This wasn’t the first time I eagerly pushed for work. I started working when I was only 14. Some might come after my parents after reading this, but that was the reality for many young kids in post-communist Hungary. My reality wasn’t all that special and like any other teenager in the early 2000s, I wanted to have a cool colored screen phone, a computer and a bit of a pocket money for the summer.
From a young age, my parents instilled in me that working is a virtue. So as soon as I was old enough to develop pricy desires (like that phone I mentioned), I was told that I have to earn my desires. For common folk like my parents, financial literacy was non-existent, but they wanted to give me a different future, so they considered my education as an investment. Everything else was considered a need, not a necessity.
Earning was considered synonymous with self-worth. And for an impressionable girl with low self-esteem, this has been a recipe for disaster. With this equation in mind, I was destined to sacrifice everything on the altar of work. And man did I deliver.
I decided to share this very personal story, because I know I’m not alone. We can have different wounds behind the low self-esteem (mine is abandonment issues thanks the men in my family) but as over-achieving adults, because YES, we all have became over-achievers, it’s more important than ever to start redefining our approach to work.
Why now?
Because work is changing and it’s only gonna get more frustrating, stressful and dehumanizing. Instead of being an outlet for creative powers, work is becoming humanity’s enemy. Personally, I believe we’ve been on this road for a long time, but COVID and the rise of generative AI have been primary catalysts for the sudden change. More on this in the next article.
I’ve recently checked the stats and just in Sweden, the number of people going on sick leave due to burnout has DOUBLED in the past 4 years. Oddly enough, it was the time spent on sick leave when I got the calling to do some inner work. I started meditating, learning somatic techniques to self-regulate, learned to experience the NOW and realized that it’s only by looking inwards that I will finally find some peace. I was faced with the undeniable truth that I need inner guidance to know to move forward with work and life.
It’s been 3 years now and I’m not gonna lie: it’s still difficult most of the time. But I know so much more now that I did then. And the woman with the low self-esteem, who said yes to everything, was willing to sacrifice her free time for a career advancement and lost herself in the corporate persona she put on every morning is gone. Instead, you see a woman who is not liked by everyone anymore, but helps more people than ever to shape their work lives in a way that it causes less inner disconnect.
Most of us have to work to make a living. But I am convinced, that we have the ability to make work so much better: meaningful and fulfilling enough to not be our biggest enemy.
Burnout is a serious sign that something needs to shift in your life — whether that means small tweaks or a major change. If you’re struggling to figure out your next step, you’ve got the help you’re looking for. Book a free consultation with me and together we’ll explore what’s truly best for you. You don’t have to navigate this alone.
