December 25, 2025 • 26 mins
Hey friend — feeling exhausted, stuck, or like you’re always on the brink? In this episode Avik chats with Susanna Kenyan-Murray about the hidden mental load: burnout, sneaky limiting beliefs, and the subconscious scripts that keep you small.
They share simple, powerful shifts you can try now — breathwork to release stored tension, journaling and mindset work to catch the replays, and boundary-setting to protect your energy so you can actually thrive.
If your chest feels a bit lighter just hearing this, trust that feeling — one conscious breath and one brave decision can be the start of a whole new story.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of healthy mind healthy life, I'm your host
(00:10):
Avik and today we are talking about the mental load that's quietly crushing so many of us.
Burnout, limiting beliefs and the invisible scripts running on loop in our subconscious
minds.
So ever felt, dear listeners, like no matter how hard you push, something keeps pulling
(00:35):
you back, right?
I mean, I believe a lot of you or even I have also faced that.
So that sneaky voice in your head whispering that you are not ready, you are not enough
or kind of this is just how life is.
(00:56):
So well, it's time we call that out and rewrote that damn story.
So joining us today is someone who's walked both the walls, the high-pressure corporate
jungle and the deeply fulfilling space of inner transformation.
So please welcome Susanna Kenyan-Murray.
So welcome to the show, Susanna.
(01:18):
Thank you.
It's so good to be on here.
I appreciate the introduction.
Amazing.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
So Susanna, like before we start, I quickly love to introduce you to all the listeners.
Dear listeners, Susanna is a holistic life and career coach, world traveler and the force
behind coaching by Susanna.
(01:39):
So after spending over 15 years climbing the corporate ladder with giants like Salesforce,
Citrix and VMware, she choose a different kind of success.
And now she helps corporate professionals break free from the cycles of overwhelm and
step into the life that they were actually meant to live.
(02:04):
So through NLP, emotional intelligence, energy work and breed work, she is teaching people
how to unlock their truth and live with clarity, purpose and the alignment.
So dear listeners, this episode is about a real change, I have to say.
Not just the mindset hacks or something, but it's soul aligned transformation.
(02:30):
So I'll not take much of your time, dear listeners.
Welcome to the show and welcome again on Healthy Mind and Healthy Life, Susanna.
Thank you so much.
You said my introduction perfectly.
You want me to touch on any specific areas, I'm happy to kind of dive in.
Lovely.
Lovely.
So I definitely wanted to start with this so-called very hyped word, which is burnout.
(02:59):
So I mean, it actually shows up in the high level corporate spaces and even I have seen
a lot of people and my friends as well.
So in your experience, how much of that is driven by the external pressures and how much
is it driven by the internal, often subconscious beliefs?
(03:20):
So what do you say?
Yeah, that's such a good question.
Well, let me give a little bit of my definition of burnout and my experience as well and why
this is something that I'm very passionate about and speak a lot about because I've been
through it, you know, and it's something that I am constantly very aware of.
So to me, you know, burnout can be a physiological impact in terms of feeling fatigue, you know,
(03:49):
when you've really almost like emptied your tank, you know, you don't have the energy
to give, you know, and that can manifest in terms of feeling really tired, fatigue.
It can manifest in terms of feeling anxious.
A lot of my clients and myself as well, start to feel like heart palpitations, start to
(04:11):
feel short of breath, start to feel just like everything is crashing down on them.
Or you know, even in my experience, it can also lead to things like depression and feeling
like you just don't have the motivation or the energy to move forward.
And so in my experience, so I spent, as you mentioned, you know, 17 years in corporate,
(04:34):
I worked in tech all around the world from Australia, Singapore, London.
And I have always had a propensity of being very go, go, go.
And very much, you know, living in my masculine, like very independent lifestyle.
And that served me really well in my career.
(04:55):
But what I didn't really have conscious awareness of, you know, back then, is how much I was
burning the candle on both ends.
You know, I would wake up really early, go to the gym, do an intense HIIT workout, go
to work, you know, hustle at work.
And I was in a sales career for most, well, the first half of my career, and then post
(05:17):
sales and customer success.
And then in the evenings, I would then go out and I would drink and I would party.
And I would kind of just do this on repeat.
And I remember when I was moving from Singapore to London, you know, and these are pretty
significant moves, right?
You know, changing career.
(05:37):
I mean, I was moving, you know, I was changing my whole life, basically, I was moving country,
I was changing career, I was, you know, moving, like, back in with my parents at the time.
