How to Show Up When You Don't Feel Like It: Reclaiming Your Power in a Burnout Season

In this episode of Hell Yes Habits, Elyse Bushard discusses the importance of embracing vulnerability and recognizing the off seasons in life. She debunks the myth of constant productivity and emphasizes the need to acknowledge feelings of overwhelm and burnout. Elyse shares actionable steps to shift from burnout to empowerment, including naming your current season, identifying personal needs, and creating micro habits for change. The episode concludes with a message of community support and the reminder that you can always build your way back, one habit at a time.

Takeaways

• If any part of this podcast gave you a hell yes moment, I would love to hear from you.
• It's about breaking out of autopilot and creating small but powerful habits.
• We all have off seasons in life, not just off days.
• The myth of being on it all the time is a complete lie.
• You're not lazy; you're likely just overwhelmed or burnt out.
• You can't hustle your way out of burnout; you must rest your way out.
• Declare the season you're in to reduce shame and guilt.
• Ask yourself what you need right now that you've been ignoring.
• Create a micro habit that reconnects you with yourself.
• You are still powerful even when you're not producing.

#HellYesHabits #Burnout #Productivity #MentalHealth #Habits

Transcript

Elyse Bushard (00:01)
Hello, hello friends. Welcome back to Hell Yes Habits. I'm Elyse Beshard, your host, your all around hype girl. this is gonna come to you not as a surprise, but like I have had a not good week and I'm here because, well, first of all, it's Friday and I never miss a Friday. ⁓

I did not feel like recording this. I'm gonna be like totally honest with you because I always want to bring positivity to you, but I also want to bring realness. yesterday was probably one of the worst days that I've had just mentally. I, you know those days where you just feel off and no matter what happens, you're like, and you're your own worst critic in those stances.

And when I'm down, I like push myself down even further in life. It just weighs down and it's hard. ⁓ But I am here also to bring the bright side ⁓ and show that there can be magic in the mundane, even when it's harder for me to find. And so this episode is for you as much for me as it is for you. And...

I want to get real with you about just the seasons of life where life, it just feels like it's running you and not the other way around. You know the ones that I'm talking about where you wake up, you already feel behind, where your to-do list never ends, your energy is in the negative, and your inner critic is narrating everything with a tone of like,

that mean girl, Regina George, on a bad day. it is what, and if you don't know that reference, don't make me feel old, go watch that. ⁓ Go watch Mean Girls. But, ⁓ and I've been there. Yesterday was just a day for me. And in fact, I, yeah, I mean, I go through those seasons pretty routinely and,

Outside of I think there's something wrong with my hormones. There's also just like mentally we are like I said our own worst critic and So if you're feeling it right now, you just came out of it you maybe are going into a season that you are just Not feeling on your game and not feeling like yourself this one's for you and and me ⁓

And first I want to start with though the myth of being on it quote unquote because there's this myth that successful motivated organized people are on their game all the time. And you'd think I have a podcast named Helly has habits and this pretty cover and everything. I am not always perfect. And if you follow me, if you do not follow me on social media, please follow me. ⁓ But

If you don't, like I'm pretty real on there and when I'm going through certain seasons and things, especially on my stories, I tell you like it is. But I also love to give tips of like how to get out of seasons like that. But it's a myth. It's a myth that even the most like amazing looking person on social media has had some of the worst days.

You can't judge someone by what's on social media. That's the problem with social media. You always have to know that like, that's not everything to their story. It's just the storefront of their story. And so it's, the fact that we think that everyone is always on their game 24 seven is lie, is a complete lie. All of it is a lie. And even the most disciplined people, like I know, like,

even if they're coaches, entrepreneurs, working moms, creatives, you name it, we all have off seasons and not off days, but like actual seasons. And I had an off day, for example, yesterday, but actual seasons, ⁓ like of life, you could just feel like off your game and not yourself. And that could be also

when you're going through a big change. ⁓ But the sooner, sooner, sooner, sooner we normalize that, the sooner we can stop spiraling into shame about it. Because it's not just the undone laundry or skipped workouts or missed deadlines that get to us. It's the guilt that piles on top of that. Like you're failing.

somehow in your life. And these are things that we put on ourselves in some like invisible standard. So I want to be the first to say you're not lazy. You're likely just overwhelmed or burnt out or heartbroken or just simply being human. All of us do it. And

Let me tell you scenarios in my life that this has happened and what it looks like for me. Maybe you can see yourself in some of these. I was waking up late, sleeping in. I love sleeping in, by the way. I am the person that on a Saturday and sometimes Sunday too, I will wake up at the normal time and then fall back asleep just because I can.

if I don't have anything else planned for the day. ⁓ But I'm also single, I don't have kids. Like keep that in mind as well. ⁓ But I like, for me waking up late, like, and just not feeling like getting out of bed is different than me purposefully sleeping in because I can. So, and I found myself also like immediately checking my phone.

