I started writing this book tethered to my breast pump. I was a new mom pumping five times a day for my one-year-old son when I wasn't chasing my three-year-old son or learning my new job. Three years earlier, I married my high school sweetheart, had a baby, and moved back to our hometown for a better life as a new family. We dreamed of a big house with rooms for our boys to explore and be themselves.
Each day I felt like I was trading in my dream for theirs. I noticed in my journals that I was having a hard time believing I could do all of these significant roles well. As an overachiever, I started to resent the new responsibilities preventing me from being my best performer at work. How could I be the best mother, wife, and manager? I started to doubt myself, and suddenly I started to talk negatively to myself, one day I heard myself say "I'm a failure" I'd never spoken that out loud before, I always believed I could do the impossible, but I was stretched so thin I couldn't do one more thing no matter how simple it was. I found myself skipping my affirmations, forgetting to write in my journal, and missing my check in with friends.
I was burned out. Does that sound like you? Between midnight feeding schedules, traveling for work, and making time to be with my family, I started to trade in the pieces of my personality that made me, me. I stopped being funny, lost my empathy for my direct reports, and started losing my confidence in my ability to lead. I got stuck trying to motivate myself to believe that I could change my situation. Without strong leadership at work, I longed for external validation, awards, salary, or a promotion to prove I was making an impact at work. When approval never came, I decided to set a new goal, to finish my book and help anyone else find their way out of the tight spot of doing too much. Listen, I am an overachiever, performance has never been an issue for me at work but as I look back on my career when I didn't have a vision I lost myself in my corporate identity. Instead of bringing myself to work, I expected my job to fulfill me. I missed a lot of lessons that could've helped me sustain my success and keep my life balanced between my personal and professional goals, but I didn't have anyone to guide me.
I developed the TRIBE framework to unlearn the habits that made me burn out early in my career, and this fall, I'm sharing these strategies with you!
Getting Unstuck: A Guide To Moving Your Career Forward is for anyone feeling stuck, lost, and overwhelmed at work. I created a system based on my battle-tested strategies and stories from helping the highest-ranking corporate leaders in America find their vision and values.
Thank you for sticking with me. Whether we met at a speaking event, worked together, or randomly started a friendship, your support means the world to me. If you would like me to write on a particular topic, issue or address a question, please drop me a note in the comments!
I'm here to help! Meredith
Was this article helpful? For more exercises like this one, check out my book on success and finding your purpose in life. Getting Unstuck: A Guide to Moving Your Career Forward tells the story of how one woman found the time and energy to overcome the battle for advancement in corporate America.
As an author, speaker, and mom I share the unwritten rules and the advice of my mentors to evolve your dream job into your dream life, taking control of your time and designing a set of values to lead you onward. Subscribe and receive articles in your inbox along with my week of possibilities to jump start your journey to getting unstuck.
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