And I just remember, I started to feel this shortness of breath, I started to feel these
heart palpitations.
(05:58):
And I didn't think that there was anything wrong with me.
I thought it was maybe asthma, because I used to have asthma as a child.
And I remember a friend saying to me, I think you've got anxiety.
And I remember saying, surely not me.
And I went to a doctor and the doctor was like, yeah, you have anxiety, I think you
should take, you know, the Xanax.
And that kind of started my journey of becoming more aware of my health and wellness.
(06:26):
And going back to burnout, I remember, there were several stages in my career, you know,
even in Australia, which is where I spent, I spent 10 years there, about four and a half
years of that was my career, the rest was university.
I just remember getting to points in my career, I would almost, it would be like a cycle,
(06:49):
it would be a cycle of being super energized, and then burnt out, fatigued, not motivated.
And I just, I remember also feeling like I wasn't myself.
And I wasn't showing up as the best version of myself.
But yeah, so that is a little bit of context in terms of burnout.
(07:11):
And I'm happy to go into any other any areas if that would be supportive.
Exactly.
Exactly.
True.
So, so when did you personally realize that you were running on someone else's version
of the success?
And how did that relation shift things for you?
(07:36):
I realized, I mean, there were a few painful moments.
I think the one like moving from Singapore to London, in my early 30s, was when I realized
that like my health and wellness was being impacted, and that I was, you know, just constantly
on this like hamster wheel.
(07:57):
I would say where it all kind of like flipped for me, you know, because even when I moved
to London, I had, you know, I moved in with my parents initially, and then I found I got
a job.
And then I, you know, the cycle kind of continued.
I would say COVID was a blessing in disguise for me, because it really forced me to slow
down.
(08:18):
And because the gyms weren't open, you know, I walked a lot, I slowed down, I did a lot
more mindfulness, I got into meditation.
And that was really the beginning of my really mental wellness journey.
Yeah, exactly.
So, I mean, that actually hits deep.
(08:40):
I mean, I think so many of us were like being busy, like a badge of honor, but you are actually
showing us how that can be a symptom of deeper disconnection.
And thank you so much for that honesty.
I believe, I mean, every one of us know about this, but somehow, we fear of sharing this
(09:05):
and we fear of accepting that being busy is not a badge of honor.
Yeah, I think it's such a great point that you make.
I think sometimes we think that like, being busy is like a badge of honor or like some
sort of something to celebrate.
And it's like, oh, I'm busier than you or look how busy I am.
(09:28):
One thing I've really learned is that there is so much beauty in slowing down.
There is beauty in silence.
And actually, the more that you can slow down, and it's the concept of the yin and the yang,
right?
Like the yin is the slowing down, it's the feminine energy.
The yang is the doing, the masculine, the constantly like being in the go, go, go.
(09:54):
It's so important to have balance because in slowing down, there is so much beauty that
occurs.
You not only help your body to restore and repair, you go from your sympathetic nervous
system, which is fight or flight, it's go, go, go, action oriented, into your parasympathetic
nervous system, which is all about repairing, restoring, relaxing.
(10:19):
You're giving your body a physiological upgrade and you can heal from things like burnout.
But also, by slowing down you and doing things like meditation, which slows down your nervous
system, it slows down your breath, it also helps to give clarity.
(10:42):
And this is the irony, sometimes we think we need to be doing all of the things to get
further ahead, but sometimes when you slow down and stop and you listen to your intuition
and you give your body time to really repair, a lot of clarity can come in those moments
and you can quantum leap or accelerate much further ahead.
(11:07):
I think people struggle with this, myself included, and I'm going through this right
now.
I'm actually very intentional this week about giving myself time to surrender and to slow
down because I know that I have been hustling for the last few months and it's starting
to feel like I'm getting burned out.
(11:30):
And so I'm like, this is why I teach it, because I'm very aware of the signs and I'm also aware
of the beauty that happens when you slow down.
So it's almost like an oxymoron because people, like I said, feel like this need to constantly
go, go, go.
But if you can gift yourself the time to slow down, and maybe, you know, I was saying this
(11:53):
to a client the other day, I said, why don't you give yourself two weeks, time box it and
give yourself two weeks to not make any decisions and just allow yourself to be, because that
can be such a blessing, healing, and it can help you to get that clarity to make a decision.
(12:14):
So, yeah, it's a constant cycle.