It has been a game changer for me, like not to open my emails or my texts or anything that I'm consuming before like my personal development ⁓ and playing that. ⁓ And that is ironically on my phone, but it's the only app that I open ⁓ first. And then after I've...

taking care of myself for the morning, whatever that looks like. Sometimes it's a workout, sometimes it's just sitting and journaling. Sometimes it looks a little bit different, but then my mind is prepared to have life take over, essentially, which is work and things like that. ⁓ But that is an example.

When I feel off, I'm just wanting to blindly consume things ⁓ and I'm burnt out. I think that work is like, I have to check it, I have to do this right away in the morning. I don't want mornings like that. And that's when I know that I am off. I don't think any of us should actually have mornings like that. I think we should have a morning routine somewhat, even if it's five minutes of stretching.

⁓ or whatever that looks like for you that you're pouring into yourself first to get your mindset right. For me, like I said, it's my personal development app. It's called Growthday. If you're ever interested in trying Growthday, I have a free trial for that, ⁓ but I digress. that, ⁓ and also like my workouts that I used to do every day,

maybe I just keep putting them off. Like I procrastinate them, even though I know they make me feel good. It's funny that when we're in, like when we're feeling off our game, like we take away the things that we know that'll make us feel good, which doesn't make sense, right? As I say it out loud, but I do this. Like I will like take everything away thinking it'll make it better. ⁓ Another thing that happens is every little decision

like feels like too much. And what I mean by that is like even like what to wear, what to eat, whether to respond to a text, like all of that makes you feel like it's too much and you're overwhelmed by it. And something else that usually happens to me is I wasn't showing up the way that I wanted to in work.

in my relationships or just with myself ⁓ and not showing up as the person that I know that I want to be or I know that I am when I feel like my best self. that's going to be different for everyone. ⁓ These are just things that are examples. I'm curious to message me of any of those if you've experienced those and any tips that you have. But

Even when I'm experiencing those things, I keep pretending that it's fine and smiling through it and telling myself to push harder and hustle more. And here's the thing, when you're in that state, you can't hustle your way out of burnout. You can't. I don't care what ⁓ Instagram tells you or this motivational coach that you follow on social media.

Okay, I have an itch on my nose, so if it sounds weird. ⁓ My allergies have been bad, so I know. is a thing. ⁓ Yeah, you can't hustle your way out of burnout. You rest your way out and you have to reconnect and be aware of what's going on and then you realign. So you can't. You just can't hustle your way out of burnout. You have to be aware of it and make changes.

Otherwise it's just this repeating consistent spiral. ⁓ So now I'm sure you're like, great, so how do we shift? Can we get to the positive party lease? But I'm not lying to you when this week has been rough for me and I've been guilty of doing all of these things. And so...

When I'm in that spiral, sometimes it's hard to see it until a couple days and I'm like, what the hell is wrong with me? So how do you shift? How do we stop letting life run us and start stepping back into our power, ⁓ if you will? And the key is to start small. And you don't wanna overhaul your whole life in one weekend, even though it feels like you can do that. Like you took like,

five steps backwards usually when you're in that state. And so you need to take five steps forward to get to where you are and those need to be small steps. So here's what has helped me ⁓ just today starting them because yesterday was a bad day and maybe it'll help you too. So I declare the season ⁓ or the day or the whatever it is.

I name it out loud and that's that awareness piece that I was talking about. Say like, this is a hard season, this is a recovery season, this is a do the bare minimum and survive season. Like whatever it is, if you name it, it reduces that shame that you feel, that guilt, and it helps you fight reality and start working with it instead of against it. So that's number one, declare the season, name it.

