Navigating Burnout, Business, & Motherhood: A Rebellion Against Shaky Foundations
- Bethany Blaine
- Aug 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 9
Burnout doesn’t always show up in a dramatic way. It can look like functionality. Sometimes it looks like momentum. Sometimes it looks like clarity with no action behind it.
High-functioning people tend to push through—until their energy slips, their tolerance cracks, and the body begins to speak louder than the mind. Hello shoulder pain.
What most call “burnout” is often just a rift that’s gone unaddressed for too long. There’s the feeling of lack and a need for an entirely new something. But most of the time, what’s really needed is slow aligned focus and reinforcement.
There are three pillars that consistently reveal themselves when I begin to feel strain:
Nutrition. Movement. Creativity.
They aren’t anything profound, but when I say that they are foundational, I mean that they are foundational if you want life happening for you, and not to you.
Over time, they’ve become the way I reclaim my rhythm and increase my capacity—not just to do more, but to hold more.
More energy.
More integrity.
More growth.
More of life.
The Rebellion: A Reframe of Intention
These pillars are my act of rebellion.
They’re not about optimizing your life to be productive, but about making your body, your energy, and your mind safe enough to sustain the life you’re actually in, while preparing for the one you are calling in.
Most people don’t fail to intentionally manifest because they lack vision. Nah, I think most people think their vision is unachievable, but if you start walking towards it, the struggle becomes reworking your system so it can hold what’s trying to come through.
It’s not mindset alone, it’s physically personal.
It's calling on the body’s capacity to stay open, grounded, and clear enough to receive and regulate what’s expanding. The body plays a hand in stacking each brick of the vision. It's the mundane and somewhat routine choices that separate the two, not the mind alone. Trust the mind, then trust the body to lead. I had a mentor tell me her secret to leading and I’ve led myself with it. Teach, test, trust. These pillars support the trust-fall.
Movement: The Calculated Kind
Stagnant energy builds where movement hasn't met in the body.
Not only is it stress, its unprocessed trauma, and it's also forgotten by many until the red flags come chiming in.
The fascia—the connective tissue that surrounds every organ, muscle, and nerve—stores tension, emotion, and memory. Think of it as your iCloud storage. It holds it all, even the 100 photos your toddler took of their finger.
Chronic stress or stillness causes it to tighten and calls in inflammation. Clarity comes chiming in when your back is hurting from overworking last Friday, shoulder pain because you haven't prioritized sleep, a headache because you haven't eaten in 14 hours.
Intentional movement is what reactivates the body’s signal system to delete 99 of those photos and keep the one for memories sake.
It can look like:
• Shaking
• Stretching
• Walking
• Dancing
• Utilizing a vibration plate
• Bouncing the knees
• Twisting the spine gently with the breath
Movement clears what thought can’t fix.
It tells the body: you’re safe again, and you now have room.
It rewires the nervous system to allow expansion without shutdown.
This isn’t about “working out.”
It’s about releasing what the body is holding so you can strengthen into what’s next. It’s about connecting your mind back with your body so they can act in alignment together.
Nutrition: Preparing the Soil
The body is the house of the soul.
Food is the brick that holds the house together.
But nourishment isn’t just physical—it’s informative.
Dr. Zach Bush reminds us: “Food is not just fuel—it’s communication.”
Your gut doesn’t just digest.
Every nutrient-dense bite supports resilience, clarity, and immune literacy.
Every synthetic or heavily processed bite adds complexity to the system.
And this goes far beyond food:
• What are you feeding your mind?
• What are you feeding your nervous system through what you scroll?
• What are you feeding your beliefs through what you tolerate?
Malnourishment shows up in the gut, and also in the internal narrative.
This pillar becomes a daily question:
“Is what I’m consuming building me or just keeping me safe?”
It may feel like black and white thinking, but clarity in the moment shapes everything.
Without deep nourishment, the body survives instead of participates, so if your system is in survival, it can’t manifest because it’s too busy protecting to receive.
Creativity: Reclaiming Inner Authority
This pillar is the first to go quiet in survival mode—and the most powerful one to reclaim.
When stretched thin by caregiving, ambition, or leadership, identity collapses into function.
You’re present—but not dialed in.
Creativity brings you back to your inner rhythm.
As ownership.
It’s the space where:
• Nothing is expected of you
• No one is telling you how to be
• You don’t have to perform
It’s where you remember you’re not just reacting.
You’re creating.
It acts as a self-honoring ritual.
This pillar restores personal power without force.
It turns the wheel of life quietly and consistently. It helps the system move through experience without holding onto every aspect of it, just the one that moved you to create. I think of it as a universal way to express(externalize instead of internalize) your unique experience.
This Is Not Just About Balance—It’s About Capacity
These three pillars aren’t just supportive—they’re scalable.
They evolve with you as you grow.
When they’re strong:
• You hold more energy because you’re not leaking it through tension.
• You recognize your truth in your body faster because your system isn’t in overdrive.
• You create from overflow instead of lack.
• You expand into new timelines without crashing back into ancient old ones.
This is how you water the garden of your life—not to grow faster, but to grow rooted.
Purposeful Manifestation doesn’t work if your system can’t hold the harvest.
These three pillars are how you build something that lasts and feels right to you.
Below are some tools that can gently support you on your journey toward inner authority, should you feel drawn to explore them. These offerings are anchored in my three pillars, but your soul and body may have their own unique needs. What I share here is simply the foundation—the bones we all have—inviting you to build your own muscle in ways that truly nourish and sustain you.
Pillar 1: Nutrition
Daily Nourishment Check-in
Awareness:
Pause before meals, check in briefly.
“Am I physically hungry or emotionally hungry?”
“Will this choice support or drain my energy?”
One Simple Guideline:
Aim to add something nourishing before restricting anything.
Examples: Water, greens, fiber, or protein.
Reflective Prompt:
End your day by noticing, without judgment:
“Did my choices today build my energy or leave me depleted?”
Goal: Strengthen intuitive eating by building daily awareness.
Pillar 2: Movement
10-Minute Somatic Reset
Set a Daily Minimum: 10 intentional minutes of movement per day—any kind. Choose from Simple Practices:
Gentle stretching
Shaking or bouncing
Breath-focused movement
Walking mindfully around your space
Spinal twists
Notice and Release:
Identify where tension or stress has built up in your body, breathe into it, and gently move to release it.
Goal: Consistently clear physical tension and reset your nervous system.
Pillar 3: Creativity
Daily Creative Window
Claim a small, consistent window of time (5–15 min).
Express without Expectation:
Write, draw, doodle, photograph, sing, cook, dance—any creative expression counts.
Do not critique or edit. Keep it judgment-free.
Simple Check-in Question:
Afterward, reflect briefly:
“How did this moment reconnect me to myself today?”
Goal: Consistently practice creative expression without pressure.
How to Expand These Bones:
Layer new habits gradually driven by inner desire.
Listen closely to your intuition—shift, modify, or extend each tool.
Notice what naturally resonates and what doesn’t; adjust accordingly.
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