Exactly.
So, lovely, that's really lovely.
Another most important two word, very popular, limiting beliefs.
(12:35):
So what are a few sneaky ones you have seen, like keep people stuck, especially high achieving
professionals?
Yeah, there's some real key ones.
A big one, because I work with mostly people from 35 to 55, is they think they're too old.
(12:55):
They think they're too old to do a career change, too old to step into doing something
that they love, because they've A, been conditioned into doing a certain career or role for so
long, or they think they've got too many obligations with family that it's just too late to make
a change.
(13:16):
The other is, I don't have the financial resources.
So because, you know, my generation, like grew up with this mentality of, you have to
work for a company, company leads to success and being, you know, wealthy.
People think that, you know, if they were to change career to do something that is more
(13:40):
aligned and fulfilling to what they want to do, that they will have to take a financial
step back and then they're not going to be able to have the lifestyle that they want.
And, you know, I always invite people to think that if you do what you love, and you really
pour your heart and soul into that, the money and everything else will follow.
(14:01):
And it's important, you know, to have a vision and a plan, whether it's in your life or your
career.
And, you know, you can always work backwards from there and really believe, you know.
I mean, I could talk about this topic for hours because our beliefs create our reality.
And you know, it's always, I would say it's a two pronged approach.
(14:24):
Awareness is the first step to change.
If you're aware of what your limiting beliefs are and catch them, then you have the ability
to reframe them and rewire your brain to new empowering beliefs that you can do that.
And from a manifestation perspective, we are manifesting from our subconscious beliefs.
(14:47):
So that's why like knowing if you have a limiting belief that you can't do something, you're
basically manifesting that.
But if you're aware of it, you can change that belief to, I can.
And there are so many, you know, a trick I always tell people is look for role models
or people in your life that have done the impossible or the thing that you want.
(15:09):
Because you'll find so many examples.
I mean, you know, there are so many like athletes, I think Roger Bannister, who did the four
minute mile and everyone said that he would never be able to do that.
And then he did, you know, Mark Zuckerberg being CEO of a company at 23, Oprah defying
like being a TV host, you know, from a minority background and becoming a billionaire.
(15:34):
Like there are just so many examples of people defying like what we believed was possible.
But if you believe it, you can do it.
So yeah, I would encourage you to think of like what you want and just believe that.
Wow.
So like, I really love that.
(15:58):
I mean, it's not just about thinking positive.
It's all about shifting that entire energetic and emotional baseline.
That's the part most people miss.
So yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So also, like many, many of your clients make bold moves and the new careers, new businesses,
(16:25):
dream homes.
So what would you say is the key ingredient that helps them shift from fear into the action?
So what do you have to say?
What's the key shift that gets them from fear to action?
So like I was just saying, I think it's becoming aware of what the fear is.
(16:52):
Number one, you know, if you can catch what the fear is, like is there a fear of change
because you think you might be judged or you think you might fail?
You know, a lot of us have been told that we're never going to be good enough.
(17:13):
And so there's a fear of like not being successful and a fear of failure.
And so as a result, because, you know, I was just speaking to a client yesterday who said
that his father said, you know, when he was younger, that he was always he was never going
to be good.
He was too slow.
He wasn't fast enough.
So he has this real fear of failure.
(17:33):
But when you understand that that fear, what the fear is and where it stemmed from, then
we can work with that to reframe and rewire the belief.
So let's say there's a fear of failure, like what would be the opposite of that?
The opposite of that would be, I am successful, I can be successful.
(17:57):
And then finding examples in your life where you really have.
And I think as humans, we are so conditioned to thinking automatically of the negative,
all the things we can't do, and we forget about all of the amazing things we've already
accomplished and done in our life.
So I would invite listeners listening to this to write down all of, you know, almost like
(18:19):
I got this at a retreat the other day, like 100 accomplishments that you've accomplished
in your life or in your career or maybe in the last year.
Remind yourself of everything you've done and remind yourself that you are capable of
having and doing whatever you want in your life.
So that would be the number one thing I would say, or one thing.
(18:44):
The second is because our beliefs, our beliefs are stored in and our fears are stored in
our subconscious mind and also in our body and nervous system.
So rewiring your brain through things like meditation or hypnosis is a really powerful
(19:05):
way to shift your belief from a disempowering fear to an empowering belief.
So, you know, for example, you can, I do a lot of Dr. Joe Dispenza meditations, you can
drop into meditation and reinforce the belief that what you desire and what you want is
available to you.