⁓ Number two is ask yourself the magic question, what do I need right now that I've been ignoring? And for me today, that was a workout. If you believe it or not, I haven't worked out in a while because I've been in this season ⁓ and also walking outside, ⁓ which it's been rainy, so that hasn't really helped. ⁓ And also just being outside.

and taking advantage of sunny days when we do have them. Although in Colorado right now, if you live here, feels like we live in Seattle at the moment and it's June. But anyways, ⁓ so number two is ask yourself the magic question, what do I need right now that I've been ignoring? And those are those pieces that I'm saying, like walking ⁓ outside time.

working out, maybe it's going to try something new, maybe it's going on a drive and listening to 90s or 2000s gangster rap because that's my go-to and it's therapy, I'm telling you. But it basically it's asking yourself this. So if you're a people pleaser which or have people pleasing tendencies, wow that's a mouthful,

⁓ But if you have people pleasing tendencies, and I tend to do, ⁓ it's a reminder that this isn't what your boss needs, not what your significant other needs, what your kids need, it's what you need. And that is usually involving me time. And so whatever that means for you, maybe it's rest, maybe it's laughter, maybe it's hydration and sunshine. ⁓

That combo works wonders alone, by the way. It's just sunshine. It's amazing, the power of the sun. ⁓ And so that's number two. Ask yourself the magic question, what do I need right now that I've been ignoring? And number three is create a micro, you guessed it, hell yes, habit. ⁓ You don't need a morning routine worthy of a TED Talk. You don't. You don't need this like,

masterful morning routine. Like I said, it could be five minutes. ⁓ That's something that you do every morning that's consistent for you. And you don't, you just need like one tiny act that reconnects you with you. And for me, like I said, it was getting outside ⁓ my personal development app that I listen to every day, but it's

and no pressure task either. It's not a to-do list item. It is something that becomes a part of you that you know that maybe you lost or maybe you've always wanted to try that.

Like, it's not, like, you're not tracking anything. It's just movement. ⁓ It's a break for you. This doesn't have to be in the morning either. It could be midday. It could be in the evening before you go to bed. But like, implement something small. ⁓ And doing this, will help remind you that you're allowed to slow down and you don't have to earn rest.

I know about you, but I have a hard time sometimes just sitting down and resting. I do. Like I'm like, well, if I have time to do this, like maybe I should go do this that I haven't had time to do. It's crazy. And with work too, like I do this like endless cycle, but you don't have to earn rest. And in fact, your body, your emotions, your

mental health needs rest. And it's really important to remember that like, you're still powerful even when you're not producing something or checking something off a list. You are. And I'm almost, I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm almost in tears saying that because I needed to hear that just as much as maybe some of you do. ⁓

because I tie myself to to-do lists all the time. And I love the feeling of crossing something off of a list. I do. But the problem with that is, that, like I said, even when I'm not producing something, I'm still powerful and I'm worthy and it's so important to remember that.

Whoo, yeah. But yeah, I mean, that kind of concludes my ideas for this episode. ⁓ This is a weird way to end it. I, yeah, I mean, like I said, this is Hell Yes Habits. This is literally, I'm going through something and walking myself through it while I'm walking you through it.

That's what the powerful Hell Yes Habit community, like what I wanna build and what this is. ⁓ But if life, I just wanna end with this, I think, is that if life is running you right now, like I feel that it's running me, hear me when I say that you are not broken, you're not behind.

because I know that's a struggle too, and you're not alone. I hope you hear me through this, that you're not alone. And you're in a season, that's it. ⁓ And seasons shift and change and life evolves, but you gotta name what and be aware of yourself and what you need.

And the most beautiful thing is that you don't have to wait until you're back on your game to show up for your life. And you can always build your way back. One breath, one habit, and one hell yes moment at a time. I feel like that's a great way to end this one. Again, if you

I would love to hear from you if this resonated with you at all. Share it with a friend. My Instagram is in the show notes. DM me. I am open to having conversations with anyone about this if this resonated with you or you want more guidance. This is a community. I don't get paid for this. I'm just here. I hope that...

you're having a great Friday and this brought some light to anything you may be struggling with. ⁓ This is episode 29, I want to say. Yeah, I feel like it is. I feel like I'm finally right. ⁓ And yeah, we're just getting started. So ⁓ let me know what you think. Love you guys. Bye.