Therapists, helpers, and creatives — you weren’t made to burn out.You were made to create from your Zone of Genius.
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Episode 152: Therapists & Creatives: Why Creativity Is a Burnout Antidote (+ Life Updates)
If you’ve felt the tug between meaningful work and your own wellbeing, you’re not alone. After a slow summer and a lot of reflection, I’m more grounded and aligned than I’ve ever been—and I want that for you, too. This post shares what shifted: embracing seasons, following creative breadcrumbs, rethinking the limits of 1:1 therapy, and intentionally building community that restores rather than depletes.
Seasons matter (a.k.a. the “goo stage”)
I talk often about the butterfly life cycle: we all move through catalyst → cocoon (a.k.a. the goo stage) → emergence. This summer was goo season for me. I pared back, tended to what needed tending, and trusted that momentum would return—and it did. If you’re in a cocoon right now, you’re not broken. You’re becoming.
What’s lighting me up this fall
* Speaking at the Next Level Summit on building income streams that energize, not drain.
* Developing a talk on Creativity as a Burnout Antidote—how play, humor, and creative practice restore energy and spark innovation.
* Dancing and choreographing (including my first solo!) and letting that embodied confidence spill into my work and leadership.
Following the breadcrumbs (the dance story)
I didn’t plan a solo. Life nudged me, I asked a musician friend for a track, and everything clicked. That “yes” led to one of the most healing experiences of my year and reminded me: creativity isn’t extra—it’s a way back to aliveness and clarity in every other part of life.
Rethinking therapy’s limits (and why community matters)
I’m grateful for therapy—and I’m also honest about its limits inside traditional containers. Some of my deepest healing has come outside the therapy room: through movement, story, laughter, friendship, and small groups that hold me while I build a life that fits. That’s part of why I’m building spaces for therapists and creatives to do this work together.
A frame I love: Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind
Pink argues we’re moving from the Information Age into the Conceptual Age—where six “senses” become indispensable:
* Design – make things useful and beautiful.
* Story – weave meaning; don’t just stack facts.
* Symphony – see patterns and connect the dots.
* Empathy – understand and be with human experience.
* Play – use humor and joy to fuel creativity and resilience.
* Meaning – pursue purpose and connection, not just performance.
If you’re a therapist or helper, you’re already fluent in many of these. The invitation is to bring them to the center of your work—not just the edges.
Contribution + Fulfillment = An Aligned Life
We crave contribution—to help, teach, build, and heal. But contribution alone leads to self-sacrifice and burnout. We also need fulfillment—creative passion, joy, and work that feels like us. Fulfillment alone can veer into emptiness. The sweet spot? Both.
Introducing: the Inspired Innovators Mastermind
I’ve launched a small, co-creative,