(19:25):
I also do EFT tapping.
That's really powerful.
Just find something that will help you rewire your brain.
And the final thing, and this is something that's become so much more prevalent for myself
and also my clients, and again, through my own experience is doing somatic healing.
Somatic healing, basically meaning dropping into your body, releasing and expressing stored
(19:51):
emotions that could be holding you back.
So a lot of us have stored emotions from trauma, fear, like I said, maybe someone told
you you're never going to be good enough and you've stored that emotion in your body.
So it's important to shake out that emotion, to release it through things like breath work
(20:11):
so that we don't get triggered by that again.
And so that you can then bring a new empowering belief that what you desire is available and
possible to you.
So maybe that sounds like a lot, but those three things are really powerful.
So rewiring your brain, using journaling and writing it down as a mechanism, then dropping
(20:37):
into meditation or EFT tapping, hypnosis.
And then the final one is through somatic healing or breath work to release the emotions
so that you're not being held back by fear.
Exactly true.
Yeah.
So I mean, OK, so this one might sound contradictory, but it's actually not.
(21:02):
So you can't just breathe your way out of burnout.
And I mean, this I'm saying like some people argue that you cannot just breathe your way
out of the burnout, but the systems need to change.
So what's your take on the personal or the structural healing?
(21:25):
So well, it's funny because I think if you are burnt out, I think slowing down and using
a tool like breath work is going to help you heal from feeling exhausted and anxious.
I'll give you an example.
Last year in January, I had a mini burnout.
(21:47):
I had just the year prior lost my mom.
I had then after that changed my career from being in corporate tech to running my own
business.
I was traveling, got into a new relationship.
And then by January, my body, I was just so fatigued.
(22:08):
I was so fatigued.
I was doing all of the things.
And then the moment I gave it the opportunity to slow down, I just crashed.
I crashed.
I ended up sleeping for like five days.
I just really struggled to feel like energized or motivated.
And I had went to a breathwork session and kind of by accident, but I went and I ended
(22:31):
up crying uncontrollably for an entire hour and all of this energy just came out of me.
And I remember at the end of it feeling very raw and vulnerable, but also like I had just
released like I had released 20 years of stored energy and I felt 20 years younger.
And that really started my journey of getting into breathwork and why I'm so passionate
(22:54):
about it now.
And so I do think the power of your breath can really help you heal if you are burnt
out and it's just going to help your body to repair.
Now it doesn't mean you have to do a full somatic one hour experience every time.
It can also just be little doses of just doing deep belly breaths, like really like putting
(23:18):
your hand on your diaphragm and breathing in, like expanding your stomach like a balloon.
And then, you know, just doing that a couple of times.
So I do think, you know, the breath is important.
Now to answer your question and address the sort of the contradiction, I think it is also
(23:41):
important to get really clear on your priorities.
And I think sometimes all these people that I work with try to do everything, right?
Like you said, it's almost a badge of honor to do everything in your job, but also like
in life and then you burn out.
So I think it's important to get clear on what the priorities are, what is really core
(24:05):
to you and what's important.
Prioritize that and learn to start saying no to things that are not important or not
in alignment and set boundaries.
Now I think a common correlation between people that burn out is they tend to be people pleasers.
(24:27):
So they say yes to everything.
I'd be that person too.
And they struggle to set boundaries and really, you know, lean into saying no, which means
that they're constantly like doing everything.
So that's why I think it's important to have a holistic approach, a holistic approach in
terms of your body and like giving your body time to heal and doing mindfulness and breathwork,
(24:54):
walking, journaling, like things that are just going to be more slower pace.
And then also strategically, what are your priorities?
Lean into setting boundaries, saying no, and prioritizing the things that are important.
Amazing.
Amazing.
Lovely.
(25:15):
So, I mean, Susannah, I mean, what a rich and sweet conversation.
Thank you so much for holding this space for all the burned out overachievers, the dreamers
stuck in the doubt and the folks who are secretly whispering that there has to be more
than this.
So and the listeners, if you have been listening and your chest feels like, I mean, a little
(25:44):
lighter or your heart's beating just a bit louder, then follow that.
Check out Susannah's work at coachingbySusannah.com, sign up for the retreat, dive into a masterclass,
whatever your next step is, don't stay in the same cycle another year.
(26:05):
So just try it out.
And I'll put the links into the show notes for you, easy reference to your listeners.
