Reclaiming Balance Before Burnout

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The season is turning to summer again and I can actually feel the winds of change. Can you? Things are heating up, and not just outside but at work as well, as people are rushing to meet year-end goals, plan next year's budget, and in a variety of ways, get more done before vacation season kicks in full force.

This is a time when we're delivering results, managing teams, responding to urgent demands, and holding it all together. But somewhere along the way, the personal cost starts to show: fatigue that doesn’t go away, joy that feels dulled, relationships that get less of us, and a growing sense that something’s off balance.


What if we pay attention to this as valuable feedback?


We're taught to associate leadership with influence over others. But the most powerful—and often neglected—form of leadership is how we lead ourselves. Especially when it comes to self-care. So summertime is a season I will be devoting to thinking, talking, and writing about self-care. 


"Summertime is a season I will be devoting to thinking, talking, and writing about self-care."


I truly believe that one of the most powerful skills we can master to increase our productivity and leadership effectiveness is the ability to pause, assess, and recalibrate before exhaustion turns into burnout. Before stress becomes our new normal. Before you lose touch with the life you’re working so hard to build.


One of the most practical ways to do this is with the Life Wheel.


What Is the Life Wheel?


The Life Wheel is a simple but powerful tool that helps you assess our overall sense of balance and fulfillment across the areas of life that matter most. By stepping back and looking at life holistically, we can identify where things are thriving—and where our energy and attention might be needed to make incremental improvements that add up to more satisfaction over time.


For those of us who often pour so much into our work, this exercise can reveal where self-care may have taken a backseat.


Let’s bring it front and center.


Six Dimensions of the Life Wheel


The Life Wheel can be organized in a variety of ways with 6-12 topics of focus, but I like to start with 6. Take a moment to rate your level of satisfaction in each of the six areas below, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = deeply unfulfilled, 10 = fully aligned and energized). Usually, the first impression is the most accurate. This honest can be for your eyes only or to share with other for input and accountability.



1. Relationships


  • How connected do you feel to the people who matter most?
  • Are you investing time in friendships, family, and partnerships that nourish you?
  • Do you feel seen and supported—or stretched thin?



Self-leadership check: Do I need to make a change to establish or re-affirm meaningful connection in my life?


2. Health

  • How are you feeling physically and emotionally?
  • Are movement, rest, and nutrition part of your weekly rhythm—or afterthoughts?
  • Are you operating from vitality, or from depletion?



Self-leadership check: What would it look like to make my well-being non-negotiable?



3. Home Environment


  • Does your home support your peace, focus, and comfort?
  • Is it a place where you feel calm—or just where you sleep and start your next workday?



Self-leadership check: What small change could I make to feel more grounded where I live?



4. Career

  • Are you doing work that aligns with your values and vision—or just maintaining momentum?
  • Do you feel challenged in a meaningful way—or simply busy?



Self-leadership check: What’s one shift that would reconnect me with purpose in my work?



5. Finances

  • Are you feeling stable and in control—or constantly reactive?
  • Is your financial life supporting your freedom and choices—or silently stressing you out?



Self-leadership check: Do I need more clarity, a new goal, or expert support?


6. Personal Growth

  • When was the last time you learned something just because it lit you up?
  • Are you making room for creativity, reflection, or experiences that stretch your perspective?


Self-leadership check: What am I curious about right now, and how can I follow it?


Turning Insight Into Action

After you’ve rated each area, draw a circle and divide it into six equal parts—one for each category. Mark your ratings on the appropriate “spoke” and connect the dots. What you’ll likely see is not a perfect wheel—but a shape that reveals where your life may be out of balance.


This awareness is where self-leadership can go to the next level.


Once you’ve identified which areas feel underinvested, ask:


  • What’s one thing I can do this week to improve that area by just one point?
  • What support do I need to follow through?
  • Where am I overextended—and what could I let go of, delegate, or pause?


Why This Matters

When you’re in a high-impact role, it’s easy to externalize leadership—to stay focused on results, stakeholders, team dynamics, and bottom lines. But the truth is: your personal sustainability is the foundation for your professional success.


Your energy is your greatest asset. Your clarity is your competitive edge. Your well-being impacts every decision you make and every person you lead.


And no one else can manage that for you.


Leading yourself with intention, care, and courage isn’t self-indulgent—it’s strategic. It’s what makes long-term impact possible.



Final Thought: Time to Level Up

Here is poem I wrote that describes the way it can feel to head toward burnout and what to do to move back into balance:


Time to Level Up

I feel like I’m a stranger in my cookie cutter life.
What used to be a source of comfort now just brings me strife.
I don’t belong in my old job; it bothers me no end
I can’t abide relationship with my “so called” best friend.
My finance situation, just can’t continue on.
I’m sick of being broke and bills persist when money’s gone.

A wonderful epiphany just dropped into my soul.
Discomfort is the signal sent to make what’s broken, whole.
Allow my disappointments and my pains to point the way
To every stinking change I should have made, like, yesterday.

Today’s the day I’ll inventory what I think I lack.

Tomorrow, guaranteed, I’m getting my groove back.


So if you’re feeling stretched thin, stuck in routine, or out of sync—pause. Don’t push through. Lead yourself back to balance, beginning with clarity.


Check your wheel. Listen to what your discomfort is telling you. Let that awareness guide your next step, not as a reaction to burnout, but as a commitment to staying whole, vibrant, and in alignment with the life you’re truly here to live.


Because at the end of the day, your leadership is only as strong as the foundation you’re standing on.


And that foundation starts with you.

Click here for a downloadable Life Wheel or 

look for the Life Wheel app in your favorite app store.

What do you think? Feel free to comment below. And here are more ways to connect:

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