Break Up With Burnout: How High-Achieving Women Can Reclaim Control Without Quitting Their Careers
Burnout doesn’t always look like falling apart.
Sometimes it looks like achievement.
You’re still performing.
Still leading.
Still delivering.
But you’re exhausted in a way that sleep doesn’t fix.
In Episode 67 of The Her Resources Podcast, host Linda sits down with corporate leader and author Elisha Meek to unpack one of the most misunderstood experiences high-performing women face: burnout that hides behind success.
This isn’t about lighting a candle or taking a bubble bath (although we fully support both). This is about redefining success in a way that doesn’t require sacrificing your peace.
Burnout vs. Being Tired: What’s the Difference?
We all have hard weeks.
Deadlines stack up. Projects pile on. Energy dips.
But burnout is different.
As Elisha explains in the episode, burnout isn’t just fatigue — it’s a prolonged, ongoing state of emotional and mental depletion. It’s months (or years) of:
Constant frustration
Emotional reactivity
Feeling unsatisfied despite achievement
Resentment toward work you once loved
Burnout is a pattern, not a bad week.
And high-achieving women are especially vulnerable because we normalize dysfunction.
We tell ourselves:
“This is just what success requires.”
“Everyone feels like this.”
“I just need to push harder.”
But exhaustion is not a leadership requirement.
The Promotion That Changed Everything
One of the most powerful moments in this episode is when Elisha shares the turning point in her own story.
After 17+ years in corporate leadership, she was working toward a promotion she believed she had earned. She did everything “right.” She overperformed. Overcommitted. Overdelivered.
And then she didn’t get it.
That moment forced a realization:
She had control over her performance — but not her future.
Her identity, emotions, and sense of worth were entirely wrapped up in her career. And when the outcome didn’t match the effort, the emotional cost was enormous.
It wasn’t about the title.
It was about attachment.
That experience became the catalyst for her book, Break Up With Burnout, and the framework she now teaches high-performing women.
Why Quitting Your Job Isn’t Always the Answer
When women talk about burnout, the advice often swings to extremes:
“Just quit.”
“Start your own business.”
“Leave corporate.”
But for many women — especially those in HR and leadership — that’s not realistic or even desirable.
You worked hard to build your career.
You value stability, benefits, and influence.
You don’t want to burn it all down.
And according to Elisha, you don’t have to.
The problem isn’t always the job.
Often, it’s the internal patterns we bring into it:
Overcommitting
People pleasing
Perfectionism
Attaching emotion to every setback
If you don’t address those patterns, you don’t eliminate burnout — you just relocate it.
The Brain–Body–Soul Framework
In the episode, Elisha introduces her three-pillar approach to breaking up with burnout:
1. Brain
Everything starts in the mind.
You must identify:
The thought patterns driving your stress
The emotional triggers that keep you reactive
The beliefs tying your identity to your role
Burnout recovery requires awareness and intentional rewiring.
2. Body
Planning isn’t enough.
Action matters.
Elisha emphasizes starting small — even 10 to 30 minutes a day — to build something that belongs to you outside of work. A creative outlet. A passion project. A new skill.
Not to escape your job — but to rebalance your identity.
When your entire sense of worth isn’t tied to your title, work stress loses its emotional grip.
3. Soul
This pillar focuses on alignment.
Are you operating with integrity?
Are you honoring boundaries?
Are you living in a way that feels sustainable?
Burnout thrives in misalignment. Peace grows in intentional living.
Stop Attaching Emotion to Everything
One of the most practical takeaways from this episode is simple — but transformative:
Stop attaching emotion to every setback.
An email with a neutral tone.
A comment in a meeting.
A delayed response.
Not everything is personal.
When you begin to separate facts from emotional interpretation, your stress levels shift dramatically.
And here’s the truth Elisha shares that many women need to hear:
No one is paying attention to you as much as you are.
Most people are consumed with their own performance, their own stress, their own internal dialogue.
Letting go of hypervigilance is freeing.
Burnout Is Not the Price of Success
Perhaps the most powerful line from this episode:
“Burnout is not the price of success. Peace is.”
For years, many ambitious women have worn exhaustion as a badge of honor.
Double-booked calendars.
Unread PTO.
Constant availability.
But true success isn’t constant depletion.
It’s sustainable achievement.
It’s being able to perform at a high level and still:
Take time off without guilt
Say no without fear
Rest without apologizing
Peace doesn’t diminish ambition.
It strengthens it.
One Action You Can Take This Week
If you’re feeling burned out but not ready to leave your career, start here:
Find one thing that is just yours.
Something that brings you energy instead of drains it.
It doesn’t have to be monetized.
It doesn’t have to be impressive.
It just has to be yours.
When your identity expands beyond your job, burnout loses power.
Listen to Episode 67
If this conversation resonates, you can listen to the full episode here:
Website: https://herresourcespodcast.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/hrpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HerResourcesPodcast
Connect with Elisha Meek:
https://elishameek.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elishameek/
Follow The Her Resources Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herresourcespodcast
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@her.resources.pod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/her-resources-podcast/?viewAsMember=true
Email: info@herresourcespodcast.com