077 Solopreneurs work hard. Very hard. And it can be easy to get burntout because we love what we do so much. We push ourselves. And it can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and even starting to resent the business you worked so hard to grow.
Today's guest, Christmas Hutchinson, has some amazing advice about how to recognize burnout and, through her own story, helps us to take steps to prevent it. Christmas is a high-energy management consultant, executive coach, and author of The Resilient Mind – a field guide to a healthier way of life. She is passionate about helping high achievers overcome imposter syndrome to confidently achieve a fulfilling career as a means to find balance in all areas of their lives.
In this episode you will learn:
Detailed show notes <<HERE>>
Connect with Christmas here:
Instagram and her podcast and website
077 Solopreneurs work hard. Very hard. And it can be easy to get burntout because we love what we do so much. We push ourselves. And it can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and even starting to resent the business you worked so hard to grow.
Today's guest, Christmas Hutchinson, has some amazing advice about how to recognize burnout and, through her own story, helps us to take steps to prevent it. Christmas is a high-energy management consultant, executive coach, and author of The Resilient Mind – a field guide to a healthier way of life. She is passionate about helping high achievers overcome imposter syndrome to confidently achieve a fulfilling career as a means to find balance in all areas of their lives.
In this episode you will learn:
Detailed show notes <<HERE>>
Connect with Christmas here:
Instagram and her podcast and website
Hello, and welcome to the healthy, happy and mostly sane entrepreneur. I'm your host, stress management consultant and coach and mostly sane entrepreneur Ellen Leonard. Each week I share my obsession with hearing out how to prioritize your own health and sanity while running a business. Because I don't think you have to sacrifice your own health and well being to be successful. So please stay tuned for today's episode full of actionable tools. And don't forget to hit subscribe to be sure you don't miss out on future episodes. So back in February, I did an episode about burnout, where I was personally experiencing burnout. So it's episode number 56. called Are you burnt out and I talked about what burnout is and how it might be affecting you. And after that, I wanted to dive a little bit deeper with an expert. So of course, I invited a guest on and you know, as solopreneurs, I know you work so hard. And it can be really easy to get burnout because we love what we do so much and we push ourselves. And it can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and even starting to resent the business that you've worked so hard to grow. And so I invited today's guest on Christmas Hutchinson to give us some advice about how to recognize burnout and through her own story, she helps us to think of steps to take to prevent it. So Christmas is a high energy management consultant, executive coach and author of this awesome book called The resilient mind which is a field guide to a healthier way of life. She's super passionate about helping high achievers overcome imposter syndrome, to confidently achieve a fulfilling career as a means to find balance in all areas of their lives. And I know you're gonna love today's episode, especially her story, because so many of you are going to have lots of things in common about her Trent transition into entrepreneurship. But in this episode, you're gonna learn what burnout is and what it means for you. And number two, how to listen when the universe is telling you that something needs to change. And number three ways to prevent burnout as an entrepreneur. And as always, the show notes are here for you. So if you're on a walk or driving, you can check those out later for more details. But that's dive in Christmas, thank you so much for being here today. I'm so excited to finally get to connect,
Christmas Hutchinson:I am excited to connect with you and help some of your listeners,
Ellen Leonard:you are going to solve so many of our problems today. So I'm so excited to have you on. And you know, we've just met. So I actually don't know the answer to this question. But I'm so curious what your entrepreneurial your origin story is like, how did you get started doing what you're doing?
Christmas Hutchinson:So I have a different kind of story. Well, everybody's story is different, I should say. I actually got on this journey of wanting to help people with resilience. A few years ago, I would say back in 2014. It's it seems like a long time ago, but back just went right. Back in the fall of 2014. I found out I had cancer a week after I got divorced. And it was like two months after I got passed over for promotion. And for me, that was a time where I hit my rock bottom.
Ellen Leonard:that's a that's a lot for for a period of time.
