soul. And try to focus on less doing and more being. Like I kind of already alluded to, I personally used to rush through life and I was always trying to fit more into my day than was possible. So I felt overwhelmed a lot of the time, and my nervous system was typically in fight or flight and in survival mode. And then I learned to slow down. I learned ways to better manage my time, and this is still a work in progress, if I'm being honest. I learned to set a schedule and timeframes for it and to just intentionally move through doing tasks at a slower pace and actively concentrating on not rushing through things, but rather just taking my time. This allowed my nervous system to relax and to enter the parasympathetic. It decreased my stress, stress levels exponentially because I wasn't always running around or feeling like I was super behind or like I took on too much. And now I realize that I can get so much more done when I'm aligned and I'm in flow rather than rushing around trying to do things. I can also appreciate not having to do, do, do, and get everything done. It doesn't have to be about achieving the most or being an Energizer bunny. It's okay if the dishes or the sweeping, or the mopping or mowing the lawn has to wait until tomorrow. Your energy is the most important thing and you need to take care of it. Once I learned to take the time to consciously slow down, now, rushing through things and trying to take on too much, or when I can like feel that frantic energy of other people, those very highly anxious, frantic people, it automatically reminds my nervous system what it was like to be in that fight or flight mode and how I really did not enjoy it. And how much more at peace I'm at now and how I don't wanna go back into that place. Success means being aligned and enjoying life and improving myself now, rather than getting things done. Rather than hustling to make more money or to outperform everyone. When I first started working on my mindset, I realized how much my energy was spent on thoughts that didn't serve me. That's actually why I created my Mindset Reset checklist. It walks you through the exact steps that I use to reframe those thoughts and to get back into alignment, and you can grab it for free today. The link is in the show notes. It is also important to note that you can apply this to your business as well. Design your business around your energy zones. Complete the focused work or the tasks when you feel most alive, and give yourself permission to rest when you need to. The old model of success glorifies Hustle. The new model honors Harmony. So this might mean simplifying your offers or your pricing. Remember that people like simple and transformational, they don't want a complete overload of information. More isn't always better. It might mean batching your creative tasks. This is a huge time saver. Schedule a day each week or each month to batch your content so that you're not scrambling to get it done last minute. And it can also mean building systems that give you more freedom, not more to do. Remember that alignment doesn't mean doing less. It means doing what matters most. Burnout often also disconnects us from our why. That deeper sense of meaning that makes life feel rich. But reconnecting with it can actually bring your spark back. So here are a few questions that you can ask yourself. What truly lights me up now? Who and what brings me peace? What kind of life do I want to create from this new chapter? Once you've discovered these answers, I invite you to create a life anchor, which is one sentence that captures what you're living for now. Keep this somewhere that you're, you will regularly see it for encouragement on the days that you feel lost or disconnected. And if you have a business, or if you're in the process of building one, some questions that you can ask yourself are... why did I start this in the first place? Who do I love helping the most? What impact do I want to make now from this new place of peace? And then I invite you to create a mission anchor, which is one sentence that you can return to whenever you feel lost or overwhelmed in your business. Something that will reconnect you to your sense of purpose. You've got this, you are not starting over. You're finally able to see things from a fresh new lens, from wisdom rather than exhaustion. This is your permission to rebuild your life and your business in a way that honors your heart. So let's take a moment to visualize your new version of success. Close your eyes, take a deep breath in. And imagine yourself waking up, feeling rested and excited for the day. You stretch and move your body to get the juices flowing, before having your morning cup of coffee. Maybe you sit out on the porch sipping your coffee and taking in the view. And you smile to yourself because you are truly happy and you know that you will move through your day with ease. Even though things may come up that weren't part of the plan, you know that you can easily return to your state of alignment with grace. You know those challenges aren't going to knock you off of course or ruin your day. You feel connected. You're full of love and energy and excitement. You look forward to your interactions. You feel incredible because you live with intention and you nourish your body, your mind, and your soul. You fully understand your worth, and you invite in abundance and prosperity. You are a magnet to the opportunities that align with you. And when your work is done for the day, you feel grounded and grateful. Breathe that in and anchor it all the way down to your toes. And open your eyes and believe this is possible for you. Okay, lovely. It's time for our affirmation of the day. If this one resonates with you, write it on a post-it note and stick it in a high traffic area around your house. Our affirmation for today is I create a life that supports my peace, my joy, and my energy. My success expands as my energy does. I create a life that supports my peace, my joy, my energy. My success expands as my energy does. And as always, we will close off with our self-worth shift to reflect on. What are three things that I can stop doing, three things that I can start doing, and three things that I can continue doing that would help me to become the successful version of myself that I'm striving for? And then I want you to start implementing these changes into your daily life. When making decisions, ask yourself, is what I'm doing right now, getting me closer to or further from my goals? Now, I would love to hear your biggest takeaway. After listening to this episode what does success mean to you? What do you want to create in your life? Share with me on Instagram or tag me in your posts so that we can keep this conversation going. It means so much to me when you reach out. Next week, we will be continuing to navigate this topic with the power of saying no, where we will discuss boundaries, people pleasing and reclaiming your time. So stay tuned. Thank you for joining me on this journey of returning to yourself. If today's episode spoke to your soul, please take a moment to subscribe and rate our show. Your feedback helps us reach more people and create more impactful content. We truly appreciate it. You are not too much, you are not behind. You are not broken. You are worthy. You are whole, and you are already everything you're seeking. This is Reclaiming Me. Until next time, be gentle, be bold, be you.