Career Burnout Recovery for High-Achieving Women Through Mindset and Self-Care

Hey Teach.... You've got ALL the skills!

How do you feel about your career?

Do you love it?

Hate it?

Is it just a J-O-B that you're keeping because it feels too late and too scary to do something different?

Whether you're in education, corporate leadership, or waiting tables, the pressure to over-perform and make an impact can leave you overwhelmed and questioning what comes next, or if this is it for you.

What I've learned moving from the classroom to starting my own business, is that career burnout recovery for high-achieving women and loving your career again isn’t just about finding a new job, it’s about knowing yourself and learning to trust yourself no matter what you choose to do.

In this week's episode of More Than Anxiety (Ep 129), I had the privilege of speaking with Lisa Parry, a powerhouse in education who has worn every hat from leadership and development at the state level in South Dakota to classroom teacher. Lisa’s insights into navigating and enjoying high-stakes, people-centered professions hit home for me, especially after leading a recent workshop on stress, anxiety, and burnout at my local school district.

Regardless of the industry, high-achieving women often pour endlessly into others, strive for perfection, and neglect their own well-being.

Career burnout recovery for high-achieving women through mindset

One of the most powerful takeaways from my conversation with Lisa was this:

"Until you think differently, you're never going to act differently, and you're never going to message differently."

This isn't just about positive thinking, it’s about intentionally changing what you say and how you view your career, your worth, and your impact. This is self-talk 101.

If you're stuck feeling exhausted, constantly giving all you've got but never feeling appreciated or that you're making an impact, it’s time to rethink the way you approach your work and the opportunities waiting for you both where you are, and maybe in other areas that interest you.

Lisa, like so many women, has battled the burnout that comes with being in a high-pressure role. During the podcast episode, she shared that professionals in service-driven careers tend to be "type-A, obsessive-compulsive, people-pleasing perfectionists." Sound familiar?

If this sounds a little too familiar, you know how easy it is to people-please yourself to death and lose sight of what you need to live a balanced life.

But what if you could use these qualities to your benefit instead of letting them kill the passion you have for helping others? What if, instead of waiting for recognition, you learned to set boundaries, reframe your expectations, and take care of yourself so you have the energy and emotional bandwidth to be successful at work and enjoy your life outside of your career?

It's possible!

SHRM’s Employee Mental Health in 2024 Research Series, released for Mental Health Awareness Month in May,  found that 44 percent of 1,405 surveyed U.S. employees feel burned out at work, 45 percent feel “emotionally drained” from their work, and 51 percent feel “used up” at the end of the workday.

The Hypernormalization of Toxic Work Environments

Lisa introduced a game-changing concept: hypernormalization—the dangerous tendency to accept dysfunction as 'just the way things are.

Toxic work environments, constant stress, rude and predatory colleagues, the normalization of bad behavior, over time, have caused us to stop questioning these things. We've normalized and accepted the things we don't want. This kind of acceptance can destroy your mental health and career.

If you’ve ever told yourself, "This is just how my industry works," or "I don’t have a choice because this is just how it is," I want you to pause and ask: Is this really true? Or have I just stopped questioning it?

5 Questions to Reevaluate Your Career Path

If you’re feeling unsure about whether you want to stay where you are or make a change, I get it.

Here are five questions to help you find your next step.

1. Are my career and work environment aligned with my core values?

2. What am I normalizing that is actually unhealthy or unsustainable?

3. Does this career allow me to use my strengths and feel excited and hopeful about the future?

4. What am I afraid of that is holding me back from making a change?

5. What activities bring me joy, and how can I integrate more joy into my work and life?

You Define Your Own Success

Changing your mindset isn’t an overnight process; it requires time, intention, reflection, and a willingness to challenge your beliefs. But when you choose to make those changes, the results impact your entire life.

You'll have more clarity, more confidence, and a career that aligns with who you are and what you want to bring to the world.

Surrounding yourself with other high-achieving women who are committed to growth, success, and joy makes the process easier and more fun.

If you're ready to stop feeling overwhelmed and stuck and to find fulfillment and joy in your career again, join Ambitious Overthinkers Anonymous. Inside you'll find friends and mentors, a place to ask for help, to learn, to get coached, and celebrate your wins and process through the failures that are normal and all part of the process.

Most importantly, you'll give yourself permission to step back, learn how to manage stress, anxiety, and your mind, and make the changes that will bring you fulfillment in your career and in your life.

Join AOA

Your career should fuel you, not leave you exhausted day after day. Whether it’s time for a change or time to learn to love where you are now, it starts with what you believe about yourself. I believe in you.

<3 Megan