Christmas Hutchinson:Right, right all in like a few months period. And, um, during my recovery, both from my health and from, you know, grieving the loss of my marriage. I implemented and found these tools to help me be resilient. And one of the things that people kept saying to me around that time is you're so resilient, you're so resilient, and I'm like, well, doesn't everybody live like this? And I found that not very many people live like that. And so I decided to write a book called The resilient mind a field guide to a healthier way of life. And I decided to write that a few years later. Before I decided before I started to write the book, I was started blogging about my experience because I just really want people to know about this way of living that doesn't have to be so stressful and that you can you can work yourself. You can work yourself out. have, you know, this poor me, you know, mindset. And so a few years later, in 2018, I actually wrote the book, but I had already had this passion, to blog about my experiences and in corporate America to blog about my experience dealing with my health blog about my experience about grieving from my relationship. And, you know, I started doing that. And, um, in the end of 2019, I was let go from my job. Oh, my goodness. And so it's like, like, right before the pandemic started. And I was an executive. And so I had the money, I had the type of package, I had the savings. And I already, you know, had this book and was already moving in this direction of wanting to coach people, and was already doing some coaching. And so I decided to go full fledged into this, this entrepreneurial journey and just made the decision, okay, now that I'm here, because working in corporate is comfortable, you know what I mean? Especially when you're making good money as an executive. And when you're when you're higher up in the organization, your responsibilities aren't as you have a lot of responsibilities, but like your day to day isn't as crazy as if, as an individual contributor. So my mind, I'm like, I'm making all this money, and I can do this blogging thing on the side, but 2019 and, you know, December 2019, was that timeframe where I was basically pushed out into doing this thing. 100% full time.
Ellen Leonard:Wow. I mean, that's, I want to say a beautiful confluence of events, but I don't want to diminish that the negative in there. But it, it's so interesting how you being resilient yourself led to a career in in resilience and sharing it with other people.
Christmas Hutchinson:Right? Definitely. I think that, and I was at this pop up yesterday selling my book. And my one of the people who was purchasing my book, one of the things he said is, well, I think the big difference for you is you share it, you share your experience. And that's the thing that happens is that we all walk around here, like life is great. For some reason, we don't have this, you know, social contract that says, I can share that I'm not doing well. Now, there's a difference between sharing, you know, complaining about Oh, bad, and but there's but there's also the fact that Yeah, I'm in debt, like 80% of Americans are in debt. Yeah, we don't talk about that. We don't, we're not that we need to be at dinner tables, like, yeah, so I have all this debt. But the My point is, is that we act like that's not stressing us out. We act like that. sitting in traffic, going to a job we hate isn't stressing us out. And so I just felt that if I had someone telling me or guiding me through all this mess I was dealing with, with my marriage, and my house and all this stuff, it would have been a different, you know, it wouldn't have been such a shock. You know what I mean? And so that's why I wanted to just share my experience. And, you know, share with other people that this isn't, you're not alone, like this is this is part of life. Yeah, I
Ellen Leonard:was just gonna say like, when we don't share those stories, it does everybody else a disservice in a way because it doesn't allow us to share these things that are really hard and challenging. But in sharing them, we can help so many people and let them know that they're not alone. And, and what a powerful role for you to take on. It's almost as if the universe decided that this is what you would be doing. It was like, listen up Christmas, this is, this is what you're going to be doing. I am literally giving you no choice. I'm giving you this passion. I'm giving you the skills and this expertise. And now and now you just have to kind of do this.
Christmas Hutchinson:Yes. And it's interesting that you're saying that now but when I was going through it, I Oh, my God, this is, but no, true. I believe that a lot of the experience. I mean, I just gave you like a little small dosage of the things that I've dealt with in my life. But that was just the area that really made me just know that I needed to share this more. But yeah, I do believe that my journey has led me to this place to help people.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah, and thank you for being open to sharing your journey and your experiences because I'm guessing that's gonna I end up helping so many other people, as well as you said, you you want to help to guide them through through their own similar experiences so that they have someone there with them so that they have this support and this person that that it sounds like you wish you'd had a little bit more of?
Christmas Hutchinson:Absolutely, yes, I definitely wish I had more of it.
Ellen Leonard:So, you know, so many entrepreneurs leave their their nine to five, because of career burnout. And you spoke a lot about resilience. So, so tell us a little bit more about burnout and, and kind of what that looks like for people?
