405: The Other Side of Influencer Burnout: How I Took Back My Energy & Business

[00:00:00] I wanted to share a vulnerable podcast episode where I am talking about going through burnout. 2025 was tough for my business. I felt so burnt out all year. Long, I could not get out from underneath this fog. It didn't, it was just felt like no matter what I did, I, I couldn't get out from underneath it.

[00:00:24] No matter how much I poured into creativity took breaks, I could not get out of it. And so I wanted to share with you what that looked like and what it looked like to kind of rebuild through burnout.

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[00:00:54] So at the end of 2025, I got super serious with myself. I was done. I was done with feeling this burnout, with feeling this fog I, and I was not going to bring it into 2026.

[00:01:09] I drew a very hard line. This is not happening. I'm going to get this figured out. I was done with the bs. I was done allowing things that harmed my peace and energy and. There were some really strong boundaries that were being constructed. As I went into this year, I, this, this was one of the. I, I've had a lot of these moments I feel like in my life over the last probably four years, where I can look back and be like, oh yeah.

[00:01:43] It was at that point where I kind of drew a line in the sand on certain things I was going to allow and not allow, and this here. Going into 2026, ending 2025 was another one that I know I will look back on and be like, oh yeah, that was when I drew this line and said No more. And it was simply a. I say simply it was doing that, that I was able to rebuild through burnout and I say through burnout because for me, November and December.

[00:02:25] For a lot of people it is pure chaos, and this year was just the top of the chaos pile of so many different things going on. Family in town. My husband and I got married in November and we were celebrating our 15 year anniversary. There's Thanksgiving, we had family and then everything that comes with the holidays, right? And so, but I knew that I had to do the work through pieces of that, and then it was going to take. A while to do it. It wasn't just gonna be like, okay, I'm gonna sit down and I'm gonna get this shit figured out.

[00:03:04] No, I knew it was going to take time, but that I wasn't going to go into this next year like this. And so I probably decided that, back in, I don't know, October, and I say Decided because it truly gets to a point where you have to decide. Enough's enough when it comes to burnout. I don't wanna say all the time, it's brought on with ourselves because there's so many different things outside of our control.

[00:03:37] But what we can control, we need to control. And what we can control is our mindset and how we are approaching situations, and that is what I knew I could handle and that I needed to make some really strong decisions about going into the new year. So I wanna kind of share, you know, some, some things that I worked through and have gotten me to where I am today.

[00:04:03] This is coming out in April and. You know, with this being April, there's been a lot of really incredible things that have happened for me this year on top of a lot of really freaking hard things that have happened this year on like a, I say personal level, but really like on a community and on a worldwide country level that have been very mentally taxing.

[00:04:35] And so for me to feel this solid and this good in the midst of chaos tells me that. I'm doing pretty good with my mindset and with keeping things figured out where I wanna be. I do not have anything figured out by any means at this point in time. You know, I was just having a conversation with one of my friends about how we've gotta get our business figured out.

[00:05:03] We've gotta get certain things figured out. So there's a, there's a lot up in the air right now for my business, but I don't feel. As stressed as I could because there's other things working for me in my good. And I know that sounds cryptic, but I'm just saying all of this to say that doing this work that I've done and putting these things in place has really helped me.

[00:05:31] Get to where I am at this point in the year that's gonna sound so cryptic. So let me just like start going through it. I did a post about this on February 20th that says The most dangerous creator you'll meet is the one who rebuilt herself through burnout. And then I went through, and this was a carousel post and shared some different things, that I'm really, you know, embodying and taking into this year with me.

[00:05:56] So first one is I'm not performing. There, there's no song and dance happening for anyone, and I, I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not. And, and so I, you know, I've talked about this in the last couple of episodes, but this really means fully showing up as myself. And I know that this is something content creators struggle with because I talk to you guys all the time and you always tell me these things, you know, like second guessing yourself, questioning whether or not you should post something, but.

[00:06:27] What I wanna tell you is that, you know, something I wrote down for myself probably just a week ago, this is still a work in progress, but that there's going to be people that I am not gonna be for. Right? Like, you may be listening to this podcast and be like, I just do not vibe with Bree. She's great and all that, but I just, it's not my vibe.

[00:06:47] Right? And that's okay because. I know that there are a lot of people that I am for that my content does resonate with that what I am saying, you're like, oh my God, I really needed to hear that and I needed to hear it delivered in that way. Right? There's extremely successful podcasters out there, extremely successful content creators out there that I'm like, I don't vibe with, but.

[00:07:12] They're millionaires, they're have millions of followers, and so they're doing something right. Right. They're for a lot of people, and I think that is something that trips us up, is that we put ourselves into this place of feeling like I have to appeal to everyone. I have to appease everyone. I have to make sure I'm not stepping on anyone else's toes.

[00:07:31] I have to make sure that what I am doing is going to go over. In this very charismatic way that everyone will enjoy and that is going to make me successful. If that were the case, there wouldn't be these content creators that have this huge success that you and I don't vibe with, right? So we have to get over that fear of feeling like we're going to alienate people if we are our truest selves, if we stop performing and if we just show up as us.

[00:08:07] It is going to make you successful.

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[00:09:37] The second thing is I'm not chasing viral anymore. And I'm not saying that I deliberately sat down and strategized to do that, but I know that it was in the back of my head. I know that I have like put this content out there and be like, Ooh, I really hope this one takes off.

[00:09:53] And like, oh my gosh, what if this one like is the one that just goes crazy? What I want now is consistent growth. I want steady, strong, unfailing, and I want my bank account to increase. Okay? That's the bottom line, right? I, and if that means I don't ever have a viral moment, I don't care. I'm building wealth.