And you can create a life that's aligned and you can rewrite your story.
And it all starts with one conscious breath and one brave decision.
So with this hope until next time, keep your mind healthy, your soul curious and your breath
(26:29):
intentional.
So this is your host Avik signing off.
Thank you so much.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of healthy mind healthy life, I'm your host
(00:10):
Avik and today we are talking about the mental load that's quietly crushing so many of us.
Burnout, limiting beliefs and the invisible scripts running on loop in our subconscious
minds.
So ever felt, dear listeners, like no matter how hard you push, something keeps pulling
(00:35):
you back, right?
I mean, I believe a lot of you or even I have also faced that.
So that sneaky voice in your head whispering that you are not ready, you are not enough
or kind of this is just how life is.
(00:56):
So well, it's time we call that out and rewrote that damn story.
So joining us today is someone who's walked both the walls, the high-pressure corporate
jungle and the deeply fulfilling space of inner transformation.
So please welcome Susanna Kenyan-Murray.
So welcome to the show, Susanna.
(01:18):
Thank you.
It's so good to be on here.
I appreciate the introduction.
Amazing.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
So Susanna, like before we start, I quickly love to introduce you to all the listeners.
Dear listeners, Susanna is a holistic life and career coach, world traveler and the force
behind coaching by Susanna.
(01:39):
So after spending over 15 years climbing the corporate ladder with giants like Salesforce,
Citrix and VMware, she choose a different kind of success.
And now she helps corporate professionals break free from the cycles of overwhelm and
step into the life that they were actually meant to live.
(02:04):
So through NLP, emotional intelligence, energy work and breed work, she is teaching people
how to unlock their truth and live with clarity, purpose and the alignment.
So dear listeners, this episode is about a real change, I have to say.
Not just the mindset hacks or something, but it's soul aligned transformation.
(02:30):
So I'll not take much of your time, dear listeners.
Welcome to the show and welcome again on Healthy Mind and Healthy Life, Susanna.
Thank you so much.
You said my introduction perfectly.
You want me to touch on any specific areas, I'm happy to kind of dive in.
Lovely.
Lovely.
So I definitely wanted to start with this so-called very hyped word, which is burnout.
(02:59):
So I mean, it actually shows up in the high level corporate spaces and even I have seen
a lot of people and my friends as well.
So in your experience, how much of that is driven by the external pressures and how much
is it driven by the internal, often subconscious beliefs?
(03:20):
So what do you say?
Yeah, that's such a good question.
Well, let me give a little bit of my definition of burnout and my experience as well and why
this is something that I'm very passionate about and speak a lot about because I've been
through it, you know, and it's something that I am constantly very aware of.
So to me, you know, burnout can be a physiological impact in terms of feeling fatigue, you know,
(03:49):
when you've really almost like emptied your tank, you know, you don't have the energy
to give, you know, and that can manifest in terms of feeling really tired, fatigue.
It can manifest in terms of feeling anxious.
A lot of my clients and myself as well, start to feel like heart palpitations, start to
(04:11):
feel short of breath, start to feel just like everything is crashing down on them.
Or you know, even in my experience, it can also lead to things like depression and feeling
like you just don't have the motivation or the energy to move forward.
And so in my experience, so I spent, as you mentioned, you know, 17 years in corporate,
(04:34):
I worked in tech all around the world from Australia, Singapore, London.
And I have always had a propensity of being very go, go, go.
And very much, you know, living in my masculine, like very independent lifestyle.
And that served me really well in my career.
(04:55):
But what I didn't really have conscious awareness of, you know, back then, is how much I was
burning the candle on both ends.
You know, I would wake up really early, go to the gym, do an intense HIIT workout, go
to work, you know, hustle at work.
And I was in a sales career for most, well, the first half of my career, and then post
(05:17):
sales and customer success.
And then in the evenings, I would then go out and I would drink and I would party.
And I would kind of just do this on repeat.
And I remember when I was moving from Singapore to London, you know, and these are pretty
significant moves, right?
You know, changing career.
(05:37):
I mean, I was moving, you know, I was changing my whole life, basically, I was moving country,
I was changing career, I was, you know, moving, like, back in with my parents at the time.
And I just remember, I started to feel this shortness of breath, I started to feel these
heart palpitations.
(05:58):
And I didn't think that there was anything wrong with me.
I thought it was maybe asthma, because I used to have asthma as a child.