Unknown:Well,
Christmas Hutchinson:I would want to challenge people into really asking themselves, did they leave their career for because they were burnt out? Or did they leave their career because, or their job, I should say, because they wanted to really pursue what was important to them. burnout comes from your thought process about your situation. And burnout comes from you. Not having integrity with yourself, oh, so if you're going to a job, that is unfulfilling. And you are going there because you have prioritized money and status, you're absolutely going to be burnt out because your heart is not there. Yeah, you're if when you're doing something that you love, and when you're doing something that you're that's in alignment with, with which which you what's in your heart, it's not going to necessarily be burnout. Now, don't get me wrong, you will, you can get tired or you can overwork yourself. And, and you need to, to and what will happen is you have to rest to recuperate. But to me when when people use the word burnout, to me, it involves stress. It involves your your perspective of the situation, I hate this, I don't want to do this, this is not for me. And when you go and when you are aligned to your passion, and there are a lot of people who have jobs, and they work tons and tons and tons and tons of hours and never burn out. Yeah. So my, my point is, is that look at your situation. And, and, and see is my perspective that I have I had a different expectation of this work. I really don't care. I don't I mean, I got to a point where I was like, I don't care about this. And you know, when and when I did get laid off, it was like, Okay, I did get to a point like when I when it came to that thought process of wanting to if I should go back into corporate America, I basically told myself, I don't care about other people's problems. I want to help people solve their problems. Personally, like individuals, I want to help individuals solve their problems. I don't care how I'm I don't want their problems to be my I don't need to be running in there. Like, Oh, we got to do this, we got to do that we got to do, I don't care. So that's the question you should ask yourself, is, am I being burnt out? Because I don't care for the people I work with? Am I being burnt out? Because I don't like the results. I'm like I'm contributing to Am I being burnt out because I'm undervalued. There are so many ways to look at burnout. And it's usually how you're perceiving something, and your x and your expectations around certain results.
Ellen Leonard:Yes, it's almost as if you're asking us to notice when we are experiencing something that we would consider and perceive as burnout. And then look for the root cause, like being super specific about that like to say that my job is burning me out is reductive. It's not a true representation of what's going on. It's no What is it specifically? What specifically is is causing you to feel like that and I just love that so much is it's so simple, but it's so hard at the same time.
Christmas Hutchinson:Right and and that feeling of burnout is not only you know, relegated to work, that feeling can be you burnt out from raising your kids or you're burnt out from you know what I mean from from being married. And that feeling is is is Life is the universe telling you something needs to change, you need to address this, you have to address this. Because when life is flowing, life is flowing. But that feeling that thought is like something needs to change. So, in in that feeling of burnout, let's just say, you're just like, oh my god, I'm so tired of working all these hours. So the dah, dah, dah, well, what needs to change? what needs to change is you need to draw a boundary, you need to tell your job, these are the hours that I can work. And if you're afraid, if you if the thought comes, well, I can't tell my job, that I can only work a specific number of hours. Well, why can't you tell your job? What are you? What are you afraid of? Like, there's so many things. That's why I love talking about this subject of work, because we have a lot of mental conditioning, about our conduct in the workplace, and just our conduct as it relates to valuing ourselves that make us make decisions that are not in our best interest in terms of mental health. So so so there's, there's more to the whole burnout discussion.
Unknown:Can No, I
Ellen Leonard:think we can all acknowledge it's more than a 30 minute podcast, discuss it a bit, we're just scratching the surface. But it's so interesting that how much depth there is to is something that we tend to think of just as work or a job, that there's so many things going on in that. And so many people do leave their nine to five and start their own business thinking that it will fix all of that with maybe not necessarily addressing a lot of these issues, thinking that just leaving that workplace behind what and ensure it fixes a lot of things. But, you know, I'm so curious, for people who've started their dream job who have left their nine to five, and have started their own business. What can they do to prevent burnout? What kind of things can they put in place, especially if they're they're now working from home?
Christmas Hutchinson:Well, I think I'm going back to perceptions. I think putting in some perceptions and some expectations, that this is not going to be easy. And the one thing that I learned are one of the things that I've learned, one of the many things that I've learned about being an entrepreneur is, especially for college educated people, the way our education system is set up and even, you know, regular parochial school as well. The way our education system is set up is for us to be employees. And so when we go into the entrepreneurial environment, it is a shock to the system. And you start to feel like well, how Why don't I know this? So you figure out, oh, I gotta pay for this, or I got to do that, you know, I say the best way to avoid burnout is to stay in your lane. Number one. Don't follow these people on this social media, that
Ellen Leonard:I feel like Christmas knows what I do at night on Instagram. She's like, Yes, I see you following those people who are telling you things
Christmas Hutchinson:that are telling you. Exactly. It just it just grinds my gears because it puts people in a terrible mental state. Don't follow these people or buy into or at least do better research of those people who are telling you that they're going to tell you that they're going to help you to index your business. Let me tell you something, and I actually had to decline an offer to go on a podcast, because this person promised to TEDx people's businesses and I'm like, No, but you you there is no such thing as 10x in your business without getting burnt out. Okay, there's no way it can happen. If anybody has ever told you that they flawlessly 10x their business, they had an investment, a large investment that they received from somebody and they were able to hire a bunch of employees. So remember when you see these people saying, Oh, I can make you I can help you make a million dollars in in you know, in your first year of business. That is not true. And you try to aspire to that is going to burn you out. And if you don't believe me, that's fine. But I will say for you to do your research. And I also say whenever you see someone who's making those kinds of claims, ask them if they're talking about revenue or profit.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah, whenever I see those kinds of claims I automatically turn off but the the claims I have fallen for in the past. Are people who say, No, I have the way, this is the way. But they don't say it like that, like, you know, you need to sell a course you need to be on Instagram, you need to, instead of listening to my own truth, and you had said that in the very beginning, speaking about your own journey that it was about aligning with your values and about being true to yourself. And it sounds like that's what you're suggesting for us to do to avoid burnout and as entrepreneurs as well.