[00:10:17] That is what I want to build virality aside. If something goes viral, if I have a million followers one day, if I have 500,000 followers one day, great. Fine. Amazing. I'm, I'm, I'm glad, truly would be glad that I would be helping that many people. That at the end of the day, like no matter how many people are following me and listening to my content, I'm so grateful that I'm able to hopefully make a small difference in your life.

[00:10:45] That means so much to me, but more than the number of people following me or a real going viral. I am also doing this not just to help other people, but I am doing this to build wealth for myself and for my family. Right. That's, that's a core reason in why you're doing what you're doing. And so no more chasing like and hoping, even for this like viral thing, I want slow, steady growth that makes an impact.

[00:11:17] The third thing is I'm not asking is this good enough? But instead I'm asking, is this true? So this all ties in together with no more second guessing my content. I am talking straight to you, content creators and influencers, and speaking truth to you. There is enough fluff out there, and I have been in that mindset from day one, but just reiterating with myself that this.

[00:11:43] Is not a place where you're gonna find fluff. I, I'm not gonna just like tell this awesome story or even have somebody on the podcast as a guest that has this cool story that doesn't resonate with you. I've been to conferences like that. I've been, I've listened to podcast episodes like that where it's this like, success story or, oh, do this thing that's so out of touch and so far out of reach that it doesn't have anything that is applying to you in this moment.

[00:12:12] Inspiration is great. And I think there is a time and a place for it, and I think it can be interwoven with tactical advice that you're able to grab, use and apply to yourself. The fourth thing is that. Reminding myself that rest isn't laziness. There was a reel that I saw recently where it was this girl and she was like chilling on the couch.

[00:12:42] And then as soon as like somebody came in the room, she felt like she had to jump up and do something, and she was like, you know that that response is. Could be, could be. I'm not gonna label it for everybody, but it could be a habit from childhood trauma of feeling like, oh, I can't relax 'cause I need to be doing something, um, or I'm supposed to be doing something, or I'm, I should be doing something right.

[00:13:05] And just feeling like there's this. Pressure. And if somebody sees me relaxing, that's not a good thing. I, that's not gonna resonate with everybody. But that sure res resonates with me. I've somebody that even you can ask friends that have helped me with the events and conferences that I've run in the past, I run myself into the ground.

[00:13:25] Doing it. And I know that if I ran it again and did one again, I would probably do the exact same thing because, well, hopefully not right. We could hope not, but always felt like if I stop, then other people will stop and there's so much to get done that we can't stop, that everybody can't stop or else like we're gonna be in trouble.

[00:13:41] And so always push myself to keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going because I need other people to keep going. Other people could take breaks, but I need the majority of the people like, keep going with me. Okay, go take a break. But I'm not gonna stop because I need somebody to be helping me and somebody to be doing something.

[00:13:56] And I have carried that into so many aspects of my life, for as long as I can remember. But we all know that when we don't rest, it leans to burnout and it leads to that burnout that I talked about, um, a lot more in last week's episode two of just like, you know, being completely stuck in this burnout phase.

[00:14:22] And not being able to get out of it, not knowing how to remove this fog. And I've had friends over the years that I've even texted and been like, Hey, I, I'm resting right now. I feel like I, I probably need to get up off the couch or I need to do something. Or maybe we're in conversation and I'm like, yeah, I need, I need to get up and do this.

[00:14:42] And they're like, Brie, you actually do need to just rest you. You do need to just chill out and you do need to allow yourself to do something frivolous. And just because it's resting that rest is productive. No matter how hard it may feel like it is for us to accept that it truly, truly is.

[00:15:00] Number five is showing up imperfectly beats, hiding behind a highlight reel, and that is a common theme that I've been talking about lately on this podcast, is just showing up for our audience as we are and stop not showing up because we feel like it's not perfect enough and how that can, as a result.

[00:15:23] Even without us saying anything, but it can translate over to our audience and it can put some undue pressure on them as a result of watching something in this unconscious way, it can affect our audience as well. So I just want you to start showing up as you are and I'm gonna do the same. And then the last thing.

[00:15:50] What I talked about in this carousel was that my messy coffee fueled toddler interrupted life is the content that your real life is the content, and that we have to quit trying to make it perfect. I am showing up more and owning my voice, owning my authority, and really owning the expertise that I have gathered over seven years of coaching content creators, and I may share advice with you while.

[00:16:21] A toddler screaming in the background or while toys are all over my living room and while my house looks like a daycare center, right? Like, but that's real life. And I know that that's also real life for so many of you that are listening. Especially my mama's, like those toys are everywhere all the time.

[00:16:36] It doesn't matter how many times a day we pick them up. Right? But your house doesn't have to be perfect. You don't have to be perfect. Your skin doesn't have to be perfect. You don't have to have the perfect makeup, the perfect outfit, the perfect anything. To show up and to teach somebody something, to share something with somebody, to entertain in the way that only you can just as you are and just as yourself.

[00:17:01] And I think by doing so, is going to relieve so much pressure for ourselves and for our audience, and it is going to fuel a lot of growth and big things for your business. I am done holding myself back. I'm done. And I hope you are too. I've been doing some deep work mentally really owning my shit and really removing barriers, and I'm excited to see where this goes.

[00:17:27] I hope you guys can tell by the vibe of these last few episodes. . That we're really, you know, together. And I say we, you listening with me, we're, we're gonna make some changes this year. We are going to really step into our own this year, step into owning our voice, step into who we are and sharing it with the world.

[00:17:47] Because if we wanna succeed as content creators, that's what we have to do.

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