Burnout or Laziness? The Truth Behind Your Exhaustion | Mind Tamers
🛑 “I Thought I Was Lazy — But I Was Burned Out”
How Hidden Beliefs and Survival Patterns Lead to Exhaustion
For a long time, I thought I just couldn’t keep up.
I pushed myself hard, always doing more, saying yes, pushing through.
Not feeling I had done enough to deserve rest....
And then I’d crash.
I thought I was disorganised. Failing. Unmotivated. A bit lazy, even.
But I wasn’t.
I was burned out.
And underneath that?
I was carrying a belief I didn’t even know was there:
“If I stop, I’ll fail.”
💭 Burnout often starts as a survival pattern
Many of us were praised for being helpful, capable, high-achieving when we were young.
We learned early on that our worth came from what we do - not who we are.
So we learned to keep going. No matter what.
Over time, that pattern becomes automatic. It looks like:
Overcommitting, then crashing
Feeling guilty for resting
Always trying to prove you’re good enough
Saying yes when you want to say no
Feeling like it’s never enough
Sound familiar?
🧠 What’s really happening?
When your nervous system is in a chronic state of “go,” it doesn’t know how to switch off.
And if you’re holding a belief like:
“I have to do everything myself”
“If I rest, I’m falling behind”
“I have to earn my worth”
…then your body and brain are working against rest. Even when you want it.
This isn’t a motivation issue.
It’s not a willpower issue.
It’s a protection issue.
🌿 So how do you start healing burnout?
You can’t fix burnout with a bubble bath. (Although let’s be honest - it helps.)
You have to go deeper. That means:
Uncovering the belief that’s keeping you stuck in overdrive
Learning to feel safe in rest, stillness, and enough-ness
Soothing the nervous system that’s stuck in survival mode
✨ A few gentle places to start:
1. Question the belief.
When you catch yourself pushing through, pause and ask:
“What am I afraid will happen if I stop?”
That question alone can reveal so much. Listen to that voice.
2. Start small with rest.
Instead of a full day off (which might feel scary), try a 15-minute window of doing nothing, and notice what comes up.
3. Shift your self-talk.
Try speaking to yourself the way you would to a burnt-out friend:
“You’re allowed to rest. You’ve done enough for today.”
💬 You’re not lazy. You’re tired.
Truly. Deeply. Nervously-system tired.
You’re not broken - you’re just running a programme that says you have to do more to be enough.
But you don’t.
And I can help you start to unlearn that.
🔍 Start by finding your limiting belief type
If any of this resonates, take the free quiz I created to help you discover the core belief that might be fuelling your burnout.
💬 Or come share the journey with others
Burnout thrives in silence.
That’s why I created a private, supportive space where you can be real, be heard, and gently reconnect to yourself.
👉 Join the Mind Tamers community
You don’t need to push through.
You need support.
And permission.
And a new way forward.
With love,
Margaret x