And I remember a friend saying to me, I think you've got anxiety.
And I remember saying, surely not me.
And I went to a doctor and the doctor was like, yeah, you have anxiety, I think you
should take, you know, the Xanax.
And that kind of started my journey of becoming more aware of my health and wellness.
(06:26):
And going back to burnout, I remember, there were several stages in my career, you know,
even in Australia, which is where I spent, I spent 10 years there, about four and a half
years of that was my career, the rest was university.
I just remember getting to points in my career, I would almost, it would be like a cycle,
(06:49):
it would be a cycle of being super energized, and then burnt out, fatigued, not motivated.
And I just, I remember also feeling like I wasn't myself.
And I wasn't showing up as the best version of myself.
But yeah, so that is a little bit of context in terms of burnout.
(07:11):
And I'm happy to go into any other any areas if that would be supportive.
Exactly.
Exactly.
True.
So, so when did you personally realize that you were running on someone else's version
of the success?
And how did that relation shift things for you?
(07:36):
I realized, I mean, there were a few painful moments.
I think the one like moving from Singapore to London, in my early 30s, was when I realized
that like my health and wellness was being impacted, and that I was, you know, just constantly
on this like hamster wheel.
(07:57):
I would say where it all kind of like flipped for me, you know, because even when I moved
to London, I had, you know, I moved in with my parents initially, and then I found I got
a job.
And then I, you know, the cycle kind of continued.
I would say COVID was a blessing in disguise for me, because it really forced me to slow
down.
(08:18):
And because the gyms weren't open, you know, I walked a lot, I slowed down, I did a lot
more mindfulness, I got into meditation.
And that was really the beginning of my really mental wellness journey.
Yeah, exactly.
So, I mean, that actually hits deep.
(08:40):
I mean, I think so many of us were like being busy, like a badge of honor, but you are actually
showing us how that can be a symptom of deeper disconnection.
And thank you so much for that honesty.
I believe, I mean, every one of us know about this, but somehow, we fear of sharing this
(09:05):
and we fear of accepting that being busy is not a badge of honor.
Yeah, I think it's such a great point that you make.
I think sometimes we think that like, being busy is like a badge of honor or like some
sort of something to celebrate.
And it's like, oh, I'm busier than you or look how busy I am.
(09:28):
One thing I've really learned is that there is so much beauty in slowing down.
There is beauty in silence.
And actually, the more that you can slow down, and it's the concept of the yin and the yang,
right?
Like the yin is the slowing down, it's the feminine energy.
The yang is the doing, the masculine, the constantly like being in the go, go, go.
(09:54):
It's so important to have balance because in slowing down, there is so much beauty that
occurs.
You not only help your body to restore and repair, you go from your sympathetic nervous
system, which is fight or flight, it's go, go, go, action oriented, into your parasympathetic
nervous system, which is all about repairing, restoring, relaxing.
(10:19):
You're giving your body a physiological upgrade and you can heal from things like burnout.
But also, by slowing down you and doing things like meditation, which slows down your nervous
system, it slows down your breath, it also helps to give clarity.
(10:42):
And this is the irony, sometimes we think we need to be doing all of the things to get
further ahead, but sometimes when you slow down and stop and you listen to your intuition
and you give your body time to really repair, a lot of clarity can come in those moments
and you can quantum leap or accelerate much further ahead.
(11:07):
I think people struggle with this, myself included, and I'm going through this right
now.
I'm actually very intentional this week about giving myself time to surrender and to slow
down because I know that I have been hustling for the last few months and it's starting
to feel like I'm getting burned out.
(11:30):
And so I'm like, this is why I teach it, because I'm very aware of the signs and I'm also aware
of the beauty that happens when you slow down.
So it's almost like an oxymoron because people, like I said, feel like this need to constantly
go, go, go.
But if you can gift yourself the time to slow down, and maybe, you know, I was saying this
(11:53):
to a client the other day, I said, why don't you give yourself two weeks, time box it and
give yourself two weeks to not make any decisions and just allow yourself to be, because that
can be such a blessing, healing, and it can help you to get that clarity to make a decision.
(12:14):
So, yeah, it's a constant cycle.
Exactly.
So, lovely, that's really lovely.
Another most important two word, very popular, limiting beliefs.
(12:35):
So what are a few sneaky ones you have seen, like keep people stuck, especially high achieving
professionals?
Yeah, there's some real key ones.
A big one, because I work with mostly people from 35 to 55, is they think they're too old.