Christmas Hutchinson:Yeah, I am suggesting that. And I'm also suggesting that you let go of the expectations. And that's the thing, like when you jump off, when you jump out into this thing, you're not going to make a lot of money at first, because you're going to be putting, you're going to be putting out more money than you make. That's just a fact. And the thing is, is that what people don't tell you is that it takes years to become an overnight success, they and so I want to say like, I bring this up, because the way you can avoid burnout is of not being hard on yourself when you're not making enough sales. Knowing that with this entrepreneurial process, it is it is trying and failing, trying and failing, trying and failing, trying and failing until you get your rhythm. And that's that's the comfort of corporate environment, all you got to do is just go in there and take stuff off for people play the politics, and get your check every two weeks. That's not how it is in this environment. Like as an entrepreneur, you have to try fail, believing yourself and keep moving forward.
Ellen Leonard:And I keep coming back to something you said earlier about how you know the way, especially in the US, at least, that we are taught in schools, sets us up to have a nine to five job, it does not set us up very well to be independent, to be resilient to be creative. It doesn't really prepare us for that. And so it is quite a shock. And so I think people find themselves looking externally, often for the answers instead of going internally.
Christmas Hutchinson:Absolutely. It's basically in a nutshell, we are conditioned and educated to believe that the value is in companies. If you go into like third world countries, you'll see that it's kind of annoying, but you'll see both for us as Americans where we can just walk down the street and nobody will walk up to us and sell stuff to us. But everybody like when you go to, to third world countries, and you see like all these taxi drivers, or you see people on the street selling things, they have learned that the value is within themselves to survive. They're not placing the value in a company to make sure that they eat or make sure that they get the things that they desire. And so having said that, when you are thinking about your your entrepreneurial venture, make sure you place your values in the right way. My value is to help people live a more resilient life. And to build confidence. It's not about money, the minute you start to value, money, and status, which is what a lot of these influencers are doing these days, which just grinds my gears, that is when you are going to burn out.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah, I feel like valuing money and status is just the path to burnout. It's just, and it seems like it would almost be unrelenting. Like if you were to reach that level, it almost seems like it there's nowhere to go but more more and more and more. And that just sounds like the opposite of why I started doing what I'm doing. I didn't start it to be doing more and more and more. I started it just like you're doing to help people and I'm guessing that's true for a lot of the listeners. So coming back to your why and and what it is that you value about your business.
Christmas Hutchinson:So my why is that I want to live in a world with people and I want people to to have confidence within themselves to be who they want to be and to do what they want to do. So for me, my personal values are freedom, joy and being happy. And and I want other people to have that because you know, reflecting back to when I hit my rock bottom of being divorced, and, you know, passed over for promotion. And having this health crisis, that was a time where I felt like, okay, I checked all the boxes of what I was supposed to do, I got my I got my undergraduate degree, I got my MBA, I bought the house got married this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and all this stuff that I was chasing, as you mentioned, all this money and the status that I was going for status of being a married person, you know, status of having a house, being a management consultant, and traveling every week to my clients and staying in hotels, all of those things I was just chasing, and it was just a never ending thing. That's what brought me to my knees of like, Misery. And I'm like, hell no. And once I realized that, that I was, you know, sold, something that wasn't helpful to me, I'm like, wait, everybody else should know about this. So that's why. So that's why I'm doing this now. And the thing is, is that what I also learned is that I can also I can teach you resilience. But there's also the thing of wanting to have needing to be confident enough to be resilient. And so that's, that's why I'm, I'm a confidence and growth mindset coach, because there is a confidence that a lot of people are lacking, to value themselves to place boundaries up, to pursue what they want, and not pursue what you know, they've been influenced by their family or, you know, influential people in their life.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah, I feel like it's just so hollow when you keep pursuing the list of stuff you've been told to do, like, the correct list, the graduate from college, and then get this degree and this certification in this next step, and all these things. And if they don't add up into something that you really wanted or valued, then there's there's really no point to it. And a No wonder people are so burnt out, because I think a lot of people don't know that they had a choice.
