Burned Out and Running on Empty? Here’s the Clarity You Need to Break Free
- Emma Ritchie
- Mar 17, 2025
- 5 min read
Exhausted? Running on empty? Brain feeling like a scrambled egg? Too tired to even be frustrated? So many of us know what burnout feels like. No wonder it has become such a buzzword in this era of digital technology.
I saw something this week (don’t ask me where) that said it’s okay to feel a little weird in an information-drenched society. Our bodies were genetically designed to spend hours on end in a field or forest, alone, with nothing but the plants and the wind.
That silence sounds both terrifying and like heaven at the same time.
Burnout = Disconnection from Your Internal Compass
With so much information constantly barraging our minds—shaping our thoughts, distracting us, influencing us—it’s no wonder we burn out. We’ve lost our connection to internal clarity, our life compass. So, of course, we stumble off track, chasing dreams, goals, and expectations that aren’t even ours.
But here’s the thing—radio silence and complete seclusion aren’t always an option, especially for those of us deeply connected to our friends, families, and communities.
What we really need is to feel inspired by our work and way of life. We need to feel rested so we can show up as our best selves.
More than anything, we need internal clarity and external alignment—a life where our deepest desires are known, planned for, and acted upon.
When the path is clear, we don’t waste energy bushwhacking. (Been there, done that—literally. Picture Emma + machete vs. tropical rainforest. Physically therapeutic but also exhausting after a while.)
So, how do we clear the path?
Step 1: Find Your Compass
It starts with self-awareness. You have to do the deep inner work to figure out:
What your values are
What truly matters to you
What lights you up
Where you are now vs. where you want to be
Then, you need an achievable, adaptable plan—a map—to get you from here to there. Your map guides the big picture. Your compass helps you navigate obstacles as they come up. (And we know they will come up.)
If you would like intentional, personalized help finding your compass and designing your map, check out the workshop below!
Step 2: Boost Morale (Every Day!)
Any journey worth taking is going to challenge you. That means you need to actively boost your morale so you can keep going.
First, give yourself permission—permission to try, permission to follow your own map, permission to trust your own compass. (Check out A Little Book of Permission by S.L. Sourwine for inspiration!).
Then, over and over again, connect to the feelings you’ll have when you reach your destination. This keeps you motivated and excited to keep taking steps forward. If you do this, you'll also start to:
🌞 Feel better, more often
🌞 Reprogram your brain to experience more positive emotions
🌞 Attract like-minded, good-energy people who help propel you forward
Before you know it, you’re either in great company or you’ve reached your next path way faster than expected.
Step 3: Take the Next Best Step (Over and Over Again)
Take inspired action—one step at a time, at a sustainable pace.
This is the part I always forget—speed matters less than sustainability. What’s the point of sprinting if you burn out before reaching your goal? Small, consistent steps will get you there.
And let’s get real—not every step has to be perfect. You just have to take it. (I mean, don’t break a metaphorical ankle… but some mud is probably fine.)
Beware! Your Brain Boggarts Will Try to Take You Down
Our minds hate when we do what’s best for us in the long run. Expect mental mischief-makers to show up, whispering nonsense like:
🗯️ "I have to keep pushing. If I slow down, I’ll fall behind."
Nope. Burnout comes from unconscious, misaligned action. It’s working your ass off for something that doesn’t actually matter to you. Getting clear on where you actually want to go means you’ll finally make real progress—instead of running in circles. (Have I seen that tree before?)
🗯️ "Focusing on myself is selfish. I’ll let others down."
What’s actually more likely to let people down? Burnout. And we both know you’ll end up there (we’re talking full-scale mental breakdowns, stuck-on-the-couch, lose-your-phone-on-purpose burnout) if something doesn’t change.
Meeting your own needs first fuels you so you can sustainably support others. And when you make decisions from a place of clarity, you naturally consider your impact on the people around you.
🗯️ "I have to follow the plan exactly. If I don’t, I’ll fail."
A lot of the time, the plans we’re following weren’t even created by us. That’s a recipe for disaster. Releasing plans that aren’t aligned with you is not failure—it’s courage. When you trust your inner clarity and reclaim your autonomy, you stress less, pivot easier, and still move toward your destination.
Next Steps: How to Re-Route
Identify → Who you are, what you want, where you are now, and where you actually want to go.
Plan → Create a big-picture, adaptable roadmap to get there. (Focus on direction, not rigid steps.)
Implement → Take small, sustainable steps toward your goal. Keep going. Not too fast. Trust your compass when unexpected roadblocks pop up.
Burnout Recovery Isn’t Easy—But It’s Necessary
None of these steps are easy. But they are necessary.
If you want efficient, compassionate, and actionable guidance through this process, I invite you to join me for the Holistic Wellness Map Workshop.
Together, we’ll:
Do a full, personalized life assessment to help you find your inner compass 🧭
Create an adaptable map that actually makes sense for your life 🗺️
Break it down into next steps (mini-goals) and landmarks to keep you excited and guided on your journey🌲
Final Thoughts
The modern world is designed to keep us exhausted, overworked, and stuck in burnout. But we don’t have to play that game. With self-awareness, intention, and sustainable action, we can reclaim our sanity, energy, and autonomy. When we do, we don’t just build better lives for ourselves—we show up better for the people we love, too.
To my fellow deep thinkers, dreamers, and seekers of clarity:
When you feel stuck or overwhelmed, what’s the biggest thing keeping you from finding clarity?
I pour all my energy into others and forget to recharge
I second-guess myself and worry I’m not good enough
I try to control everything & struggle to trust the process
I overthink everything and get stuck in analysis paralysis
You can vote for more than one answer.
If you have found a way to bust out of the cycle, and reconnect to clarity, I invite you to share your experience in the comments. Your insight might be exactly what someone else needs to hear today!
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