(12:55):
They think they're too old to do a career change, too old to step into doing something
that they love, because they've A, been conditioned into doing a certain career or role for so
long, or they think they've got too many obligations with family that it's just too late to make
a change.
(13:16):
The other is, I don't have the financial resources.
So because, you know, my generation, like grew up with this mentality of, you have to
work for a company, company leads to success and being, you know, wealthy.
People think that, you know, if they were to change career to do something that is more
(13:40):
aligned and fulfilling to what they want to do, that they will have to take a financial
step back and then they're not going to be able to have the lifestyle that they want.
And, you know, I always invite people to think that if you do what you love, and you really
pour your heart and soul into that, the money and everything else will follow.
(14:01):
And it's important, you know, to have a vision and a plan, whether it's in your life or your
career.
And, you know, you can always work backwards from there and really believe, you know.
I mean, I could talk about this topic for hours because our beliefs create our reality.
And you know, it's always, I would say it's a two pronged approach.
(14:24):
Awareness is the first step to change.
If you're aware of what your limiting beliefs are and catch them, then you have the ability
to reframe them and rewire your brain to new empowering beliefs that you can do that.
And from a manifestation perspective, we are manifesting from our subconscious beliefs.
(14:47):
So that's why like knowing if you have a limiting belief that you can't do something, you're
basically manifesting that.
But if you're aware of it, you can change that belief to, I can.
And there are so many, you know, a trick I always tell people is look for role models
or people in your life that have done the impossible or the thing that you want.
(15:09):
Because you'll find so many examples.
I mean, you know, there are so many like athletes, I think Roger Bannister, who did the four
minute mile and everyone said that he would never be able to do that.
And then he did, you know, Mark Zuckerberg being CEO of a company at 23, Oprah defying
like being a TV host, you know, from a minority background and becoming a billionaire.
(15:34):
Like there are just so many examples of people defying like what we believed was possible.
But if you believe it, you can do it.
So yeah, I would encourage you to think of like what you want and just believe that.
Wow.
So like, I really love that.
(15:58):
I mean, it's not just about thinking positive.
It's all about shifting that entire energetic and emotional baseline.
That's the part most people miss.
So yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So also, like many, many of your clients make bold moves and the new careers, new businesses,
(16:25):
dream homes.
So what would you say is the key ingredient that helps them shift from fear into the action?
So what do you have to say?
What's the key shift that gets them from fear to action?
So like I was just saying, I think it's becoming aware of what the fear is.
(16:52):
Number one, you know, if you can catch what the fear is, like is there a fear of change
because you think you might be judged or you think you might fail?
You know, a lot of us have been told that we're never going to be good enough.
(17:13):
And so there's a fear of like not being successful and a fear of failure.
And so as a result, because, you know, I was just speaking to a client yesterday who said
that his father said, you know, when he was younger, that he was always he was never going
to be good.
He was too slow.
He wasn't fast enough.
So he has this real fear of failure.
(17:33):
But when you understand that that fear, what the fear is and where it stemmed from, then
we can work with that to reframe and rewire the belief.
So let's say there's a fear of failure, like what would be the opposite of that?
The opposite of that would be, I am successful, I can be successful.
(17:57):
And then finding examples in your life where you really have.
And I think as humans, we are so conditioned to thinking automatically of the negative,
all the things we can't do, and we forget about all of the amazing things we've already
accomplished and done in our life.
So I would invite listeners listening to this to write down all of, you know, almost like
(18:19):
I got this at a retreat the other day, like 100 accomplishments that you've accomplished
in your life or in your career or maybe in the last year.
Remind yourself of everything you've done and remind yourself that you are capable of
having and doing whatever you want in your life.
So that would be the number one thing I would say, or one thing.
(18:44):
The second is because our beliefs, our beliefs are stored in and our fears are stored in
our subconscious mind and also in our body and nervous system.
So rewiring your brain through things like meditation or hypnosis is a really powerful
(19:05):
way to shift your belief from a disempowering fear to an empowering belief.
So, you know, for example, you can, I do a lot of Dr. Joe Dispenza meditations, you can
drop into meditation and reinforce the belief that what you desire and what you want is
available to you.
(19:25):
I also do EFT tapping.
That's really powerful.
Just find something that will help you rewire your brain.
And the final thing, and this is something that's become so much more prevalent for myself
and also my clients, and again, through my own experience is doing somatic healing.