Christmas Hutchinson:Right? I agree with you, a lot of people don't know that they have a choice to do something different. And, and that's, that's, that's my message is that you have a choice. And you can choose differently, but you also have to be comfortable with whatever the consequences of choosing differently. So if that's, you know, deciding that you want to live in an apartment, then that's fine. Like for me, I owned a home. I was I bought into that. Oh, you have to have a house because you're throwing away rent money. Okay, I have the house was married. That was too much for me. Like, I want to live in an apartment building. I live in an apartment building. I have a doorman now. If something breaks in my house, I don't have to wait for a plumber to come the next day. They come. They're like, Oh, Christmas, can we come up and fix it? Yes. Come now. So like you you have in and people might your family may judge you and say oh, you're throwing away money. Okay, that's my money to throw away. You do you with your house? So yeah, there's there's consequences that come with your choices? And if you're okay with them, then that's fine. Like, that's nobody's business.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah, it really is. nobody's business. And as entrepreneurs, I feel like we're judged so harshly. Because so often, people don't really get what you do. Like, it's so hard to explain so often, unless it's something really tangible that they understand, like you're selling or you have a product based business, like, Yes, I sell X or Y. But if you're doing more of a service based business, it can be incredibly challenging to explain something that's outside the norm, to your family and to your loved ones, which can lead to judgment as well. About your choices. Or Right, exactly. And so I'm so curious how you managed to stay healthy, happy and sane, while running your business. What's working for you right now?
Christmas Hutchinson:What works for me is definitely boundaries. So I and it was a hard one for me for a while. I would take phone calls from people and because I felt like I needed to and I got to help this person. I got to help that person and what I was realizing it was draining time away from me. So putting up boundaries of who to talk to when to toxic people. Also just knowing who to share what's going on in my business with because sometimes if you if you share with somebody who doesn't have the same thought processes, you they they'll discourage you.
Unknown:Yeah,
Christmas Hutchinson:so there's that boundaries of knowing when to rest I had a hiccup last Last week where I was working on something, and I was just so like, focused and like I was actually kind of stressing over it. And then like, I, I got really tired at the end of the weekend. And I was like, oh, okay, this is my body's saying, Yeah, rest. So knowing when to rest and being okay with that. Also, what's helpful for me is even know, like, I'm not making a million dollars in my business, which is not something that I need to be doing anyway, right now, like I'm surviving. I'm celebrating the small wins, celebrating, celebrating, Oh, I got this out, I was consistent today. Or I went live, even though I didn't want to, you know, celebrate the fact that you, you know, made sales calls, if that's what's in your, what's you're doing in your business, just having small wins has been or celebrating the small wins has been really helpful. And trying not to just focus on other measurements that you may feel like, likes, and follows and all that kind of stuff. So that's what's helped me stay sane, and just really having a schedule of hours that I specifically work in. And I try to check off everything I need to check off in that timeframe. And then just knowing that the work is going to be there tomorrow, and not, oh, the
Ellen Leonard:work is not going anywhere.
Christmas Hutchinson:No, it never goes anywhere until you do it.
Ellen Leonard:It will be there lurking while you're asleep. On the weekends. Yeah, this they're hanging out. Hey, Hey, girl, I didn't forget about you. Right? So how can people connect with you and work with you.
Christmas Hutchinson:So you can connect with me at real Chrissy tv.com I have a course that helps people align their career with their purpose or so it could be. It doesn't have to be your your job necessarily. It could be your entrepreneurial venture. But I go into deeper I think a deeper dive in helping people with the confidence and and seeing how their choices and their values and how they think of themselves have brought them here and give them some tools to be more confident to live that happy, joyous and free life. Also, you can find me on Instagram at the real Chrissy TV. I put content out there. And also on my podcast called real Christie TV.
Ellen Leonard:Awesome. And I will of course link to all of that in the show notes. So you can hook up with her later. And thank you so much for being with us today. I really appreciate you taking the time and, and sharing all of your insights. I found them so valuable.
Christmas Hutchinson:It was a pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Unknown:You're welcome.
Ellen Leonard:Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I hope you found it as valuable and insightful as I did. As I said in the interview, if you would like to connect with Christmas, I have linked to everything that she said in the show notes so you can find that there and reach out to her. And please be sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss out on future episodes full of actionable tips to help you stay healthy and sane while running your business. And I hope you have a wonderful, healthy, happy and mostly sane week. I'll see you next time.