Somatic healing, basically meaning dropping into your body, releasing and expressing stored
(19:51):
emotions that could be holding you back.
So a lot of us have stored emotions from trauma, fear, like I said, maybe someone told
you you're never going to be good enough and you've stored that emotion in your body.
So it's important to shake out that emotion, to release it through things like breath work
(20:11):
so that we don't get triggered by that again.
And so that you can then bring a new empowering belief that what you desire is available and
possible to you.
So maybe that sounds like a lot, but those three things are really powerful.
So rewiring your brain, using journaling and writing it down as a mechanism, then dropping
(20:37):
into meditation or EFT tapping, hypnosis.
And then the final one is through somatic healing or breath work to release the emotions
so that you're not being held back by fear.
Exactly true.
Yeah.
So I mean, OK, so this one might sound contradictory, but it's actually not.
(21:02):
So you can't just breathe your way out of burnout.
And I mean, this I'm saying like some people argue that you cannot just breathe your way
out of the burnout, but the systems need to change.
So what's your take on the personal or the structural healing?
(21:25):
So well, it's funny because I think if you are burnt out, I think slowing down and using
a tool like breath work is going to help you heal from feeling exhausted and anxious.
I'll give you an example.
Last year in January, I had a mini burnout.
(21:47):
I had just the year prior lost my mom.
I had then after that changed my career from being in corporate tech to running my own
business.
I was traveling, got into a new relationship.
And then by January, my body, I was just so fatigued.
(22:08):
I was so fatigued.
I was doing all of the things.
And then the moment I gave it the opportunity to slow down, I just crashed.
I crashed.
I ended up sleeping for like five days.
I just really struggled to feel like energized or motivated.
And I had went to a breathwork session and kind of by accident, but I went and I ended
(22:31):
up crying uncontrollably for an entire hour and all of this energy just came out of me.
And I remember at the end of it feeling very raw and vulnerable, but also like I had just
released like I had released 20 years of stored energy and I felt 20 years younger.
And that really started my journey of getting into breathwork and why I'm so passionate
(22:54):
about it now.
And so I do think the power of your breath can really help you heal if you are burnt
out and it's just going to help your body to repair.
Now it doesn't mean you have to do a full somatic one hour experience every time.
It can also just be little doses of just doing deep belly breaths, like really like putting
(23:18):
your hand on your diaphragm and breathing in, like expanding your stomach like a balloon.
And then, you know, just doing that a couple of times.
So I do think, you know, the breath is important.
Now to answer your question and address the sort of the contradiction, I think it is also
(23:41):
important to get really clear on your priorities.
And I think sometimes all these people that I work with try to do everything, right?
Like you said, it's almost a badge of honor to do everything in your job, but also like
in life and then you burn out.
So I think it's important to get clear on what the priorities are, what is really core
(24:05):
to you and what's important.
Prioritize that and learn to start saying no to things that are not important or not
in alignment and set boundaries.
Now I think a common correlation between people that burn out is they tend to be people pleasers.
(24:27):
So they say yes to everything.
I'd be that person too.
And they struggle to set boundaries and really, you know, lean into saying no, which means
that they're constantly like doing everything.
So that's why I think it's important to have a holistic approach, a holistic approach in
terms of your body and like giving your body time to heal and doing mindfulness and breathwork,
(24:54):
walking, journaling, like things that are just going to be more slower pace.
And then also strategically, what are your priorities?
Lean into setting boundaries, saying no, and prioritizing the things that are important.
Amazing.
Amazing.
Lovely.
(25:15):
So, I mean, Susannah, I mean, what a rich and sweet conversation.
Thank you so much for holding this space for all the burned out overachievers, the dreamers
stuck in the doubt and the folks who are secretly whispering that there has to be more
than this.
So and the listeners, if you have been listening and your chest feels like, I mean, a little
(25:44):
lighter or your heart's beating just a bit louder, then follow that.
Check out Susannah's work at coachingbySusannah.com, sign up for the retreat, dive into a masterclass,
whatever your next step is, don't stay in the same cycle another year.
(26:05):
So just try it out.
And I'll put the links into the show notes for you, easy reference to your listeners.
And you can create a life that's aligned and you can rewrite your story.
And it all starts with one conscious breath and one brave decision.
So with this hope until next time, keep your mind healthy, your soul curious and your breath
(26:29):
intentional.
So this is your host Avik signing off.
Thank you so much.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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